Spring 2003 Trip Reports

Dear friends and family, Here we are in Miami, just before takeoff!

We´ve been in South America for three weeks. We have an amazing group of girls who are involved in learning about Ecuador, meeting local people, and exploring the communities. Right now, we are staying in the middle of a steep valley with volcanoes rising up on all sides. They evacuated this town, Baños, Ecuador, several years ago because of severe volcanic activity, but now the streets are bustling, the sun is shining, and the volcano only spits and groans at odd intervals.
Our oldest, Tricia, from New York, has already graduated from high school and is spending a gap semester with us. She is completing a series of independent study projects, including two photo essays - one on the positive and negative effects of globalization, and the other chronicling the youth of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. She is also working on creating a video documentary on our semester, which ranges from video shots in the overwhelming Otavalo market, to taking common shots of study hall as the girls burrow into their books in the evenings.
Caroline, from Vermont, is also a senior and is busy finishing the classes she needs for graduation. She is recovering from an ankle injury, but she hasn´t let that slow her down from our busy schedule of classes, cultural activities, and outdoor pursuits. She is looking forward to visiting the rainforest and the Galapagos Islands, and she exclaims each day how happy she is to be here and how much she enjoys the group and Ecuador.
Emily, a junior from Jackson Hole, is working to pursue her dreams of becoming a diplomat or a foreign correspondent. She won the Academic Award last week (Caroline won it this week), and she managed to beat everyone on a run this morning that climbed the steep hills surrounding Baños. I have yet to hear Emily say a negative word about anything. She is cheerful and excited about each day, and always greets the group with a big smile of expectation each morning.
Jesse, a junior from Bozeman, Montana, has been busy analyzing and questioning everything that we encounter. She has an endless curiosity for the culture and the people, and her questions are wonderful. As a former ballet dancer, she has been enjoying our early morning yoga classes and afternoon salsa dance classes - she´s got some great dance moves!
Rachel, a junior from California, has attracted quite a bit of attention for herself! Rachel´s beautiful Hispanic heritage shows in her dark eyes and long, dark hair. She has commented repeatedly about how much she resembles the indigenous people in Ecuador - the only difference being that Rachel towers above most of them at 5 foot, 10 inches! We visited a church service in Otavalo several weeks ago for a cultural activity, and Rachel remarked that when she kneeled down, she was the same height as everyone else!
Laura, a sophomore from North Carolina, has thrown herself into the middle of things. She claims that she doesn´t like school at home, but we have seen nothing but academic excellence from her so far. She asks great questions, has impressed everyone we´ve met with her southern charm, and views everything with excepional eagerness and interest.
Finally, Kendall, a freshman from Kansas, is our youngest - but you wouldn´t know it. She has a great sense of humor, and takes everything in stride. She had the unfortunate luck to get bit by a dog during our first week, and she has handled the entire situation with grace and optimism. She doesn´t let the fact that she is the youngest deter her at all, and she is the center of the group on a regular basis!

CULTURAL ACTIVITES
We spent the first two weeks at Casa Mojanda, a beautiful hacienda set high in the rolling hills outside of Otavalo. Otavalo is also the home to the biggest market in South America, and the girls had a wonderful time learning to bargain, wandering through the stalls, and purchasing bright wool sweaters, silver jewelry, and gifts for home. In Otavalo, the girls completed our first community service project. They spent two days volunteering and teaching in a local elementary school. They donated school supplies from home, taught the kids how to play duck, duck, goose, and showed them pictures of their families and friends in the United States. We also toured a local anthropology museum, and since one of our teachers used to work as an archeologist in Ecuador, she was able to give the girls a unique historical perspective. We spent the weekend in Quito and the girls were able to spend lots of time in the big city. We had a guest speaker, who is the head of the Peace Corps in Ecuador, come talk with the group about Ecuador´s role in the world, and the recent effects of dollarization. The girls also attended their homestay orientation, and learned about who their families will be for their homestay - which begins in the second week of March in Riobamba, Ecuador.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITES
School is certainly going in full force. We have a full day of classes each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Study Hall for an hour and a half Sunday - Thursday. Tuesday and Thursday are dedicated to academic activities. So far, the girls have been busy. In Science, they are studying climatology and are about to begin a section on biodiversity and rainforest ecology as we enter the rainforest this weekend. In History, they have just finished discussing ancient civilizations and Incan traditions, and are moving on to the conquistadors. To complement the History course, we have visited an ancient archeological pre-Incan ruin and an Otavalo anthropology museum. In Spanish, the course has been divided into two levels. The emphasis is on conversation and their homework today is to go out into the community in Baños and interview someone in Spanish! For Math, they are learning the basics of economic theory, decision-making processes, how to choose a career, and how to budget. They all realized that they blew their budgets entirely after a weekend of fun in Quito! In English, they are finishing reading The Alchemist, and just wrote their first essay. It is a descriptive essay on a person, place or thing. They are also keeping daily journals to record all of their experiences and travels along the way. For Global Studies, they are reading Savages, by Joe Kane. It is an anthropological and journalistic novel about the Huarani tribe in Ecuador and their challenges with the oil industry in the rainforest. Also for Global Studies, they´ve studied group dynamics, communicating in another culture. Yesterday they had to explore Baños in groups and complete a scavenger hunt of places and people in the city to work on orienteering, map reading, communicating, and exploring a new culture!

