Peru 2016 with Evergreen School 8th grade students

Peru 2016

This is my 29th year at Evergreen School, and my 17th time I have taught the year-long Global Studies course and led a international student trip. Over the years the program has continued to evolve, and this itinerary to Peru was the most dynamic, the most challenging logistically, and the best. 

April 30^th: Flight to Peru

We left the parents behind at 6:30 am as we headed for security, and boarded the plane around 7:15 am. It was a very intense time for the students, which is reflected in the conversation I had with the students while on the runway, and during the first moments of flight:

7:56 am, Gifford: “We’ve reached the vertex of the runway.”

7:57 am, Robert: “What’s the formula for the vertex a quadratic equation?”

7:58 am, Anya: “Negative B over two A.”

7:59 am, Gifford: “The nose of the plane is not touching the ground.”

8:01 am, Jack: “I have mini-poker chips.”

8:02 am, Gifford: “Robert, we are still going up.”

8:03 am, Jack: “In 4 seconds it will be 8:04.”

8:11 am, Eli: “So far, it is a really good trip.”

Other trip leaders: Eli and Allie

May 1^st: First Day in Lima: SLIP Day 1

Lima is the capital and largest city of Peru, located on the central western coast, with a metropolitan area population of ten million people. It was officially "founded" in 1535 by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, though Amerindian groups lived in this region for more than one thousand years.

Every day on the Global Studies field study, we will meet with the students to debrief the day. But on this day, being the first day of the trip, we had a morning meeting as well. Arriving at 11 pm in Lima and after midnight at our hostels, we had a late start to allow the students to sleep in. At 11 am we walked the students 5 blocks to a park on the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. 

Our daily meeting site

We started the meeting with a meditation:

Appreciate each moment

Breath in, breath out

Pay attention to your breath

What an amazing thing it is

Without even noticing it, the breath fills our lungs

And oxygenates our blood

All without our active engagement

Without our appreciation

Life is like that

There is so much that nourishes us, supports us, protects us

Without us even noticing it.

Maybe we should.

Breath in, breath out

Show gratitude for each breath

Gratitude is something that occurs naturally

But sometimes we need reminders.

Sometimes we need to retrain ourselves,

And be intention about appreciation.

It can be something so simple like our breath

The trip will start slowly.

Your senses will be so overwhelmed that the first full day will feel like a week

And then before you know it, the first week is gone

Then the halfway point, and then we are heading home

And so the issue every year is: how do we slow it down

I believe it is by paying attention

Your senses can’t help it but be engaged

It is up to you to consciously pay attention.

There are opportunities everywhere

Pay attention

Appreciate

Show gratitude

Before you know it, the time is gone

Make the most of the time you have

You will have choices.

Choose wisely.

The Global Studies Student Led Itinerary Program (SLIP):

There is so much to do and see in Lima, and with only three days here, it would be impossible for the trip leaders to create and itinerary to satisfy everyone’s needs. And so we didn’t. We left it up to the students. Back in Seattle we made small groups of 4 or 5 students and they researched options and then came up with a three day itinerary. They needed to include maps, transportation and a budget. The SLIP program engages many elements key to the global Studies program. It is an open –ended assignment were students do the research, make choices, and take responsibility. We assign one or two adults to go along with each group of students, but advise the parents to let the students “run the show,” allowing the students to change their plans or get lost. For it is those unexpected and unplanned experiences that are often the most memorable and where learning and growth are maximized.

My SLIP group for Day One in Lima

I headed out with Claire, Lucy, Nicole, and Phoebe. I knew from the first moment that this was going to be a great day, as the students immediately changed their plans and decided to walk to the Plaza de Armas, in the heart of Lima. They had no idea how far it was, but that was no deterrent. Needless to say, there is no way we could walk all the way there in the time and energy we had. Eventually we had to hail a taxi. But what I appreciated so much was their spirit of adventure and the willingness to take a risk.

Taking a risk – stepping out of one’s comfort zone – is an ongoing theme of the eighth grade year. Travel creates challenges, for so much about travel is out of one’s control. And it is through these challenges that the greatest student growth occurs, for the only control we truly have is how we respond to what happens. The Global Studies teachers are very intentional about preparing the students to have successes when challenged. We do this through the introduction of meditation and self-reflection. Throughout the year we provide students opportunities to reflect on different aspects of the trip. They reflect on the goals of the Global Studies program. They reflect on what global citizenry means to them. They reflect on how they are going to challenge themselves and step out of their comfort zone. They even write a trip mission statement. What they are actually doing is entering into a dialogue with themselves, taking responsibility for who they are and the choices they make. This process not only deepens the trip experience, but helps the students along the process of maturity into responsible adulthood.

So after about an hour, we stopped for lunch and then caught a taxi to the Plaza de Armas. There we visited the catacombs and the Presidential palace. But the highlight of our day was when we returned to the coast. This is when I witnessed the students growing wings and taking flight. Daring each other to touch a rock in between the ebb and flow of waves is such a simple game. The spontaneous joy and uninhibited laughter, where the students totally let go and relaxed into the event, was a blessing to behold.

Trying to figure out where we are and what to do next

good hair

Human skulls and bones, buried beneath the catacombs

May 2^nd: SLIP Day 2 with Adi, Ariana, Malachi and Megan

The day started with a taxi ride to the zoo. It took a while to find the animals, as the zoo is also the location of some ruins. Though the conquistador Francisco Pizarro is credited with founding the city of Lima, there was actually a civilization that lived here more than 2000 years ago. The city was called Maranga. It contained 14 huge temples and spread out over 4,000,000 square meters, making it one of Peru’s largest ancient sites. The ruins at the zoo were from 500 to 1000 years ago. Much of this civilization was destroyed by the Peruvian government in the last century in its efforts to develop.

I am not a big fan of zoos, and the Lima zoo is no exception. The most common comment by the students was, “Is it dead?”

From the zoo we headed to the central district and a traditional market. The pace of the day was slow, which is to my liking. We explored the market, ate a late lunch, and then headed back to Mia Flores.

At the evening meeting students shared highlights of the day and shout-outs to their peers for taking either leadership roles or making sacrifices for their group (all in an attempt to reinforce the atmosphere of support for each other and an atmosphere of appreciation and gratitude).

May 3^rd: SLIP Day 3 with Carlos, Jacob, Josiah, Virgil, and Will M

Today was our final day in Lima. We spent it hiking, fishing, and eating. We started with a taxi cab 5 miles south to the fishing village. And there we started walking up towards the Jesus statue on the hill. We followed a little path off the road which skirted around the edge of the hills with spectacular views of the ocean below. Later, we found another small path between the hills down to the ocean. After a delicious ceviche meal at the village, we rented a boat and fished for an hour, catching three small fish.

During the evening meeting, students shared their favorite experiences in Lima. We also asked the students to think about and share some insights about the Peruvian culture. Students spoke about “road rules,” about the architectural diversity (ruins, Spanish, modern all next to each other), and about how friendly the people are. One student told the story of leaving his guidebook in the back of a taxi. The next day, the taxi driver returned the guidebook to the hotel. To do that, he had to call his cousin in New York, who translated the contact page which listed the two hostels we were staying at.

Tomorrow we fly to Cusco (11,2000 feet elevation), then take a 2 hour bus ride down to Ollantaytambo (9100 feet elevation) in the Sacred Valley. We will spend 5 days there, which include two NGO days and two culture lesson days. Students started their altitude medication today. 

Evergreen Trip Reflections (read at Global Studies Night and Graduation):

Jumping ahead, when the students return to Seattle, there are two weeks left of school. They do not return to their normal classes, but instead, use this time to debrief their experiences and prepare for graduation and the next stage of their academic lives. They have 14 projects that they work on, which range from a class “composite journal” to Global Studies Day projects (where we spend the day rotating the entire school through their presentations, as well as present to the whole school a multi-media play) to gratitude letters. Students write “Trip reflections,” and six of them are chosen to be read at either Global Studies Night or Graduation. I have included the six “Trip reflections in this Blog. 

Trip Reflection #1

Letting Go in the Taxi

Aki

Everything was screaming. Cars screamed as their tires screeched to a stop. The ocean screamed as the waves crashed against the shore. Adventure and stress screamed as though they were fighting neck and neck. I turned my head to the front of the car trying to get a glimpse of where the taxi driver was taking us.

“Wrong way!” Our energetic SLIP group shouted in rounds after a long, fun-filled day exploring Lima. I could hear the taxi driver respond but I couldn’t make out exactly what he said. The butterflies in my stomach flapped their wings mirroring the flawless flock of birds flying above us. I turned my head to face the window this time, hoping that seeing us moving would relieve some of the stress. The dotted line in the center of the road became blurred as the light turned green and we sped off into the distance, the distance we didn’t want between us and our destination. I heard the voices of my classmates telling me to chill. Thoughts rushed through my head. How could we chill, the taxi driver is taking us away from the destination we had to be at in two minutes. I could taste the rotten sting of desperation in my mouth. With nothing more that I could do, I directed my attention to the windshield, mentally replacing the driver with myself to get into his mind and try to figure out why he was driving in this direction. As the car whizzed by, I caught a glimpse of the bright white sign declaring our entrance to the Barranco District. We had left the district of our destination. Aki, chill! The voices echoed around the crowded taxi. Chill. Chill and lose all control, or remain in a state of hypervigilance. It was in this moment that I realized, I had no control, that I, too, was screaming. Screaming in the same way as the cars rushing by and the ocean crashing against the calm sand. I was screaming at the calm that I desired. I blinked, my eyelids heavy. I blinked again, letting go of the stress, and worry. I blinked, my eyelids floated. Let go. I looked outside again, but this time, rather than focusing on what I had no control over, rather than focusing on the blur of the lines as we sped away from the relief of arriving, my eyes glazed over the road and focused on the water. I watched as it went in and out, in and out; not overthinking, not worrying, just moving. I sat back in the worn leather seat, and breathed, watched and experienced this moment rather than worrying about my experience of future moments. Suddenly, as I looked around, things were quiet, nothing was screaming. Adventure had prevailed.

