[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Despite some unexpected flight changes this morning, all 14 of the students along with Allison, Laura, and McNair arrived in Miami with plenty of time to check in and begin their group orientation activities before their flight departs. For example, this enthusiastic group spent some time journaling about their expectations regarding what lies ahead…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experience while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]The travel journal will be the place for students to share their experience while traveling. Once the students are on-site, they are asked to post reflections, observations, pictures, stories, poems, and more. Our whole community appreciates the opportunity to be part of the group’s adventure, and as the course comes to an end, each…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Wow, six whole days fly by in an instant! While on other days we have been working in more urban environments, we decided to mix it up today by driving out to Forgotten Harvest’s 100+ acre farm. Once there, we were given instructions on how to properly harvest kale, a plant rich in nutrients…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]As we continue our stay in Detroit, we spent our time productively at Forgotten Harvest where we packaged peppers and sweet potatoes. In the morning, we started to repackage bell peppers, and while we were doing this, there were two people from the local area. When we started to work with them, they were…
Today we visited the Bell Building in Highland Park. They focus on housing the homeless before treating their problems/addictions. Their main focuses are alcoholics, drug addicts, people with mental disabilities, and the chronically homeless. One thing that separates their homeless shelter from others is their ability to accept homeless people despite their addictions. Most homeless…
Today we started our morning by packaging the food we unwrapped yesterday. We packed boxes until noon. After lunch we went to the Focus: HOPE learning center to help clean the building. When we first entered the center, I was struck by the resoundingly happy welcome we received. The man welcoming us, Keith, was very…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today we spent our time volunteering at Focus: HOPE. We started off with a tour followed by an orientation. We then delivered food to senior citizens and worked in their warehouse. When delivering food, we were able to see the impact that the food boxes make. At one apartment, I noticed that there were…
Today the group returned to Urubamba after a week in Qushurani and a llama trek through to the community of Cancha Cancha. The students will continue to post their reflections on their time, but below is a start, as Tommy shares his thoughts about the first day back in Quishurani and Rachel reflects on a…
*Please note that these posts were written earlier, but were posted once the group had the chance to access internet. Hello everyone it’s Bri again! Today was amazing. Today we got to work as a team to help build a beautiful hut for the KACH family and community. I’m going to be honest with you…
Hello! Our day started off with an early morning breakfast of delicious crepes, bread, and hard-boiled eggs to prepare us for Dr. K’s conference about NGL. NGL stands for New Generation Leadership which is a program to inspire young generations to grow and become leaders in their communities and in the world. This was a…
Hi all! This is Aspen and today is my day as journal girl. Last night we did our home stays and it was an amazing learning experience for all of us. At my home stay I was with Zoe and we stayed with Purity. She had two kids Brenda and Terry. We interacted most with…
While exploring ancient temples packed with tourists around Siem Reap, we tried to imagine what these places looked like thousands of years ago. We imagined the intricate and enormous temples empty of tourists and full of orange robed monks and majestic elephants. We gawked at the sheer enormity of the temples that were now being…
During our group reflection last night we shared our thoughts on our first week in Quishurani and everyone expressed excitement to return to this mountain village where we had begun forming relationships with community members and establishing a sense of place. We look forward to continued work with this community that welcomed us with warm…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today we woke up to air conditioned rooms and the sound of our alarm clocks instead of roosters for the first time in a week. After a good night’s sleep we were ready to embark upon a new journey; this time to the home of the Angkor Wat temples: Siem Reap! The feeling of…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]* This post was also written last week but not uploaded until today when the group was in Siem Reap with a better internet connection. Part one: Taking a steam bath One may think that steam baths are only available in gyms or spas, but here on Koh Preah, these are nowhere to be…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]The past few days have been hectic. After finishing our project on the 5th, we swiftly departed from Yoloshi and headed for Dora again. Upon arriving in Dora, we finally had the privilege of taking showers—after 5 days in the middle of nowhere, the hot water was much appreciated. When we were all clean,…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]* This post was written last week but not uploaded until today when the group was in Siem Reap with a better internet connection. Our July 4th began with a hearty breakfast of pork, eggs and rice. After rallying our tired bodies, we marched off to the medical clinic, minds set on working on…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]* This post was written on July 6 but not sent until the group returned to Urubamba yesterday. This past week we had the most amazing opportunity to work alongside the community members of Quishuarani (“key-swa-rani”). We faced many challenges including teaching in the lingua-franca of a Quechua Spanish combination, transporting an endless amount…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]* This post was written on July 3 but not sent until the group returned to Urubamba yesterday. Today we woke up with our bags packed ready to roll. After an energetic breakfast we headed outside for some yoga in the sun. Everyone struggled to look as effortless as Ellen. Then we piled into…
Jack- It’s really sad to see this trip come to a close. It seems like just yesterday we arrived and met each other in Miami. Since then, we’ve made memories and water filters, explored the Andes and the Amazon. Working on our service project was one of the most worthwhile things I’ve ever done. Though…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Written on July 6: Hello or Habari!! It’s Penelope and I am back as journal girl today! This was a long day and we are all exhausted with a capital E. We began the day with some pancakes and hard boiled eggs which was nice because it’s comforting to eat American food once a…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]* This update was written yesterday but sent to us today. The group has returned to Kangding and will soon be back in Chengdu. Now that the project phase has ended, we as instructors have been reflecting on our project in Yolonshi. To start, the experience was incredible. The homestay was intense and conditions…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]*The group is now in Siem Reap touring Angkor Wat. These posts were written while they were working on the project last week but not sent until the group had wifi again today. Day 1- Today was our first work day on Koh Preah. We worked at the primary school, laying down cement. First we…
Hi!! This is Zoe, and I’m thrilled to be journal girl for today. This morning, we walked back out to Tirji Eco Centre to begin our full day of work. We made an “assembly line” up the steep hill and passed giant rocks up to the top, where they’ll be used for the foundation of…
July 2 (this post was written last week but just sent to the SStS office today) Hello my name is Brianna; and I am honored to share my experience during this trip so far. Today was an amazing day! Us girls got to sleep in for an extra hour, we ate a great breakfast, and…
What does it mean to complete a project? Does it mean creating an object, or does it mean something much more? For us, it means something much more. This past couple of days we have been putting in a lot of work. We decided, as a team, that we could do more to help the…
People often go to work or build something for someone, but why they are doing it is often overlooked. Here in Tibet, you look around and see so many things; most are spectacular, but some are very concerning. One of the most concerning things you see is trash. It is everywhere. Trash is the reason…
Today, we started our day an hour early to try to get extra work done. The day went a lot smoother because we separated into more defined groups. We continued building up our first structure by using our concrete mix and cinder blocks. At the same time, we worked on our second project by pick…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]This morning we woke up and had toast and hard-boiled eggs for breakfast. We then walked to TIRIJI where we worked from around 9 to 12:00. The two jobs during this work period included digging holes, which will be used for the base posts of the gazebo, and carrying large rocks for the foundation…