Current Semester Trip Reports
The School is in South America for Spring 2010
February 15, 2010- From Jennifer Royall
February 25, 2010- From Jennifer Royall
March 1, 2010- From Heather Foran
March 5, 2010- From Heather Foran
Hello Everyone,
Classes have begun and the teachers are impressed by how hard the girls are already working and supporting each other academically. In Science, the girls are learning about the scientific method through inquiry about the new and exciting natural world they're seeing at the lush hacienda. In Global Studies, the students finished up their orientation yesterday and are developing their community standards today. They'll be putting together their TTS15 Constitution soon. For Travel Journalism, students are busily crafting their 350- word article on their life stories. Today, for Spanish classes, the girls took a visit to the local market in Cayambe to shop for local fruit to try and to interview the market vendors they encounter. The girls have been so amazing and inquisitive so far. The beginning Spanish speakers are jumping in with both feet and the more advanced Spanish-speakers have been partnering up and helping the other girls.
In History class, the students have been discussing what it means to be American. In Lit and Comp, the students have been reading South American short stories and journaling before delving into their first novel, The Alchemist and beginning their first essay assignment. In PE, the girls started with fitness tests to get their strength baselines and have begun to prepare for their goal of completing a 6-mile run by the end of the semester.
There have already been some inspiring speakers and activities including a tour of the Mitad del Mundo monument, or middle of the world. The group was also invited to join a local community minga (day of service to the community) and helped weed and hoe the community garden plot where community women grow vegetables to help support the local school. The girls were hard workers, which bodes well for future service projects this semester.
The teachers challenged the girls to an impromptu talent show one evening, which resulted in lip-synching, improv and plenty of hilarity. Last night was the first TTS15 award night as well. Students give and receive the coveted awards and teachers bestow the academic award each week.
Tomorrow, the girls will spend a 1/2 day at a nearby rose plantation. The girls read this article from Audubon Magazine to prepare for this activity: http://www.audubonmagazine.org/features0801/organics.html
This article talks about a rose plantation in Cayambe, exactly where the girls visited. While they were there, they had a great discussion about sustainable development - including job creation, organic vs. sustainable agriculture, habitat creation, ecological farming and, of course, Valentine’s Day production. The girls were escorted in groups of five by a security guard and they all had security clearance to tour the area. The girls were able to see the growing greenhouses and the processing and shipping areas. According to Gennifre, "It rocked their worlds." Afterwards, we went to the industrial composting area for all of the bad roses. I'm sure your daughters will still be thinking and talking about this activity long after Valentine's Day.
One of the girls also celebrated her 16th birthday. So, after having a speaker and stargazing, the group planned to have a cake for her and a party.The next day, the girls went hiking to a local hot springs, visiting unexcavated Incan ruins en route. They camped in tents alongside the pools, and soaked under the hot water under the stars.
The group also took a trip to the big city and tried to see all they could see. Quito, the capital and second largest city in Ecuador is full of adventure and academic opportunities. The students were able to soak up quite a lot while they were there. The group visited the Banco Central – a museum with the largest collection of Ecuadorian artifacts in the world. Each pair of students was assigned a different element of culture to look for themes throughout the museum for their Global Studies class as a way to focus their time and perspective. Next, the group toured Old Town, where as an English assignment, students observed from various vantages in the Plaza Grande, for 1/2 –hour – working on their sensory description. For History, there was a scavenger hunt to find historical monuments and to determine their significance using a variety of sources including the people around them. Then, the girls were charged with creating a tour of the immediate historical center for the rest of the students and teachers.
Leaving the hacienda, the group headed onto Otavalo, a town famous for its markets and handicrafts, especially weaving. Their time was limited, as the group still had a 3-hour drive to their next destination in the cloud forest, but it was ample time for the girls to try out their Spanish bargaining vocabulary with vendors. In Ecuador, and all over South America, this is the season of Carnival -- a 4-day celebration. It started on Saturday and ends on Fat Tuesday (Mardi-Gras). Dates change every year, but it's always a noisy, energetic celebration of music and dance and exhibitions. In Ecuador, Carnival looks like water balloons on unsuspecting TTS students as they walk through town
This week, it's intensive Spanish study -- the girls will have 4 hours of Spanish each day M-F with native Spanish speakers. The group will be studying at a schoolhouse in a rural area near two small villages. There will be time for classes and exploring the lush environment -- with fresh fruit abounding and nearby waterfall, visiting a nearby school and lots of Spanish practice.
The group will be able to connect with you by the weekend with plenty of news, no doubt.
Enjoy your week,
Jennifer Royall
Program Coordinator
February 25, 2010
Dear Parents and Friends of TTS15,
The Spanish intensive went great. Students spent 4 hours a day studying Spanish. If that wasn't enough, they had some classes, visited a nearby school and taught English lessons, hiked up a riverbed to a waterfall, visited a trout farm and learned about orchids from the resident orchid expert and cook.
On Saturday & Sunday, it was back to Otavalo where there was time to shop in the market. Sunday, the girls made their way to a small indigenous village and their groupstays, and first major service project. Girls are staying in small groups with local families. The students were invited to attend a local wedding celebration on Sunday. The families have expressed interest in dressing the students in traditional clothing to attend the wedding ceremony.
This week, students will meet in the community center after breakfast with their families. Then, there will be time for classes, speakers and activities -- Quichua (or Kichwa) lessons from former TTS teacher Anna Taft. Quichua is the native language of the families in this community and in many rural communities of Ecuador. (See more about Anna's Tandana Foundation, the community and Kichwa on the Tandana website: http://www.tandanafoundation.org/ ) Each day, after time of study hall, the girls and teachers go back to their homes for an afternoon and evening with their families.
On Friday and Saturday, will be the Minga, where our students and teachers will join in to help with a community project. After the hard work, there will be a final community meal and celebration before the students visit comes to an end.
Cheers,
Jennifer Royall
Program Coordinator
March 1, 2010
The first month of our trip has been full and rich - this group is
characterized by a positivity about their experiences that surpasses
what I`ve encountered on previous Traveling School semesters. Most
recently, our travels took us to the cloud forest and our Spanish
immersion program. Through the Otavalo Spanish Institute and their
wonderful and patient instructors, the girls spent 3-4 hours a day in
intensive Spanish lessons. Our lessons took place in a schoolhouse
down a long and winding dirt road, well into the cloud forest. Our
home for the week contained 18 different varieties of fruit trees (of
which we sampled many), as well as over a hundred species of orchids
in the immediate area. Our teachers were not only Spanish instructors,
but Tai Chi practitioners, orchid specialists, philosophers,
archaeologists, salsa dancing teachers, and astonishing cooks - and
they truly shared with us their wealth and breadth of knowledge.
We are now in our groupstays in an indigenous community outside of
Otavalo. The girls are applying their Spanish, playing volleyball with
community members, dancing traditionally, learning Kichwa, and teaching
English lessons to the children of the area, among so many other
experiences. They are also struggling with an understanding of
poverty, disparities in wealth, and the relationship of monetary
poverty to strong community. The girls are diving into their
experience in Agualongo - they have been unfazed by the cultural
differences, and instead are excited to learn about and share in the
lives of these indigenous families.Thank you for sharing your daughters with us. They are amazing.