5/5 Ollantaytambo: NGO Day 1:

On 5/4 we left Lima, flew to Cusco (11,200 feet elevation), then drove two hours to Ollantaytambo (elevation 9160 feet). So far students are handling the altitude well. Ollantaytambo is a super cute Incan town. It was actually conquered and destroyed by the Incan Emperor Pachacuti in the mid-15^th century, and then rebuilt and incorporated into the Incan Empire. 100 years later it served as the site for Incan resistance against the Spanish.

Ollantaytambo, with Ollantaytambo ruins in the background

Crafts for sale

Mother's Day festival in the main square of Ollantaytambo. 

We jumped right into the first of two NGO Days. I am so excited about this part of the itinerary, for it is one of the significant places where the curriculum merges with the field study. In the Global Studies class, the culmination of the academic school year was with a four-week NGO simulation.

Here is a little overview of the 8^th grade Global Studies Program:

During the first semester we look at global issues, including global citizenry and human rights. We also look at certain international historical issues, such as colonialism, and the beginnings of religion. Then the 2^nd semester focusses on the country of study – its history, culture, religion, political organization.

Just as important as the topic of study is how you teach it. I believe that everything is subjective. Historians are biased by their culture, class, gender, and what they can understand. Their writings are biased just by the selectivity of what they choose to write about. Our world views are always based on incomplete information.  This perspective open the door for students to be more than just spectators of historians. They get to be the historians. As they research they look for biases. They seek out different perspectives. They develop a deeper understanding of events, nuanced by the subtlety of multiple perspectives.

An environment of open debate, where different perspectives are shared, coupled with open ended assignments, engages the students. The school year culminates in a 4-week NGO simulation. Working in groups of two or three, students do extensive research on a real world problem of their choice, elaborating on the roots of the problem, on what has been done to solve the issue, and on what still needs to be done. Students created a business plan, which includes mission and vision statements, a needs analysis, and action plans. Some of the issues the students researched were: deforestation, education, and women’s rights. They create a marketing brochure and tri-fold poster which they use to present their issue at an “NGO Fair,” where other students, parents and faculty participate in the simulation by acting as major donors, and “voting” through virtual donations and volunteering.

This project not only allows students to learn about issues around the world, but also provides a platform for students to explore and engage with their own passions, and to grow their compassion and commitment to making the world a better place.

These two NGO days allow the students to expand their understanding of NGOs and the work that they do from the research realm to the sometimes messy day to day reality. We have organized 4 NGOs to work with our students. Each student will go to one NGO for these two days.

NGO 1: Corazones Por El Peru (https://www.facebook.com/corazonesparaperu/) supports education for children in rural communities

NGO 2: Awamaki (http://awamaki.org/) works with rural Andean women to empower them with skills-based education, and then connect them to market access so they can earn an income, take care of their families, and transform their communities.

NGO 3: Niños Del Arco Iris (http://www.lascasitasdelarcoiris.com/) works with the poorest children from the valley and give them high quality education and a really beautiful place to study.

NGO 4: Llama Pack Project (http://llamapackproject.com/) works to recover traditional uses and breeding of carrier llamas as a tool for sustainable rural development and mountain conservation.

I spent the day with Aki, Lucy, Sophie, and Will M. Awamaki drove us one hour up to a rural community (elevation: 12,500 feet) where weavers taught us how to spin wool, dye wool, and weave using a back-strap loom. 

 We also had a pachamancha lunch, where potatoes, beans, plantain bananas, and chicken are cooked with hot stones. We learned about the issues women face in Peru, and the difficulty or maintaining traditional crafts.

At our evening debrief, students shared about each NGO – their mission and the work that they do. Then after a few minutes of quiet journal writing, students shared about how their experience expanded their understanding of NGO work, or how they were inspired. Students spoke of appreciation for small things, the difficulty of sustainability, the importance of communication and a step by step approach when working with people of a different culture in an attempt to help them improve their lives.

5/6: 2^nd NGO Day

Another amazing day in Ollantaytambo.

Each NGO group spent a half day with their NGO. The group I was in met at the Awamaki store and learned in much greater depth about the structure and challenges of Awamaki and the work that they do. Awamaki is a non-profit social enterprise. Currently they are working with 6 communities of women weavers. Their two main goals are to provide skills based training and market access. They are constantly having to deal with the male dominated culture of Peru, which they call machisimo. Women in this culture are valued much less than men. Wives cannot make any decisions without permission from their husband. So the issue of women empowerment through education and access is challenged by its impact on cultural values.

Another challenge is that the rural communities in which they work are not monetarily based. Laura, the Awamaki representative, told the story of when they first started working with the women, they gave one woman a 100-sole note for her work, and another woman two 50-soles notes. The woman who received the 100-sole note complained that she only received one bill, while the other woman received two. It was eye-opening to me that illiteracy can refer to both words and numbers.

Laura also explained what social enterprise means to Awamaki and their process of training the weaving cooperatives towards independence. At the first level, a community of women must create a formal structure of organization, which includes a board of representatives. At this point they can contract with Awamaki and begin quality control regulation. They must also purchase a piece of property, owned by the collective. At this point Awamaki will provide the materials for building a structure for the cooperative, though the cooperative must provide the labor. At the second level of independence, the cooperative must establish their own business relationships, as well as manage their own orders and invoices. At the third level the cooperative must establish their own client relationships through return orders, manage their own books of sales, and pay taxes. The cooperative is then confirmed as autonomous, but may continue to work with Awamaki if they choose.

Explanation of the model of the different levels of independence that Awamaki uses

These levels of commitment by the women are essential for sustainability. Laura shared stories of some of the mistakes that Awamaki made early in their history. They thought it would be a great idea to provide green-houses for the communities where they worked. These are high altitude rural communities where growing a variety of vegetables is difficult. This green-house project was a complete failure, for the communities did not ask for green-houses, did not know how to use them, and did not know how to maintain the green-houses. Awamaki realized that sustainable development required mutual commitment and most importantly, clear communication with the communities about what they wanted.

Awamaki’s philosophy of “buy in” with the communities they work with is consistent with many elements of Evergreen’s Global Studies program. We have noticed such a difference in students’ attitude when they part of the process. Students are allowed to bring $200 spending money. We ask families to make their child raise that $200. Those students that work for their $200 are so much more thoughtful about how they spend it than the students who are gifted it from their parents. We also ask the students to raise the funds for their service project. This year the students raised $5800 through a variety of projects: day care during parent-teacher conferences, bake sales, pizza lunches, busking, a talent show, sports clinics, and vending. We found that when students work for money used in the service projects they are involved in on the international field study, their experience is so much more meaningful. And the Global Studies SLIP program, where small groups of students create their own three-day itineraries in both Lima and Cusco through research while in Seattle, is anchored in the philosophy of students “taking ownership of process” through the work that the students do and the choices that they make. Giving students the independence and responsibility to make choices, and even to make mistakes, is an important component in the process of maturation and responsible decision making.

Ollantaytambo, with Ollantaytambo ruins in the background

My NGO group

The Urubamba River

My first laundry shot

I’ll finish by saying that we spent the afternoon at a traditional pachamanca BBQ (where food is cooked by hot rocks), in a fantastic setting with a couple of Llamas roaming around, surrounded by the Andes.

Trip leaders talking with Annelies from Vamos Expeditions, with llamas in the background

Students at the BBQ

Pachamanca: cooking food with hot rocks: here it is lamb and chicken

Post-BBQ meeting with the NGO representatives

Student Trip Reflection #2

Doing Dishes

Malachi

I watch the people file out of the bus. The diversity I see is quite prominent: People of Peruvian descent, people of European descent, people of other descents that I know nothing of. Some of them are our own. People are young, old, strong, weak, disabled, healthy. Today, we are focusing on those who were disabled. We are at a small restaurant, created by the gracious people working for Corazones Para el Peru. It is located amidst the vast expanse of the Andes. A tiny spot in the middle of something so big, and yet it contains people from, I suspect, all over the world, and of so many different qualities.

            I usually hate doing the dishes. It makes me feel like I could be doing something much better with my time. And so, I figured today would be much of the same thing: Doing the dishes and making lunch for a bunch of people whom I didn’t even know. That shouldn’t be much fun. So, with a few others, I begin to wash the dishes for these people. Strangely, after a while, I start to notice a growing feeling of happiness inside of me. This was fairly surprising, because it took me a moment to find out what it was coming from. I soon realized that it was coming from doing the dishes. And not just that alone: It was coming from the fact that I was doing the dishes for a lot of people who couldn’t do it themselves. I was bringing people together - doing work for people and sacrificing something on my part to help them, and it felt great.

            Most of the time, people, including me, think that work is a burden that must be carried every day. They fail to see the purpose, or the outcome, or the people they’re helping. Doing the dishes for Corazones, I realized how much people rely on each other for these kinds of things, especially those who cannot do it themselves. This makes us dependent on others, and with dependence on others comes dependence on us. Playing your part really satisfies this role, and shows you your part in the world. You are no longer alone.

5/7: Chocolate Lesson

May 7th: 1st Cultural Activities Day - making chocolate and Ollantaytambo Ruins:

For the next two days students were given morning lessons options and afternoon activities options. 

The morning lesson options were:

chocolate making

cooking

wood working

music

Amazonian seed carving

ceramics

necklace making

The afternoon options were:

Inka Pool hike

Ollantaytambo Ruins (north mountain)

Ridge ruins (south mountain)

River walk

Valley walk

Unfortunately, I could not do everything. I went to the chocolate making lesson. 

Roasting the coca beans

Grinding the roasted beans

Making hot chocolate. We also had chocolate tea made out of the "skins" of the coca beans.

We had to write our names on the chocolates we made so we could identify our chocolates. Maybe Jack needed a chocolate reminder of his name. 

Waiting for our chocolates to freeze.

We had the option of dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate. We also had ingredients we could put in our chocolates: cayenne, salt, coffee beans, orange rind, and other stuff. 

May 8th: 2nd culture Activities Day: Ceramics lesson and Inka Pool Hike:

Pablo Seminario is a world renowned ceramics artist. His pieces are on display all over the world, including The World Bank, the Chicago Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian. We were very fortunate to be able to organize a ceramic lesson at his studio.

Here are the tiles we created.

Inca Pools Hike:

Later in the day we walked along the river for about half an hour to the Inca Pools.

