The Traveling School

February 11, 2008

I started writing this to you from our first foray into an Ecuadorian town: Otavalo.  Otavalo is a bustling, radiating town, home of the world famous Ecuadorian market.  It was Saturday, and the streets were crowded with vendors of colorful sweaters, purses, pants, and countless other traditional clothing.  The girls perused the market, used their developing Spanish skills to hang out with locals, and came back proudly displaying their new possessions (and a few gifts...).

A week ago Saturday (a whole week!), we arrived at the lovely Hacienda Guachalá (with existing buildings from as long ago as 1575), where we were greeted with comfortable beds, delicious coffee, and fresh homemade granola.  This hostel is an incredibly historical site: it has hosted, among other impressive figures, French scientists studying the circumference of the earth and a famous Ecuadorian president who was later assassinated.

Today is Monday, and the girls are currently in class.  Yesterday, we spent the morning helping the local community weed and irrigate their vegetable plots: we hoed rows of corn, pulled weeds (and several interesting-looking bugs) from around cabbage, and discovered what broccoli looks like in the ground!  The girls were incredible throughout: motivated, engaged, and incredibly effective.

We are now a week into classes and are studying everything from descriptive writing to symbiotic Amazonian relationships, from Incan history in Ecuador to personal budgeting, from international perspectives on American culture to the difference in Spanish between ser and estar.

When not in class, we have found stunning other ways to pass our time: on Tuesday, we visited la Mitad del Mundo (the Middle of the Earth)...the EQUATOR.  One of the owners of the hostel is also an avid scientist who is studying the myriad of pre-Incan ruins around the area and who has put together an entire center on the study of the Equator.  He gave us an utterly fascinating tour of the site: he talked about the pre-Incan and Incan views on the sun, he talked about the importance of world unity, and he discussed the views of the constellations.  When he finished his talk, we begged him to tell us more.  Really.  Begged.

We spent Thursday exploring Parmamarca, one of the pre-Incan sites (this collection of sites is said to be the largest in South America -- most of it, however, has yet to be excavated and is thus relatively unknown).  We sat on the stones of the most important entrance, saw a stone used for animal (and human) sacrifices, and ate a scrumptious lunch with a few members of the local community.

The girls this semester are absolutely wonderful; it is an incredible delight to get to know them.  I'm sure you will hear about all of them from your daughters, but here is a quick overview of the fantastic collection we have:

PHOEBE is an outgoing senior from Colorado who continually entertains us with her brilliant humor and quirky asides.  She is a natural leader who seems to have an innate sense of what kind of direction (and interjections) the group needs; she is able to do so while also balancing her focus on herself and her needs (and she is doing an excellent job documenting all her new Spanish words...).

GRACE, a junior from Oregon, overcame the first major challenge of the trip: she arrived in Miami to find that her huge backpack had not. Throughout what was something of a trial, she remained calm, optimistic, and unperturbed -- all qualities that she has maintained throughout the trip.  (We eventually recovered her backpack, by the way, mere hours before we left for Quito!)  Because of her calm demeanor and uplifting attitude, she yesterday won the first Happy Traveler Award at our weekly Awards Ceremony.

CAITLIN is a sophomore from New Jersey who continually exhibits an engaging and excited attitude.  She is always willing to contribute to the group, both in class and in casual conversation.  She is naturally gregarious and engages the people we meet by asking them insightful questions.  She is infectiously excited to be here, to explore South America, and to get to know her traveling companions better.

LIZZIE is an upbeat senior from Colorado whose comments reflect her innate understanding of group dynamics.  Her every movement reveals her natural athleticism (which was then indubitably proven in our most recent game of Ultimate Frisbee...).  She is a confident member of the group, always ready with an optimistic bit of advice and a perceptive insight into a class discussion.

MONTANA is a spunky sophomore from Delaware whose face constantly reveals her engagement in class and in discussions.  She sets her own style that makes the rest of us feel slightly less than cool: recently, for example, she donned a pair of paper-clip earrings. Montana is extremely adaptive and easy going: she seems to revel in both the adventures we have and the quiet moments in between.  She talks easily and readily to all her peers with infectious laughter and excitement.

CHARLOTTE is a senior from Montana who is on her second semester with the Traveling School: she spent last fall with us in southern Africa. Charlotte provides the group with veteran views of the workings of the Traveling School.  She has a bright and funky clothing style that enlivens the group -- her incredible sense of humor does the same. She is a delightful, compassionate member of the group whose insights and reflections give depth and development to our conversations.

JEMMA, a junior from California, is also returning for her second Traveling School semester: she, however, took a year break in between (she was in southern Africa with us in the fall of 2006).  It is wonderful to see her growth from her first semester to this one: she is giving solid, perceptive advice to her peers about group dynamics and the first two weeks of the adventure.   Jemma is a motivated and diligent student who, despite her academic drive, is always willing to help her peers with work or the group with basic chores.  She is also extremely driven to learn Spanish and won our first Andean Queen award for the myriad of interactions she has already had (despite having never previously studied Spanish).

JENNA is a sophomore from Washington and another returning student (she was with us in southern Africa last fall).  She is a solidly calm and insightful member of the group, whose reflections on her experiences in Africa have provided comfort and reassurance to her peers.  She is a wonderfully quirky individual who is forever surprising us with witty comments and delighted giggles.