Heather Foran
Academic Program Director
March 5, 2010
Dear TTS family,
Thanks so much for following the adventures of TTS15. I write from a muggy Internet café in Tena, the gateway city to the Ecuadoran Amazon. We just returned several days ago from an epic adventure further down the Rio Napo than any TTS group has ever gone before. Our bungalow hostel sits quietly next to a small river, and the massive leaves and over-sized fronds create a vibrancy punctuated by red, orange, yellow, and white flowers. Our classes are periodically interrupted by the antics of the six rehabilitated spider monkeys supported by the hostel owner, the brilliant flight of a pair of blue macaws with foot-long tail feathers, and the boisterous squawks of the parrots who like to sit atop our whiteboard. Today, TTS15 takes a break from studying petroleum extraction in the Amazon, the link between cultural and linguistic biodiversity, deforestation, pre-Incan culture, journalism, resume writing, and poetry, to go white-water rafting on the Rio Napo.
We are energized, impassioned and curious; this group of girls has defined itself by the positive energy they create together and their deep desire for connection to the people we meet and the places we travel. The students continuously find the link between what they study in their textbooks and the world literally right outside our front door.
Since the very first week of the semester, these girls have stepped up to the challenge of the language difference – they are stimulated to learn rather than overwhelmed. Thus far, we have left each of our stops with sadness for those we’re leaving behind and have managed to arrive to each new place with a passion and excitement that continues to build.
Each day, something new inspires me. The community that develops from a group of young women who all felt the itch to travel, the desire to see and experience a larger world, and the drive to understand how they are inter-connected across the planet, is unique to the Traveling School. Read on below for students’ experiences, classes, and reflections – in their own words.
Thank you for reading,
Heather, Academic Program Director, TTS15
IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
THE CLOUD FOREST
We spent week three of our semester living in a small house in the cloud forest. Such close quarters and sixteen teenage girls made us grow closer in ways I never imagined. Besides extensive Spanish classes each day, we explored the surrounding areas with our hosts Eduardo and Washington. This included a long hike through the lush green undergrowth of the forest to a beautiful waterfall for a swim, touring the raspberry and papaya fields, and walking to the tiny 36 family town of San Ignacio to talk with the locals, play and teach English to the children. -- Martha, Junior
OTAVALO
For three weekends in a row, we got to experience a town known for its textiles, silver, leather, spondylus shells, and strong indigenous culture. The market in Otavalo is renowned throughout Ecuador, and the town itself is beautiful and full of history. The spondylus shells were used as currency before money came into play. These spondylus shells come in colors such as red and green, and can now be found in the market in various forms of different pieces of jewelry. -- Carli, Sophomore
AGUALONGO: Groupstays and Service Project
Our fourth week in Ecuador, we lived in an indigenous village called Agaulongo. The week was filled with some of the girls dressing up in traditional outfits for a wedding celebration, spending time with our homestay families, watching guinea pig or cuy and chickens prepared to be served for dinner, and playing soccer with all of the kids in the community. The group was able to fully put our recently gained Spanish skills into practice. We were part of a minga, or community workday, and helped to rebuild the roof of the community center as a service project. So many of us hope and plan to return to Agualongo in the near future through the Tandana Foundation, which demonstrates how much we connected with and loved the community. -- Suea and Piper, Sophomores
THE AMAZON RAINFOREST
On the first day of our boat trip down the Napo we stopped at a Kichwa trap museum. Our guide showed us different ways to trap and hunt animals without using weapons. We also learned about Kichwa clothing and marriage ceremonies. Then we got to try a native Amazonian tea, along with testing out our blow dart skills. Through out the trip we were briefly introduced to Amazonian shamanism and our guide showed us an ayahuasca vine. On the third night of our stay, the community’s shaman or healer came to visit us. He was dressed in a grass skirt and a headdress, and performed a ceremony where he went into a trance. Then he swept the bad spirits from four girls. He hummed and sang, blew into their heads, taking the bad spirits and shouting them into the sky. We learned that the ayahuasca allowed him to see many spirits that our eyes could not. -- Rosita, Junior
In the Amazon, we went to a place that no other tourist groups had gone before. We visited an oil company’s extraction site in the Amazon jungle. After hearing about how much oil companies pollute the environment, it was surprisingly clean. We learned many things about how they extract oil, and ways that they work to prevent deforestation. However, the whole experience raised many questions about what we weren’t seeing, as well as what we did see. This visit gave us a great deal to think about regarding the controversies around oil in South America, and our own consumption. -- Sabina, Senior
The Amazon part of our trip gave us amazing opportunities to observe the biodiversity of this part of the world firsthand. On our way to our lodge, we canoed to Amazoonico, an animal reserve that rehabilitated pets. We also went on two different hikes – on our first, we saw a tree frog, a tree that walks three feet a year, and many medicinal plants. Our second, which was in the middle of the night, was a little terrifying for some girls, especially when we sat in the dark, each by herself, without our headlamps for ten minutes to listen to the jungle noises. -- Courtney, Junior
CLASSES
SCIENCE
The semester began with an Introduction to the Scientific method and Field Science. We defined the steps of the scientific method in relation to our environment, as we chose curious new plants and designed research methods to understand specific aspects of their structure and function. The students have learned about the major habitats of Ecuador and began studying each one as we’ve moved through it.
Our second unit focusing on Population Ecology and Biodiversity was perfectly complimented by our trip into the Amazon. We focused on species interactions and the students are completing a final unit project displaying species interactions and their relation to the intricacies of the Rainforest Ecosystem. We have examined the biodiversity of the rainforest, why it exists, and how important biodiversity is to us as humans. Our most recent discussion explored the ecosystem services that biodiversity provides us.
“South America could very well be the best location for the study of science. So far, we have had classes such as touring the biodiverse ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest, observing orchids and their “promiscuous” ways in the cloud forest, and even observing native animals in a local rehabilitation center. Already, we have gone so far above and beyond the normal classroom environment. Our lush surroundings have created the ideal hands-on, see, don’t-just-tell-style of learning.” -- Jordin, Senior
TRAVEL JOURNALISM
Travel Journalism has been introducing the students to the challenges, skills, and pressures of journalists. Their first assignment involved a made-up Traveling School scandal involving the loss of one teacher’s belongings. The hilarity that ensued involved students interviewing their teachers from all angles, in hot pursuit of motives, alibis, and the journalistic truth.
The students have finished their first article, exploring such themes as the drought in Ecuador, various aspects of poverty, and the community of Agualongo. They are in the process of peer-editing those to make them print-ready. Students are also learning about the process of writing a cover letter in order to submit a piece of writing to publication.
“Travel Journalism, led by our fearless leader, Shaka, has taken us from the bustling center of Quito to a night with no light in the Amazon. We have written articles about scandal and cultural immersion, played trigger happy with cameras (when appropriate, of course) and discovered what publication deadlines are about as we write our first major articles about our life here. Look for TTS someday soon in National Geographic!” -- Maddi, Junior
SPANISH LANGUAGE
At the beginning of our trip, the students received intensive Spanish lessons, four hours a day for five days from native Spanish speakers. Our instructors were fun, constantly engaging the classes by taking us on walks, introducing us to the kitchen staff, and asking us to explain our thoughts on various issues in Spanish. Those who knew little to no Spanish were able to hold a small conversation by the end. The week was filled with intensive grammar, and we followed that up with the practice of being in our groupstays for a week. The combination has made it so we are all becoming comfortable with our Spanish.
