South America ALUMNUS BLOGS
Spring 2008 SAM Semester
Siempre Verde
So siempre verde was a blast. We all bought machettes
in otavalo before we went so the anticipation of
actually using them was almost unbearable. We got off the bus at Nelsons house
around 400 on saturday and
had about an hour and a half hike up to their slice of paradise. It was
actually quite a miserable walk because we had just gotten off the bus and were
ready to just be there. Then about 15 minutes into walking it started raining on us and it rained the whole way up. You are also walking
in some not so comfortable rubber boots through mud that tries to suck them off
with every step. we didnt
have to carry our backpacks because they had pack horses for that but it still wasnt exactly a fun sunny hike. We also had guitars so the
rain jackets got used for them rather then ourselves but it wasnt
really cold so that wasnt too bad. Their place up in
the forest was awesome. A really nice big kitchen, a guys and girls bathroom,
two rooms with 4 sets of bunks each but we all shared one room. Also a nice big dining room per say with a fireplace that got a
lot of use. Nelsons wife Maria and her sister Laura did all of the cooking for us and it was another week of 5 star dining. Their three
kids Edwin, Junior and Jeffy were 15, 13, and 6 and
were a blast to play with though Edwin was a bit quiet but not a bad thing. So
the work we were doing was all trail work. Building steps down too a waterfall
where it was very slippery. So we all took turns chopping down small limbs and
trees with our machettes, sawing them into the right
size, the actual dirt work and laying the steps. It was a lot of fun and machettes are awesome. Every day we had breakfast around 8,
sharpened our machettes and set off on the hour long hike to where we worked. Then we came back around
130 for lunch and had the rest of the afternoon to rest or read in hammocks or
next to the fire because it was nice in the mornings but it would start raining
around 100 every day. On Wednesday we had the day off to go check out the hot
springs in Santa Rosa which was a very nice break and
just amazing to sit in good hot water. Though once again we had to hike all the
way out and all the way in through the mud. We also stopped at a little organic
local coffee shop and got some good coffee. yum! The
first day we came back from work and helped do some clearing of a field next to
the house. It was fun awhile but got very tiring. And i
either got eaten by bugs or ran into the wrong type of plant because my arms
were pretty nasty. Well it was another awesome week and we were all happy with
what we accomplished and i think that Nelson was too.
It was sad to leave because they were very nice people. So on Saturday morning
we had breakfast at 7 and headed for the 9 o clock bus down at the house but we
just barely missed it by the time we got there. So we got the 10 and were back
in otavalo around 12. We hung out in Otavalo until like 430 and got on the 500 bus to Quito. We had dinner in Quito and got on a 930 bus to
Manta headed for the beach. it was a 9 hour trip. so when we got to manta the next morning we didnt really like it. it was kind
of dirty and didnt see a whole lot of surfing. so we got on another 4 hour bus ride headed for Montañita. So we were finally settled around 130 on sunday afternoon. It was an
extremely long 28 hours but we are at the beach and couldnt
be any happier. Until next time...
chicky
More Spanish Lessons
Hola everyone
sorry it has been a while but everythings
been awesome. Otavalo treated us amazing. the people are really friendly and it was nice to be in a
smaller town then arequipa as otavalo
was like 50'000 as opposed to like 1 million. Spanish lessons were a lot of fun
however different from arequipa.
there we only went for two hours with each teacher and
switched. here we had the same teacher for the whole
class although we had a much needed 30 minute break in between. I think that
all of our spanish skills
have gotten a whole lot better. One day all of us got to go to the condor park
and look at many different types of eagles, falcons, vultures and of course
condors and watched a trainer play with a couple of his birds which was a lot
of fun. Our home stays were awesome. Ours (cody,cody,tom) was made up of about 10 women 4 little
girls and 2 men which we had lunch with every day, and a few nights of the best
hot chocolate ever and bread. So needless to say it was quite an interesting
hour of our days. But they loved us and we loved them. The market here as i am sure you already have heard is gigantic. there is a lot of artsy stuff like paintings, wood carvings,
and jewelry but also a ton of clothes. Sweatshirts, hats, shirts, beanies and
of course lots of hammocks. I would say that the market is 10-12 city blocks.
