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!