OUTDOOR PURSUITS
The final academic credit is PE, and we´ve had a great time with this one. We spend each morning alternating between yoga and plyometrics (strength training using repetitive exercises and body weight). This morning, we ran at dawn up a ridge outside if Baños. Our other activities have been varied, and a ton of fun. We´ve had several classes to learn how to salsa dance, though none of us salsa´d when we went out dancing in Quito on Saturday night! We went hiking in a cloud forest and the girls did their Science observations while sitting on top of a knob overlooking a dormant volcano. Tomorrow, we´re planning to rent mountain bikes and explore the area around Baños.
That covers our schedule up until now! The next few weeks will involve a visit to the rainforest to sleep in cabañas, listen to monkeys, and identify new plants and animals. At the beginning of March, we´ll be in the thick of Carnival, the world´s largest waterfight. The little kids around here are already throwing water, and the girls are plotting to purchase water balloons and squirt guns in the not-too-distant future! The girls will have a family homestay until mid-March, and we´ll be completing another community service project as we help repair a roof of a school, and build playgrounds for several indigenous communities outside of Riobamba. At the end of March, we´ll be visiting the fabulous Galapagos Islands to study with a wildlife biologist and explore Darwin´s famous islands.
Thanks for your interest! And we´ll post the next trip report soon!
Adios!
Gennifre Hartman
Executive Director/ Principal
The Traveling School


A Trip Report from Marta - March 8, 2003
Saludos de Riobamba!

Since the last Traveling School communication,
it feels like we've been everywhere. From Baños we have gone down the Rio Pastaza past waterfalls and mudslides to the rainforest town of Tena. From Tena we went to Misahualli, and from there down the Rio Napo by canoe to stay in cabañas near the town of Ahauno. After three days in la selva (the jungle), we returned to Tena and then went to San Francisco de Borja, a village in the cloud forest, for three days of classes and rafting with the staff and students of the World Class Kayaking Academy. From there we returned to Quito, turned around,
headed south on the caraterra panamericana, and now find ourselves in Riobamba. Whew! We've gone from the sierra to the selva and back again. There are so many stories to tell that it's hard to know where to start.

All of your girls are making excellent academic progress. In English, they have just finished the final draft of a descriptive essay and have now started reading The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. In Mathematical Applications, the girls are playing the Game of Life, in which they have taken on characters in circumstances very different from their own. They recently researched the cost of renting an apartment and have found that it's downright difficult to live on a set income. In Global Studies, we continue working on communication skills and cultural differences. We are also reading the book Savages by Joe Kane. After three days in the rainforest, the issues surrounding the fate of native peoples in developing countries have become more clear.

In Science, the girls are preparing for their excursion to the Galapagos by preparing a research paper on the natural history of one of the endemic species there. Having just completed biodiversity surveys in both the rainforest and in the cloud forest, they are becoming astute observers of their natural surroundings. In History, class discussions have centered around the re-organization of Andean society after the conquest. It's a tough subject, it's true, but even in this dark and terrible history, there are examples of many people who acted with great bravery and compassion. In Spanish, the girls have shown increasing competence and confidence their second language, conducting interviews on the streets of Baños, chatting with our guides in the rainforest, and now living with their Ecuadorian families here in Riobamba.