It is the biggest outdoor market on saturdays
in all of south america. We actually didnt end up doing a whole lot of activities in otavalo just because it was such a nice town that we more
or less wanted to hang out and walk around the whole time. Cota
Cochi (i think) was the
leather town about 20 minutes from otavalo and this
place marked the end of the enormous sum of money we collectively spent here
and in the market. You should see us now. we started
out with our nicely packed backpacks and plenty of room to spare. Now we are
all stuffed to the brim with things popping out the top and some two or three
extra bags of stuff as well. oh ya
and guitars to boot. It is quite ridiculous and i am
sure that we have had our fare share of laughs directed our way. Hope all is
well with everyone at home.
Chicky
Thursday, March 27, 2008
griiiiiikikiki
oi there.
I am not to sure what was last wrote, but im hearing I need to write about our adventure with the
shaman. Her name was Lilo and her center was located
right outside of Cusco at the base or matchupicole.
The first day we arrived we basically just got a rundown of what was going down
with the energies of everywhere. ThAT AFTERNOON WOH SORRY ok back to lower caps. yes we hiked up to this view and did a cerimonie
that consisted of letting go and gaining new knowledge. The next day a few of
us started off with the flower bath ceramony (how do
u spell that?) We basically got naked and they bathed us is various juices.
Then Lilo preformed reiki
on us and led us threw visions. She also checked our chakras
which there are 7 of. One for each main part of us.
And when i say checked, i meen to see how open they were.
Did i mention that this was a solo event? For those
of us who were not in this ceramonie, time was spent
lounging, hiking the mountain, listening to music and studying from the many
books that lilo provided us with on, you know, evergy. After we all finished our flower baths, which took
much energy, we had our coca leaf reading with this rad
dude Victor who just was rad. He actually read threw my physical health leaf
that i had an energy block from when i was a kid. So he proceded to
massage it out of my spine very intensly while Lilo was doin her thing as
well...prancing around spitting flower juice on me. super
duper like a goose. I think i speak for all of us
that Lilo and this whole expience
was very intense and spiritual.
but then...
lilo´s feet chakra left the ground...
it was about our
5th day when victor and lilo decided to take us to
the 4 power points around cusco. Well it turns out
that they were very touristy so our group decided to let Lilo
know that our chakras were closing up. At first Lilo
seemed Ok with our suggestion of leaving those places but that quikley just turned right around to her crying and calling
us spoiled children in a candy store, speaking only spanish,
and dissapearing for a good 4 hours. Back at the
center she came to talk with us but that didnt go so
well either. She did not listen and basically told us that because of this
event everything was ruined. The next morning you could see that she was up all
night crrying. We all felt so bad for her houskeepers who were so kind and deffinetly
one of the best parts of the experience. O yeah she also said Andrew was
holding evil deamons and he was going to take us to....the dark side. We left the next day. We had an extra day
in Cusco.
Our next stop was Machupicchu.
I know some said they could have done the whole trip in one day but for me...it
was deffintently a challenge, probebly
also because i was sick. The first day was chillin. The portors are nutty
carrying all of this weight, including yellow tents where we had tea and
popcorn under. The second day was the hardest for most because we hiked up to
the highest point and right back down again. Actually I believe there was only
one other group that went as fast as us according to our leader. The next day
was long but easy for most except me who had a fever and it was the most misrable thing iv ever done...like i
cant believe i made it. Anyways, the views were
breathtaking and very green. The fourth day, the day we actually arrived to Machupicchu, only took about 2 hours. Once there we looked
around the sites and soaked it up. The total trip was 20 miles. We all smelled
pretty cheesy. It was fandiddliy astic
is what it was. Once done with the sites we took a bus to the nearby town Aguas Calientes and went to the hott springs which was located in
this little nook of the mountain. A couple of us soaked for many a hour while others sat up in the little cafe enjoying the
drizzle. This cafe was rad by the way. Yes rad like Vicotor. We took the
late train back to Cusco. We arrived at 1 or 1 30. We packed the rest of our
stuff. Caught a couple z´¨s before waking up at 4 to
be to the airport by 5 and fly to quito, Ecuador . From there on to Otavalo by bus...which is where we are now. We are all
enjoying our spanish classes
and we are all eager to learn. Some of us have not been able to leave the
market. You guys out there are gettting gifts!!!