“Everywhere we travel transforms into a Language Class. We take advantage of every chance we get to talk to locals (even the beginners)! Whether it is chatting with people on a bus ride, a cook in the kitchen, a cute guide playing with kids, our home stay families, or our Spanish Immersion Teachers in the cloud forest, we have been experiencing the languages and cultures to the fullest. Our most recent Language Class was during our trip to the rain forest. One of our guides, Diego, taught us the song ¨Reyando el Sol¨ by a famous Latin American artist named Mana. He played on his guitar and we were able to sing it along with him learning new vocabulary and euphemisms along the way! This song has since become the group’s new favorite. Our language class does not only stop at Spanish, however. We have also been learning the basic greetings and vocabulary of the native Kichwa language. Although it is completely different from both English and Spanish, it is a beautiful language to listen to and quite challenging to speak - but it’s nothing our group can’t handle!” -- Cassy, Junior
MATH APPLICATIONS
The class has discussed the economics of Ecuador – interviewing our many guides and instructors about their perspectives on President Correa’s policies, dollarization and the petroleum industry’s role on the country’s standard of living. We pulled the information together into a rap teaching the rest of the students about dollarization. Finally, we have been processing the complex, multi-faceted issue of poverty as we travel through the cities and countryside of Ecuador. In addition, we’ve been engaged in the Game of Life. Read on for a description.
“In this amazing semester for Math Apps, our class of six has begun the Game of Life in which each student role-plays the personal financing of an imaginary character. We have the CEO of WalMart, a McDonald´s employee, a non-profit business owner, and a migrant worker in our midst. We are learning about budgeting, balancing a checkbook, mortgages, credit card debt, and loans – all through ours Game of Life characters. We are also learning about the qualities of a good resume and cover letter and will be practicing our interview skills for our dream jobs.” -- Aly, Junior
ALGEBRA II
The first part of the semester was spent on review and finishing the chapter on Polynomial Functions. Our second section has focused on Logarithmic and Exponential Functions. Our second chapter test is this week. The students have been working through the first two chapters diligently, even as the occasional monkey or parrot flies through class.
LITERATURE
The literature class has been engaged in various aspects of the written word; reading novels, writing essays, and experimenting with poetry. We have been busy studying various elements of writing while working on descriptive essays as well. We have been reading and writing poetry throughout the semester and even spent a class shouting the words of Phenomenal Woman into the dense jungle surroundings. The girls intensely debated the idea of personal legends and the belief of maktub while they devoured the first novel, The Alchemist. Currently, the class is investigating magical realism while reading Allende’s House of Spirits.
“For the past five weeks we have been reading The Alchemist and writing a descriptive essay. This week we began to study poetry and read The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. We will continue to study poetry, read writings by Latin and South American authors for the next weeks as well.” -- Hallie, Sophomore
HISTORY
The History of Ecuador and Peru class began this semester with discussions of historical perspective and bias. We have discussed a variety of themes as we’ve learned about ancient civilizations (pre-Incan), the Incan conquest of present day Ecuador and the succeeding Spanish colonization. We are discussing the role of Oil Exploration and development for the country of Ecuador and exploring what historical events set the stage for the oil boom. As we’ve traveled through various regions of Ecuador such as the Andean highlands, the cloud forest and the rain forest, we’ve continued to focus on the themes of land use and tenure, colonization, independence, indigenous rights and geography.
MATH INDEPENDENT STUDIES
In Geometry we will complete the second chapter test this week, focusing on applying special right triangles and an introduction to trigonometry.
GLOBAL STUDIES
In Global Studies, we have explored aspects of culture and identity. We have examined Ecuadoran culture, relating what we can read and understand from textbooks to what we are seeing and experiencing in our daily life here. We have also considered our own identity - the difference between how we identify ourselves when traveling, in our TTS group, and at home. This led to a conversation about stereotypes and labeling - something that we all relate to profoundly when we travel in new communities. When in Cayambe, the Global Studies class looked critically at the rose plantations so prevalent in the area. The girls wrote essays weighing the benefits and drawbacks of these plantations, looking at them through social, economic, and environmental lenses.
Each week, students write “RRR’s” – Reactions, Reflections & Response – in order to process challenging or complicated situations they experience while traveling. Subjects for these essays vary each week - ranging from questions about their own cultural identity, to understanding poverty, to analyzing their reaction to a conflict in the group. We have worked hard to develop a new style of analysis, one that pulls apart our own thoughts and feelings to understand what experiences in our life lend themselves to our current reactions and thoughts.
Most recently, we have studied the relationship of culture in the Amazon to the proliferation of the oil industry there. We have been reading the novel Savages by Joe Kane, which examines the impact of oil development on the Huaorani tribe. Through this text, as well as conversations with our guides and other individuals in the region, we have explored the economics, environmental issues, and social concerns behind the petroleum industry. We are also discovering our own relationship to oil, and the extent to which our demand for it influences life here in the rainforest.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION & NUTRITION
Our PE class this semester has set out the goal of completing a 10-kilometer run at the end of the semester in Copacabana. We’ll be on the shores of Lake Titicaca, at about 12,000 feet. In order to train ourselves for this run, our workouts have focused on both building endurance as runners, as well as strength. Our "boot camp" workouts involve strength training and a cardio element, and are always crafted to take advantage of our surroundings. In the rainforest, when space was limited, we did a jazzercise workout next to the Rio Napo. For PE class, we have also been on several day hikes, a jungle expedition, and white-water rafting.
The Nutrition portion of the class has been heavily focused on our group dynamics and leadership development. We have had classes on conflict resolution skills, active feedback, and goal setting. Most recently, during Oil Day, we had a class that dealt with the impact of petroleum on health - both for those who work in Ecuador in the oil companies, as well as consumers in the United States. We were shocked to discover the number of chemicals in plastic and petroleum products, and how little we understand about their impact on our health!
SENIOR PROJECT
“Going to college is a huge step as you find out who you are as an individual. A few seniors this semester have the opportunity to express their own individual interests and thoughts about this transition through a self-designed independent study. This class is whatever you make of it – it helps you to discover what you are passionate about, and then to learn how to express that. Two students are exploring different aspects of the trip and themselves through various artistic media, including nature jewelry, pencil drawing, and photography. A third student is conducting interviews each week as she explores options for her future and works on her college applications. Its a great way to grow, learn, and express ourselves to the max in a fun and creative way while also teaching each of us about responsibility.” -- Price, Senior
Dear friends and family of TTS15,
The last month and a half have been jam-packed full of experience, and through that, education. The girls have adopted the term "aprovechar" - meaning, "to take the opportunity, or seize the day" as the motto of their academics. They are open to the learning that exists all around them and it is rare that a full day of classes does not include some opportunity to dive into the world around us.
We have had the remarkable opportunities of touring an oil company after reading the novel Savages for Global Studies, of observing the strangler fig on a jungle hike as we study species interactions, of visiting an indigenous Kichwa high school in the jungle as we learn about culture and language loss. We have studied the parts of a glacier while staring up at the route we are about to hike, and interviewed guides and crew from the Galapagos about ecotourism after reading sections of our books that use the Galapagos as a case study.
On top of that, the girls have learned to surf, had articles published, gone for long runs on the beach, seen the blazing sun set over the desert coast of northern Peru, performed karaoke for our bus drivers, and in general charmed their way through these countries. Each day they are challenged - emotionally, physically, and mentally. They are away from home, many of them for the first time. They are speaking a new language, immersed in a new culture, learning to live together in community. They have a demanding schedule for their academics; they do homework by headlamp and wake up early in the morning for workouts.
And each day they succeed. I am proud of them, amazed at their dedication and general attitude of positivity. I hope that you are too!
