Today was the first day my room was on time for breakfast. Princess began our day with the theme song from Frozen to make sure we were awake. Shockingly, we had already woken up from the tropical music playing outside of our window. As everyone arrived for breakfast at different times, I could hear the…
Our group of 66 includes 13 SStS members, 3 Llama Pack guides, 10 llamaros from an Andean community, and 40 llamas – all smiling at the altitude of 15,700 ft. With the trek complete, the camp is not set for the day. Students are resting after such an early start and challenging day. The group…
Today was an undeniably eventful day here in Meru! We started our morning with warm lemongrass tea before a drive to a local high school. We were greeted with a presentation of traditional dancing and singing, as well as short introductions from members of each grade. Dr. K shared her message about the power of…
Sunday, June 25 As interesting as it was, a good group of us started our Sunday morning bright and early walking to a Kenyan Methodist church. We first walked over to KACH and met up with some kids. Grace had Tamara on her hip and Eliana and I were accompanied by Nanette. Being at the…
Travel Journal Saturday, June 24 Today was another busy day for us here in Meru. We started off working with Nicholas continuing our permaculture project. The work today was not as tiring, as we simply planted the seeds in the beds we made yesterday. There were all different kinds of these seeds such as carrots,…
Today we woke up excited to go and visit the cacao farms in San Cristobal. We woke up to some freshly made pancakes and some delicious pineapple. We then took a long boat ride to San Cristobal. We got to San Cristobal and were welcomed by so many kids. When we got to the Cacao…
Journal entry: After an action-packed day at Corcovado National Park, I was deep in thought on the boat ride back to the bus. As we bounced over waves, I looked out over the majestic green cliffs on the coastline and reflected on the experiences I had today. Our adventures in Corcovado had begun with a…
We spoke with the field this evening (Kenya time) to learn that the group is well and thriving. Often, earlier mornings, followed by long days, end in deep, reflective conversations, with journal entries taking a low priority. The typical pattern includes an entry on the third day.
The Garmin text just arrived from high in the Andes. All is well in Cuncani – amazing day here harvesting potatoes with Andean community in an ancestral manner. The group is healthy and in good spirits. Green light for the trek with all 13 of us tomorrow and 13 guides – 3 from Llama Pack…
I felt more connected to the community of Rancho Quemado today, more than ever before. We started the day by laughing out loud when the itinerary stated that WE would be teaching local kids soccer, but of course it would end up being the opposite. The kids were so accepting of our questionable soccer skills,…
All is well. Installed irrigation for school greenhouses and refinished classroom floors. The Peru Crew is motivated and present, understanding the value of their purposeful work.
Yesterday concluded with a horrific episode of a four-cockroach invasion in the instructor’s room after dinner. Without further ado… Welcome to Snorkeling Saturday! The morning commenced with the usual reluctance to get out of our warm beds. Later we ate a delicious breakfast of omelets, bread, and fruit while talking about random subjects. To our…
To be honest, I truly do not know how to start this. There’s so much I want to say about today. Whether it is going to a farm at 5 am, working with Enrique to clean and preserve the beautiful forest right behind his house, or even cooking in the kitchen and struggling just to…
The group returned late with little energy for writing in the travel journey – a night off! Word from the field: some students’ evening excitement was an introduction to cockroaches!
After teaching and playing with children, the Peru Crew hiked to a high mountain lake where they saw a farmer’s home and way of life – all punctuated by an amazing circle discussion with community members – amazing! (double “amazing” is from the field – knowing Brian (course instructor) as I do, this must have…
On Day 6, we helped out at an urban farm in the upper ninth ward named Farming NOLA. They grow fruits and vegetables for the community and provide donations to Common Ground Relief for their food bank every Saturday. At the farm, we helped Josh and Scott water plants, pick figs, pull weeds, and clear…
Travel Journal Friday, June 23 Today brought yet another adventurous day in the highlands of Kenya! We started off our morning strong as we met our friends Patrick, Nicholas, Tyrus, Kelvin, and Vivian from KACH and headed over to continue working on our hybrid permaculturing/composting/manure-shoveling project. It was really meaningful to see our work progressing…
This photo from the field, after a morning of physical labor in the deep, humid heat, tells a story of bonding, gratitude, and growth. Riley, Jackie, and this diverse team of students exemplify the mission of SStS – What a crew! Parents – this photo might be a special “welcome home” framed gift!
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…
The NOLA Crew had a productive, gratifying day of hard work. They are retiring without a journal post but with the satisfaction that comes uniquely from honest, physical work. Well done!
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 probably my favorite day that we have had so far. It was really hard to get out of bed because I have been sleeping so well with the sounds of the ocean. We had pancakes and fruit for breakfast (so good!). Then we went to Red Frog Beach by boat and arrived at…
Camp has been set and the Peru Crew is setting in at the high Andean community of Cucani after a day of travel and a visit to the Inkariy Museum. Note: the SStS office receives daily updates from our climbing group through text from a special Garmin device. We are also in contact through SAT…
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…
Today our group went to The Green Project, where we took an informative tour led by Erin, the project manager. While we were there we learned about the importance of reduce, reuse and recycle and how that played in with the local community. The Green Project is a warehouse and store open to the public…
Today, our group woke up bright and early and prepared to go into the swamp. We had an early breakfast and then headed on our hour and a half drive out to the launch point on the lake. We split into groups on boats full of bags filled with California Bullrush. They scattered our groups…