Heading out for the trek

Two days ago the group was able to finish up the plastering an paint
over it as well. Also we finished the school entrance sign and part of
the children's mural.

Yesterday we took a little break for a festival in Ollantaytambo. The
children of  the ciyt and the surrounding Andean villages along with
some actors put on a play about the founding of the city and how it
got its name. After the play, which was two hours, we went to the
market and got fried trout and popped corn for lunch. As we were
leaving the city we saw lots of dancing and lots of foreigners there
for the festivities.

Last night we had a ceremony were a shaman came in and we had a very
spiritual experience. After he had put all of the ingredients on a
paper sheet, with our help and explaining the meaning of each key
competent he put it in the fire and sent good vibes to the Apu
spirits.

This morning we are headed out for an eight hour hike to the hot
springs and will be camping overnight in the mountains.  We will check
in as soon as possible! (probably Sunday night.)

-Sarah Crowe

Thursday Morning
Hey its Mary Rae even though its Thursday I’m going to talk about
yesterday. So yesterday Blair and i got up around 7:30, had a really
good breakfast of pancakes and tea with our homestay family. Then we
walked to the school for work. We’ve been working on improving the
kitchen at the school. So yesterday we plastered the outside. It was
pretty hard work. We have to make the plaster ourselves, so we would
get some of the mix from the bag and then go into the house and fill
the bucket of mix with water. After we finished work Blair and I went
home to eat lunch. Afterwords we came back to the school and split up
into groups of five. Five of us went on a hike, and the other five
weaved baskets. I went on the hike, and it was really beautiful.
Truthfully it was more of a walk. We just walked along the road for a
while and then we went on this side path, where on the left there was
a cliff and at the bottom was the river. Then on the right there were
peoples farms. We encountered about 5 bulls on our path and had to
walk around them. Our hike ended at the Incan ruins were we walked
around and ate snacks. The ruins were so beautiful! The food here is
also really good, everything is made from scratch, and we get tea at
every meal which is my favorite part. The only bad thing about the
food is that we get served huge portions and its rude not to finish,
and you feel pretty sick after your done. But i love it here
everything is so beautiful.

June 26, 2012

Peru has been wonderful so far! We arrived in Cusco on Sunday morning after over 24 hours of traveling, which included a 3-hour delay in Houston. By the time we landed, most of us were running on only a few hours of sleep and were both relieved and excited to begin our time in Peru.

We met up with our World Leadership School guides, Tai and Kennedy, in the Cusco airport and boarded a bus to Ollantaytambo. On the bus ride over, we saw the beautiful Peruvian countryside, which was filled with green fields surrounded by snowcapped mountains. Wild flowers ran along the road and the sky was the brightest shade of blue. When we reached Ollantaytambo, we settled into our hostel rooms and explored the town in groups. Afterwards we had several leadership activities and ate a great meal at a local restaurant.

            The next day we went white-water rafting on a tributary of the Amazon. Despite it being winter in Peru, the weather was quite pleasant. After rafting, we moved out of our hostel and headed to Piscacucho where we met our homestay families. I am rooming with Mary Rae, and our homestay family, consisting of a mom, dad, and two young sons, were very welcoming. They fed us popcorn and spaghetti while we all played card games around the dinner table. Although the language barrier is troubling, we are still able to have a great time together.

            Today is our first day working on the local elementary school. We began the day sanding off several walls in preparation for a mural. Then our WLS guide, Kennedy, informed us that there is currently a nation-wide teacher strike, which isn’t uncommon in Peru, and that the kids haven’t been able to attend school. After hearing this news, a few of us got together and began teaching local kids, who were hanging out near the near the school, basic English in a classroom. Now we are working in shifts between sanding walls and teaching.

            I can’t wait to continue learning the culture, working on the school, and exploring all that Peru has to offer. I can already tell that I will miss this place!

Ciao,

Blair

Day two

Today was a lovely second day. We started the morning rafting the Urubamba River. It was a lot of fun; Henry and Buggy got soaked but the rest of us weren't too wet. After a picnic lunch by the river we came to Piscacucho to meet our homestay families. The students are settled in, and were playing with their host siblings or eating dinner when we went around and visited them this afternoon. Piscacucho is absolutely spectacular and we hope to be able to get some pictures up tomorrow!

Students are in Cusco

Hello family and friends! The students from Ensworth have arrived in Cusco. They were met by the WLS coordinator Adela and WLS instructors Kennedy and Tai. They will head down the Scared Valley to Ollantaytambo. They have a 2.5 hours drive to Ollanta. They will have lunch in Ollanta and spend the rest of the day relaxing and settling into their new environment. They will update the blog later this evening.

Erin Lasky
Program Director

Hii Parents
We received the following message from Greg Eubanks last night: "We got to Lima about 1:30. By the time we got thru customs and found a place to camp it was about 3:00. We had lots of company.  There were people sleeping everywhere. Slept for a couple hours on the floor and most are getting some breakfast now." The group is now on their way to Cuzco and we'll update the blog later in the day once they arrive in Ollantaytambo.
Thanks
Ross Wehner