Hello! My name is Eleanor and I am journal girl for the day. Our day started with an early morning breakfast that would prepare us for our first day of work at Tiriji eco enter. Our goal by the end of the trip is to create a gazebo for IPI to use for gatherings and…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]After most of the girls toughed out a cold night in the tipi, we woke up at around 7, and helped the women in the kitchen serve breakfast and clean up. We then played with the children and some of the boys from the Young Men’s camp (volleyball, soccer, games, etc.). After we had…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today we drove in a cool bus to the Llama Park. We were able to talk with the community members and learn about their culture. At the llama park, half of us worked on a fence to keep the llamas out and the other half worked on a pathway. We had fun talking with…
The Lakota word for humility is wah’wala. Humility to us is being humble to all and not changing our actions to different cultures. We can’t be humble if we come in with stereotypes we will be different and act like we are better. Also, we can’t let other people change our views (family, friends, etc.)….
We started off on day 3 waking up to cool weather and breakfast prepared by the Lakota women. During the day the boys in the coming-of-age camp built a magnificent tipi in the center of the camp, while we observed and learned from the elders. We learned that the poles used to build the tipi…
Hello all! This is Penelope and it’s my day to be journal girl! Well, on June 29 we arrived in Nairobi after long days of traveling. Our many plane rides consisted of multiple crying children, broken air conditioning, and broken televisions. Even though those things were not as fun, the planes allowed all of the…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today the group continued their acclimatization, spent time planning environmental education lessons, and toured Urubamba. They are settling in well and looking forward to beginning our work in the mountains tomorrow with a trip to the Llama Pack Project’s pasture. You’ll hear from everyone in the group over the course of the next few…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]This post was written a couple days before we received it. The group has now moved to the village of Yolonshi to start their project work. Today we started the day by walking across the street to Abu’s house to visit a 1300 year old monastery. We got white scarves*, offered them to the…
* This is another post written before the group left Mukli and began their trek but that we did not receive until a couple days after it was written. Hello everyone! My name is Zella and I will be telling the story of day 10. As a bonus, we got to sleep in! Our group…
Since the beginning of our trip we have been welcomed with open arms by the Native American community at the healing camp. The healing camp encompassed the general meaning of tiospaye, which roughly means extended family. We have been able to interact and play with many of the children. The kids greeted us with smiling…
* This post was written before the group finished their project. They have now left Mukli to begin several days of trekking in the Solukhumbu region before returning to the Kathmandu area in the middle of the week. What’s up guys! Day 9 was our last day of work in Mukli. Before we started working…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]*These reflections were written when the group returned to Rurre after completing their work in Puerto Salinas. They just finished a day in La Paz and are currently headed to visit Isla del Sol. Kiely As Nicola, Sarah, Joselo and I started walking into the school on the last day with the community, kids…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Hey! Its Sydney on day 8 of our trip, and it couldn’t be better. This morning we were able to finish digging the trenches for the school’s foundation. The school has come so far already, I can’t believe it. Though with only a few days left here in Mukli we won’t be able to…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today our group woke up at a hotel in Kangding. We ate breakfast in a restaurant; the food was the same items we’ve been eating for both lunch and dinner as well. Boss Hog (our driver) and Tenpa (one of our Tibetan guides) drove us to a monastery in Kangding. This monastery was one…
Anna: Overall this trip taught me a lot about community service and trying things out of my comfort zone. I’ve learned about gardening and as well as the importance of teamwork. At first, I was very nervous about coming on this trip, but now that it’s almost over, I realized that I’m going to miss…
Since we arrived, our questions have brought us closer to the people who work here, such as Stan and Brea. Brea, a young Lakota woman, has taught us about her language, how to pray for our food, and more about her Lakota background. Stan taught us about his history and ancestors. His mom is from…
In the U.S., we go through every day not thinking about what we have. We go by day to day eating what we want, drinking what we please and petting animals without suspicion. In Tibet all of these luxuries are non-existent. Every day here has had new experiences, some weird and unordinary, but all extremely…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today the SStS group worked with the Greater NOLA Master Gardeners Organization and in my opinion, I learned a lot about planting and especially leveling! My partner and I had to level out cinder blocks so that the workers could create pools to hold certain plants. Other volunteers in my group organized and labeled…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Yesterday at Tiny Toons we were met with smiling faces and excited chatter by the kids there. After an impressive performance with freestyling by the enthusiastic, young performers, we were given beginning dance lessons by one of the dance instructors. The students’ glee and performance stood out to us. Even though they came from conditions…
Namaste friends! My name is Chantler and I am here broadcasting from Mukli, Nepal on day 7 of our amazing trip. Today, we learned how working as a team is much faster than working alone. Our morning job was to carry rocks to the trenches we had dug and to lay our rocks down as…
For this post, students answered the question: What do you want your impact to be? (On the community we are going to, your school, your community at home, the world, etc.). 1- My effect will be to help a community in any way I can and take what I learn and feel back to the…
Hey all, I’m Julian. Nepal so far has been such an eye-opening and amazing experience. Living among the families has really brought out the fact that we are so fortunate to have what we have in our lives. In the states, we have access to machines and are able to build schools, buildings, and houses…
Today we continued our work with Common Ground Relief and headed out the swamp to plant California Bullrush in the sand. We took a boat ride out to where we would be planting, a sandy shore covered in water up to our calves. Stumps and roots were hidden under the water. We worked hard from…
Meg and Allison checked in with us today to let us know that the group spent the day at Tiny Toones, a Phnom Penh based NGO that uses break-dancing to engage, educate, and inspire Cambodian youth from impoverished neighborhoods. SStS students had a chance to learn about the NGO from Short, the general manager of…
Today we started our day with a cooking class! We rode tuk-tuk’s to the local market to buy the ingredients we needed to make Amok and spring rolls. The first thing we noticed when walking into the market was the smell. It was an overwhelming smell of all the items the vendors were selling. It…
You would love this city—the bright lights, the streets full of people, the air conditioning blasting in our rooms. However, getting here was no easy feat… to get to Chengdu it took planes, trains (automated people mover??), and automobiles. We began our journey in LA, where we struggled to find each other, ate, and got…
Hello parents! I know you are all desperate to learn about our day 5 adventures. My name is Vivian and I am the journalist for the day. Today, the girls were woke to the sound of chickens and then had a nice breakfast with our homestay family. There were cookies, noodles with spicy cabbage and…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today was hot. And humid. We worked hard and managed to see plenty of wildlife (or critters) without leaving the nursery. I pulled weeds and moved rotten wooden pallets that had been eaten by termites. There was a lot of watering plants too for some kids and it took most of the time we…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Picture this: Hundreds of scooters with families stacked on top, fluorescent lights lining the streets, street vendors lining the roads, moisture so thick you feel as though you’re swimming in the air, a complete lack of personal space. Welcome to Cambodia! After Cambodia’s warm welcome, we sleepily ventured through ornate royal palaces and ate…
Today was our first full day in NOLA. We did a LOT of activities today, but all were worth it. We started the day by cooking some breakfast at Common Ground Relief. We then exposed ourselves to the real New Orleans. We started with a Catholic Gospel Mass at St. Augustine Church. It was truly…