Steuart is using his Spanish well and has been doing a great job teaching and working with the 1st grade class. He did a wonderful job during the puppet show and has a great rapport with the kids. He also did a great job on the hike to Killarumiyoq and was one of the first to the sacrifical stone. He and his team did a great job on the MMT in the Pisaq market. He was a member of Hassan's cooking team and helped prepare a great meal of papas cutlass.
Bebe was the coordinator of the last day's events at the friendship camp. She received a letter from one of the Almeria students in her notebook. She has helped the group understand more about the sites and towns we are visiting by reading from her guide book before arriving at new places. She is also proud of her traditional sandals made of recycled tires and her new sweater from the Pisaq market.
Katie was with Steuart and Peter teaching 1st grade for two hours straight one day this week, and she was invited back for the following day's lessons. She uses her Spanish well and is not afraid to reach out to those we meet along our travels. She bought some beautiful handmade jewelry from the Pisaq market and gifted a pair of earrings to Julia from Almeria Solidaria.
Matt is eating all the chocolates he can find...even chocolate that is not for eating. When we were in Pisaq, and finished with the MMT, he was most interested in buying gifts for his friends and family. At the salt mines of Maras he took scenic photos for his dad, and said the people pictures were up to the rest of the group. He helped teach an English lesson with Nadia and Will to 6th grade. He has a great sense of humor and enjoyed his 16th on the 16th. Almost every class sang happy birthday to him. He was also a great drummer of the music group Los Guapos at our WMI cafe at Almeria.
Julia did a great job with Hassan in preparing for and performing in Spanish at the puppet show. She enjoyed many quiet moments with the students of Almeria and could often be found with one or two young girls playing with her hair. She got up at 5:00 am to see the fire for the Pachamanca and was very proud of her haggling skills at the market in Pisaq.
Nadia did a great job leading the lesson with Matt and Will in the 6th grade. She pushes herself in many ways from Spanish to hiking. She is very responsible and helps motivate others to help share the load. She hiked up the ruins at Killarumiyoq to see the lunar calendar and the sacrifical temple. She appreciates the food a lot, and helped Hassan cook up his feast of papas cutlas.
Hassan was a great leader and example to the group when he cooked Tiki (Papas Cutlas) for more than twenty people at Almeria. He proved to himself that he could do about anything by hiking up the ruins at Killarumiyoq. He often pauses for a moment to soak up the atmosphere and the views. The group has identified him as a leader through his actions.
Will cues the group in on important meanings of what we are doing here in Peru. He is insightful and adds humor and deep thought to group meetings. He taught with Nadia and Matt in the 6th Grade. He watched the end of the World Cup with Dar and Evan in Pisaq and perhaps to honor Nayu, bought an Argentinian t-shirt. He made some interesting translations on the Pisaq MMT and was a great member of Los Guapos at the WMI cafe.
Darwin was a key component of Los Guapos at WMI Cafe in Almeria and even performed a solo on guitar w/ singing. Baltasar (an employee of Almeria) identified him as a true worker who is strong and able. He took pride in his help at the Pachamanca (a traditional meal cooked with heated rockes and burried underground with herbs).
Evantal was a singer in Los Grapos at the cafe. He bought a jersey with Will and enjoyed the haggling in the Pisaq market. He taught and worked with 1st grade the last day of camp. He is very popular as a human piggy-back ride machine, and could often be seen with more than one student clinging to him at a time.
Peter, aka Poncho Pete, has been with us since Pisaq. His poncho transforms him into quite the showman. The leaders have been finding some creative ways to get him up and out of bed, and he still proves to be a heavy sleeper. He taught 1st grade with Katie and Steuart for two straight hours and learned a new level of respect for those in the teaching profession.
DON'T MISS ALL THE NEW PICTURES! Remember, you can click on the small picture in the right-hand column to be taken to an online album with larger versions of all the pictures.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Packing in the Fun, Service, and Adventure!
As you've heard, the group is having a totally awesome time in Peru. Just to recap, they did their Orientation activities in and around Cusco, where they had a great time hiking the magical Incan ruins, exploring the town on their first MMT*, trying great new foods, and getting to know one another through creative initiatives, group games, and getting-to-know you activities. *An MMT (Magical Mystery Tour) is a Windsor Mountain tradition: leaders split the group into small groups (three or more), give them firm parameters and goals for the adventure, and send them off on fun and educational intercultural missions.