So for now thats now
pce/lve .A sin.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Just A Little...
inspiration i got from the last two weeks...from
the group and our adventures
Jungle
When i remember how
those children never see themselves until we give them a book full of familiar
faces, they know not of reflections, just their families trust that they are
beautiful. Face the sum the rain is coming soon, we know to shelter because we
know better. these married young ones make wonderful
mothers.
Shaman
She acts as her own machine that cleans away
her memories,
Dreading dreads for all these weeks and she
begins the drinking.
Barefooted friends know how to be free in this
valley covered in history,
they sell you their creations and ask for donations-I´m loosing my patience.
But of course we have always been this way,
I am still unsure of how to change.
With an ego we can still be wrong, you just
have to listen if your fist starts to stiffen,
and a pen will
tell you what to write, sometimes it can take all night,
but were all so
troubled by our minds,
love yourself and leave the rest behind.
It´s so easy just to let yourself be, no one else tells you what to
believe,
thats why you have your own feet, to walk on your own,
and not to be one
of the followers.
Tom SAM carpe diem
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Jungle
hey everyone!
We just returned to cusco from the depths of the jungle, and we are all
glad to be back, but sad we had to leave! it was quite
the adventure starting with a 10 hour bus ride on a dirt road through the
mountains, followed by a boat ride downstream with lots to see. we had a leader 2 leaders named andres
and hugo, who were very knowledgable
about the rainforest. anything we needed to know, they
had the answers. once we arrived at the village last monday, we moved into our house that was very welcoming
with a kitchen house accross the way, then we met the
chief of the natives and a few locals who were quite quiet at first, but we
became very close and friendly by the closing of the journey. on the same day, we took a walk to gain our bearings and see
the sites. our cook Luis, who we all fell in love with
due to his grub being absolutely amazing, cooked our first dinner. before we ate, we went around the table and said our
appreciations and what we are thankful for, which occured
every evening.
On tuesday,
we dug 2 five maybe six foot holes for the natives organic and non organic
trash which was quite the work out. we took a walk
again to try and catch some animals, and we saw a few birds such as tucans, aripendilas, and macaws. in the late afternoon we challenged the locals to a game of
volleyball, which turned into 10 games of volleyball because of the enjoyment. that evening, kim cut cody bakers hair into a mohawk,
which was quite the laugh! he looks great though he
really does. on wednesday,
the locals came to our place and the boys all made bows and arrows out of different
types of wood, cotton string and feathers. the girls
made bracelets, necklaces and other trinkets out of monkey teeth, fish spines,
and beads. this was a great bonding moment for us and
the native people to interact and laugh together. we
ate lunch and relaxed afterwards, followed by a bow and arrow competition, with
a target being a deflated ball on a post about 20 yards away. us boys were a sad excuse for hunters and the locals laughed
at every shot we took, and the chief showed us how it was done by shooting
three in a row, 2 in the post and one straight through the ball. it was soon followed by volleyball again.
On thursday,
we planted 120-130 little trees as some enviornmental
work, which was very rewarding and also a first time for the locals as well. after lunch some of us slept and some went on a 4 hour walk,
seeing 150 wild boar and snake eating a frog! very
exciting! friday we trekked
to where they make boats, which was very different than we expected. they cut down the tree of choice and build it where it
falls, using a chainsaw and axe-like tools. we got to
participate in the chopping a bit as well. we were all
wondering how they move such a big chunk of wood from there to the water, which
requires cutting a path all the way there, followed by rolling it on logs to
where it needs to be. these boats vary in size, but
the biggest one was about 45 feet long, and 6 to 8 feet wide at the middle. later that day the rain came down for hours, cancelling any
plans that we had, so we played speed scrabble for hours and read our books.