Eli helping Max go for a swim. 

Journal writing

A nice spot to read and reflect

Inca ruins across the river, on the walk back into town

May 9th: Last Day in Ollantaytambo - Morning hike to Inka Ruins:

This is our last day in Ollantaytambo. This afternoon we will go by train to Aguas Calientes, and then tomorrow spend the day at Machu Picchu. A group of us went for a morning hike through the ruins on the south mountain. From these ruins we got excellent views of the ruins on the north mountain. Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of the Inca Emperor Pachacuti, after his conquest of the region in the mid 15th century. In 1540 Ollantaytambo came under the jurisdiction of Hernando Pizarro.

Pinkuylluna, Inca storage houses

I don't know what internet access we will have in Aguas Calientes. We will stay there the nights of May 9th and 10th. On the 11th we will take the train back to Ollantaytambo, then head by bus two hours to Paru Paru, the site of our service project and pen pals. The living situation will be very basic there and thus, no internet access. We will stay there until the evening of May 16th, when we will return to the land of wifi in the town of Pisac. So it may be a while before you hear from us again.
Bye for now,
Robert

5/10 Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is magical. There are so many things that make it such an amazing place: the setting, the ruins, the mystery of how it was built and for what purpose, the impossibility of it all.

Machu Picchu (elevation: 8000 feet) is located in the saddle between two mountains, Machu Picchu mountain and Huayna Picchu mountain. To get there, you take a bus from Aguas Calientes (elevation: 6700 feet), 5 miles up a winding road, which takes about 30 minutes.

View of Machu Picchu from the trail to the Sun Gate.

View of Machu Picchu  from near the Sun Gate (40 minute walk), as well as the winding road from Aguas Calientes.

Machu Picchu was built around 1450 by the Incas, but abandoned about a century later due to the Spanish conquest, who, by the way, never found it. Though few locals knew about it, it was reintroduced to the world by Hiram Bingham in 1911. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, and voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.

The students had a great day. In the morning most of the students hiked to the top of Huayna Picchu, the mountain you see in all the photos of Machu Picchu. The rest walked to the sun gate. Then we all met back at the entrance, divided into 8 groups, and had an hour and a half tour. After picnic lunches, some of the students returned down the hill to Aguas Calientes, and the rest of the students stayed to explore more. Two groups of students chose to hike down the mountain to Aguas Calientes.

This llama smelled the food in Maia's bag, and actually managed to opened up her trail mix container.

We still do not know how the Incas cut the stones so precisely, without the use of mortar.

The most fun part of the day was hanging out with the students.

In our evening meeting, students were asked to reflect on something they learned or something that inspired them. After a few minutes of silent writing, some students shared what they were thinking about. Here are some excerpts:

“I was inspired by how you can do so much with so little.”

“It is nice to experience a culture that does things differently than what I am used to. I can live my live knowing that others live their life differently.

“I was inspired by the sense of community.”

“”You can accomplish a lot when a lot of people are working for the same goal.”

“I thought about how much and how little can be done in one lifetime, and how often it is wasted.”

“Sometimes, on this trip, carrying my heavy bag, I think, ‘Oh, my life is so rough.’ And then, thinking about what the Incas did, it inspired me to put my best effort into everything I do.”

5/11: Arriving in Paru Paru:

We took an early morning train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo. After picking up our luggage, we all met at the town square for a little pep talk in preparation for Paru Paru.

Train ride from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo

Paru Paru is a remote village in the hills above Pisac, in the Sacred Valley. Paru Paru is one of five villages called Parque de la Papas (Potato Park). They grow over 150 varieties of potatoes.  It is a farming community at an elevation of 12,800 feet, so besides preparing the students for the cold, we also needed to prepare them for very basic accommodations. We rented three mud brick houses and slept on mattresses on the floor.

Most importantly is that we are guests to their community and we needed to prepare the students for that. I told the students the lesson I had learned that morning from Ammi, one of the chaperones. He told me of his trip to Turkey and his visit to Effes. He used a Rick Steeves audio guide which shared a unique perspective. When you see all the tourists at Effes, try to shift your mind set and imagine what Effes was like in its heyday. It would have been very busy, so see the tourists, not as obstacles getting in the way of your photos, but as citizens of Effes. Ammi used this lesson with his hiking team in Machu Picchu, and it helped them to not get distracted by the mobs of tourists there.

“Our experience in Paru Paru will be very different than the rest of the trip. It will be rough. Our accommodations will not be as nice. We will not have hot water. We will be using out houses. But these challenges do not have to be a distraction to your experience. Our power is how we engage. We can’t control what happens, be we have a choice in how we interact with what happens. What it takes is a mind shift and a little imagination. Imagine this is who you are. Imagine this is your community, this is your life. Stay present in your experience instead of thinking what you do not have. This takes practice. Some people use a mantra to help them engage in an intentional way. With every breath they subvocalize the word ‘love’ or ‘patience’ or whatever they are working on. It takes practice and intentionality. It takes a little imagination and an open heart.”

Students then shared their responses of what it means to be a guest in a community:

To be open to the experience

To engage with gratitude

To help out when you can

To try to be a part and not a hindrance

To connect to the people

View from the home where are the girls are staying

After about a two and a half hour ride through the Sacred Valley and up the mountain, we arrived in Paru Paru. It is a small village surrounded by beautiful mountains. We were greeted by a group of people in traditional dress, playing music. We walked through a line of people who through confetti on us. Then there was a formal welcome, and then a delicious meal. After the meal we headed to our perspective homes. In the ten minute walk through the village we saw horses, cows, donkeys, pigs and llamas.

Being greeted by music as we Entered Paru Paru

Marcelino, the chief of the village

Our first meal, set up in a tent outside, where half of the students ate.

The dining hall, where the other half of the students ate.

Grimaldo, one of the chefs.

Tomorrow we will start our four-day rotation. We have divided the students into four groups. We group will rotate through the four activities:

1. Faena (Service) Day: Faena is a traditional Quechan concept. Instead of taxation, the villagers provide service to their community. During the school year, the students raised $5800. Some of this money went to the NGOs that we worked with in Ollantaytambo. Most of the money will go towards building a new dining area for the Paru Paru students in Primary school.

2. Gender Day: This is where our students will learn some of the skills of the boys and girls in this community. This day will culminate in learning the “flirting dance.”

3. Potato Day: Our students will work in the potato fields, helping the locals with their harvest. We will also learn how to make a stone oven and cook potatoes.

4. Hiking Day: We will hake for about 5 hours around three beautiful lakes.

5/12: Faena (service day):

Today was the day we would start construction on the dining room for the primary students. At least that is what I thought. What we actually did was shovel gravel, move cement, and start the demolition of a mud brick wall. I had expected that the service project would progress similarly to the project we had done in Vietnam, where, in two days we had constructed the majority of a brick house, with walls six feet high. The lesson for me was to let go of expectations. This dining room is a much bigger project with much less preparatory work done before hand. What the community needed us to do was shovel gravel, move cement, and demolish a wall. So that is what we did. I was so proud of the students for the hard work they sustained throughout the day.

Part of the service project was taking down the old mud brick wall.

Children at the primary school

One of the most fun parts of the day was working with the eight year old Peruvians. After school was finished, three young girls decided to work with us. And then on the 25 minute walk back to our homes, we walked hand in hand with the Peruvian children.

One of the most fun experiences was when the school children, done with school, helped out with the work of shoveling gravel. 

All of the workers

Walking back from the project

During the evening meeting, the trip leaders each shared an experience that had where things did not work out as expected, which required a mind-shift on our part – a readjustment of our expectations or of our perspective. And this is the opportunity travelling to a foreign country gives us. So often we think we know how things should go, or what is “right.” The reality is that there are many “right” ways, and many perspectives. Being exposed to a culture very different from our own challenges us to let go of so much, and be open to so much that is different.

We then asked to students to think about what we had asked of them earlier: to enter into this community with an open heart, and to try to be “present” without expectation or judgement. Students then shared their experiences of letting go of planning, expectations, or worries. It was so gratifying and heartwarming to hear their stories.

View when walking north from the home where the boys stayed. 

The herd of llamas walking past every morning.

Roxana, everyone's favorite

Another cutie

Student Trip Reflection #3

Trout

Carlos

            The high altitude mountain village of Paru Paru was were the most interesting moment of my trip occurred. I stood next to Ari on the bank of a vast golden lake, a long fishing line passing through our glove bundled hands, waiting for a bite. We had fished for longer than we could remember, and at this point all of our other friends had abandoned us in our Sisyphean task. However, it was at this moment when the unthinkable would happen. Ari pulled up the line and a beauteous glistening trout wriggled its way out of the water. At this moment excitement coursed through me so fast that I immediately ripped out my camera and began to try and find some way to capture the moment before it slipped away. I failed to some extent, however, as I wasn’t recording when we pulled the fish out of the water- I was busy holding the line.

            This left me feeling momentarily disappointed, but the feeling passed when I took a moment to observe the dying fish. It flopped around on the ground for a long time before it finally reached a permanent state of floplessness, and at that point I had a sort of realization about how fickle and short the fish’s’ life was. Of course, it is partly the nature of lives to be fickle, but the trout’s life was particularly so. And, as the fish died, the one thing it didn’t do was look through its photo album… but meanwhile, I was trying to add to mine. When we ate the trout, I took a picture of the plate. However, my picture couldn’t capture the flavor of the fish, just as the images in my living room of diseased great grandmothers couldn’t capture their warm personalities, or any of the other reasons that we actually remember them as people.

            But since I can still recall the event in my mind, I’ll tell you now: the fish was delicious.

           

On the final day of the trip we had a whole grade sharing circle to discuss our greatest lessons, as well as give out awards. Every student and chaperone received some award based on their personality, such as the backpacker award or the warm blanket award. When it came my turn to receive a trinket, I was pleasantly surprised to receive the Pescador (fisherman) award- a small leather fish toy. Upon my arrival back home, my first order of business was to place it upon a hanging shelf in my room so that every time I see it, I can remember the lessons that fish taught me about independence, speaking Spanish, and living in the moment. In my future travels, the lessons I learned will cause me to be more confident and more outgoing. Safe to say, if anyone reading this essay ever ends up going to Peru, my advice to you is: eat lots of fish.