We have had more authentic contact with the people of Ecuador than most travelers dream of. Our guide in the rainforest, Juan, is Quichua. In addition to leading us on hikes through the forest and teaching us about medicinal plants, he took us to meet his family. Juan's family lives on a small farm on the banks of the Rio Napo. Their house is made of bamboo and rests on eight foot high stilts to accommodate the periodic flooding of the river. Juan's mother and sisters showed us how to mash up cooked yuca to make chicha, a traditional drink that you will find throughout the Andes. We also toured their farm and orchards, where they raise chickens, yuca, bananas, papaya, and almost everything else they might need. By the end of the visit, the family felt comfortable enough with us to allow us to photograph them. Some of those shots I'm sure will be the best of the whole trip.

The next day we toured a museum of hunting and fishing artifacts. Juan painted our faces with achiote, a local plant that is used to make a bright orange dye, and then taught us to use a blow gun, complete with darts, but minus the traditional poison. Laura and Rachel hit the target as if they had lived in la selva since the day they were born. Then we toured AmaZOOnico, a wildlife rescue center for animals that have been kept illegally in captivity. This organization rehabilitates the animals with the goal of returning them to the wild. There are ocelots, jaguarundis, agutis, tortoises, caimans, an endless array of parrots and macaws, and three kinds of monkeys. We all wondered why anyone would even consider trying to keep these magnificent animals in their homes.

Water, and lots of it, has been a constant in our lives since leaving Baños. We explored thundering waterfalls as part of a mountain bike trip down the Rio Pastaza. We canoed down the Rio Napo and swam in its roiling waters. We climbed up an underground waterfall in las cavernas de Jumandy, and then joined the locals in their celebration of Carnival by hurling water balloons and buckets of the stuff at passers-by and at each other. Kendall, Laura, and Caroline were insured that no one on either side of the street stayed dry for long. And did I mention that it has been raining? In Borja, the weather cleared long enough for the girls to go on a trail ride. But soon the rain was back again, raising the level of the Rio Quijos to make a mid-morning raft trip both fun and challenging. We deliberately arranged the raft trip while we were with World Class - an expert kayaking group of teachers and students who were happy to help our girls with safety and fun on the river.Six out of the seven girls swam when the raft flipped over. They all came up sputtering, but thrilled by the experience and ready for more. Everyone, even the kayaker boys, was impressed by the girls' pluck and gumption.

Now we are in Riobamba. The rain is back in the clouds where it belongs. As I write, your daughters are painting the equipment at a playground and getting acquainted with their Ecuadorian families. They will be completing independent academic projects during the upcoming week before going to the Galapagos.

On a sadder note, Kendall's dear friend Jake Shephard passed away after a two year battle with a rare form of cancer. Today's work for the service project is dedicated to his memory. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time.

Next stop: Quito. Have a great week.

Marta Bechhoefer, Spanish and History instructor

April Report from Lander:

