[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text letter_spacing=””]* This post was written on July 6 but not sent until the group returned to Urubamba yesterday.
This past week we had the most amazing opportunity to work alongside the community members of Quishuarani (“key-swa-rani”). We faced many challenges including teaching in the lingua-franca of a Quechua Spanish combination, transporting an endless amount of rocks (perfected by an assembly line), and hiking a couple miles up a steep mountain. Although the latter proved to be easy for those who live in the rocky Colorado mountains, it was exceptionally difficult for this native-born Texan. However, these challenges yielded many rewards: newly installed soccer posts, completion of two nurseries, and a fresh paint job for the playground. The most meaningful reward of them all –witnessing the wide smiles on all the kids’ faces. – Macy
On our last day working at the school I started to work in the nursery because I didn’t want to paint or throw rocks. We started with dismantling the plastic roof of the nursery which originally seemed boring. I thought about changing jobs but as soon as we started working on the plant beds, I didn’t leave the nursery. We worked for hours on organizing rocks and filling them in with dirt. I took the job of placing the rocks so they would support the dirt in the plant beds. My mind thought of this task like a puzzle. I became completely entranced by a puzzle of rocks and I rushed to gather more rocks to expand my puzzle. Once we finished finishing the beds, I immediately wanted to start on the next nursery. This really showed how much I felt immersed in my work for the plants. Even though I never thought I would enjoy placing rocks against dirt, I never wanted to stop. – Clara
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