5/13: Hiking day

This was one of the most beautiful hikes I had ever been on. It took about 6 hours, with plenty of stops, including an hour lunch stop where food was waiting for us: rice, noodles, salad, and a mango pie. We saw herds of llamas and sheep, summited a 13,900 foot pass, and walked around three lakes.

Ascending, and the first lake

The second lake

Cristina, one of the chaperones

Passing a herd of llamas

Grace's favorite llama

Our lunch stop

The third lake

Returning home

soccer game - I have no idea how they can run at nearly 13,000 feet.

Student Trip Reflection #4

Pig Pile

Maia

            I shivered as I pulled on my fleece sweater and wool socks, wiggling my numb toes and fingers to keep warm. Night had fallen, pitch dark and bitter cold, and even my layers of warm, fuzzy clothes didn’t stop the air from freezing my bones. So far, I was enjoying the small, remote village of Paru Paru, with its rolling hills and starry night sky, but now that it was nighttime, the cold really was getting to me. I stood up and started jumping up and down to warm myself up, my numb feet pounding against the dusty, adobe floor. Although the room looked cozy - the line of heavily blanketed mattresses, paintings of llamas and other animals on the walls, and cute, curtained windows - it didn’t have any kind of heating system, so any kind of warmth had to be generated by blankets, clothes, or our own body heat.

            My roommates sat heavily on their mattresses, wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags, wearing gloves, hats, and down coats. Only Stella seemed very comfortable, propped up against her pillow, under a heap of wool blankets, staring out the window onto the dark lake.

            “Oh my God, I am so cold,” I complained to my roommates. “I can’t even handle this. How am I gonna sleep?” I looked down the row of mattresses. I was tacked on the end. “And I’m so far away from you guys too…”

            Stella looked down the row at me and smiled. “Here, you can come sit with me in my bed. It’s really warm.”

            I eagerly jumped down the line of mattresses and plopped onto Stella’s, rolling under the covers and leaning against her. I could immediately feel warmth creeping into my body, starting in my hands and feet. “This is warm. Thanks.” I continued to snuggle deeper into the blankets, and when I was finally comfortable, I rested my head on Stella’s shoulder. We both looked through the gap in the curtains at the stars twinkling over the lake. The black, majestic mountain silhouettes rose up above the water, towering over the village.

            Rosa, from a few mattresses down, walked over, still laughing about a joke she had shared with our other roommates. The jokes and laughter in our room was one of the things that made the cold and the discomfort a little more bearable. Without speaking, she fell back onto the mattresses, sprawling across Stella’s and my legs.

            “Ouch,” Stella and I both mumbled.

            “Sorry,” Rosa said, and she scooted up, now lying across my stomach and resting her head in the crook of my arm. “Is this better?”

            I was still crushed, but at least I was warm. “Yeah, this is great,” I told her.

            One by one, our other roommates were starting to come over and lie on the bed too. Soon, my feet weren’t numb because of cold, but because so many people were on top of them, which made them fall asleep. We shared some more jokes and giggled together, and even though I was still a little bit cold, it almost didn’t matter. Ellen, our chaperone, walked into the room and smiled broadly when she saw us. “You all look so cozy over there. I wish I could join.” We all just laughed.

I felt a hint of sadness as I reflected on how badly I was going to miss them in a few months, when we all went to high school and Paru Paru evenings would be a distant memory.

But I felt better when I looked around me at the pile of seven girls, all on Stella’s little mattress. They were the ones who made the aching cold and discomfort all worth it.

5/14: Potato Day

Today we learned everything there is to know about potatoes. We walked up a mountain to the potato field and started harvesting potatoes. After we packed the potatoes on the two llamas, we walked down the mountain, and learned how to make a mud brick oven and then we cooked the potatoes. After a lunch of soup, potatoes, and salad, we learned how to hoe the ground with their traditional tools and plant potatoes.

I love llamas

Glacial capped Andes in the background

potato harvesting

Proud of their haul

The whole group and our potato haul

Tying the potato bags onto the llamas to transport back down the mountain

Laundry photo #2

Laundry photo #3

Choosing potatoes for our mud-brick oven

First group to complete the mud brick oven

The second group

Lunch

5/15: Gender day, farewell lunch, and Parent letters:

Gender Day was the last lesson of our four-day rotation. We first learned how to shear a sheep. The women then taught us how to spin wool with a drop spindle and then weave the wool into a shawl. The men taught us a different technique of twisting the wool and braiding a rope.

Sheep to be sheared

Learning to spin wool

The boys learned to braid rope

Weaving a scarf

Another group, just finishing the "flirting dance."

Nina "going native"

Farwell Ceremonial Lunch

We asked all the groups to return a little early so we could have a celebratory lunch with all the people who supported us during our 5 days in Paru Paru: the tour guides, teachers, cooks and their support staff. A tent was set up on the field overlooking the lake. When the food was ready, the cooks walked it out in a long procession. There was pasta, rocotto relleno (deep fried peppers stuffed with vegetables and alpaca meat), cuy (guinea pig), and, of course, papas (potatoes). One of the main themes while in Paru Paru was that of appreciation. After the feast, we honored each worker with a small tip and an applause.

Farewell Ceremonial lunch procession

Parent Letters:

One of the corner-stone events of the Global Studies field study is the parent letters. Before we left Seattle, we asked the parents to write a letter to their child. We gave them prompts, such as: What are your hopes and expectations for them on this trip, what do you most appreciate about them, what sage wisdom do you have to offer them in this major time of transition. Then, about halfway through the trip, we share these letters with the students. This is often one of the most powerful moments on the trip, and today was no exception. We walked silently to a field across the lake. The trip leaders shared some thoughts about this process, and then we handed the students the letters. The students walked off silently to a private space to read their letters, and after about a half hour, we returned silently to a blazing fire to debrief and share. It was an amazing sharing, a “cry fest” as one student called it, as students expressed such gratitude and connection to their parents and each other.

Gratitude Circle, before the sharing of the parent letters

Claire, reading her letters, as two llamas walk by.

This event led to to reflect on why this experience was so powerful, for there are so many aspects to the global Studies program that fed into the success of this experience.

One of the core elements of the Global Studies program is personal reflection. On the very first day of the students’ 8^th grade year, we asked the students to engage in a personal reflection on “when did your trip to Peru start?” and introduced the idea of the “internal journey” and its significance. In Trip advisor class students write personal mission statements and core values, as well as reflections on how they will stretch their “comfort zone” and connect to the Peruvian people.

The year-long theme of the relationship between privilege and responsibility is also a key element. This manifests in the opportunities we give students to make choices. The creation of their Seattle SLIP in preparation for their three-day student-led itineraries in both Lima and Cusco is essential to this theme. Even the once a month off-campus lunch plays a part, as the students earn this privilege through the completion of their academic responsibilities. The student fund-raising project, where students form small groups and create their own fund raising events to pay for their service projects in Peru, adds personal responsibility and commitment to the idea of service for others.

I think of the global studies class, where students study about human rights and the idea of global citizenry, and culminates in a month-long NGO simulation. This empowers the students with both knowledge and the possibility of action to improve the world.

Another element is the Field Study itself - the two days working with the NGOs, the cultural lessons, the four days of service and activities on the this remote community -  all of which give added depth to the students’ experiences in Peru. And as the students show responsible behavior as the trip progresses, the gain more independence along the way.

These are all key elements in providing students opportunities for personal growth and developing their commitment to responsible behavior. I believe they all added to the students being ready and able to process the words of their parents in a meaningful and long-lasting way.

I am including a blog post by Eli, my co-coordinator of the Global Studies Program:

Parent letters

by Eli Keltz

As promised, the "secret" letters were received by the students while their hearts were cracked wide open.  On the final day of our stay in Paru Paru, after our celebratory lunch with the village, we marched over to the southern shore of the lake. It had been raining all day and was quite cold. We hesitated to do the ceremony, as we knew that if the students bodies were not comfortable, they wouldn't be present; however, with a break in the rain prior to lunch, the land had dried just enough for us to be convinced that the students would be comfortable.  

Silently, we walked along side the llamas and alpacas to a flat spot where Allie opened with a gratitude circle. The students spoke of their appreciation for the comforts back home, such as warm water and flushing toilets. They also felt grateful for the incredible warmth we had received by the community. 

Next, Robert spoke of travel.  He shared that travel allows us to be liberated from the normal constraints that we unconsciously impose upon ourselves by our environment and the people we engage with.  

After he shared his piece, I revealed to the students that two months ago we asked each family to write a letter. Before handing the letters out, I prefaced that each person may receive these letters differently. For some, it may be about gratitude, for others, it may be about reconciliation. At the foundation, it was a reminder of how lucky they are. Just the anticipation of the letters made several students tear up. 

Once delivered, the students spread throughout the hillside to read their letters. One student shared that once she saw her mom's handwriting she was immediately filled with an overwhelming emotion. It was a mix of homesickness and joy, she said. 

After 25 minutes of solitude, we silently walked back to Mario's house, where a fire awaited us. 

The sharing was cathartic; I have never witnessed such joy, pain, and honesty. The students talked of loss, insecurity, regret, and love. For the sake of confidentiality, I cannot share any names. However, here are a few things that were shared:

 "I realized how everything revolves around me, and I want to change that." 

 "My mom reminisced about all the things I did as a child. She told me that she will miss all those things."

 "The letter from my sister was about regret, but really about forgiveness."

 "Although my family is not ideal, we function really well."

"I'm ready to go beyond my sister's shadow."

 "I just simply realized how lucky I am."

 "I never realized the admiration my parents had for me." 

After ten minutes, I had to stop writing because I was too invested in their words. The sharing went on for about an hour, with nearly every student sharing something. The tears and laughter were abundant. It was humbling to be part of such a profound experience.  

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each of you who wrote a letter and took the time to help these young people gain some of these deep insights.  