Dear parents and friends,
Greetings from Quito once again! As the month of March comes to a close, The Traveling School students and teachers are packing our bags and purchasing our last souvenirs from Ecuador.  On March 31st we begin our journey to Peru!
Our last trip report came to you from Riobamba where the students spent ten days living with Ecuadorian families.  During this time we also had the opportunity to work directly with the Patronato Municipal de Riobamba, a social welfare organization, to assist three different primary schools in the communities of the nearby indigenous federation of Cacha.  Despite intense Andean heat and long hours of dusty work, many smiles were had by Ecuadorian and American students alike - Caroline spent the good part of one afternoon learning to play Ecuavolley (volleyball with a soccerball) with a group of giggling schoolboys.  Each morning, we would meet for PE class - Emily and Tricia led us on what we call urban trail runs, runs on uneven cobble-stoned streets, through markets, and past all sorts of people who are awfully confused to see ten girls out for a run - and then head to the worksite for the day. Over six days of volunteering, we were able to rehabilitate two school playgrounds, begin construction on a cafeteria roof, and paint the entire outside walls of a newly built schoolhouse.  We were thankful to have Rachel's combination of painting ability and height to finish the tallest sections of the school!
Following the homestay, the group set out on the first backpacking trip of the semester.  During a three-day trip along a trail towards Volcano El Altar in Sangay National Park, the group split time between slogging through miles of knee-deep mud and meeting for classes in a green meadow that occasionally offered breathtaking views of the jagged, snow-covered edges of the extinct volcano.  If you would like a real impression of the amount of mud the group encountered, you could ask Laura, I think she almost lost her boots in the sucking mud puddles.
With barely a day to adjust, we returned to Quito, exchanged down jackets and hiking boots for bikinis and flip-flops and boarded an airplane to the Galapagos Islands, located about 600 miles west of Ecuador on the Equator.  The Galapagos archipelago consists of 19 recognized islands formed by underwater volcanoes that remain widely unchanged from the state in which they were discovered in the mid 1500s.  The Galapagos' isolation from mainland South America and its harsh, desert-like climate help to explain the simple ecosystems and unique species that can be found on each island.  Visitors to the Galapagos National Park, which encompasses 97% of the land mass, routinely see tree-sized cactus and other interesting flora, giant tortoises, sea lions, marine and land iguanas, sharks, manta rays, penguins, and numerous other sea and shore birds, and we were not disappointed!  One of the most remarkable aspects of the Galapagos is that due to the lack of natural predators on the islands, the animals do not fear humans.  This means that you may trip over a large iguana lying right in the middle of the trail if you're not careful.  It also means that on multiple occasions sea lions swam right up to us while we were snorkeling to dart around, jump, and play. It was truly an amazing experience!
Our eight days in the Galapagos were some of our fullest yet.  In order to see as many islands as possible, we moved on to a 16 passenger yacht called The Daphne.  We began each day with an early breakfast and would explore different hiking trails on the islands while our naturalist guide, Charlie, informed us of the species on each, or we would don snorkeling gear to explore the underwater marine ecosystems.  Being from Montana, Jesse surprised herself by mastering this ocean sport with ease.  While the boat motored between islands and the other passengers napped, The Traveling School students met for academic classes on the deck of The Daphne.  Nearly every member of the group experienced a bit of seasickness but quickly adjusted to life on the islands, just in time to return to Quito.  Now we are having a chance to explore the museums and colonial history of Ecuador's capital, though it is quite strange to cover up our sunburned arms with rain jackets and fleece hats before going out to dinner each night!
Since the homestay, each class has been tackling new subjects with vigor.  In science, students are finishing up a research paper on the ecology and conservation of a particular Galapgos species that they researched an observed while on the islands.  For Spanish, each student created an eight-page book documenting their family homestay experience.  Students have also had the opportunity to practice with native speakers in arranged conversations with the crew and guide on The Daphne.  History is currently following the political trends of modern Ecuador.  In math class, students have studied banking and practiced reconciling checking accounts.  Since their midterm exam, the girls have begun to investigate the basics of investing including setting up mock portfolios online using stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.  In English, students are studying magical realism in the reading of Isable Allende's House of Spirits.   They have just written their first rough drafts about a personal narrative regarding a challenge that has made a significant difference in their lives. 
Global Studies class includes a recent very pleasant surprise.  While Kendall was reading her Global Studies assignment in a book called Savages, (this nonfiction book tells the story of oil exploration in the Ecuadorian Amazon region), a guest at our hostal informed her that the man on the cover of the book was also sitting in the room.  Kendall politely interrupted Marta's Spanish class in order to inform everyone else, and once all of the girls calmed down from the initial excitement, they all were able to meet with a man named Moi, a Huaroni indian who is leading his indigenous group's struggle against national and foreign oil exploration and development in his rainforest homeland.  We were able to have dinner with Moi and some of his family members that night in Quito.  The girls prepared questions regarding the conflict and their knowledge of Moi's story as told in Savages and spoke with Moi (in Spanish) during dinner.  It was quite a treat to hear such honest communication from a person we have been studying for almost the entire semester!
This week, we will board a plane from Quito to Loja, a town in southern Ecuador.  From there, we will take a bus for a scenic ride across the boarder to Piura, Peru.  From Piura, we will take yet another bus (Peru is big!) to Huaraz, Peru.  Located above 3,000 meters (over 9,500 feet) at the base of the Cordillera Blanca, Huaraz is a hub for trekkers and mountain climbers from around the world.  We plan to hold classes in one of the most scenic classrooms in the world, visit many high altitude lakes and mountain passes on day hikes, and challenge ourselves with a multi-day trek in the Cordillera Blanca.  Until next time!
Lander Purvis, Science Teacher

