Friendship Camp, Cooking, Haggling, Hiking, and tons of Fun!

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.