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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Our final day of service was spent working with Forgotten Harvest for a second day, this time at their farm, which sits on over 95 acres of donated land in Fenton, MI, about an hour outside of Detroit. We spent the morning harvesting collard greens and preparing the watermelon fields for cultivation. During lunch…
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]Today brought us to our third non-profit partner of our trip, Forgotten Harvest. We spent the day re-packaging food that would otherwise have gone to waste, and putting together food for lunches. When we got back to the hostel we had the opportunity to talk to Emma, an SStS Detroit alumna who lives in…
We started our day at Neighborhood Service Organization’s Tumaini Center, learning about the services available to Detroit’s homeless population and their “housing first” approach. We then headed to Bell House, which provides permanent, supportive housing for homeless adults, where we prepared and served lunch and played bingo with some of the residents. Patrick – At…
We returned to Focus:HOPE today, this time to their Center for Children to volunteer in their early childhood education program. Students spent the day in different classrooms working with the kids. In the afternoon we headed to the Detroit Historical Museum, where we learned more about Detoit’s history. We capped off the afternoon by exploring…
We started our day at Focus:HOPE. After an orientation from Tom, we got to work packaging food to be delivered to seniors in the greater Detroit area. After lunch, Tom gave us a tour of Focus:HOPE’s facilities and talked with the group about the history and growth of the organization. We then went to visit…
Bolivia Return Flight Information: Flight: AA 938 Departs Bolivia on Tuesday, July 16 at 7:00 AM Arrives in Miami on Tuesday, July 16 at 2:06 PM
I felt more at home at the hostel of El Refugio than I had at any point during my trip to Bolivia. Reason being was the mountains. I had spent a week in the small riverside town of Rurrenabaque and had a great time, hours in the airport of La Paz and felt mostly the…
Our Ci’s report that the Detroit group has arrived and begun their introductory activities. Tomorrow they will begin their work with Focus: HOPE. Be sure to follow along here on the Travel Journal as well as on Instagram @studentsshouldertoshoulder.
And here we are, we’ve made it to the end of our journey. We started our last full day with three knocks on our door at 5:45 to head out for a morning safari drive. Although we did not see as many exciting animals as we did last night, consisting of zebras, a lion, a…
The group was tired, dirty, and ready to get back to Rurrenbaque. After three nights of sleeping in the jungle of the Amazon, everyone was eager to take a shower and sleep in a real bed. The work we did in the Charque community was fulfilling and we were satisfied with what we had accomplished,…
The first bead introduced to the Bolivia team was the blue bead. Each of us were asked to assign a definition to the bead and I chose curiosity. The curiosity to discover the infinite skies above, and the endless depths of the sea. Blue is calm, cool, and collected; necessary for the exploration of the…
Hello from our safari hotel, Today we said our goodbyes to IPI and drove to the safari lodge. On our way in we spotted a few giraffes and some elephants, a lovely warm welcome from the African animals. After settling in and indulging on the buffet, we laid out by the pool. Our evening drive…
Throughout the wonderful time we have spent together as a group, we have all grown to understand the concept of humility in a new way. Whether it was by learning more about traditional Lakota ceremonies, that horseback riding isn’t as easy as it seems to be, or understanding that things don’t always go as expected….
Communication is key no matter the location or the situation. This becomes even more prudent when in a foreign country and a simple miscommunication can affect the entirety of the travels. Coming into this trip I was not extremely confident in my Spanish speaking but I have learned how even the simplest and most discombobulated…
Many of us claim water companies such as Essentia, Fiji, Evian, Smart Water, and Voss to be the best tasting water while some of us install Brita filters and fridge filters to make our clean water cleaner. But about 2000 miles away in our small town of Rurrenabaque and the community Charque, the people rely…
Our CI’s reported that today, “Students hiked to the top of Black Elk Peak, formerly known as Harney Peak, to share in the rituals of tobacco offerings and recreating and remembering the journeys that many Lakota took from the reservation to their sacred mountain in the Black Hills.”
At the beginning of our ten-day journey, none of us had any idea what to expect. Then, on Day 2, we met Buzz Ironcloud. Buzz encouraged us to ask questions, no matter how simple or complicated they might seem. He shared personal stories with us about his childhood, as well as many unique experiences that…
While everyone on the Bolivia team came here with the same goals, we (Lily and Sydney) were sent with a specific task: to collect data regarding the health and sanitation of the rural community we visited in the Amazon. Shoulder to shoulder worked alongside the epidemiology department at Wayne State University (located in Detroit,Mi) to…
Our 2019 Tibet Crew begins their return journey home in just a few hours. Below you will find their flight information: Depart Chengdu on Thursday, July 11 at 10 AM local time on CA 4107 arriving in Beijing at 12:45 PM local time. Depart Beijing on Thursday, July 11 at 3 PM local time on…
When I signed up for this trip I expected many things: cute kids, foreign animals, and long days of labor. However, I never expected spending 11 nights in a small room with 10 girls that I can now call my close friends. I never expected to find a gecko in our room at night nor…
Hello again! It’s Ellie. Today we woke up for an early breakfast at our hotel. I ate bread with butter and strawberry jam. We loaded up onto a new bus…our beloved purple one was taking a break, and set off early for Angkor Wat to attempt to beat the crowds for the first part of…
Our Cambodia crew is heading to the airport now. Here is their return flight information: Cathay Pacific/Dragon Air (all times local time) Departs Phnom Penh on Wednesday, July 10 at 11:25 A.M on KA 287 arriving in Hong Kong at 3:10 PM Departs Hong Kong on Wednesday, July 10 at 4:35 P.M. on CX 882…
Over the weekend we were all fortunate enough to stay at a Kenyan home. We started Saturday with a great leadership program with Dr. Karambu were we all learned how we react instead of respond to our surroundings. We learned this through a balloon game where we were given a balloon and a toothpick. We…
After four days and three night spent in Charque (a small village along the Bolivian Amazon), the group has made it back safely to Rurrenabaque. They will spend tomorrow cleaning up, finishing the filters they built, and having a final dinner with Joselo and the team of the Rio Beni Health Foundation.
Our course instructors report that students spent the day learning about the significance of the horse to the Lakota cultural and also had the chance to go on a horseback ride. While riding, the group had the chance to speak with several Lakota about the role of horses in their culture.
Our CI’s report that the group has made it to Kangding and will be leaving for Chengdu tomorrow. The group has had the chance to taste lots of local food, dance in the town center, and get a glimpse of nomadic life.
Our 2019 Bolivia crew finished their last day of work delivering filters in the town of Charque. They will be packing up camp and returning to Rurre tomorrow where we hope they will have a chance to send along some photos from their time away.
On the first day of this course, we learned that the children’s camp was canceled. Bewildered and disappointed, the instructors engaged their thirteen years of experience leading the Pine Ridge course to create a meaningful program in ethical leadership. The first lesson was handed to us in the news of the canceled camp: how to…
As the rooster crowed us awake for the last time, we rolled out of bed and placed our packs on our back to load up the boats just like we had done when we departed for the island. We enjoyed one last breakfast, cooked by our master chef and my personal best friend, Phiya’s mother…
Before embarking on this 10 day experience, we were all very excited to be working with children at the Children’s Healing Camp in the Black Hills. However, due to circumstances outside of our control, we have not been able to do so, as the Healing Camp was moved to a later date. We have participated…