They created their group Full Value Contract (group-generated collection of ‘rules’ or ‘ideals’ for the trip—a group constitution, of sorts) on a hill overlooking the town, and even got their feet wet doing some impromptu service work, thanks to Will Orwig, who got the group to help a street vendor pack up her wares and take them back to her shop. Jim and Nayu think Will's enthusiasm for this project might have had something to do with the fact that this particular vendor was young and pretty, but we'll give Will the benefit of the doubt, and call it a completely altruistic act.
The group is now in Almeria, at the end of the first week of their service residency with Almeria Solideria. They've been incredibly busy! Among other things, our students have:
This weekend, the group will take a brief break from their good work in Almeria and visit two amazing places - the circular terraces of Moran and the ruins of Pisaq. They deserve the rest and they'll also have a chance to plan their friendship camp activities for the next week. But enough of all that, here's what you've been waiting for - Student Notes!
Steuart is a very hard worker. Jim and Nayu describe him as "quiet but 100% in the game." His insightful comments at evening meeting are very welcome and helpful, and the whole group was really impressed with the poem he wrote during the Slam workshop. He's not afraid to use his Spanish, and he loves playing cards!
Bebe is up for anything! She's a hard worker, very sociable and can't wait to try grilled Cuy (even though she has pet guinea pigs at home). She is the group caretaker of everything Windsor Mountain; having spent 5 summers at our base camp, she lives for the chance to take those values on the road, and does her best to share them with the rest of the group. She had a very muddy birthday! Jim and Nayu also give her props for comforting a young local girl when she needed it most.
Kaytie, a veteran of Bridge Mexico 2008, is also doing a great job upholding our Windsor Mountain values. Jim and Nayu really appreciate her input during group meetings, and they are both very impressed by her willingness to use her Spanish. She absolutely loved "Scarefest 2010" which spontaneously occurred when the power went out for a brief time this week.
Peter loves telling stories and jokes. He's a very mature young man who has been selected to teach English to the local 5th graders - a big task for someone his age, but Jim and Nayu know he's up for it. Peter is a valuable asset to the group during meetings, he loves to bond with group members over music and culture. He wrote an amazing poem during the Slam workshop.
Matt is honest, direct, helpful, curious, and absolutely loves tea! His latest concoction is made of spearmint and burnt sugar (a local thing) and he loves to share. Like Peter, he is extremely enthusiastic about music. Jim and Nayu are very impressed by his ability to connect with people anywhere he goes, and applaud his penchant for recognizing the good deeds and hard work of others.
Julia is very friendly and has made a big effort to make connections with everyone. She knows the least Spanish of anyone in the group, but is brave enough to try out what she knows whenever she gets the chance. During the adobe brick-making workshop, she fought valiantly to avoid getting taken down, but, alas, she ended up covered in mud just like everyone else.
Nadia has earned the total respect of her leaders. In a word, this girl works, works, works, and then makes sure there's no more work to do. She is enthusiastic about all group activities, loves using her Spanish (and is working hard to learn more), and goes out of her way to engage locals in all kinds of conversations. She's having a great time, and can't wait until next week's service projects.
Hassan is another very responsible young man. he went out of his way to find two of his fellow group members in the San Francisco airport, before the trip had even started, to make sure the three of them felt safe and were able to fly down together. He even called Jim to let him know they were together and ready to fly. As far as the trip goes, he's equally impressive: he wrote a great poem during the Slam workshop. He's very insightful during group meetings, and he is always out front working hard and leading by example. It also helps that he's hilarious!
Will is a natural leader. Jim and Nayu think his Spanish is very good, and love the way he goes out of his way to engage the locals (even when he's looking for dates under the guise of "doing service.") Will is an expressive guy, did a spectacular job during the Slam workshop, and was the first one covered in mud during the brick-making workshop.
Darwin utterly amazed everyone with the poem he wrote during the Slam workshop because he's normally a very quiet guy. He loves trying all the new foods in Peru, and has been a really big help in the kitchen. He really enjoys teaching English to the local kids.
Evantal is a high-energy, positive guy who loves talking and telling stories. he is amazed by the warmth of the local hosts, and feels right at home in Almeria. he was fairly tentative (read not into it at all) about milking cows, but worked through his concerns, got hold of an udder, and milked that cow!
