Friday, July 11, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Back in OKC
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!
Pictures and reflections coming soon!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Adios Cusco' Hello Lima on our way to OKC
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
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
Thursday, June 19, 2008
June 16-18 from Carmen Clay
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. 
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.
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.
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.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
the project complete: June 14-16
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
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
Friday, June 13, 2008
June 12 and 13
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.
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.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
june 11, 2008
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
Rosie
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