Read below for a description of all that we’re doing in each of our classes, as well as summaries and poems from the girls about their experiences. Thank you for following our adventures,
Heather Foran
Academic Program Director
TTS15 - South America
THE HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT OF ECUADOR AND PERU
The History and Government of Ecuador and Peru class began the semester with discussions of historical perspective and bias. We have discussed a variety of themes relating to the study of ancient civilizations (pre-Incan), the Incan conquest of present day Ecuador and the succeeding Spanish colonization. In our first two weeks, we backpacked into a remote town and visited several archaeological sites that are pre-Incan. A main theme we followed through our first weeks was land ownership. Students were able to experience first hand the effects of land ownership on the people of Ecuador while living in an indigenous community. Next, we traveled to the eastern part of Ecuador, the Amazon. Here, we spent significant time with a local Kichwa guide and learned about traditional Kichwa culture. In addition, we visited a site of Ecuador’s state owned oil company, PetroEcuador. This was an amazing addition to our knowledge base as we moved into the study of Ecuador’s transition to a modern democracy. Of significant importance is Ecuador’s main export, oil. The teachers combined efforts and held an eye-opening Oil Day, with each class focusing on this theme. The history students analyzed the positive and negative effects oil development has had in Ecuador over the course of the past 50 years. Our wrap-up of the study of Ecuador included a thematic essay in which each student wrote an essay analyzing how this theme has shaped Ecuador’s history. Themes included colonization, land ownership, geography, and exports. In addition, students completed a midterm exam to apply their knowledge of the history and government of Ecuador. The students have gained significant knowledge that will allow an in depth comparison as we begin delving into Peruvian history.GEOMETRY
We began the semester with a study of the properties of triangles, moving in to the application of right triangles. Our second chapter introduced concepts of trigonometry. Our most recent chapter on circles began with a review of the area and perimeter formulas for circles. Building on this, the students are learning to find arc length, inscribed angles, tangents and finding the measures of angles and segments in circles.
ALGEBRA II
We began our semester with review and rounding off Chapter 6 analyzing Polynomial Functions. We reviewed factoring, finding real, irrational and imaginary roots. The students learned about the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra and its application in how to write polynomial functions. We reviewed dividing polynomial functions using synthetic substitution as well as learned how to graph polynomial functions. In Chapter 7 we learned about Exponential and Logarithmic Functions. This included graphing exponential functions, and properties of logarithms, including how to simplify logarithms with exponents. We used this information to learn to solve exponential and logarithmic equations. To round off this chapter, we learned about natural log and natural base e. Chapter 8 has been a two-part chapter. We completed the first part of the chapter that focuses on Rational Functions. We learned to simplify, solve and graph rational functions. In addition to Algebra II topics, each student completed a weekly budget. They use their spending money to track expenses in specific categories.LITERATURE
This semester the literature class has actively analyzed common writing techniques that make every piece of writing interesting and unique. We’ve worked to incorporate these tactics into our own writing whether it is an essay, a short story, or a poem. The class studied how these tactics are used to develop a storyline while studying our first novel, The Alchemist. The message in this book provided the grounds for various discussions on personal legends, travel, ethics, and determination. The girls have also studied a variety of different poems, including "Phenomenal Woman", and written their own poetry as well. Students in the middle of reading House of Spirits, by Isabel Allende, and creating a mock Facebook page that demonstrates the complicated relationships between characters. Students are also in the midst of writing a personal narrative essay.
GLOBAL STUDIES
Global Studies class, thus far, has focused on understanding the impact of human interaction and cultural diversity, not only within the different Ecuadorian societies we have encountered, but also on the world as a whole. The specific aspects we have analyzed regarding these topics have been: The native Kichwa culture of Ecuador and its interconnectedness with the Spanish and North American cultures that have molded the societies existing today in Ecuador, the complex issue of oil usage through reading the novel Savages by Joe Kane while also visiting an oil plantation deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, as well as cultural preservation during this time of globalization by critically analyzing and comparing the similarities and differences of our surroundings. A large portion of the Global Studies grade comes from weekly written assignments: Reaction, Reflection and Responses (R, R & R’s). The topic changes each week, but the format is consistent. In these weekly assignments, the girls must think critically about their experiences and communicate their thoughts in a clear and concise manner. Throughout our studies, the girls have inevitably expanded their understanding of the world and their role in it.
BEGINNING & INTERMEDIATE SPANISH
The first half of this semester the Spanish students have studied the not only the Spanish Language, but its interconnectedness to the culture in which it is spoken. They spent a week in an intensive Spanish program in the cloud forest, where their small classes focused heavily on a grammatical review and extensive conversation. They have since continued to review and expand on their understanding of the language and the everyday vernacular of the native speakers that constantly surround us. Each student has been assessed based upon their language journal, communication ability, as well as their comprehensive mid-term assignment. They were all asked to make Spanish ABC books, which touched on new vocabulary as well as different grammatical points. Each of the students has a language journal that consists of 25 new vocabulary words each week as well as a self-assessment. The self-assessment translates into their communication grade based upon each of the girls' ability to take advantage of their surroundings by communicating with the people they encounter. This includes linguistic investigations assigned as well as their capacity to take the initiative themselves to ask questions and converse with local people.ADVANCED SPANISH
The first half of this semester the Spanish students discussed the relationship of language to culture. They spent a week in an intensive Spanish program in the cloud forest, where their class focused heavily on a grammatical review and extensive conversation. Since then, their lessons have involved intensive grammar review focused on fluency of conversation. The students round out their Spanish experience with assigned interviews - most recently about ecotourism and the Galapagos, and the translation of newspaper articles here.
MATH APPLICATIONS
Math Applications has focused on aspects of personal finance for the first half of the semester. Students have each been assigned a Game of Life character from a different socioeconomic background, through whom they have studied housing options, bank statements, and budgeting, among other topics. They also studied the economics of Ecuador, including perspectives on Ecuador’s transition to the dollar, President Correa’s policies, and the impact of oil on Ecuador’s economy. Additionally, while on the Galapagos the girls interviewed their guides and the crew of the ship about the economic impact of tourism. For their midterm, they drew up a budget for an ecotourism agency - exploring the income generated by tourism, and the expenditures of a tourist agency. Finally, they are finishing a unit on resumes, cover letters, and interview skills.
TRAVEL JOURNALISM
The focus of Travel Journalism, thus far, has been to shape the various experiences of the semester into concise, organized, and meaningful articles. This group of young journalists has learned the difference between news articles consisting of the hard facts of an event, what it means to write for a travel guide book, and are in the process of mastering the journalistic narrative style. As a collaborative team of journalists, we strive to find our true writing voices through diligent participation in intensive writers’ workshops and class brainstorming sessions. We continue to build upon the set of skills we set out to master eight weeks ago; which include how to use various settings on our cameras as well as find different ways to orient the images in our pictures, write compelling beginnings, interview subjects effectively, enhance articles with quotes, organize and structure messy first drafts, conduct relevant research, target a particular audience, and meeting specific deadlines. The ladies have also written their first query letters and will be ready to send them into the magazine of their choice next week upon finishing their second 750 word articles.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND NUTRITION
This semester in PE, we have had a wide variety of different activities. This has allowed the girls to develop a complete fitness - both strength and aerobic conditioning. The students have worked hard developing their aerobic capacity, building up from ten minutes of running to a half an hour. The girls are aiming towards a six-mile run at the end of the semester when we arrive in Bolivia. In addition, we have played ultimate Frisbee, practiced yoga, challenged the boys in a local community to a soccer game, been on numerous hikes, snorkeled, taken surfing lessons, and played Capture the Flag. Our Nutrition class has been heavily focused on leadership skills, conflict resolution, and group dynamics for the first half of the semester. Most recently, we discussed nutrition and food pyramids and recommendations through a discussion of selections from Michael Pollen’s In Defense of Food.
And some thoughts from the girls on various sections of our trip thus far...
On Oil Day
During our stay in Tena, we spent an entire day focusing on all aspects of oil: history, science, the future of oil, health, and other impacts of oil production. The previous week, were given the opportunity to visit an actual oil company in the rainforest. It was an amazing experience to be able to formulate our own opinions on such a controversial topic as we witnessed it first hand. It was definitely eye opening for all of us!