Warmly, 

Eli

Student Trip Reflection #5

The Letters

Niko

In Paru Paru during the letter reading realized many things I was not thankful of. We read our letters in spot away from the town. There were wild llamas in the distance and the cool air of the Andean winter approaching. The lake was very reflective and as we pick our spots and paths as we opened our letters. As soon as I opened mine, I started to read my parents one. In theirs they spoke of how proud they were to see me change and become the man I am today. The things they said told me how much I have grown. I have taken the things and accomplishments I have done for granted. I have never stopped and thought what I did right, only what I needed to work on. Maybe I have felt sad and incomplete for many of the years because I have been living on my weaknesses. I also never realized how great of a sister I had until I read her letter. She told many inside jokes and most importantly, that she loved me. Through the years I have distance my relationship with her due to jealousy and envy because I always felt in her shadow. I distanced it to the point where we sometimes hated each other. Hearing her words meant that there was still a piece of the relationship we once had. I also learned many things about my peers from the meeting. Problems that were never addressed even though I have been with them for 11 long years. In my opinion this experience was one of the most influential experiences on the trip.

  

5/16: Leaving Paru Paru and primary school visit:

It was such blessing spending time in this village. Everyone treated us with open arms, kindness and graciousness. Besides that, the scenery was spectacular. We asked the students what their favorite experiences were in Paru Paru. For me I would have to say that I have two favorite experiences: the friendliness of all the people, and the opportunity to interact with my students in a new and different way.

Our last morning

 Paru Paru Primary School (service location):

Saying goodbye at the primary school.

music performance

Playing with the primary students

Receiving gifts of bracelets

5/17: Pen pal school visit:

Today we visited our pen pal school. It is a Kindergarten through 12th grade "Waldorf inspired" school. It has less than 100 students, and serves a high risk, indigenous youth population, mostly from the Sacred Valley. 90% of its students are on scholarship. 

We walked up the hill towards the Pisac ruins. At the entrance to the school we met with members of the administration, who collected our gifts of Evergreen Peru trip t-shirts and frisbees. They are very conscientious about fairness and thus, wanted to make the "gift giving" as discreet as possible, since more than half the population (K-5th grades) did not have Evergreen pen pals. Evergreen students were divided into four groups of ten students, and headed to first period and their pen pals.

Math class

My first period was a math class. It is so cool that math is such an international language. I could understand all the instructions without any Spanish. The math teacher used a very different approach, which gave me ideas of how to change things up next year when teaching Cartesian coordinate graphing and rate-time-distance problems.

 2nd period was dance class. The teacher explained to me that the dance they learned was a special tradition when on pilgrimage to visit the glacier, for water from the glacier is the sustainer of life. The dance represented reciprocity and balance - a necessity of life. The teacher went on to explain that the Spanish did not understand this, as their actions destroyed Andean culture.

3rd period was a spinning and weaving class. And 4th period was a psychology or sociology class, I think. We then all met up in the courtyard for group pictures. It was a very successful day. We hope to continue and grow our relationship with this school.

Learning the stick dance

The girls learned a different dance

The pen pal school and view of Pisac

Our students with the 9th, 10th and 11th grades

5/18: Cusco First SLIP Day:

Cusco is such an amazingly beautiful city, set in a valley at 11,200 feet, and growing right up the hill sides, with cobble stone streets, Spanish architecture, beautiful churches, and the surrounding hills are scattered with Inca ruins. It is the third largest city in Peru, with a population of a half million people. It was the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13^th century, until it was conquered by the Spanish in the 16^th century. It is designated as a World heritage site by UNESCO. 

My first SLIP day was with Claire, Lucy, Nicole and Phoebe. We visited the Pre-Colombian Art Museum, the Cusco Cathedral, and Qurikancha (Temple of the Sun).

SLIP Day #1:

At our hostel

A ceremony of some sort in the Plaza de Armas

The Pre-Colombian art museum was a totally worthwhile visit. The museum is a beautiful Spanish-style mansion. It contained 450 pieces dating from 1250 BC to 1532 AD (the Spanish conquest), from the Nasco, Mochica, Huari, Chancay, and Chimu civilizations. The ceramics, silver work, jewelry and wood work were beautifully preserved. I was so surprised how creative and sophisticated these early civilizations were.

Huari (800-1300 AD)

Mochica sculptured bottles (1-800 AD)

We then spent an hour touring the Cusco Cathedral. Listening to an audio guide, we learned how the Spanish priests adopted Catholicism to make it more accessible to the indigenous population: the Last Supper painting shows guinea pig being served, another painting portraying the battle between the Spanish and the Moors  painting displays llamas instead of camels, shaping the dress of the Virgin Mary in the shape of a mountain to represent the earth mother. The most popular shine was the one containing a black Jesus, who represented the protector from earthquakes.

My SLIP group in front of the Cusco Cathedral

Another cathedral in the Plaza de Armas

Qurikancha - Temple of the Sun:

I was unimpressed with this site. The Spanish destroyed most of the Inca Sun Temple, building a church on top of it. Most of what was displayed was of Spanish origin. There were a few Inca structures and walls. The precision of the Inca stonework is unbelievable (we still only have theories of how it was accomplished).

Inside Qurikancha

Qurikancha (Temple of the Sun)

5/19 Cusco SLIP Day # 2:

My SLIP group today went to three archaeological sites: Tombomachay, Puka Pukara, and Sacsayhuaman.

Tombomachay:

Located 6 miles from Cusco, Tombomachay means “collective resting place” in Quechua, and is also known as the “Incan baths.” It is best known for its elaborate and precise architecture, aqueducts and canals.

Puka Pukara:

Not much is known about the Inca ruins of Puka Pukara. It was most likely a military installation, and probably constructed during the reign of Pacacutec.

Sacsayhuaman:

Sacsayhuaman means “Satisfied falcon” in Quetchua and dedicated to the sun god. When the Inca Pachacutec redesigned the city of Cusco, he did it in the shape of a puma, with Sacsayhuaman at the head. Construction began in 1350, and took over 90 years to complete. It was built out of immense blocks of limestone, with 25,000 men participating in the construction. The workers were part of the Mita system, working as a form of taxation, or paying tribute to the state. There are three levels of massive, zigzag walls which are 30 feet tall. No two stones are the same, and some weigh as much as 120 tons (240,000 pounds).

As impressive as these ruins were, mostly what the students wanted to do was slide down this natural slide.

5/20 Cusco SLIP Day # 3:

What an amazing last day in Cusco! Two groups wanted to tour Moray and Moras, and I am so glad I went along. We rented a mini-van for 12 people, and first headed for the village of Chinchero, about an hour from Cusco, where we saw beautiful terraces.

Moray:

Located 30 miles from Cusco, Moray is a system of circular terraces. Due to its sophisticated irrigation system, it was most likely an Incan agricultural research center. We were told by our guide that the temperature differential from top to bottom could be as much as 27 degrees.

The perfectly circular terraces makes them look out of this world. 

Each terrace is approximately 6 feet tall. 

The truth is they really don't know the purpose of constructing terraces like this, but they were spectacularly beautiful and nice to walk around. 

Moras salt evaporation ponds:

These salt ponds have been in existence since pre-Incan times. The source is a salty, underground spring. There is an intricate system of tiny channels constructed so that the water runs gradually down through hundreds of ancient, terraced ponds.

The students negotiated the purchase of salt from workers at the ponds.

They were so beautiful to walk through! This was a truly remarkable day. And maybe my last post for a while, as we are headed to Lake Titicaca tomorrow morning, and there is no internet in Luquina, the village where we will be staying.

Student Tri pReflection #6

Constellations

Stella

Our laughter rung out across the grounds of the hostel and out toward the cobblestone street. A car whooshed by, its wheels thumping over the uneven streets, leaving a faint smell of exhaust in the warm, almost summer-like air. The four girls, Megan, Lucy, Audrey, and I, walked along the ledge some 20 feet above our hostel, giggling from exhaustion and the silliness I caught whenever I spent time with those girls.

We sat down at the edge, and as our laughter drifted down to the other groups returning from dinner, we were joined by other girls, one at a time at first, and then in small groups, until almost every girl in the hostel was lined up at the ledge, just sitting there and talking. We talked and laughed and smiled until our mouths hurt. I felt the breeze on my face and the faint aftertaste of skittles in my mouth. This was the first time that day I’d stopped and sat back to just look at my surroundings. When all of us sat down there together, and finally stopped anything we were doing to just talk and look at the stars, I noticed the sense of friendship and community I shared my peers on that cliff.

There was a network of lights splashed across the sky like paint flicked off a paintbrush on the canvas of the sky. There were clusters of bigger stars and infinite small faint ones begging to be seen against the endless black around them. I felt dwarfed in comparison. We girls with our petty problems couldn’t measure up to the sheer scale of the gas giants above us. The issues fell away under the eye of the stars until it was only a gathering of people under the many gatherings of stars, forming constellations in the dark expanse as we formed our own constellations of connections between each other.

5/21 Ten hour Drive to Lake Titicaca:

We stopped at some Inca ruins on route.

On the summer equinox the sun shines right down this corridor.

At the pass, 14,0000 feet.

Parent chaperone Gurdeep was "smitten" with this lamb.

We are heading to the remote village of Luquina this morning, and so will be without internet contact for the next 5 days. Bye for now.

5/22-5/26 Luquina on Lake Titicaca: The perfect ending:

bicycle rickshaws to the harbor of Puno, the main city on Lake Titcaca

Claire taking a nap

5/22 Uros floating islands and Luquina:

“Robert, you couldn’t have picked a more perfect place for our last four days in Peru,” said one student to me as we were walking in the hills above Luquina.

Luquina is a very small farming village a couple of hours by boat from Puno, the main city on Lake Titicaca. We arrived here in the afternoon of 5/22, after a stop at the Uros floating islands.

Uros floating island

It was explained to us that there are 2600 people living on 110 floating islands in Lake Titicaca. These islands are constructed of reed and root (about 1.5 meters of cross-thatched reeds above 1.5 meters of roots). The history of constructing floating islands goes back to the time of the Incas, when the Aymara people of Lake Titicaca used them as a form of protection. The island we visited had 5 families and 18 people living on it.

We are divided in Luquina into 10 different guest houses. I am staying with three students at Alfonso and Julia’s guest house. This is probably the nicest room I have stayed in in Peru. There are pigs, cows and sheep on the property. The grow potatoes, quinoa, and broad beans.