April Report from Gennifre and Students
Dear parents and friends -
This trip report finds us sitting on the shores of Lake Titicaca, with sunburned cheeks and backpacks full of gifts, and we're off to Bolivia in the morning! It's been awhile since we've written. Life on the road has kept us busy with classes, cultural events, too many yearnings for American food, and lots of outdoor activities! So, instead of listening to me - the girls have all written and have quite a bit to share - enjoy!
From Kendall:
The weekend we left Ecuador, we were lucky enough to be treated to dinner by Jenny and Charles Beeler (members of the Board and Advisory Board who were on the Galapagos Islands for vacation). We went to a really nice restaurant where we all stuffed our faces - we knew the next few days of travel were going to be all about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. While eating, Caroline and I were picked out of the crowd to go and dance on the floor with two of the dancers. How embarrassing! We left the next morning at 4:00 a.m. for the airport. We arrived in Loja, Ecuador around 6:30 a.m., exhausted with the good news that there was not a bus until 1:00 p.m. We were on the bus for about 7 hours before getting off in Piura, Peru where we stayed at Hotel California. The next morning Gennifre was really sick so her bags were put into "group gear" for the next bus ride. While on our way to the bus station Jesse and Emily´s backpacks flew off the top of the taxi car onto the street. We were dropped off at nine that night at another bus station in Trujillo, Peru, on the coast. At the bus station, Marta showed us how to surf on the pavement, and I did my ice skating routine. We finally got on another bus until 7:00 a.m. the next morning where we arrived in Huaraz, exhausted and excited.
From Emily:
While we were in Huaraz, Peru we did a lot of interesting things such as hiking to ancient Incan ruins and watching a slide show about an earthquake, but going to the local market was definitely the highlight of my stay. Because we were heading into the Cordillera Blanca within a couple of days, we had to split into groups of two to buy food for the trek. One day, during Global Studies, we had gotten together and made a list of food to buy along with the amount of each we would need. The next day we split up the ingredient lists, and headed into the market. The market was absolutely insane! There were hundreds of people there walking among the brightly colored tents and booths with all sorts of food. There were shops with various raw meats hanging from the rafters, the stench filling the surrounding area. People bustled around us quickly, bargaining in search of the perfect price, while venders yelled at us trying to get us to buy their products instead of their neighbors'. Some shop keepers would even grab our sleeves when we walked by. Caroline got pick-pocketed, although the thief only got a handful of trash. The market experience was a memorable one, and I know we all learned a lot from being in the
middle of the action.
From Jesse:
Our trek on the Santa Cruz trail through the Cordillera Blanca was the first of our longer treks. Fortunately, we had two experienced mountaineers with us from the states. One was Taylor, Gennifre´s boyfriend, and the other was his friend, Steve. It was really refreshing to have new people with the group and we all had a lot of fun with them. The trek was through a beautiful, green valley with enormous snow capped peaks in all directions. We spent two nights in the valley before climbing the 15,000 ft pass to cross into a different valley. That day was pretty brutal, but I can´t explain how ecstatic I felt when we reached the top. Emily and I, though tired and sore, screamed and bolted upward when we finally saw the "Punta Union." Steve and Kendall had both been ill, but they made it over the pass and impressed everyone. While we spent a few hours up on the ridge of the pass, Gennifre and Taylor climbed up a rock and sat for a while. Behind them were jagged, snowy peaks and valleys of inexplicable green on either side. They had been up there for a while so the rest of us got out our lunch, but a few moments later, Gennifre yelled out, "Hey, guess what....We´re getting married!" A scream that lasted for about fifteen seconds went bounding through the valley and we all freaked out. It was one of the coolest things to experience because we all respect Gennifre so much from all of the time we have spent with her. We were all so happy for them. That night, in the pouring rain, we had an engagement party after setting up the tents. We all dressed up with down coats under our bras and some had pack towel skirts or duck-tape ties. We stood in the rain and scarfed our macaroni and cheese before it got cold. Laura gave Gennifre and Taylor a really hilarious gift, and the whole party was just really funny. The next three days were packed with long hikes out the other side of the valley. Once, Caroline had to perch on a rock on the edge of a freezing lake to ice her ankle while she tried to remain dry. Most nights were rainy, but on the one clear night, we had a poetry reading followed by a gift from Steve of ten full sized Snickers. That caused a pretty huge scream as well. The whole trek was really amazing.
We felt healthy and strong after our accomplishment. All of us want to do more trekking before we go home.
From Laura:
Lima was a very exciting and upbeat city. For the three days we were there, it felt like we were back
in the states. We went to McDonald's and stuffed our faces with McFlurrys and french fries. We went to the movies and saw "Chicago." And we went to the Mariott, where Trish´s parents were staying, for a pool party to celebrate her 18th birthday, but we actually just sat around the pool and ate Cheetos and candy. We stayed in a very nice youth hostel, but the stove wasn´t working, and we had to cook spaghetti in the microwave. While we were in Lima we also had a few classes, went on a blue jeans shopping spree, toured a church, and went to see the changing of the guards, but we missed it. And, as usual, we attracted a lot of attention everywhere we went.
From Tricia:
After coming out of the mountains and being smellier than ever - we said goodbye to out first visitors and welcomed the new. My parents were the first to arrive, they came to the lovely Lima airport the night of the 13th. With them they brought a ton of snacks and treats for everyone. We all had a pool party at the Mariott for my 18th birthday, which ended up with only Lander and Jesse swimming and the rest of us stuffing our faces with the snacks. We headed for Cusco and my parents got a chance to to see how the group works. The visit was short but sweet and they left on April 17th. Laura´s parents arrived on the 16th and brought even more food. They came with us on the Inca Trail. I think they got to see a little more about how the group works then they would have liked! But anyway, we all watched them in amazement as they kept up with all of us who had been training for months for the endless amount of stairs. We got to hear tons of funny stories about Laura - probably more than she would have liked. The addition to the group was a nice treat. And after being spoiled for 10 days, we are all refreshed and ready to start eating googly scrambled eggs once again.