- Suea (sophomore) and Martha (junior)
On the Galapagos Islands
hotspot Art
growing bigger and taller
islands formed
plates move, start again
southeast winds erode the southsides
Dead and dry
Northside lush and green
New islands, hilly and dead
old ones flat and alive
underwater, sharks and fish
land sick and sea sick, run to the edge.
- Alison, junior
Galapagos haikus
Water clear and teal
full of bright colorful fish
beautiful and clean
Islands dry and hot
turtles, iguanas, and birds
cactus everywhere
red black lava rocks
brown, white, and red sand beaches
different in each place
-Sabina, senior
sunny and luscious
frigate birds and sea lions
Galapagos hikes
walking through the sand
we see blue footed boobies
we love the wildlife
look out from cliffs
lava tubes for exploring
watch out for blow holes
finches all differ
watch out for the vampires
epic evolution
-Peyton (freshman) and Shannon (senior)
On Ecotourism
During our week in the Galapagos, we made it a point to ask about ecotourism. Personally, I was told that ecotourism is when the tourists want to learn about the environment, and try to have minimal impact where they stay. Tourism was explained by our guide Efren as, “ . . . just like being at home, but in the Galapagos!" referring to all of the tourists on the cruise ships. When asked, all the crew said they preferred ecotourism to tourism.
-Hallie, sophomore
On Snorkeling
Every day in the Galapagos, we snapped on our masks, slipped on our fins, and toppled into the aqua blue water for an hour of snorkeling! We played with sea lions, gaped at sharks, and found ourselves inches from giant rays and the tropical fish unique to the islands. We perfected our diving skills and snapped photos of each other surrounded by bubbles: all well worth the backside sunburns!
-Maddi, sophomore
On Our Boat and Crew
We spent our week in the Galapagos on the Golondrina. Our guide Sarah stayed with us. She’s a marine biologist with an overflowing amount of knowledge on the islands. Besides our crew’s hospitality and delicious food, they accompanied us on a pirate attack the last night. We dressed our captain and dinghy drivers up in our skirts and with bandanas and jewelry. Then, we invaded our sister ship, the Fragata, Pirates of the Caribbean style! We took their captain, and our fellow students who were there with their parents hostage. Then, in order to get their girls back, the parents had to do all sorts of pirate tasks, including dancing, kissing a fish, and drinking a disgusting concoction made by our chef! No harm done, just another fun-filled night with the Traveling School! Arrrrrgh!
-Cassy, junior
On a Trip Into Montanita & Surfing
We strolled through the beautiful coastal town of Montanita, Ecuador. Creative handmade jewelry and craft vendors lined the streets, along with a multitude of attractive boys. The hippie-like style and friendly people made this place a favorite of mine as well as many of the other girls.
Paddling out into the crystal blue water, we felt beyond blessed. To surf with the locals at Montanita was quite an experience. During midterms, it made our days less stressful. It felt great to do something that we love, and where we feel free.
- Price (senior) and Jordin (senior)
On Travel Days
TTS15 drove from Montanita, Ecuador to Huaraz, Peru. Although it took longer than we expected, we made the most of it. In the three days or 36 hours down the Pan American Highway, we worked together to cross the border and endure the heat of the desert. To pass the time, we sang a little karaoke and watched the sun set over the coast. We drove through the mountains and got the opportunity to see the different rock layers - which sounds lame, but it was so cool to see science class in action. Humberto’s (our driver’s) sons came with us to catch their first glimpse of Peru, having lived in Ecuador their whole lives. But they were not just our bus drivers! Together, we passed through more than 35 tunnels, counting out loud in both Spanish and English, played games at the gas stations, and worked on our Spanish!
-Sydney, freshman
On Alfombras in Huaraz
That Friday, we planned to do a full class day. Little did we know that we were going to help with making an alfombra for Good Friday! We walked down the streets of Huaraz, Peru shocked by the beautiful artwork on the pavement made for Holy Week. Blues, purples, reds, and yellows over the street in religious murals for the Christian holiday. The Spanish III girls were out interviewing people for class, and were invited by a family to help make an alfombra! We helped to mix dye into sawdust, and then covered the pavement with all of the colors, into a mural of grapes, wheat, and a dove - staining our fingers with colors. As soon as we finished, a parade came through, people dressed in white carrying religious figurines. Our mural, that had taken so long to create, was gone in a matter of minutes!
- Piper, sophomore
STAY TUNED...
-- TTS15 takes on the Santa Cruz trek - a 6 day backpacking trip through the Cordillera Blanca, eventually reaching a pass at 14,000ft!
-- TTS15 heads to Cusco and meets up with Puma, a young Andean shaman who will take them to all sorts of archaeological sites in and around Cusco and enjoys some time with parents visiting from the States!
--TTS15 hikes the Inca Trail, and arrives at Machu Picchu!
--And so much more to come...
May 31, 2010
TTS15 Final Trip Report
Dear Traveling School Family and Friends,
We are at the end of our travels. Planes, trains, busses, boats, bikes, and 64 miles by foot (each step at greater than 11,000 feet) later, these girls have arrived. They have taken each leg of this journey with care and insight, they listen deeply to the people we meet, they make connections between their lives in the United States and the rest of the world, and they are empowered – raring to share their experiences and awareness with people back home.
Since our last update, the girls have stepped up in their level of both physical and mental challenge on this semester. Read on for our academic updates as well as some highlights of the semester.
Academics
Global Studies
The second half of the Global studies course continued to focus on understanding the impact of human interaction on cultural diversity not only within Ecuador but throughout Peru and Bolivia as well. We further investigated this topic through analyzing and discussing certain aspects of Wade Davis’ Cultures at the Far Edge of the World Ted talk as well as debating the complex definition and concept of feminism on a global scale with Isabel Allende’s TED talk, Tales of Passion. For the final portion of the class we introduced the Zenith Project. This assignment is the pinnacle of the semester’s work which empowers each student to put the ideas of leadership, activism, working as a group, and the power of the effect one person can have on the world, into action. The criteria of the assignment is to promote awareness in the US while also supporting or giving back to one of the communities we interacted with during the semester, while also addressing root causes and not just bandaid solutions. The girls were inspired to help a small community affected by the same floods that devastated Machu Picchu earlier this year. They have decided to fundraise enough money to help to replenish their seed bank as a way to help the community gain self-sufficiency once again. The girls plan on raising the money through presentations on promoting awareness of the impacts of climate change in locations outside of the USA. During the last week of TTS15 the students began with transition activities that compelled them to grapple with the ways in which they have changed as young women and how to transition home while embracing the change, empowerment and inspiration they hold from their semester.
Travel Journalism
Throughout the second half of the semester, all of our blossoming Travel Journalists continued to work on ways to eloquently depict their meaningful experiences into words for the public. As a way to facilitate this process, they worked diligently on peer edits, closely examining one another’s organization, ideas, word choice, and mechanical errors. Along with fine tuning these journalistic tools, they also learned how to write cover letters and analyzed the different styles of travel journalism through a variety of published travel stories. For their final article they were given the limited timeline of one week to produce their pieces much like professional journalists. The girls also continued to create impressive photography and have compiled electronic photo portfolios consisting of 20 photos from the semester that follow the guidelines of the weekly themes given throughout the semester.
Spanish I and II
The second quarter of coursework built upon the foundations established in the first quarter. The girls continued to be presented with new cultural/language-based information as well as use well-practiced strategies for further cross-cultural interactions, while inevitably refining their Spanish skills. For the second half of the semester, the girls were asked to have three linguistic investigations a week. As a final assessment, the girls were split in to two groups and were to write, direct, and perform their own skits in Spanish. They were given specific grammatical guidelines to fulfill as a way to reinforce the grammar points they had learned throughout the semester.