Tourism has just recently come to Luquina – about 8 years ago. There are now 60 guest houses (2 to 3 guest rooms per home). After a short rest and a group meeting, we were introduced to the Luquina greeting: playing a game of soccer with the locals, and then be dressed up in traditional garb and learning their dance.

5/23 Farming and “greatest lesson”

Today, in the morning, we walked their animals to pasture, milked a cow, cut the wheat field, pounded the quinoa, and husked corn. There was a lot of satisfaction in doing a little manual labor. In the afternoon students had the choice of fishing, hiking, or more soccer. I went along with a group of students that hiked for about 40 minutes to the local church and then up a hill to a view of the Bolivian Andes. At the evening meeting, I formally introduced the student assignment of “my greatest lesson.” With a story about the Dalai Lama.

soccer game at Luquina

Alfonso, our gust house owner

Wheat whacking

Quinoa whacking

Corn husking

Afternoon hike to the church on top of the hill and a view of the Bolivian Andes

Bolivian Andes in the background

Introduction/reflection to "Most Important Lesson"

“The Dalai Lama is the ‘God-King’ to the Tibetan people. He is believed to be the reincarnation of Chenrezi, the God of Compassion. In 1950, when he was 15 years old, the Chinese communists invaded Tibet (The Chinese perspective is that they “liberated” the Tibetan people). The Dalia Lama tried to work with the Chinese government for 9 years, but when rumors grew of an assassination plot of the Dalai Lama by the Chinese, the Dalai Lama was snuck out of Tibet into India in 1959. He set up the Tibetan government in exile in Daramsala, India and has lived there ever since, along with hundreds of thousands of Tibetans. Over the course of the next 50 years, millions of Tibetans have died, either at the hands of the Chinese, or through their mismanagement of resources. When asked in an interview about his feelings towards the Chinese, he replied that this has been one of his most difficult and greatest lessons. It is easy to feel compassion for those who are close to you, but to practice compassion for the Chinese government, after all that has happened to his people, has been a great challenge.

There are lessons everywhere. It is a matter of attitude. Are you open to the possibilities? Are you open to learn from your experiences? What are the lesson you have learned? What will you take away from this experience?

This afternoon on the walk, Katja shared with me the value of the global studies program from her perspective. The global studies program has given the students the agency to make responsible decisions about themselves and their peers in preparation for their next stage in life.

Travelling frees us to find the greatest version of ourselves, for we are without the constraints unconsciously imposed upon us by our environment and the people we engage with. There are three more days on this trip. This is an opportunity for you to clarify who you want to be. And three more days to practice being that person. And it is not just about how you see yourself, but also how you choose to interact with others. What do you want to take away with you? And how will you hold onto the lessons you have learned?”

The students will share their “greatest lesson” in two days, at our final class meeting.

5/24: Hiking on Taquile Island and “reincorporation”:

Today we took a one hour boat ride to Taquile Island. We dived into three groups, depending on the speed and distance you wanted to hike, and started at three locations. We all ended up at a beautiful beach at the far end of the island for swimming and a picnic lunch. It was a breathtaking hike, and a wonderfully relaxing time on the beach. This was a very good day.

At our evening meeting, Eli led an engaging discussion with the students on the process of reincorporation, which the 8^th grade parents will be hearing more about soon.

5/25: Our last day at Luquina:

Our last day was a perfect day. It started out with a beautiful sunrise and ended with an even more beautiful sunset. The morning started very low-key. We gave students the options of rowing races, hiking or just kicking back and relaxing. We then met at 11 am to help prepare a festive group lunch, including our host families. Students were divided into groups. Some built clay ovens to cook the potatoes. Others chopped onions, carrots, or green beans for the soup. But what made the event really festive was that we bought a pig named Lucho and ate it. Lucho took a couple of hours to cook, and 6 boys to carry it to the lunch picnic, but Lucho was most definitely delicious.

row boat racing

The winning team

Preparing the Farewell lunch

Lucho was delicious

Then at 3 pm we met for our final group meeting in Peru. Students shared their “most valuable lesson,” intermixed with awards that the adults gave the students. I was truly impressed with the students’ depth, wisdom, and insight. Here are some excerpts from what they shared:

·         Every choice we make has an outcome. It defines us as individuals.

·         My most important lesson was living in the moment. The best moments were when I didn’t think about the future.

·         Sometimes Less is more. So many people have so little but are still very happy.

·         My most important lesson was living with gratitude. It helped me become aware of how much I take for granted.

·         My most important lesson was enjoying and learning from every opportunity.

·         On this trip I learned so much about so many people that I will never put people in a box again.

·         Make the most of each moment.

·         I learned to ask for help and accept help when it is offered.

·         The biggest lesson is that I am always learning.

·         Joy and happiness do not come from how much you have, and sometimes they come from the smallest things.

·         I learned to not box people into my expectations, especially about how they should live or how to be happy.

·         I learned how important it is to show as much gratitude as I can for the people who support me.

·         The more I can let go of my expectations the more impactful that experience will be.

·         My greatest lesson is to be thankful and realize all that I have.

·         Sometimes you have to put the camera away. Sometimes your greatest moments can’t be captured.

·         Discomforts only impact me if I let them. Instead of focusing on the discomforts, I can focus on all that I am grateful for.

Dear 8^th grade parents,

I want to thank you for raising such wonderful children. This is my 29^th year in the global Studies program, and my 17^th trip, and this has been the best trip ever. The reason it has been so great is because of these students. Their support of each other, their engagement in this foreign culture, and their willingness to go deep: to reveal themselves and to share their insights, has made this trip so remarkable. It has been a blessing to both bear witness to this process and to learn from these bright, insightful, sensitive young men and women. I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to know your students better and in a different way from in the classroom.

Love,

Robert

Most Important Lesson - Peru 2016

Adi

            My greatest lesson is self-motivation. Over the trip I learned that no one ever makes you do something. Sure someone can threaten or bribe you, but, that only weighs your decision. You make the final call. It is who you are as a person that makes the decision. I learned this after 3 things: Room checks, Paru Paru rooming, and Cusco check.

            Room checks was a game designed by the Trip Leaders so that we would have motivation to make our rooms clean. It worked too well. The kids took the game too far to the extent that the purpose of the game was lost. Instead of keeping the room ready for the next person, people put altars, notes, candy, and even money. So instead, in Ollantaytambo, my room wrote a note shaming the game and taking the higher road.

            In Paru Paru, I was rooming with Carlos, Rob, and Robert. I came in thinking I would be watched every second to make sure I was following the rules. But, I learned that the adults were not there to be police, but to help us be safe and healthy. I ended up being more responsible because I wanted to.

            During the Cusco journal check, Robert skipped past the logistics section. I asked him why and he said that the Trip leaders had decided to skip that check. This made me think. I didn’t have to do it. I felt like now it was my tool and not my responsibility.

Aidan C

            During the second night in Paru Paru I was still on edge about small things like sleeping in the cold, more soup, and what the next activities would be like. It was right after dinner, and I was prepared to walk back to Elius’ house, when his daughter found me and gave me a huge hug.

“¡Amigo!” she chanted again and again as she squeezed me. Her name was Mari and she was so adorable and small that her arms could just reach my stomach. In the moment, I was kind of caught off guard. I had just met her two days earlier. Somehow an eight year old girl had made a genuine connection with me. I had not given her anything, yet, and she and her family and willingly moved out of their own home, so I could have a place to sleep. In Seattle, a kid I just met who kind of kicked me out of my own house, could give me one hundred dollars, tons of comic books, and new clothes and then I would hug him or her. For the rest of the night I really thought hard about what just happened and felt so much closer to the family who owned the house I was staying in. That night, I learned joy and happiness does not come from how much you have and sometimes the less you have the happier you are because of the simple things like a family and friendships.

Aidan F

            You learn life’s most valuable lessons through rest/ self-reflection, rather than action. It took me the whole month (in Peru) to truly comprehend this. At the beginning of the trip I would’ve only thought about this lesson in the context of soccer. My coach told me (before Peru) that you improve the most while resting. He used bodybuilding as an example. Bodybuilders don’t gain muscle mass while lifting weights, they gain muscle when resting. This comparison echoed in the back of my brain as I boarded the plane from Houston to Lima. I didn’t know it at that point, but this lesson could be applied to much more than soccer.

            I began to understand the big picture on Potato Day in Paru Paru. We had just hiked up to the farm and the locals were demonstrating how to harvest potatoes. They gathered the potatoes at an extreme pace and it looked like they were putting in no effort whatsoever. I got the opportunity to collect some potatoes, but obviously I was a lot worse than the native farmers. At that moment I had learned how to farm potatoes, but the true lesson would be discovered that night.

            I was laying in bed under a mountain of blankets (Remember that we were in Paru Paru) when I learned a truly valuable life lesson. I realized what it means to take pride in your work. I was exhausted after one day of farming. Our guides (The local farmers) do the same amount of labor almost every day. It’s not glamorous work, but I never heard any of them complain or ask for pity. They simply worked hard with a smile on their face. That was the first time (in Peru) that self-reflection taught me a valuable lesson that I would never forget. A series of various events followed that showed me the importance of self-reflection and how powerful it can be.

Aki

Preparing for Peru, I got a lot of items that would help make my life as similar as possible to the life I was comfortable in. I was ready to adapt to the situations presented to me by changing what I could to make it feel more like home. In Paru Paru, on May 15^th, I had just finished reading my letter and took a moment to just look around and experience the present. In this moment, I looked out across the large lake and watched as the ripples moved calmly around the rocks that protruded from the water. This itself became a metaphor for a life lesson I will remember forever. As you live life, things will emerge and mess it up. In the lake’s case, the rocks. I have learned that rather than spending precious time trying to fix things, or move the rocks, sometimes it is better to release your expectations and embrace the new adventure presented. In the lake’s case, flow around the rocks. From this metaphor, I have learned to be grateful when things turn out well, and when they don’t, take it as a learning opportunity. Most importantly, this lesson has reminded me to live in the moment and not worry about the outcome of the future. Being in Peru has helped me to discover these life-changing lessons and I look forward to bringing them back to my life in Seattle.