From Rachel:
We arrived in Cuzco still asleep from the early morning. As we walked out to the bus Gennifre had lined up for us, a strange little man proceeded to take our pictures, I just laughed when he tried to take pictures of me, capturing the essence of my grungy self, and Marta protected herself by putting up her hands. It turns out, the man was making postcards out of our pictures; he showed up at our hotel a few days later with our pictures glued to Cuzco postcards. Of course, they were so hilarious I had to buy mine. Although we were all still sleepy from our 4am wake-up, we took a tour of the cobblestone pedestrian streets in our area of Cuzco. Out of breath, I didn't think I could make it up the stairs, but I did. The next day, we all headed out to Saqsay Waman (say Sexy Woman), the Incan ruin above Cuzco. The ruin was built probably as a religious place, but later used as a fortress to defend against the Spaniards. The tidbit I found most interesting is that Cuzco is the shape of a Puma, a traditional Incan symbol, with Saqsay Waman as the head! My favorite part of the day, of course, was the two-plus hour horseback ride through more ruins. We galloped and raced along the streets and dirt roads to the various ruins, laughing in the adrenaline and glee of being on such powerful animals. The funniest part of the ride was when Tricia's horse didn't want to leave the swampy area in the middle of the ride, he was stuck! It took enough time to get her horse out of the mud that we could no longer see her from the front of the pack, we had gone so far. While waiting for her, the other girls and I proceeded to gallop full speed nearby a flock of grazing sheep in the shallow grassy valley between two rocky hills. There were two ruins we visited that l found to be extremely interesting, one was a celestial observatory, with a cave inside for animal sacrifices, and a calendar that uses the shadow cast upon two rocks to tell what time of year it is; the other interesting site was a temple to worship the water, there were channels carved delicately out of the rocks in the temple to create a flow pattern cascading into waterfalls. The carvings in the rocks were so precise, it made me wonder how long it took the Inca to carve the channels! The last day we were in Cuzco, we went to the Breakfast Place, which we had been hearing about for weeks! They piled the food on the table, bread and jam, tea or coffee, fruit salad, a whole pitcher of juice per person, and finally, as if that wasn't enough, a pancake! I ordered a Banana Chocolate pancake, it was the tastiest breakfast I had eaten in at least a month! None of us were hungry for lunch that day, we were still full from breakfast. Cuzco is a huge tourist town with a million and a half shops carrying panchos, jewelry, custom shoes, and T-shirts with slogans such as "la hoja de coca no es una droga." We were all able to go shopping several times, and bought many beautiful souvenirs. My favorite purchase is a pendant with red and black seeds in it, which is supposed to be good luck. Cuzco was a ton of fun, even if I did get carried away with shopping!
From Caroline:
After weeks of training, we finally made it to Machu Picchu. All of our hard work paid off, and we were able to make it to the top. The days of hiking were long and tiring, but the results of seeing the ancient Incan Ruins made all of the hard work very rewarding. Susan and Walter Hannah (Laura's parents) joined us, and fit in with the group perfectly. We hiked for about four hours on the first day, and made it further then we had planned, which made the second day much easier. We set up camp and lay looking at the stars as Gennifre read us a story. We woke up bright and early on Easter morning and found peanut m+m´s and jelly beans stuffed in our smelly shoes! This was our hardest day. We hiked all day over a pass called Dead Woman's Pass. On the way up, Mr. Hannah let each of us call our parents from his satellite phone. This attracted a lot of attention from all of the other hikers. We arrived at camp in the rain, and had classes after resting and drying off. We woke up early on Monday morning and continued hiking, passing many beautiful ruins along the way. We arrived at camp later that evening and went to bed soon after, knowing that we would be waking up at 2:45 in the morning the next day. When we woke up it was still very dark, so we all hiked with our head lamps, leading many other hikers to the top. We were some of the first ones to cross over the Sun Gate and were given a completely clear view of Machu Picchu. The ruins were enormous, it was crazy to try to imagine what they looked like when they were being lived in. We all sat over them in complete exhaustion and listened to Gennifre read us the poem, ¨The Heights of Machu Picchu.¨ The journey to Machu Picchu was amazing, and very rewarding.
From Gennifre:
Academics have been going well. In Spanish, the girls have continued working with their conversation skills, and have been practicing Spanish with everyone from vendors to the families we stayed with on Isla Amantani in the middle of Lake Titicaca. History has tied local current events and ancient Incan traditions - all spanning the importance of each event in these regions. The students have started their final papers for History, and are working on topics ranging from the effects of globalization to oil production within the rain forest. Science has combined an intense study of geology, as we hiked through glaciated valleys, and environmental science including population, consumption, and solutions with sustainable development. English class has focused on yelling poetry from the mountaintops, in addition to reading, ¨Love in the Time of Cholera¨ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and working on a final paper which will be published upon our return to America. For Math, the students have been tracking their mock stock portfolios, and learning about solid investments. They have also recently started on a unit focusing on credit cards, and are shocked to learn how much a stereo can cost when paid off using a credit card! Global Studies has focused on developing leadership skills, and each student has become a Leader for the Day - organizing logistics, meals, and workouts for our group. They have also started to work on their final presentations. These are for public presentation for their hometowns when they return - and topics range from banana production, to raising money for less fortunate schools, to raising awareness about women's roles in Latin America. We are entering our final two weeks of the semester. The girls are busy taking pictures and shopping for gifts. We plan to leave for Bolivia tomorrow, and complete a multi-day trek on the islands in Lake Titicaca. After the trek, we are traveling to La Paz, the capitol of Bolivia, and hope to arrange for some technical mountaineering before the semester closes and we fly home on May 15th. Hope all is well at home - we'll keep the stories (and smiles!) coming! -Gennifre