Spanish III
In the second half of the semester, the Advanced Spanish students continued to focus on conversational fluency and translation skills. They did a series of five interviews in Cusco on the subject of the flooding that had taken place in the area - asking people about the effects it had had on them, as well as what they perceived the causes of it to be. They also asked questions regarding what people were concerned about for the future. Through this project, the girls worked on the difference between the preterite and the imperfect, as well as their comfort in employing the future tense. The students also worked on developing a level of comfort maneuvering around common grammatical mistakes, including direct and indirect objects, reflexive verbs and tense agreement. Their final project involved writing a reflective essay, translating the reflections of other students, and finally producing a Spanish video to thank the guides and individuals who helped us throughout the trip.
Geometry
Our final two chapters covered this semester included Chapter 11 – Surface Area and Volume and Chapter 12 – Transformations. For Chapter 11 we analyzed surface area of prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones and spheres. As well, we learned to find volume of prisms, cylinders, pyramids, cones and spheres. We wrapped up the chapter with a look at similar solids. The chapter on transformation looked at isometrics. In particular, we analyzed reflections, translations and rotations. We wrapped up the chapter with dilations.
Pre-Calculus
The pre-calculus class focused on gaining a further understanding of functions, relations and probability to prepare for futher studies in calculus. The class studied logarithmic and exponential functions and how various trends can be modeled by functions. Girls also studied trigonometric functions. Many of these studies were based off the unit circle and right triangles. Depending on the home school requirements, the girls' studies branched apart in the final weeks. One student studied derivatives and their applications while the other two continued to study conic sections, parametric equations, and probability.
Algebra II
Chapter 8 was a two part chapter that included work with rational and radical functions. Chapter 9 was a wrap up chapter, filling in gaps of function use. This included piecewise functions, operations with functions and inverse functions. Chapter 10 was an introduction to Conic Sections. We worked with circles, ellipses, parabolas and hyperbolas. Our final Chapter, focused on probability and statistics. Students learned to calculate central tendency and standard deviation by hand, as well as by calculator.
Math Applications
In the second half of Math Applications, the students wrapped up their study of personal finance and microeconomics in the United States. They created an official “Game of Life” board game - complete with budget sheets, character descriptions, life chance cards and a series of decisions to make at the outset, including calculating health and car insurance, percentage interest, loan rates, and mortgages. Upon finishing the “Game of Life”, we turned our attention to global economics. The girls studied the theories of neoclassical economics and the dominant paradigms that drive our economy today. They explored the concept of free trade and market capitalism, using the open air market in Cusco as a case study. They studied economic indicators, including gross domestic product and the genuine product indicator. For their final, they were asked to watch the controversial "Story of Stuff". They were asked to respond to the information presented, reflect on how it applied to what they had seen throughout South America, and then to discuss how it might affect their own lives. Finally, the students created a series of posters or comic strips exploring one product they had studied in Latin America, and route it took from extraction to disposal.
History and Government of Ecuador and Peru
Simultaneously, we studied the impacts of revolutionary groups in Peru’s history as well as the Incan Empire. Being in the city of Cusco lent itself wonderfully to this study, as it is the heart of the Incan Empire and a modern tourist attraction. We focused on the Incan development of civilization and administration. This study culminated with a 4-day trek on the Inca Trail, with the destination of Machu Picchu. Concurrently, we focused on Peru’s fight for independence and the role of the rebellion of Tupac Amaru II. In addition, we analyzed the significant impact of the revolutionary group, The Shining Path and the subsequent role of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Our semester continued with looking at recent political transformations such as the role former President Fujimori had on his country. The final week of our semester was spent analyzing current politics in the country of Bolivia. As our semester began with a look at historical perspective and bias, the students read several articles and analyzed biases towards the first Indigenous President in South America, Bolivian President Evo Morales.
Andean Literature
During the second half of the semester the literature class continued to study various elements of writing while studying South American novels, poetry and short stories. The girls worked to incorporate writing tactics illustrated by various authors into their own written pieces. We focused on expanding our writing skills by using strong descriptive language to express thoughts and images in journal entries, essays, and poetry. With the sites of Macchu Picchu fresh in our minds, we analyzed Pablo Neruda's The Heights of Macchu Picchu and studied the poetic devices he used to convey his message about the nuances of life. The class also worked on two essays that encouraged reflection about events and/or values: the personal narrative and the "This I Believe" essay. Peer editing sessions were held for two different drafts of each essay in order to focus on various aspects of the writing process during various stages. Finally, the students polished their essays and created a portfolio of their work. The girls worked to develop their own voice in their writing and to make each piece unique and different from all other writers. As a class, we discovered the power of strong, active language to paint a picture for the reader. We studied the rhythm and flow of writing to ensure smooth transitions between ideas and to create a cadence for the reader to keep ideas progressing coherently forward. We also practiced grammar, punctuation, and correct spelling to strengthen the presentation of our hand-written assignments.
The final novel of our literature class reinforced the value of strong, descriptive writing. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera proved to be a challenging read for the class. Marquez's powerful style incorporated the mystical, often poetic aspects of magical realism contrasted against the realities of love between different social classes in 20th century South America. The class held many heated debates about the message of the novel and the themes Marquez portrayed throughout his storyline. We finished our studies with written character analyses based on character sketches of the three main characters.
Natural Science
In the second half of the semester, our Natural Science class completed a unit on Geology and Glaciology, catalyzed by our experiences hiking the Santa Cruz trek in the Cordillera Blanca of northern Peru. Through a series of "science nugget" classes, the girls were able to learn about their surroundings as we hiked a 14,000 foot pass directly to the side of a glacier. They learned about the parts of a glacier, as well as the way that it moves, its affect it on the surrounding area, and the current status of glaciers around the world. We then transitioned into a unit on climate change and human effects on the environment, reviewing the science of climate change and the greenhouse effect. We then explored historical and current policy decisions and environmental summits. Influenced by the recent People's Summit hosted in Bolivia, the students created a news broadcast for their final project that delved into the causes and effects of climate change, environmental policy, and climate justice - all in terms of the way it applied to what they had seen around them throughout the semester.
PE and Nutrition
The second half of the semester for Physical Education was a series of intense physical challenges. We started out with a 6-day backpacking trip through the Cordillera Blanca, hiking about 8 - 10 miles a day and culminating in a pass at 14,000 feet. After that, our next stop was the Inca Trail - complete with a grueling five mile uphill on the way to the aptly named "Dead Woman's Pass" - at a similar altitude to the pass on the Santa Cruz trek. From there, the girls completed a four mile run also at elevation on the shores of Lake Titicaca, and finished the semester with a mountaineering trip summiting a Bolivian glacier. In between these expeditions, the girls began leading their own workouts - designing exercises to work on both aerobic and strength conditioning. We also continued to do yoga and meditation as a part of PE. In the Nutrition portion of the class, we continued our study of leadership and communication skills through the Santa Cruz trek. The girls then did research projects and presented to each other on other aspects of the Nutrition curriculum, including drugs and alcohol, rape and sexual assault, and eating disorders/body image.
Highlights
Santa Cruz Trek
We descended into the tiny mountain town of Cashapampa. A tranquil village of one hundred or so families; it is the gateway to the Caminata Santa Cruz – a trail that cuts into the giant gash of a valley carved in between two jutting ridges. We met our arriero, Pedro, who is a long time friend of the Traveling School. Soft-spoken but always aware, Pedro makes this trek into more than just a backpacking trip. He tells the girls stories of how this valley has changed, of how he witnesses the snowcovered peaks receding, of the community clean-up projects he has launched on the trail, of the economics of the guide agencies, of the benefits and injustices tourism has brought to the local people.