That's all folks!
They created their group Full Value Contract (group-generated collection of ‘rules’ or ‘ideals’ for the trip—a group constitution, of sorts) on a hill overlooking the town, and even got their feet wet doing some impromptu service work, thanks to Will Orwig, who got the group to help a street vendor pack up her wares and take them back to her shop. Jim and Nayu think Will's enthusiasm for this project might have had something to do with the fact that this particular vendor was young and pretty, but we'll give Will the benefit of the doubt, and call it a completely altruistic act.
The group is now in Almeria, at the end of the first week of their service residency with Almeria Solideria. They've been incredibly busy! Among other things, our students have:
- prepared a garden plot for fresh vegetables
- taken a workshop in sustainable composting
- spread the compost on their new garden
- learned how to make traditional adobe bricks in a huge mud pit
- taught English to local kids
- taught camp games to local kids
- taken a puppet-making workshop
- taken a poetry slam workshop
- milked cows at sunrise!
This weekend, the group will take a brief break from their good work in Almeria and visit two amazing places - the circular terraces of Moran and the ruins of Pisaq. They deserve the rest and they'll also have a chance to plan their friendship camp activities for the next week. But enough of all that, here's what you've been waiting for - Student Notes!
Steuart is a very hard worker. Jim and Nayu describe him as "quiet but 100% in the game." His insightful comments at evening meeting are very welcome and helpful, and the whole group was really impressed with the poem he wrote during the Slam workshop. He's not afraid to use his Spanish, and he loves playing cards!
Bebe is up for anything! She's a hard worker, very sociable and can't wait to try grilled Cuy (even though she has pet guinea pigs at home). She is the group caretaker of everything Windsor Mountain; having spent 5 summers at our base camp, she lives for the chance to take those values on the road, and does her best to share them with the rest of the group. She had a very muddy birthday! Jim and Nayu also give her props for comforting a young local girl when she needed it most.
Kaytie, a veteran of Bridge Mexico 2008, is also doing a great job upholding our Windsor Mountain values. Jim and Nayu really appreciate her input during group meetings, and they are both very impressed by her willingness to use her Spanish. She absolutely loved "Scarefest 2010" which spontaneously occurred when the power went out for a brief time this week.
Peter loves telling stories and jokes. He's a very mature young man who has been selected to teach English to the local 5th graders - a big task for someone his age, but Jim and Nayu know he's up for it. Peter is a valuable asset to the group during meetings, he loves to bond with group members over music and culture. He wrote an amazing poem during the Slam workshop.
Matt is honest, direct, helpful, curious, and absolutely loves tea! His latest concoction is made of spearmint and burnt sugar (a local thing) and he loves to share. Like Peter, he is extremely enthusiastic about music. Jim and Nayu are very impressed by his ability to connect with people anywhere he goes, and applaud his penchant for recognizing the good deeds and hard work of others.
Julia is very friendly and has made a big effort to make connections with everyone. She knows the least Spanish of anyone in the group, but is brave enough to try out what she knows whenever she gets the chance. During the adobe brick-making workshop, she fought valiantly to avoid getting taken down, but, alas, she ended up covered in mud just like everyone else.
Nadia has earned the total respect of her leaders. In a word, this girl works, works, works, and then makes sure there's no more work to do. She is enthusiastic about all group activities, loves using her Spanish (and is working hard to learn more), and goes out of her way to engage locals in all kinds of conversations. She's having a great time, and can't wait until next week's service projects.
Hassan is another very responsible young man. he went out of his way to find two of his fellow group members in the San Francisco airport, before the trip had even started, to make sure the three of them felt safe and were able to fly down together. He even called Jim to let him know they were together and ready to fly. As far as the trip goes, he's equally impressive: he wrote a great poem during the Slam workshop. He's very insightful during group meetings, and he is always out front working hard and leading by example. It also helps that he's hilarious!
Will is a natural leader. Jim and Nayu think his Spanish is very good, and love the way he goes out of his way to engage the locals (even when he's looking for dates under the guise of "doing service.") Will is an expressive guy, did a spectacular job during the Slam workshop, and was the first one covered in mud during the brick-making workshop.