On saturday,
we went fishing. we were very lucky to get the chance
to go fishing with the locals because they only go 3 times a year, and we just
so happened to be present during one of their fishing adventures. at first we expected the fishing to be the average pole and
hook style method, but it was far from it. we started
with smashing up a type of root called barbosco,
which has a poisonous white sap that when put in the water disorients the fish,
and makes them float on the surface. ideal due to the
water being so brown you cant see your feet at ankle depth. grabbing
fish by hand or chopping with a machete was our job, but a lot of the locals
are fantastic with the bow and arrow, which seemed to be the most useful style.
although this was lots of fun for us, the bugs were
almost unbarable at this fishing location. we had amazing fried fish for lunch once we returned,
followed by a boys game of rough and tough football(soccer.) this was really
enjoyable for us, because the locals are such a challenge to play against.
Sunday was sports day in the occasional rain,
volleyball, soccer, a mud fight and a bow and arrow competition with a real
dart like target. again we were destroyed in the
shooting, and the girls had a chance to try against the local girls. the locals loved us by this time, giving us gifts at a
goodbye ceremony, which was very heartfelt and touching. we
have lots of pictures from this moment. our boat ride
home the next morning was upstream, adding an hour or so more to the trip, but
we all enjoy riding on the river. we spent the night
at a hostal near the rivers edge, and by tuesday morning drove 12 hours back to cusco.
the reason it took so long was because of the
landslides, which held us up for quite a bit. we
experienced them on the way into the jungle, but coming out seemed much more trecherous. on the negative side
of things, four of us were quite sick throughout the week, but we are all
healthy and happy back in cusco, eating great meals
and looking forward to whats ahead. we are going to a shamen in this
next week 2 hours outside of cusco, which will be a
change of pace. we will keep you all posted as soon as
we return with emails and another blog! hope you enjoyed the story!
Tom Graham, SAM Carpe Diem
Saturday, March 1, 2008
heyy!! update coming from cuzco
here! but let me go back a week...after a week of
solid spanish classes, we went on a field trip with
the school. we visited a viewpoint/tower, overlooking
the city, visited a church, and ate at a little restaurant by a pond: anticuchos (cow heart...yummm)
and peruvian donuts (deep fried dough covered in
honey).
our 6hr bus ride
to Puno left at 2pm. we were excited cause it was a double decker
and some of us had front row seats on the top, but that was soon shaded by
showings of dubbed over jean claude van damme movies blasting the whole way...anyway, we kept busy
crocheting hats with alpaca yarn and/or sleeping. we didnt have hotel reservations or anything, so we we got several offers on the bus. we
settled for the cheapest one - about $3.50 per person. the
rooms were a bit crammed, the bathroom smelled like urine, but we had hot water
in the morning and a great breakfast!
saturday we visited the amazing floating islands. from
there it was a 3hr boat ride to the island of Amantali
where we met our homestay families. after lunch with our families we played a game of soccer and
then hiked up to the top of the island. we were lucky
it was clear so we could see the surrounding islands and beautiful views of the
lake. after dark we hiked down and had dinner with our
families. following that was a fun dance party in
which we all got to dress in traditional clothing for the night (guys=poncho
and hat, girls=embroidered blouse, two heavy skirts, a decorative belt, and a
shawl). we were all exhausted though so we were in bed
by 10ish, but several of us woke up early to enjoy the sunrise. after thanking our host families with different fruits and
vegetables, we left Amantali a little after 8am to
visit Taquile island, where we had lunch before
returning to Puno. while we were waiting for the boat
to leave, several of us decided to go for a swim. the
water was so refreshingly cool... because we got bak
to Puno a bit late, we were bumped to a 6pm bus, so we didnt
get bak to arequipa til midnight...