The trail runs 31 miles through the Cordillera Blanca, stretching gradually uphill as any traces of civilization are swallowed into the valley behind young, raw mountains. Just a day into the trip, any moment but the present one is distant. This is due in part to the physical challenge of the Santa Cruz trek – as one climbs 3,500 feet over the course of the first half of the trip, eventually reaching the pass at Punta Union (4765 meters).
The Santa Cruz trek lends itself to lessons in glaciology while staring up at snow-covered peaks that ring Taullipampa, “the most beautiful campsite in the world”. The campsite’s glacier-carved bowl is also fertile ground to start talking about climate change – made all the more tangible by Pedro’s stories about how the villages are losing their water source, about how much the glaciers have receded in his lifetime.
For many girls, the Santa Cruz backpacking trip was first time that they would be in the wilderness, truly living out of their packs for six days and five nights. It was a challenging activity that brought our group even closer together as we worked through numerous adventures. The fun began before leaving Huaraz as we sorted tents, packed food and discussed the finer points of Leave No Trace Ethics. The girls turned up the music and went to work organizing and dividing food for 21 people for 6 days. We were back to the fundamental question of the semester... 'How is all of this stuff going to fit in a pack?' And again, somehow each girl managed to fit in everything she needed.
With vicious black flies biting at our bare arms we did our backpacking dance and set off on the trail. We hiked through the belly of a gorgeous valley deep into the Cordillera Blanca. As the days progressed we climbed ever higher into the Andes Mountains witnessing jagged ridgelines and blossoming wildflowers juxtaposed against the glacial backdrop. The rain tested our endurance, but we sang, danced, and told stories through the drizzle and never let it get the better of us. On the third night we arrived at the aptly named most beautiful campsite in the world. We pitched our tents in the shadows of three different glaciers and watched the sun set down the valley. Cautiously, the group turned their heads up the valley to see the faint switchback trail darken in the night sky. Everyone was anxiously determined to master the pass the next morning.
On day four, the girls had a glacier science class in the morning before setting off towards Punta Union, the 14,400 foot pass blocking the view of the next valley. The girls tackled the uphill journey by telling riddles, singing songs, and counting switchbacks. Eventually, the words of the song Lean on Me could be heard ricoheting from peak to peak as girls cheered one another to the top. After a short celebration at the pass, the group found their rhythm hiking down the other side. On day five, the girls did a solo hike. This alone time gave each girl the chance to witness the spectacular sites of the Andes for herself. She could hear the squish of the mud, the trickle of the waterfalls, and the noises of nature.
The final morning brought sunshine and excitement. A pack of dogs had ransacked our food during the night, and left only popcorn and peanut butter for breakfast. However, the girls' positivity brought laughter to our predicament and creativity in the breakfast lineup. We finished breakfast, packed up camp one last time and set off for the final leg of our journey. We hiked through Vaqueria and up the final hill to a dirt road where our bus awaited our arrival. We left our mark in the Cordillera Blanca with another rendition of Lean on Me echoing back through the valley and Pedro concluded the trip by saying that he didn't know any other group of girls who would do such a crazy adventure.
Cusco and the Parent Trip
After the parents and friends had all gathered together, as a group we saddled up to go on a horseback riding adventure just outside Cusco, Peru in “El Valle Sagrado de los Incas” or, the “Sacred Valley of the Incas.” Not only was this afternoon voyage filled with horseback riding technique and beautiful scenery, but we also trotted our way up to ancient Incan Ruins along the way. It was here where the girls took out their notebooks with pencils poised, ready for their history lesson of the day. Our guide and close friend, Puma, who is a practicing shaman (a natural healer) and native to the area, began to tell us the secrets and the oracles of the Incans. We were all hanging on his words with great anticipation of what jewels of knowledge would come with his every explanation. It was here where he first taught us about the Incan belief in the Serpent, the Puma, and the Condor which represent different realms of the human experience. The Serpent represents the primal force that resides within every one of us, the Puma represents self awareness, and the Condor represents the highest realm of the spirits. This brief introduction to the Incan beliefs acted as a launching pad to help us all deepen our understanding of what we were to see along the Inca Trail into Machu Picchu.
Inca Trail
At any given moment, the Inca Trail can feel like a contemporary pilgrimage, standing in line to get on a ride at Disney world, a family reunion, a never-ending staircase, and a trip back in time. It didn't take long for our group of parents, students, guides, teachers, and friends of the Traveling School to meld and create our own experience and ethos - regardless of which form the Inca Trail was taking at a particular point. Our first day, after a late start, we arrived to camp with headlamps after dark had fallen. We fumbled around to find our tents, find each other, find our toothbrushes and huddled under our respective dinner tents wondering what this experience was going to reveal. This feeling was made more intense by the knowledge that the dreaded "Dead Woman's Pass" was coming up the next day.
But the morning of Day #2, we awoke to streaming sunshine, amazing food, and the awareness that there was nowhere to go but up. And up we did go - five miles of continuous up, until the pass at about 14,500 feet. But the weather held strong for us, and even Puma remarked that he had never had such clear skies when reaching the high pass. We were able to wait at the heights of the Inca Trail for every single member of our group to join us, and I know we provided inspiration to numerous hikers as we sang, pushed, danced, and raced each other to the top. The energy of our students carried our group and others. At each stop, the girls regaled the rest of our group with jokes and stories of our trip. They taught everyone the radio game (which involves singing snippets of songs at the top of your lungs), which went to a whole new level when two young Swedish men in their early twenties asked to join in. They made friends with our porters and our guides, and everywhere I looked I could see TTS girls doing what they do best - putting themselves out there to learn from the people and places around them.
The Andes mountains are a young range, still growing in fact, and as such they are jagged and new - unworn by wind or weather. Any trail through them is subject to the extremes in altitude change, and on Day #3 we hiked up to astronomical observatories looming several thousand feet above us, and then down the other side into semi-cloud forest regions dotted with agricultural centers, archaeological sites, and religious temples. Two days away from civilization, by this point we had formed our own little trail culture. Puma and Edgar's flutes carried eerily through the fog and bounced wildly off of the mountainsides, such that hikers all along the trail would stop to listen and then continue on - strengthened.
Day #4 was the day. We awoke at 3:00am, packed up, and huddled together outside the gates to the last stretch of the Inca Trail. There was something about sitting there in silence, staring up at the stars: with the 30 other people in our group, and 300 other people on the trail at that moment. Exhausted, stimulated, wanting for quiet, strangely in sync with the others there: the early morning hours bring a range of emotion. Finally the gates are opened, and we hiked through. This section of the trail cruised as if one's body knows the end is in site, the culminating point of the pilgrimage is near.
As we hiked, the mountains transformed from black and shadowed to a brilliant and luscious green as the sky blinked from deep blue to orange to light pink. We arrived at the Sun Gate, along with dozens of other people. The mist pulled apart, reluctantly, and Machu Picchu appeared below us - oddly familiar from the numerous National Geographic photos and at the same time unlike anything we could have anticipated. Our group carved out a little space, and as the rest of the hikers headed down into the ruins, Puma gathered us together in a circle. The warmth of the sun crested our faces as we joined hands and raised our arms. We've arrived. "Plant yourself here," he said, "a piece of you will always remain."
