One student from each center was able to journal today: Andrew M The relationship established between students of shoulder to shoulder and young students of Panama is built on the ability to communicate physically as well as emotionally through empathy and constructive teaching. Our group on Cristolbal has been working on creating a relationship of…
The Turtles I group has arrived safely in Costa Rica. They will spend the night in San Jose before departing tomorrow morning for their field study site.
One of the 10 essential principles of a shoulder-to-shoulder experience is “whenever possible, we work shoulder-to-shoulder with locals…because the relationships we develop and the learning that occurs through them are as important as the project itself.” This is the principle that resonates the most with me. Relationships are truly an important aspect of both our…
The Panama II crew arrived safely in Panama last night. Today they will explore Panama City to learn more about the context for their Field Study. This afternoon they will be flying from Panama City to Bocas Del Toro where they will meet with the Give and Surf team for the program introduction.
Today started like any normal day. We woke up, ate breakfast, and did our permaculture work. My group finally finished the metal sheet fencing while the other group weeded a bit and finished up composting any beds we did not finish. We then took our group photos with our SStS shirts. Then, we had teatime….
What is a memory that you bring with you home? I enjoyed the afternoon swims next to the hotel and I learned that there is a type of apple called “marañon”. I loved seeing the reefs and the fish but my favorite part was going back to the centers and developing my relationships with the…
We continued our permaculture work today. It’s been amazing to see our progress, turning a blank patch of land into a garden that will have a lasting effect after we leave. Today we worked on fencing the area. We started by stabilizing the pre-existing poles with rocks while another group cleared a bush on the…
Today was an adventure that was unexpectedly unique, we started the day similar to many others with the noises of Caribbean waking us up and leading us to a breakfast of French toast and a variety of fruit. After the usual breakfast routine the group boarded two boats to take us to La Loma cacao…
The group returned to Urubamba today after an impactful week in the mountains. We worked with school children in Cuncani to inspire pride in their mountain ecosystems and installed a new irrigation system in the school’s greenhouse; and we had the opportunity to harvest potatoes alongside the Cuncani community members who came out to support…
It was really satisfying to wake up hearing the crashing waves and the palm trees swaying in the distance. After leaving the bed and opening the windows you could see the beautiful colors of the houses and a bright sun for beginning the day, (I couldn’t really enjoy it as the alarm didn’t work and…
If I could describe myself in three positive words I would use funny, hard-working, and studious. If I was to describe myself with three negative words I would use worried, fearful, and anxious. Whether I am using positive or negative words, all of these words make up who I am, or so I thought. If…
All is well in Cucani – great day working with local children. And resiliency is strong with cold weather camping!
Today was our first day of project work. We helped clear a field right outside of Tiriji, learned about permaculture, and made compost. The university students came out to help us and we had the chance to talk to them and learn more about who they are. The project work was hard, but to see…
Today was a very busy but fun day! We started the morning with omlets, toast, and fruit before boarding onto 2 boats and making our way to the island of Bocas del Toro. While the whole archipelago is called Bocas del Toro there is one main island that shares the name while the others all…
Today was our first full day in Meru. We took a long hike in the morning to a meadow near the Eco Center. I took the time during this hike to back up and reflect on how the past couple days have affected me. I have started to understand how I fit in the world…
In today’s blog I, Athziry, will be talking about the wonderful hard working people in this rancho. Everyone is dedicated to their own roles of helping the community and maintaining this biodiverse ecosystem. The first person that comes to mind is a kind elder Felix. We have probably spoken about Felix before, but he is…
The first activity we got to participate in today was farming. It was a strenuous walk full of humidity and heat guided by the farmer’s son Kevin. Finally, we arrived and we’re greeted by Kevin’s friendly father Felix, who was the person in charge of the farm. He let us rest and geared us up…
Today was a very eventful day that began with waking up and listening to the soothing waves and birds. We all got ready and sat in the main room to eat breakfast with a lookout of the beautiful ocean. The breakfast today was pancakes and fruits. My favorite fruit was the pineapple because of how…
A long day for our crew but the leaders report, “Great day at Machu Picchu learning form our guides Victor and Puma – some particularly meaningful conversations about growing up in the high Andes and the generational changes for Andean people. Despite the 4am wake-up to get into the park early, the group persisted through…
The last two days have been an adventure! Yesterday was filled with many activities including visiting a giraffe sanctuary, safari walk, cultural center, and meeting Dr. K in Nairobi. I loved being able to bond with everyone in the group and being able to learn more about the Kenya tribes and cultures. We got to…
This morning, the group spent their time on a tour of Rancho Verde’s organic farm. Not only did we see many different plants, but at each new species we paused to learn about the plant’s essential role in the jungle and in the lives of the family that lives on the farm. Our tour leader…
The group spent the day in Nairobi, visiting a giraffe sanctuary and learning about the history and culture of Kenya. Tomorrow they are off to Meru!
A long day but our leaders report “the group had a great day learning and the Quechua people with visits to Maras, Moray and Ollantaytambo archeological sites. Great context for the history and culture of the people we will be working with in the mountains. We will be up very early tomorrow morning for a…
Today, around 10 am, we took an informative and fascinating driving tour with Rollin (a spokesperson from a local non-profit, Sustain the Nine). Caravan style, Rollin took us to three main sites: the flood wall that took on the biggest break during Katrina, the bayou, and overlook of the Mississippi River, and several stray barges…
The Kenya leaders have let us know the group has arrived safely to Nairobi. They are off to their hostel to get some rest.
The Peru crew has arrived safely in Urubamba and had the chance to meet with our NGO partner, the Llama Pack Project. After a long day of travel the crew is off to rest up for their first full day in Urubamba tomorrow.
The New Orleans group is all together and ready to get the week started. We will have more updates soon.
The group has arrived safely to Panama and is enjoying their first day together. Here is a picture of the group at the Trapiche Restaurant where they had dinner tonight.
The Kenya crew has boarded their flight and is off to Nairobi.
Next stop, Cuzco