Anselm

While I was in Paru Paru, I was comfortable and happy. Looking back at the experience, it was not the case that Paru Paru was, in fact, particularly comfortable. However, I overlooked the plastic sheets, the glacial water, and the perpetual cold because I maintained an attitude of gratitude and wanting to be helpful and useful. That is the lesson I learned on the trip. If I go into a situation with a helpful and grateful attitude, both I and the people around me will be happier and more comfortable.

Anya

My greatest takeaway from Peru is to not box people into expectations that I have. When I arrived in Paru-Paru, I expected everything to be more run down, and ‘uncomfortable,’ but instead I found welcoming families, comfortable homes and a wonderful community. Also, as I went through the different communities, towns, and cities, I saw that people live much different lives. They might farm, might not get an education, or might be a street vendor, but most people seemed content. I learned that yes, Peru isn’t a first world country, but people are able to be happy and feel like they lead a successful life when there is a strong community and they are surrounded by a loving family.

Ari

Stress, anger, depression. These are all traps that threaten to take away meaning from life. My trip to Peru has begun to teach me how to evade these traps. One simple thing that has helped me learn to stay positive is the saying “don’t worry about it”. This seemingly meaningless saying has found significance to me. Also, my dad has always told me that I should never become stressed about things (his saying is “control the controllables”). To me, internalizing these sayings, which are essentially the same, allows one to live life to the fullest. It allows one to escape stress, anger and depression and become relaxed and content.

Ariana

In Peru, the greatest lesson I learned was to learn to control emotions. Whenever I would go to a camp in the past, I would always get wrapped up in feeling emotions that would ruin my mood and ruin my experience. For example, the main problematic emotion was homesickness. I would always feel homesick for no reason whatsoever. During the trip, I was very good at telling myself to live in the moment. I started using positive self-talk to make sure my negative emotions wouldn’t ruin the way my positive were feeling. Whenever I would feel a wave of some negative emotion coming on, I would slap myself back into reality and up my mood. At the time of the NGO, Niños del Arco Iris, after we had seen the living conditions of some of the students, I was watching some of the kids interact with each other and to see the smiles on their faces, despite their poor living conditions made me realize how superficial some of the emotions I feel are, I really lived by my core values in this trip wouldn’t have been as life changing and inspiring. Peru has taught me that you should control your emotions and your emotions shouldn’t control you.

Audrey:

Peru. To some that word is a place, a far off land on a postcard or colorful textile. To me it’s a string of events knocking into each other, colliding and forming a journey like no other. Through this patchwork of memories, I’ve found my greatest lesson.

 I call it The Switch. When I started focusing less on my friends conversations and complaining and more on the trip itself. I discovered this new perspective to the trip high atop Wayna Picchu perched on a craggy rock overlooking the entire sun kissed valley. I tuned out the din of chirping voices and watched two blue birds flitting and twirling in the sunlight. As I squinted closer, I noticed a single glistening feather floating between them.

 I wondered if I had been talking with the others, my back turned, would I have noticed the swallows dancing together around their gleaming shrine. Would I have taken in the reality, the true feel of that instant had I been focusing my attention on the thrill of idle chat and cautious bragging. Then my mindset shifted. I felt free to shush my peers for a slice of silence and appreciation; sometimes even inviting others to stop and listen to the crashing of waves or turn their head to the glittering oblivion above.

The Switch shattered the seemingly unbreakable bonds between me and communication; and let me experience the trip as a quilt of memories and moments with a soundtrack of rustling branches and the eerie cry of restless animals. Replacing the yelling and constant hum of table talk. The depth of the trip is understandable to me now that I have grasped my greatest lesson, no, truth.

Carlos

Understanding the value of not taking pictures was the most important thing I learned on my trip to Peru. The point in the trip where I discovered this was when Ari and I caught a fish in the lake in Paru Paru. The moment was so exciting and gratifying that I tried everything I could to try and capture it in some way. However, because I wasn’t recording when we were fishing, I failed to gather any meaningful way to remember the moment. On the other hand, though, the fish we caught was a living creature and as we watched him die on the shore I realized that the life of the fish was fickle and short, partly because it was a less intelligent animal but also partly because it is the nature of all lives to be fragile. One thing the fish didn’t do when it died was look through its photo album, but meanwhile I was trying to add to mine. After that moment it really hit me that not only is it okay for a moment to go undocumented, but that sometimes the moment becomes better as a result. Consequently, I now know that sometimes it’s better to leave the camera at home.

Claire

Each day I wrote a little “What I Learned” section at the bottom of each page. As I read back through these, I realized I had learned so many lessons big and small. Some were insignificant and some were very important. Each lesson I learned brought back memories. Some of the lessons were silly and made me laugh while others made me stop and think. I had been told many times to keep an open mind and that one was always learning but I’d never experienced it myself until at the end of each day I had to stop and think and take a minute and really think about what I learned. I think the biggest lesson I learned this trip is that you are always learning. I like to think I know a lot but I don’t, one month of travel has proven that. I think no matter how old you are there are always more lessons to learn and if you think you know everything you are not allowing yourself to learn more and gain different perspectives and insights. When I get back to Seattle I want to be adventurous and curious, ask questions, and never stop learning.

Ellis

Moments are fleeting things that make up our minutes, days and lives. To make the most of them is a line straight off a Hallmark card. Make the most of the moment. That often used phrase is my greatest lesson from Peru.

I realized how important making the most of a moment was when I was standing at the edge of an alpine lake debating whether or not I should go swimming. I had not prepared at all. I had no bathing suit and no towel.

Standing at the edge of that lake I had a choice to make. The decision I reached was based what would make the most of the moment and what would be most memorable.

So, in that clear blue lake cradled by mountains, I go swimming.

Erin

Peru has taught me many lessons, but the greatest one is gratitude. I usually think I am pretty grateful, but I discovered that my acts of gratitude are mostly just manners. I always say please and thank you, but I never stop to think of what I already have.

When I visited homes at Ninos del Arco Iris, I realized how much I take for granted. For example, they were talking about how they had to boil their water to make it safe, and I noticed we were all standing around with full bottles of safe, drinkable water. Those necessities are something I take for granted daily. Ever since then, I have become a lot more grateful for everything I have, especially for friends and family.

Gifford

The greatest lesson I learned in Peru is that you can enjoy work. I normally see work as something that you can enjoy. Although, throughout Peru I saw many villagers doing seemingly boring and uninteresting tasks with huge smiles on their faces. This showed me that it is possible to enjoy your work. There wasn’t a single moment that I realized this it was more of a growing realization. Over time I slowly realized more and more that you can enjoy work. That is my greatest lesson from Peru.

Grace

My greatest lesson was enjoying and learning from every moment and opportunity that was placed in front of me. When I lost my camera, I chose not to buy a new one. Instead, I chose to gain perspective. I asked myself: How does my trip differ when I don’t have a camera? Instead of stopping for a second, pressing a button, saving the moment to my camera and deleting it from my memory, I stopped and enjoyed. I wasn’t caught up worrying if it was the right light, because my brain can catch so much more than a camera can. The little enjoyable details are there, that could go missing in an image but not a memory. When I look back, I realize that I remember the moments better when I didn’t have my camera. The moment was kept in my mind with five senses, rather than in a memory card with one.

Henry

In Peru, I have learned that the greatest key to appreciation is understanding. Whether a culture, my friends, or even something as raw as algebra, understanding is incredibly important to appreciation. Over the course of my incredible Peruvian experience, I have learned so much about Peru and my peers, and this understanding has granted me so much thanks for my friends, my family, my education, and my life.

One moment I really grew to appreciate what I had was in Ollantaytambo, when I went to visit and assist disabled people in an assistance home. There I came to understand their situation, how dire and severe it was, and how easily I could be in the exact same situation they were at any point in my life.

Jack

While I’ve been in Peru the greatest lesson I have learned is to appreciate what I have and be thankful because my situation could be a lot worse. I have also learned to just go with the flow and live with no schedule. Just not worry about it. I will just start thanking my parents and appreciate them, I will not complain because in life if you don’t complain you will be so much happier and will live more peacefully and less stressed. I learned that so many people less fortunate than me are still so happy, and I realized that I just need to be happy and go with the flow and I will live life fuller and happier.

Jacob

Before this trip, I had everyone in the grade in a box. I put everyone into boxes. My most important lesson on this trip was to not put people, places, and things into boxes that cannot be shaped and changed. I learned so much about everyone on this trip. There was the kid I thought was putting me down all along- it turned out I could trust him. There was the kid whose home life I thought I understood. I didn’t. There was the kid whose mother I assumed was just another person in his life. I had absolutely no idea how much her opinion meant to him, how strong she was, and what her praise was worth to him. I learned so much about so many people that I will make it my goal to never put people in boxes ever again.

Josiah

While spending time in Peru, the lesson I have come to learn is of the importance of our actions, After thinking over the culmination of realizations I have had on this trip, I began to see the true value of the things we do. Every choice we make has an outcome, good, bad, small, and large. Any way it affects our lives, those around us, and who we truly are. What we are and how we act on that is what defines us as individuals. It is deciding to take the right actions that can determine great things. And it is up to us alone to make those actions stand out.

Lucy

My greatest takeaway is to do absolutely everything I possibly can. In my life in Seattle I’ve always preached taking risks and making the most out of every moment, but I never really understood what that meant until this trip. In Seattle I’d sometimes end the day regretting not seizing the chance to go out and see the world, and I would stay up at night, not being able to sleep from the guilt. In Peru every single night, I know I’ve made the most out of every day and I fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow. From this moment on I will take every opportunity I possibly can. I’ll always have time to rest later.

Maia

Traveling to Peru was initially worrisome for me, mainly because I felt like I would have to independently deal with an internal struggle that I am currently going through. My relationship with myself, and my body, has been extremely fragile and, at times, unhealthy. And I won’t lie, it has been difficult in Peru, because I haven’t always been able to find an ally in myself. In Paru Paru, my friend came to me and told me that she was worried about me. She asked me if I needed support, and I admitted to her, and myself, that I really did need help. That was a challenge for me to acknowledge, because I tend to push away help when it is offered to me. Carrying my heavy suitcase upstairs, I would often snap at people if they tried to help me. If I fell while hiking, I would refuse outstretched hands and make a self-deprecating comment out of embarrassment. But I finally learned, in Paru Paru and throughout the whole trip, to ask for help, and, more importantly, to accept help when it is offered. I can’t always rely on myself for support, but I can rely on others, and all I have to do is ask.

