Casady School - Andes Education Program 2008

Casady Tierra de Ninos Summer 2008

2008-07-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

Back in OKC

2008-06-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

After a tour of Lima by Ivan, we are back in OKC. To other groups returning from Ollantaytambo to Lima, take motion sickness pills or wear a patch.

Pictures and reflections coming soon!

Adios Cusco' Hello Lima on our way to OKC

2008-06-20T03:43:00.000-07:00

Friday: Every one was tired, but in good health. We had a tour of the cathedral and the Inka Museum. After lunch the kids rested while Joaquin and I took care of travel confirmations. Our plane from Cusco to Lima was changed to an earlier flight. We leave at 7:45 Lan Peru flight 24.

We will have a few more hours in Lima. This will allow us time to visit the headquarters of our project´s foundation, La Tierra de Ninos. Thank you Aima for making this possible with such sort notice. We will also tour the main areas of Lima.

Our plane tickets in Delta are confirmed and we should be on our way to OKC as scheduled.

Joaquin gave us a beautiful closing exercise at the end of the day. It was heartbreaking to see how much the group has grown together and how much they enjoyed the service project, the highlight of their stay. I am thankful to Mac for not giving up on the trip. It was a great experience.

Final student reflections will be added to this blog shortly with favorite pictures. See you in OKC at 12.10, flight 4801 Carmen

June 16-18 from Carmen Clay

2008-06-19T05:06:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday evening; I am writing this on Thursday morning, Aima, the Tierra de ninos coordinator gave a financial report of the total cost of the playgroung of $1,200. Our $700 were matched by El Albergue and Tierra de Ninos resources to make the playground a reality.

As we left Ollantaytambo on Monday, the playground was as finished as time allowed us to do it. Later on we received a report that the children were playing but sad that we were gone. When told that a new group was coming, they said it would not be the same. Last night, Aima thanked the Casady kids for having made the time with the children unforgettable. She stated, ¨You made them feel special when you played and paid attention to them, something they do not all get at home or at school.¨

Still thinking about David and praying for his family, we started the Market Place of ideas. The kids divided in groups decided what will be the next steps to keep the momentum going and bring sustainability to the leadership and work started in Ollantaytambo and what follow-up we could have back home. After suggesting a creation of a tierra de ninos at Casady, follow-up the book project, which is only at the preliminary stage with Internet penpals, and having a Speak Week.

The teams decided that the easy thing to do as a group was a Speak Week; a week to focus on volunteering and fundraising for the next trip to Peru needs, both at Ollantaytambo and to provide funding for interested students who are unable to afford the cost of the trip independently. The kids decided to work on this once school started since there are administrative considerations such as permissions and collaborations with Student Council and other clubs to consider.

On Sunday we took a field trip to the weavers place. The kids were very tired and still under the effect of the sad news about David. The field trip was somewhat dissapointing because we did not get to see the native women weaving, just working on a lesson on natural techniques. It was very cold and some of the students and I started to get a cold. I had to buy some local medicine for the group, which worked well. We heard Kennedy's story and some of us ate cuy and potatoes courtesy of the weavers. We also bought some weavings.

We had our last Ollantaytambo dinner at a very nice place, but the food was somewhat dissappointing. Since it was father´s day, some kids e-mailed parents from El Albergue. We did not have Internet at Las Orquideas. I was sick, so I went to sleep after dinner. Nina bought chocolate roses for Joaquin and our day ended in a good note.

Monday June 16: We took the backpacker train to Aguas Calientes. The Presidente Hotel was nice. We had a hike to Mandor Valley and Joaquin tried to have a fair trade talk with the students which I did not think went very well because we were too tired to think much. Then we went to the thermal baths and had dinner at a place that was nice, but the kids did not enjoyed the food partly because we were very tired.

Tuesday June 17: The day started with Jake having something in his eye. We took him to the local medical post and headed to Macchu Picchu. Since his eye continued to bother him, Joaquin stayed behind and saw the doctor on duty at Macchu Picchu. The doctor cleaned his eye and placed a patch for prevention since he had scratched his eye.
Jake and Joaquin joined us in the hike to Hayna Picchu and Moon Temple. When we returned to Macchu Picchu we were so tired, it took some time to get the kids to be willing to continue with the tour of the historical santuary. Jake was feeling fine, just tired.

At the end of the day, we boarded the train first and then the bus to pick-up our lugage for our transfer to Las Chulpas where we stayed over night. When we arrived to Las Chalupas,we were exhausted. Las Chulpas was a nice rustic, secluded retreat. The choice of meal was not the best and the kids went to bed tired and dissapointed with the evening meal. The rooms were very very cold. The water was cold in my bathroom so I could not take a shower that evening, but the nice owner fixed the problem in the morning. Although the place was interesting, I do not think we will go back, just for the night. It is a place that should be enjoyed for a longer period of time. It is hard to get to the hostel and it is difficult to get the luggage to the rooms.