Darwin utterly amazed everyone with the poem he wrote during the Slam workshop because he's normally a very quiet guy. He loves trying all the new foods in Peru, and has been a really big help in the kitchen. He really enjoys teaching English to the local kids.
Evantal is a high-energy, positive guy who loves talking and telling stories. he is amazed by the warmth of the local hosts, and feels right at home in Almeria. he was fairly tentative (read not into it at all) about milking cows, but worked through his concerns, got hold of an udder, and milked that cow!
That's all folks!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Quick Update
The group continues to have an awesome time in Peru. They are in a very rural area known as Almeria. They've been learning a lot about Peruvian culture and helping out in some of the greenhouses there.
The group befriended a traveler from Spain who has taught them how to do slam poetry; so the students have been performing their poetry each evening.
Two days ago, everyone got up to milk cows at 6am! That evening, they got to make cheese from the milk they had collected in the morning. So cool!
The group befriended a traveler from Spain who has taught them how to do slam poetry; so the students have been performing their poetry each evening.
Two days ago, everyone got up to milk cows at 6am! That evening, they got to make cheese from the milk they had collected in the morning. So cool!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Cusco, Chicaria, Chincheros, and more
Bridge Peru Families,
Here's our first quick update--an email from Jim and Nayu which arrived last night. We hope to have full individual student updates by Friday. Enjoy!
Hi to everyone there at WM. I hope all is well. Nayu and I are having fun with the group. All is going well, the group has been wonderful and we are all enjoying ourselves. They all seem to get along well thus far. When we arrived, many students tried alpaca at our first meal and everyone is ordering their own food in Spanish.
We hiked the ruins in Ollantaytambo on a beautiful day, and things are going smoothly. We are in Cusco right now on our way to Almeria. We stopped at a Chicaria where we learned to make Chicha (a traditional drink made from fermented germinating corn that dates back to Incan times). We saw guinea pigs (coy), but didn't eat any yet, and visited Chincheros where we learned from a cooperative that supports indigenous women how they color sheep and alpaca thread and then make their goods. Very beautiful, and the whole group got hats!
We are starting some great projects tomorrow in Almeria. We are trying to find out more specifics on the friendship camp starting next week. We will not have communication out other than our cell phones. Student phone calls will be on Sunday the 11th after lunch. Please let the families know.
Great news! No GIAs (gastrointestinal adventures) yet.... No sickness of any kind, all happy and eating well. We are currently at the Plaza de Armas in Cusco and will be shopping for snacks and all the stuff we need for this week.
Much love,
Jim and Nayu
Here's our first quick update--an email from Jim and Nayu which arrived last night. We hope to have full individual student updates by Friday. Enjoy!
Hi to everyone there at WM. I hope all is well. Nayu and I are having fun with the group. All is going well, the group has been wonderful and we are all enjoying ourselves. They all seem to get along well thus far. When we arrived, many students tried alpaca at our first meal and everyone is ordering their own food in Spanish.
We hiked the ruins in Ollantaytambo on a beautiful day, and things are going smoothly. We are in Cusco right now on our way to Almeria. We stopped at a Chicaria where we learned to make Chicha (a traditional drink made from fermented germinating corn that dates back to Incan times). We saw guinea pigs (coy), but didn't eat any yet, and visited Chincheros where we learned from a cooperative that supports indigenous women how they color sheep and alpaca thread and then make their goods. Very beautiful, and the whole group got hats!
We are starting some great projects tomorrow in Almeria. We are trying to find out more specifics on the friendship camp starting next week. We will not have communication out other than our cell phones. Student phone calls will be on Sunday the 11th after lunch. Please let the families know.
Great news! No GIAs (gastrointestinal adventures) yet.... No sickness of any kind, all happy and eating well. We are currently at the Plaza de Armas in Cusco and will be shopping for snacks and all the stuff we need for this week.
Much love,
Jim and Nayu
Friday, July 2, 2010
Safe and Sound in Peru
Angus just got off the phone with Jim and Nayeli, who are happy to inform us that the entire group is together and headed to lunch in Cusco! It was a long flight, but they stepped out of the airport into a beautiful, sunny day and were glad to be on solid Peruvian land. After lunch, the group will transfer to Ollantaytambo and settle in at La Nusta for dinner and a good nights rest. Tomorrow morning the adventure continues as the group does team-building exercises, explores the area, and begins to familiarize themselves with Peru!
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