SStS Reflection
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The Importance of the Unspoken
Yesterday after lunch, everyone went inside instead of continuing to work because it began to rain. Our friends Sonam (co-founder of Arhaus Children’s Home), Tirsana, and Sukurani all took time out of their days to teach us a little bit of Nepalese. We learned basic phrases such as “thank you”, “my name is _____”, and…
Full Morning, Afternoon, Evening
The field reports: Long day Service in the morning; Learning from a gold miner turned conservationist in the afternoon Night hike, led by volunteer community members, formerly hunters, now conservationists. The crew is worn out!
Permaculture
The physical labor of creating raised bed gardens also put our crew to bed early! Let’s hope the fruits of their labor are in the form of a student journal entry tomorrow!
Mountain Tranquility
The group is healthy, preparing for a well-earned rest.
page 2
A continuation of the handwritten journal.
Bullet Points
I’m posting the travel journal as it was sent to our office – a photo of this long day’s work. The medium is the message – though some of the descriptors might evoke a grin or two.
Impact Past the Shallow End
During today’s work hauling bags of sand to the roof, the team experienced the slow grind of commitment. At the end of the day we discussed the feelings we experienced during our work. We described a mutual feeling of something pushing us to continue despite urges to quit. Reflecting on the day helped me realize…
Day 1
The day started at 7:a.m wake-up and breakfast at 8 of eggs and toast. with a 9:00 a.m. departure time. Our first visit was to the Maras salt pools. After the Maras salt pools, it was a short bus ride to the moray valley to look at some ancient ‘laboratory’ where the Incans experimented with…
Day 7: Sloth Tour and Playa Blanca
Today we started our day with a delicious breakfast consisting of Gallo Pinto, plantains, eggs, mango and pineapple, coffee, and hot chocolate made with organic cacao. After that we jumped on a bus and headed about 45 minutes to our Sloth, or Perica, tour! We arrived at a beautiful garden, called Perica, and met the…
Sugar Mill Tour and Tails with the Elders
Day 6: Sugar Mill Tour and Tails with the Elders Emmet Johnston We started the day off with a great breakfast consisting of corn pancakes with cheese, sausage to put on it, fruit, rice, and beans. After we finished breakfast we walked over to a sugar cane farm where we were greeted with sugar cane…
Horseback Adventure
The day began with warm pancakes and fresh fruit from the local farms. After breakfast, the group split into six and six and we decided who would be horseback riding first. I was in the second group so I started my day with playing Uno, Texas Hold’ em with pebbles as chips. These intense games…
Serendipitous Encounter Leads to Dance Lessons
Dancing with the ladies of the house, the sound of rain and laughter mixing together, I felt a sense of joy and belonging that I hadn’t felt anywhere else. I wasn’t feeling great during our day in the monkey temple and going around the city, but my spirits and health really lifted during dinner,…
On the Road Again…to Sellari
The idea that comes to mind when i think of today is, it’s not about the destination, it is about the journey. The drive to the Arhaus Children’s Home from Kathmandu was very long but the views the whole drive were amazing! There were so many bridges from one side of the river to the…
Arrived to Peru
The Peru 2022 Crew has arrived safely and is off to lunch before their first meeting with the Llama Pack Project team.
Arriving to KACH
The Kenya crew had a powerful presentation from Dr. K today about Tiriji and regenerative leadership. This was followed by some reflections, journaling — and then finally meeting the KACH kids! More detailed updates coming soon.
Organic Farm Tour
We started the day with a hearty breakfast of rice, beans, and bread. Then we walked about twenty minutes to a trail that took us into the jungle where we had quite the adventure. In the rainforest, we saw multiple toucans and capuchin monkeys. We found out about a multitude of trees and plants. We…
First Day in Nepal
Kathmandu, Nepal Today was our group’s first day in Nepal. We were all pretty jet lagged, but we did visit Boudhanath Stupa. We also went over some norms for our group. First impression of Nepal is that it’s really rich with culture—a culture that’s a lot different than what we’re used to. The main religions…
Organic Farm and Library Service
Today was day 3 of our trip and the first real day in Rancho Quemado. We started the day by waking up and having breakfast, in which the staff gave us the most amazing cheese empanadas, rice/beans, and fruit. We then visited a community member’s farm just off his property. He showed us all the…
Reflecting
23 June 2022 Tom from the recycling center/founder of Wasteless World reunited with our group a few days ago with boxes of his lionfish jewelry to sell. Everybody was very excited and swarmed around him to see the jewelry he had talked so passionately about on the recycling tour. As Tom told us on the…
Kenya
The crew has arrived.
Good Morning, Nepal
The crew is working their way through customs to an awaiting Sonam. What a treat! Time for breakfast!
Travel to Rancho Quemado
The last 2 days have consisted mostly of meeting the group and traveling to Rancho Quemado. We got off the plane to Miami and were greeted by Lynsie, Lenore, and other group members. In the weeks before the trip, I was nervous about getting along with the group, but as soon as we sat down,…
The Lionfish Project
We are now approaching the end of this trip with only one full day remaining at the community center. This trip has been a whirlwind of fun, emotions, learning, and connections. I can’t even begin to explain how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to spend the last two weeks in the community…
Arrived to Rancho Quemado
After a beautiful drive from San Jose, the group arrived at our NGO partner this evening. They were greeted with a welcome ceremony and enjoyed their first meal with our hosts. After a long day of travel, they are off to bed to rest for an early start tomorrow.
A Good Night’s Sleep
The Kenya crew has turned in for the night, resting for the big launch tomorrow.
To Bed!
After a long, rewarding day, the Panama crew is off to sleep. The field reports that we will see a journal post tomorrow. Here’s to a restful evening – for all.
We Learn From Each Other
21 June 2022 Over the past couple of weeks, I have met a lot of eager kids who are ready to learn. Here in Panamá, the education system is not the strongest. While the Panamanian government does its best to help, it just isn’t enough. On Bastimentos Island, the island we are staying on, there…
Arrived: New York
The Nepal 2022 crew (minus one who will be arriving tomorrow) has made it to New York and begun their course orientation. They will be spending tomorrow getting to know each other before flying out Tuesday evening for Nepal.
Arrived: San Jose
Arrived safely and even met Bill Cotter, who arrived from course instructor training and will be joining the group on tomorrow’s journey toward Rancho Quemado (Bill lives in a small town halfway to the site).