Wednesday June 18: Today is my son´s Brian B-day. We stopped in Pisac for the kids to buy crafts and to have lunch. The menu was nicer than the day before, but had quinua soup once more. It is a delicious soup,but a variety of soups would have been welcomed. After lunch I found out that Mac had misplaced her camera. After looking around we concluded that maybe it was stolen, but since we were already on our road to Cusco, there was nothing we could do. At Saqsayhuaman, the kids tired and I with the heaviest cold, were reluctant to keep hiking, but it was interesting and the goal setting session in the beautiful environment was effective. Here Rosie told me that she had also misplaced her camera, which was the camera we were to leave with the kids of Ollantaytambo. She thought she had to look at one more place to make sure and that she would do that as soon as we arrived to the hostel in Cusco.

We had a couple of hours to shop in Cuzco after checking in San Isidro Hostel. Then we had dinner and Nina´s enthusiasm for dancing took the group to some discos. Rosie still had not found the camera when we gave all the cameras to Grayson, who did not go to the disco. He stayed uploading all the pictures in the computer. I decided that we needed to continue our commitment to the kids of Ollantaytambo and we will still leave a camera with Joaquin. What will happen with the environmental camera and the weather club cameras that were stolen/lost? It is now up to the kids/parents who lost the cameas.

Thursday June, 19: We are scheduled to tour Cusco and I will ask the kids to brainstorm their presentation because we cannot get together until August again after we go back. Grayson might not be able to be there and Rosie will go to another high school next year. Every one is a little more rested but with mild colds.

the project complete: June 14-16

2008-06-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

We finished the project and had a tasty Pachamanca to celebrate. It served about 45 people who included all the volunteers from Ollantaytambo and Casady, the Manco Inca School children and adults, the carpenters, their families and few dogs.The kids sanded the playground and when it was partially finished, we saw how happy the children were. We had a great sense of satisfaction for our hard work. We were very happy, but when we went to the Internet the news about David filled our hearts with sadness. We were so sorry and sad about David that we concentrated in communicating with Casady and Jared in China.

hey parents!

thursday, friday, and today we have all been working hard on finishing up our project.
thursday was pretty relaxed after work, just a switch of hotels and catch up on rest.
friday we worked hard and after we all attended joaquin´s daughters birthday party. then, the group minus rosie, louisa, and grayson went to finish up our ceramics and then showered and went out dancing. it was an eventful day and very tiring but such a blast!

today (saturday) was our final work day on the project. we saw our "pata´s" for the last time and finally assembled our playground equipment. it was such a miracle to actually see all our hard work come to some sort of closure. however, tomorrow is the real closure with the finishing touches and construction and picture taking.

we are all doing well and pretty healthy, and just can´t believe that the trip is almost over.
knowing that tomorrow is our actual last day of the project then we return to lives as tourist over the land of peru is unbelievable.
we miss you and love you all.
please pray for the Childs family
--mackenzie, nina, and kendall

June 12 and 13

2008-06-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

We had two very hard days of work. The playgroung is now finished. Cyclones worked hard, learned about leadership styles and an amazing project called ¨Tierra de ninos.¨

We moved to our new hostel and Internet is only available at an internet cafe. Now it is harder for them to blog.

Everyone is ok still but tired. Tomorrow is our last day of work and we should see the playground as we will leave it.

The book project started yesterday with the introduction of the idea to the children of Ollantaytambo. We found a teacher, Aima, who is also the leader of the ¨tierra de ninos¨ and she is willinging to be the advisor for the book project. We have taught the kid English. They have taught us Quechua and about their dreams for their Land of Children at Manco Inca School.

For other schools coming to Ollantaytambo next week, a suggestion: Bring working gloves, we wished we had. They have some, but it would be nice to have gloves for the children also.

june 11, 2008

2008-06-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today we went to visit the concentric circles of Moray and the salt mines at Maras. We returned to El Albergue and helped the kitchen staff make a dinner of Lomo Saltado (our favorite Peruvian dish) and chocolate chip cookies. We´re having a great time and are planning to continue our work on the playground tomorrow.
Rosie

Rafting

2008-06-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

After yesterday, it was great to have a day off. At about 9 in the morning, we went to the Urubamba river to raft. We seperated into two boats and then we got strait into the river. I have only rafted once beforee, and these rapids were mucyh tougher than the last ones, but they were also way more fun. We went down two class 3 rapids and one class 3.5. It was difficult rafting, but was still fun in the end, especially when the two boats tried to splash each other (often using dirty tricks like using cameras so the other boat couldn´t splash back), or when Miko (the dog) tried to swim on the boats and rode the rapids. We were planning to play soccer with kids from the local high school, but by the time we were finished rafting, we were too wet and tired to play. The day was really cool and we are definitely energized for the work tommorow.