May 10
Dear parents and friends,

We're wrapping up our final few days in Bolivia, and I'm sure that many of you are eagerly anticipating the arrival of your daughter back home! It's been a long and wondrous journey, and the girls are filled with mixed feelings of wanting to stay and looking forward to going home.

We just returned from an exciting 4 day journey in the high mountains outside of La Paz. We packed up all of our gear, rented ice axes, harnesses, helmets, plastic boots, crampons - and headed for the high peaks. We hired a few donkeys to carry some of the load, but the girls are very strong and were very proud about carrying their own weight. We saddled the donkeys with ropes, a cook tent and extra food, and began the long hike up to Condoriri in the Cordillera Real.

We set up base camp at the end of a long valley at 15,000 feet. There were other expeditions there from all over the world, and the girls got a kick out of being the youngest ones at base camp. They sang songs, cooked meals, and ran our camp efficiently after so many months of camping. We spent the night, and on the second day, we hiked to the glacier for snow school. The girls tried on crampons for the first time, fit their insulated gaiters over their plastic boots, and cautiously tried their first few steps on the ice with their crampons digging in. Within a few hours, they were on rope teams and hiking all over the glacier. They lowered themselves down into small cravasses, and tried their hands at some vertical ice climbing. They learned to self-arrest using their ice axes as they slid down the glacier, and all of them had huge smiles - and a huge sense of expectation for the next day!