this past week we continued with our spanish
classes, although we were a bit bummed to find that some of our teachers had
left/changed. tuesday night
we visited the monastery of Santa Catalina, which was awesome. it was basically like a city within a city with some great
artwork and even a rock that naturally filtered water! that
was followed by a scrumptious dinner of fried rice and ice cream for dessert.
wednesday morning we mountain biked 50km down Mt. Chachani
with Aldo - the national champion of Peru! the
landscape and the views were just gorgeous and we managed not to get attacked
in "dog city" : )
yesterday we had to say goodbye to our wonderful host families, but we are
excited to be in cuzco! tomorrow
we begin the trek into the jungle, so you won´t hear
from us for a little over a week...
peace! aiyana
Thursday, February 21, 2008
week numero uno!
hola de Arequipa!! in a nutshell, here´s what we´ve been up to : )
Friday
took a mini bus to Chivay in Colca Canyon (the 2nd deepest canyon in the world). the ride was bumpy to say the least. after
lunch in Chivay, we headed over to the hot springs,
surrounded by mountains, cliffs, and green-ness =
very relaxing. for dinner we went to a restaurant with
live music and dancing! mostly everyone danced, but a
couple people from the group managed not to - tsk tsk. but i
think cody b took the beating for them as he was gracefully
whipped by his partner...
Saturday
wake up 5am! stopped by some small towns on
our way to see the condors. the canyon was spectacular
and the condors were amazing! after lunch a few of us
went running, a couple ppl walked around town, and
others took the opportunity to nap before our group meeting. kim had a bit of an accident (but
is doing better!) so drew had the chance to practice his first aid skills and
we all toured the local hospital. we had dinner at a
local restaurant for barely over $1 per person. we weren´t sure if our server couldn´t
add, or if we had been getting ripped off at $5 per person at previous meals...
Sunday
woke up bright and early again to go on a hike. we
visited several ruins on the mountain side with an awesome view of the valley
and of Chivay. headed back
to the hostel just in time to check out and have lunch before returning to
Arequipa. we were disappointed to discover that the
windows on the massive, stuffy bus were wired shut - but we came to understand
why once it started raining and ultimately snowing. those
of us fortunate enough to have a window seat got rained on - but i suppose we were more comfortable than the sheep stuffed
in the baggage compartment. unfortunately bathroom
stops weren´t publicized, so a few of us practiced
some bladder control for a good 2hrs...needless to say, we were glad to get off
the bus. bak at Casa de
Avila (where we have our spanish lessons) we all met
our host families! we´re all
having a great time with our new `families´ and are definitely enjoying the
delicious food - despite the fact that my 4yr old `sister´thinks
she´s a cat...
overall this week has been pretty chill. we all
live within a 30min walk of Casa de Avila. mornings
are open and evenings are spent in 4hr-long spanish
classes! yesterday we had cooking lessons with Raul
a.k.a. we had an amazing lunch: soltero de queso, quinua, and lomo saltado...yumm...you should be jealous : )
abrazos, aiyana
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
South America in da house!
Well, for all you parents, the news is
officially in and all of your students and our leaders have met safely in LAX
and are passing through security as we speak. Everyone's luggage arrived, along
with their sanity and enthusiasm, and by all reports,
this promises to be a phenomenal inaugural South America semester!
Thank you all for joining us!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Estamos Listo...
Hey hey everyone out
there in blogger-ville!
It Kim and Andrew here, writing from
Portland, Oregon as we count down to blast off for the southern hemisphere. For those not in the
know, this
blog we be our little home away from home for the
next few months and any and all are welcome to drop in and read about our
adventures as we travel through Peru and Ecuador. Family, friends, and more can hear about our wanderings as we will be posting our stories and pictures
from the little latitudes.
We (Kim y Drew) are getting more and more
excited with each passing day for the path that lies ahead and can't wait to
share this incredible experience with y'all. In the meantime, enjoy family and friends and the known, and
here's to the unknown....
Abrazos,
Kim and Andrew
SAM Programme Leaders