Sunday, June 8

2008-06-08T21:33:00.001-07:00

Greetings from Peru:

I guess today was the first ¨real¨ day of the trip. We ate breakfast at 8 again, and afterwards, we discussed the plan for the day. Following our discussion, we gathered tools and walked to the school where we will be working on our project, known in Spanish as ¨La Tierra del Ninos,¨ or the ¨Children´s Land.¨ When we got there we were all thinking the same thing: what did we get ourselves into? The land was a disaster. However, after just a few hours work you could already see a transformation. We spent the morning cutting trees, hauling dirt, and throwing rocks. This is the ¨pre-work¨ that needs to be done before we can begin to put together the children´s play area. The land needs to be level and clear. After the hard work of the morning hours we had some fun. Local students, from ages 2-15 or so, came to assist us and had a call taking pictures with the cameras that were donated for our project. They prepared potatoes for us in a tradition outdoor Peruvian oven, made of rocks and covered with dirt. We ate potatoes and drank fruit juice while enjoying a break in the shade. After our work we went to eat at a restaurant in town, followed by the opportunity to watch a local soccer game. We took showers before dinner as we were really dirty from working, and for dinner we had a simple soup and ham and cheese sandwiches. We also had the opportunity to experience a spiritual offering from a traditional high-altitude tribe shaman. It was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. Afterwards we enjoyed the music of Cesar, one of the hotel employees. Everyone is pretty tired; however, I think they are all excited for the white-water rafting tomorrow. So far everyone is doing well; it´s hard to believe it has already been four full days! Grayson

Saturday, June 7

2008-06-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hola Parents from Ollantaytambo!Today was our second full day and it started off early at 8 in the morning. Breakfast was great! After breakfast Paul took the whole group around town and gave us a brief history of the Incan culture. We climbed these Incan ruins today and it was beautiful because you could see the entire city. That was exciting! Sleepiness plagues the group. Everyone is always looking forward to siesta! Lunch was amazing with a soup called sopa de creole. That was one of the best soups I’ve ever had. Now we have just returned from our meeting about the project and it built up excitement. Dinner is coming soon so that is the last update until tomorrow. Hang Loose!Love,Nina B

Arrival in Lima, Peru!

2008-06-06T01:22:00.000-07:00

hey everybody!

today was a LONG day of travel and going through customs and what not all to arrive here in Lima. However, everything has gone pretty good so far, no mishaps yet to my knowledge. haha.
So, it´s about 3:30 am right now and we have to be back at the airport at 5:00 am!
Our flight for Ollantaytambo leaves at I believe, 6:00 am
The hotel jacuzzi room is actually quite nice, a pleasant surprise to all of us; sadly not expecting anything great.
But, it happens to be just what we needed and we have all taken plenty of pictures to show off when we return home!
The first Peruvian food that I forgot the name of was delicious and the soda: Inca Cola is a new twist, tasting like a mixture of bubble gum and cream soda!
Just wanted to give a quick update on what has happened so far!!!!

We love and miss you all!!!
--the peru crew

Problems with e-mail, here are some news

2008-06-06T00:36:00.000-07:00

Dear parents, Mark and Ross,

We had good flights from OKC to Lima. The kids loved had a great time at the jacuzi and the sauna at our hotel. Our travel agent in Peru had a wonderful guide waiting for us at the airport. We checked luggage and went to the spa, which is lovely. They tasted their first Lomito saltado and Inka Cola. The reviews were good.

Ross, please forward this e-mail to the parents. Thank you. A great idea to stay at the spa. Carmen

2008-06-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

Bags packed, ready to Go!

2008-06-05T03:35:00.000-07:00

Communication from Ollantaytambo

2008-06-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

We will do our best to blog on a daily basis. Mrs. Clay will blog at http://cyclonexploringpossibilities.blogspot.com/.

This blog was set up by World Leadership School for students to blog prior to the trip.

Students will take turns updating the blog so that friends and family can receive regular updates.

Mrs. Clay has provided the following blogging schedule in the best of circumstances, with a minimum of two entries per week, if time, weather, and work exhaustion do not permit more blogging.
Jake: Mondays
Kendall: Tuesdays
Rosie: Wednesdays
Louisa: Thursdays
Mackenzie: Fridays
Nina: Saturdays
Grayson: Sundays

Email, public phone and postal services are available in Ollantaytambo for students to communicate with friends and family but WLS wants students to take a break from technology.

Families should expect email contact from students about once per week – the blog is designed to provide more regular updates.Parents and friends should limit themselves to email when communicating with students. Any mail sent to Ollantaytambo will arrive after the students leave.

Mrs. Clay will not have a phone, but our facilitator while in Ollantaytambo will. Here is the contact information:

Joaquin Randall-Peru World Leadership School Coordinator/El Albergue Bed and Breakfast
Casilla 784 Cusco, Peru
tel: (51-84) 984-820187
home number and fax 51 84 204014
from cusco 984 820187
from US 011 5184820187