We were in bed by 7 o'clock that night, and we woke up in the dark night just before 3 o'clock am. The moon had set and the stars were bright. Everyone ate huge bowls of oatmeal and drank tea. We strapped on our headlamps, and began walking through the night to the glacier. We reached the glacier and everyone put on their gear like old pros. They helped each other with crampons and we set up rope teams. We began the long, slow walk to the peak. Our goal - two peaks, one unnamed at 17,000 feet, and a second called El Diente (The Tooth) at 18,000 feet.

We hiked slowly in the cold night air. One of our two guides had to stop to adjust his crampon, and the girls all broke out into song on the glacier. They all sang ¨The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow¨ from Annie. Their voices echoed across the sleeping valley and we could see each other's breath in the lights of our headlamps. The guide fixed his crampon, and we continued hiking.

In all of the mountaineering trips that I've led with students, I've never had them all leave base camp in the morning. Not only did all of the girls leave base camp, but they all hiked in the early morning air across the glacier. They helped each other hike, paced each other, and gave each other tremendous encouragement. The hiking was hard. In fact, I think that mountaineering is probably the toughest venture any of these girls has ever tried before. The group that we picked up in Miami several months ago couldn't have made it up that mountain. 3 and a half months later, all of the girls were strapped in to full mountaineering gear and working together to get to 17,000 feet.

The sun finally peeked over the ridge after 3 long hours of hiking in the dark. Everyone's spirits rose, and we watched the sky turn pink and yellow in the sunrise. We slowly continued, and the entire group made the first summit at 9 o´clock, and we all stood together at 17,000 feet.

Rachel and Kendall decided that 17,000 was quite an accomplishment, and opted to stay and relax in the sun with Lander while the rest of the group continued to the second summit. We hiked a very steep pitch to the second summit, and the girls encouraged each other and hiked very methodically to the top of El Diente. At the top, we did a happy dance, and took handfuls of photos. We could see Lake Titicaca in the distance one way, and Chile in the opposite direction. We waved from the summit to Rachel, Lander and Kendall on the summit below. Laura decided to celebrate the summit by brushing her teeth, Emily and I posed for the camera, Tricia pulled out her heavy video camera and took some amazing footage, Jesse danced around in her crampons, Caroline turned in circles to try and capture the entire panorama, and we all marveled at the success of it all.

After the summit, we hiked down - the girls were roped in and down-climbed for protection over the steep pitch. The group joined back up again, and we all walked - with huge smiles of success - back to base camp. Now, we are back in La Paz and we're finishing Finals today. They've had a difficult Finals schedule, but they are wrapping up their projects and summer vacation starts today.

For Science, they had a comprehensive final covering the Galapagos Islands, evolutionary biology, geology, environmental science and sustainable development. For Spanish, they completed a final project over their experience and made oral presentations in Spanish. For History, they are completing their final research papers on topics ranging from women's rights in Latin America, globalization and bananas, and the drug war in Latin America. For Physical Education - they learned snow safety and finished their mountaineering - and yesterday we played Ultimate in a parking lot! For Math, they took a final exam that coveredinvesting, the stock market, income taxes, financial management and philanthropy. They also finished their semester project and completed seven two-week travel budgets, managing all of their money while with the Traveling School. If you'd like to see how your daughter spent her money in South America - ask to see her budgets when she gets home! They are very comprehensive and include detailed accounts of how every dollar was spent! For English, they are taking an exam on ¨Love in the Time of Cholera¨ and finishing up their final papers. It is a travel article about their experiences that they will all try to publish when they get home. And, finally, they are giving their final presentations for Global Studies this afternoon. This is the same presentation that they are giving to a public audience when they get home. They are videotaping their final presentation at home, and sending it to The Traveling School for their final Global Studies grade.

After Finals, the girls are finishing their shopping and looking forward to buying more gifts for everyone at home. They are eager to see you and share photos and stories about their experiences. Thank each of you for all of your support this semester!

See you soon!
Gennifre