Machu Picchu
Our group was united, and we practically skipped down into Machu Picchu. We arrived at the classic photo stop, and the girls got their infamous jumping photo in front of the ruins. From there, Puma, Percy, Wily, Edgar, and Rebe each spoke about what these ruins mean to them. It struck me that this is history - not a dead man's account from the pages of a history textbook, but the oral traditions, ceremonies, uses, and understandings passed down from grandfather to grandchild. Puma explained how his grandfather had brought him to Machu Picchu, many times, to teach him the sacred teachings of the Quechua people, descendants of the Incas. In turn, Puma brings his family here and teaches them. This was the first time that the brothers had been together on the trail - they can afford only to go when a group gives them work, and by luck ours had been big enough to warrant all of them.
Puma led us for hours around the site. The girls and parents did not tire of his explanations, despite having awakened at 3:00am after three solid days of hiking. In fact, when given the choice, everyone decided to return for a few hours more. We visited tunnels, temples, and the sun dial. We stood on agricultural terraces where the Incans acclimated various plants and developed new species, thereby increasing the biodiversity of the area. We passed through a temple where you can face one wall, speak, and hear it projected on another. We visited a condor stone, where young priests or priestesses would stand, arms up, apparently jutting out over the thousands of feet below them, in mental and physical preparation for the rites of passage that would involve balance over a 5000 foot drop. Each girl climbed up onto the stone, arms flung back, shoulders held confidently. Somewhere in the last few days, weeks, months, these girls had found the confidence in themselves to make it this far...and to know that they belonged there.
Return to Cusco and Service Project in Qaqacollo
Our time in Cusco continued to be a personalized adventure with Puma and his family. We visited Puma's native village --- with the parents and saw the amazing cooperative that Puma's family has created. Instead of competing with other families in the markets, selling handmade table runners, purses, hats, scarves and numerous other handicrafts, his family united the village. Now, the families work together to spin and dye the wool and weave intricate designs into their crafts. The families have rejuvenated the practice and have renewed their traditional designs. It was inspiring to watch the women work together to create these treasures. Each girl mentioned how touching it was to see how devoted these families are to helping one another and supporting their community. They have developed a community center to showcase their goods. After learning about the entire process, from shearing the animals to creating the designs on the weaving looms, the girls split off from the parents to challenge the local boys to a soccer game.
We rolled up our pants and had a short practice before the game began. Our sheer determination and athletic skills surprised the boys and the game remained intense up to the final moments. Our morning workouts had finally paid off as we wove through the guys and passed the ball from girl to girl with barely a labored breath. The crowd began to gather as the shouts radiated from the field. Unfortunately, they got us by one point.
Upon returning to the comforts of our hostel in Cuzco after our Machu Picchu extravaganza, the girls were ready to roll up there sleeves and open their hearts to helping a community just outside of the city that had been badly affected by the floods earlier this year. As we piled into our vans with a bit of food to offer the people of the community, we had not anticipated the magnitude of the upcoming experience. Once we arrived, we were given pick axes and shovels to help chip away at the land and flatten out the communal and central space of the village. After a short while of working, we understood why the area was called Qaquacollo (ka-ka-coyo) which means “Place of Rocks” in Quechua. Every time our tools hit the earth, it landed on a rock which greatly slowed down the process. Once everyone began to find a rhythm with their work, we all started sharing songs and stories about our perspective lives. This was a community made up of mostly women who had lost nearly everything except their lives in the floods. Their weaving tools, two computers, and crops were all swept away with the water. It had taken them over 5 years to acquire all of these belongings, their tools used to support their livelihood. Without them, they were left with nothing. Although the girls only spent a few short hours with these women, they were inspired to help them by raising money to buy the community seeds. This will, in hopes, help these courageous women to get their lives started once again.
Our final day in Cusco was spent with Puma in the area surrounding Cusco. Puma took us to a cave to be rebirthed and rejuvenated for our next adventures. We waded through ankle deep water in a narrow dark cave and came out into the bright sunshine on the other side with a new invigorated spirit to guide us. We then visited Puma's house and were treated to a special smudge ceremony. Puma dressed in his native healing dress and started a fire with special wood and herbs. Each of us chose three coca leaves to place our blessings, hopes and fears on before releasing them into the fire. Puma then brought each person into the smoke and with his feathers and knowledge, cleansed and blessed each person with a silent moment followed by healing Quechua words. The ceremony was unique for each person and was carried away in our hearts.
Copacabana and the Four Mile Run
The girls were simultaneously anticipating and dreading our arrival in Copacabana, Bolivia: new stamps on passports, the "other side" of Lake Titicaca, lots of jewelry for sale on the streets, and the four mile run. Copacabana did not disappoint on any front - days filled with sunshine streaming in the windows of our lake-facing hostel, reed boats mingled with motor boats right off the shore. It was the ideal setting for finals, and the girls buckled down for five days of intense school work as they finished up final projects, presentations, and papers. But it wasn't all school - we took a break for an afternoon venture out to the Isla del Sol, birthplace of the Incas. We stretched our legs on 304 Incan steps up and over the pre-Incan agricultural terraces that are still in use today. From the top of the island one can see both the Bolivian and Peruvian countryside, the blue of Lake Titicaca reflecting its profound depth, and the monstrous islands that stretch confidently skyward, jutting up from below the surface of the lake.
We also punctuated finals with the culmination of our physical education class. All semester, we had been building up our endurance through increasing the mileage on our runs. At 12,500 feet, the girls ran the shoreline of Lake Titicaca. We set up a series of food and water stations along the way as they ran out from the little village (to the calls and hollers of a local festival) down a flat dirt road to a rocky beach and back again. When the girls finished, many said it was the longest they had run in their life (not to mention the altitude!). They surprised themselves with how relatively easy it really was: "It's already over!?" and that was a testament to the hard work they have put in all semester. Early morning sprints in the cloud forest, 6 days of straight backpacking, pool workouts, relay races around the Plaza de Armas of various cities - all of those had lead up to the capacity to do that run by the shores of Lake Titicaca.
La Paz/Mountaineering Trip
We made our way to La Paz for our final week. La Paz is a lively city with many open markets and wonderful shopping. The students enjoyed their stay here, as they were able to do some last minute shopping and interact in the open air food markets. La Paz was the perfect jumping off point for our final adventure of the TTS15 semester. We headed into the mountains with a several hour trek to base camp. We trekked through the dry hills, scattered with grazing llamas and glacier covered peaks towering above us. Our base camp was located along a beautiful high alpine lake, and it included a worldly assortment of climbing parties. We spent the next day on the toe of the glacier. We learned how to use all our mountaineering gear, and the students got as comfortable as they could with climbing the steep glacier ice with crampons and ice axes. All the safety procedures were covered and we left the glacier feeling confident and ready for our ascent the next day.
The next morning came early, with a 2 AM wake up call. We began our hike to the glacier toe at 3am and were making our slow ascent up the ice at 4am. The sunlight was slow in coming, and for many hours we traveled by headlamp, in slow, snaking lines up the glacier. We weaved around crevasses and counted down the minutes until the sunshine would hit and warm us up. The rope teams reached the saddle below the summit and were greeted by the beautiful sun and excitement of being so close to the summit. The optional hike to the very top, was undertaken by a handful of students and guides. Although it was a difficult, long, cold hike, the excitement and thrill of reaching the top of this 18,000 foot peak was indescribable. Celebratory photos were taken with our whole group and a weary, excited group trudged back down in the hot sun. Our final evening in the mountains of Bolivia was spent eating a traditionally prepared meal of fresh trout, caught in the lake. It was a wonderful way to enjoy our last night of our final adventure, guides, students and teachers.
Thank you so much for following our adventures!
With love from Bolivia,
Heather, Leah, Shannon, and Aunge
Teachers -- TTS15