Malachi

Change is something really complicated that I’ve only really come to appreciate in this past month. Before Peru, I had a tendency to hold on to the things I didn’t like about myself and not really do anything about them. Now, after spending the last 28 days with people who can tell me all the ways I screw up, I feel like I can change anything, or close to anything, about myself. In short, my lesson was basically that you can change anything you want about yourself; it doesn’t have to be hard. And once you’re told what you need to fix, it only makes it easier.

Max

Over my days in Peru I have learned many things, but the one lesson that I think is most important to me, is living in the moment. About halfway through the trip I realized that I always made the most memories and fully experienced the culture when I didn't think about the future. When you live in the present you are able to get rid of all your worries and can just focus on where you are and what you're doing. Before, in Seattle I almost never lived in the present, half of what I was feeling was usually based off of the future. When I get back I will focus on what task I am doing in that moment. This will allow me to fully take advantage of life and treasures it has to offer.

Megan

The greatest lesson I have learned is that true wealth comes from the richness of friendship, family and experience rather than money. When I went to Ninos Del Arcos Iris I met exuberant, outgoing children who I assumed must have had fairly comfortable living situations due to their glowing smiles that never seemed to fade. Yet when I went on the house visits and saw the mangy cat sprawled on the dirt floor, possessions tucked into the cracks in the wall and smelled the putrid scent of urine. I couldn’t imagine anyone vaguely happy or well-kept living there. But I realized that the key to building a home is not the materials or objects inside but the love and gratitude the family shares within. I had to make the connection that the little boy smiling up at me from the lunch table was the same boy that lived in the tiny house. If someone with so little can be so happy, I figure I can appreciate what I have and make memories through friendship, compassion and gratitude.

Nathaniel

Time and again, Peru has taught me that the more I let my expectations about a place or activity change the way I act, the less I will take away from said situation. From meeting my pen pal to staying in Paru Paru, I was coming in to every situation with pre-existing expectations and apprehensions, and only once I let go of them could I get the most out of the trip. Similarly, the things that I worried about most over the course of the trip (journal checks, living conditions, bringing things through customs), served only as unnecessary sources of stress, and turned out to be inconsequential. If I can approach every situation with an open mind and carefree attitude, I will find many more opportunities than I would otherwise.

Nicole

Finding my greatest lesson has been hard, and I have been searching for it from the boiling hot SLIP days in Lima, to the late night (or early morning) freezing bathroom and stargazing trips in Paru Paru, to the wheat-whacking trivia in Luquina. I still haven’t solidified it, but at some point, it began to shape itself into some comprehensible form behind my eyelids.

Peru may have been where I learned this, but in any place, one should not confine anyone to a singular mental box. Create passageways between them so that if you have those boxes, your perception of the people or things may change as both you and they do the same.

Expectations can be the same way. Let them change with your experiences and observations, and disappointment will not come to call as often. I normally set myself in situations and places where I don’t have to step outside what my limited expectations are, and I am planning to change this. By letting myself change in my own eyes, I will be able to accept more easily when other people change as well. A fact about myself is that I don’t like to accept change. Maybe this could be a good place to start changing that.

Niko

My greatest lesson that I have learned and finalized is to be thankful. I have taken this for granted for many years. Of those many years I had felt dissatisfied and incomplete. I have heard many time from my parents and my mentors to be thankful, too many time to count, but not once did I take the lesson to heart. However now on this trip the lesson has been solidified. I learned it at the have nots of Paru-Paru, when I realized what I had. Also when I read my letters, I realized how much I have grown since my childhood and the beginning of my school career. Being thankful for my growth has let the years of hard work and tutoring feel accomplishing. Peru has taught me to be thankful.

Nina

The biggest lesson that I have learned on this trip is that less is more. So many people that I have come across on this trip have so little, (or what we call little) but you never see them with a sad face. I have been experiencing this for a while but there was one moment, two days ago, where I really noticed it. It was the moment before milking the cows. Our house went with our host to help cut grass for her cow. We led her sheep and donkey all the way down to this field and spent a long time cutting grass. Every morning our host does this because she doesn't have enough to provide. This might sound terrible but she was happy. She had enough to live with and even though she had to go there every single day, she didn’t mind. Aside from that, the setting we were in was beautiful. Her life was not filled with first world problems and stress. Even though she had little, she had enough to make her happy.

Oliver

My biggest takeaway is that you cannot get caught on the little things. People live on very little but they still live, and happily. They have to work very hard and their struggles are enormous. But we Americans cannot get caught up on the little things, and that our problems dwarf in comparison to theirs. And so whenever we have a problem, it will end up ok.

Phoebe

I have always been one of those classmates who doesn’t speak up a lot in class--especially in Janice’s class. However, I have found it is very important to try and speak, or put yourself forward, because it creates bonds and makes you more part of a community. Putting yourself out there creates bonds of friendship in different places around the work, which can lead to being part of a community. It also opens up more doors for you; suddenly you have more to talk about, more to laugh about, more to cry about--all because you spoke up. Even though speaking may be hard in other countries, there is always that surge of new possibilities that comes from speaking brokenly and awkwardly. I have learned that sharing my thoughts and speaking when it seems impossible leads to many more global and insightful relationships.

Rayna

I am a self-conscious person by nature. Though it may not always show, I am constantly looking around me and judging myself in relation to others. While donning traditional Peruvian clothing like a new skin and twirling in the heavy, fire lit dark, I realized something. I found that stripping away my self-consciousness exposed me in a purely vulnerable way, leaving a blank slate to become vibrant with memories. I will hold this lesson close throughout my life, because the epiphany is only half the battle.

Rosa

As the tripe progressed, of us looked the same. Sure, we may be a little tanner, definitely dirtier, but still the same. Maybe that’s the thing, though. We have changed. We’re like rocks- more or less. They sit in the same place for days months, even years. But, the outside doesn’t appear any different, until you flip over. Then you can see the darker side, the side that hadn’t been sitting in the sun and that’s the point. I’ve only been in Peru for a month. But, when I return things that don’t seem altered will be. Just like the rock.

Sam

Today we talked about our big lessons. For me my lesson came in the form of a saying I made. Does it affect you or anyone negatively? Is it how they chose to live their life? Then why bother critiquing it. That's a rather rude way to put it so I came up with a simpler saying. Don't judge without just cause. This came to me originally when we were in Ollantaytambo and people made fun of my selective eating habits. But as the trip continued I realized that people were being unreasonably critical of each other's lifestyles that don't effect anyone except themselves.  Even now I have been catching myself mid-sentence so as to stay true to my lesson and not critique people by how they want to live their lives.

Seim

My greatest lesson from Peru is that the world doesn’t revolve around me, which is a brash way to put it, but basically saying that there are other sentient beings aside from me. All the people we met in Peru didn’t exist for our benefit, they exist to live their lives. Walking or driving past people, I tried to imagine what their lives must be like, and it was difficult. There are seven billion individual people scattered across the world, and when you think of all the different lives they must live, seven hundred seems like a lot.

Sophie

The most important thing I learned in Peru is change cannot be forced. We talk a lot about how travel frees us from the constraints we are held to at home, but I learned in order to release ourselves from these binds we have to let change come naturally.

Before we received our letter from home, Robert gave a speech about the new people travel lets us become. I thought hard about this and became worried when I couldn’t think of a different person inside myself. While writing this reflection it came upon me that change comes slowly and cannot be forced and that was okay.

Stella

During the first journal check in Ollantaytambo, the last question I was asked was “Do you have an open mind and an open heart?” I replied with a quick yes, wanting to get the inspection over with, but later in my room, I realized that that, experiencing Peru with an attitude of openness, was my greatest lesson. When we walked the paths of Paru Paru, everyone we saw passed us by with a huge smile and a wave that would have probably sent me to the other side of the street in Seattle, but simply warranted a smile and a wave back there. Between nights in my room, car rides with my friends, and attempted communication with broken Spanish, approaching this trip with openness and curiosity instead of judgement has been the best glue for the new bonds I have formed on this trip.

Virgil

My biggest takeaway this trip is that life is more a game of improv than it is a play, and it doesn’t often go as planned. For example, in a SLIP day in Lima, one of the places we went to was closed, but we found something else to do around there, and had a better day because of it. I will be sure to take this with me and apply it to things other than travel. As Robert always says, “The only thing we can control is our reaction.”

Will M

There have been a lot of things I’ve noticed about myself and how I react under pressure in Peru, but the most important lesson I’ve learned is that discomforts only impact me as much as I let them. I remember in Paru Paru, life was a little bit less cushy than I’m used to. It was frigid in the morning and night, showers were cold, and there was a long walk to and from our house in the high altitude. But instead of focusing on these, I chose to focus on all the things that I was grateful for, like the opportunity to travel to Peru, the people who moved out of their house to give us a place to sleep, and the warm shoes I had on my feet. I’ve come to learn that the details we choose to focus on truly form the way perceive the experience in memory.

Will S

A lesson I learned on this trip is that I need to show as much gratitude towards my parents and others for the opportunities that they provide me. Throughout the trip, mainly in Paru Paru and Luquina, there have been people working hard to prepare meals for me and make my stay as enjoyable as they can, and when I realized that, I made sure to thank them as much as I could. I now want to make sure to thank my parents for the delicious meals they prepare for me, the amazing education that they give me, and their commitment and investment in my hobbies.

Yan

From so much experience and action in Peru, I have learned compliance. Or for greater lack of innate vocabulary or complex structuring skill, Go with the flow mi amigo! In all seriousness, life becomes such a breeze when you comply; when the trapped animal is caught, it struggles and ends up hurting itself more, rather than accepting the painless death. As I saw it, whenever there was something I didn’t want to do, I would still do it, comply, because most of the time there is nothing else to do, and you gain the experience in your arsenal of judgement. Complying can have so many perks, like maintaining good attitudes, getting things done faster, or just moving on and accepting.