ADIA is a vivacious Oregonian whose spontaneous comments leave us all immensely entertained.  She is excessively creative, and has already suggested several ideas for historical reenactments (so I am, of course, delighted), group games, and other ingenious activities.  She is warm and welcoming, the kind of person who makes her peers feel instantly comfortable and accepted.

LAURA is a sophomore from Washington, DC , whose Colombian roots contribute to her beautiful Spanish (we all find ourselves asking her for translations and vocabulary assistance).  Laura is a deeply intelligent individual; she constantly seeks more knowledge and explanation of what she learns and what she sees.  She is continually and inspiringly excited about herself and the world around us.  She is also the recipient of our first Athletic Award: she constantly pushes herself and has an innate prowess in Ultimate Frisbee (complete with diving catches).

MELISSA is an intelligent upstate New Yorker whose quiet enthusiasm and creative comments provide our group with spark and energy. Melissa is upbeat, perky, and engaged -- she connects with everyone and provides a calm support to her peers.  She provides the group with constancy, energy, and a glimmering quirkiness, and she is always willing to share her thoughts and her emotions.

SARAH is a sophomore from Washington whose cheers through all our work-outs provide support and motivation for all of us -- she pushes herself with equal and inspiring vigor.  Sarah is a perceptive student whose comments in class spark deep reflections from her peers.  She is unwaveringly optimistic and excited about where we are: she recently spent almost an hour talking to one of our guides about everything from rose cultivation to family structure.  Her willingness to challenge herself is incredible.

AMBER is a senior from California who just won our first Academic Award: her contributions to class are particularly notable in their depth, precision, and insight.  She is visibly excited to be on this trip, to push herself and her experience, to discover who she is and who she wants to be.  Her desire to make the adventure as powerful as possible has passed onto her peers and created and environment of challenge and excitement.

ALEX is our representative from North Carolina: she is bubbly, engaging, and determined.  She reaches out to her fellow students to ask them about their lives and contribute stories of her own experiences: she makes those around her feel comfortable and interesting.  She is always one of the first to contribute her thoughts in class, and her example frequently allows others to feel comfortable doing the same.

And that is our group.

Absolutely wonderful.

We are heading out tomorrow for an overnight backpacking trip through an Ecuadorian eco-reserve (ending, luxuriously, at a hot springs); we will then leave for the Amazon (the AMAZON!) on Thursday.  Assuming that all goes according to plan, we are going to try to have all the girls call home again on Thursday (February 14th) or Friday (February 15th).

I am sure many of you cannot WAIT for more information from your daughters -- I hope you understand our desire to have them focus all of their energy on being here (especially in the first two weeks).  We have found that these two weeks are vital for the creation of a strong and vibrant group, but the two weeks are almost over, and we will try to have them call home before we go into the Amazon.

Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.  You will hear more from me once we return from the jungle and arrive in Quito, the capital of Ecuador (and home to an incredible amount of history). Before I sign off, let me just thank you for sharing your daughters with us.  They are engaging, creative, adventurous, and optimistic. This trip is already fantastic, and I cannot wait to keep updating you on our progress.

Your South American correspondent,
Claire

 

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February 22, 2008

Dear Parents:

We have emerged.

Last you heard from me, we were on our way into the Amazon (THE
Amazon); we are now smack dab in the center of the New York of
Ecuador: the pulsing, thriving capital, Quito. But let's got back to
the rainforest for a second...

We arrived in Tena (a gateway town to the Amazon) on Valentine's Day
and were welcomed warmly (and with a fair amount of humidity) by
Sonia, the lovely hostess of our hostel. We settled into our wooden
cabins, and slept soundly, preparing for...

...RIVER RAFTING.

Yep. The next day, we donned helmets and life-jackets, clambered into
rubber rafts, and began our adventure down what is called in Quichua
(the indigenous language of the area) Yatun Yacu (Big River).
Depending on who we were, we fell out of the rafts, were pushed out of
the rafts, stayed resolutely in the rafts, rode on the front of the
rafts, hunkered down inside the rafts, and otherwise THOROUGHLY
enjoyed ourselves. The incredible lunch spread of Ecuadorian burritos
(differing from Mexican burritos only in location served) didn't harm
matters any...

The girls returned absolutely vibrating with joy, contentment, and
adventure.

And no wonder, really, because the next day, we packed a few bags and
began our journey along the Napo River, one of the largest tributaries
of the Amazon. With Ecuadorian flags flying at our ships' bows and
rubber boots protecting our dry socks, we began our trip.

Walking into the rainforest feels like stepping into a bathroom in
which someone has just recently taken a shower. Though a thick
stillness blankets the area, silence is a non-entity: constant sounds
of the river, the crickets (deafening, when you start to listen to
them), the squawking parrots, and other indecipherables (rattles and
hums, buzzes and creaks, squeals) perpetually echo through the
gargantuan trees (of which there are so many species that it is
literally impossible to enumerate them). Insects that imitate leaves
crouch on branches; thick spiderwebs that look like blankets showing
the flexibility of time, space, and matter stretch between plants.

I must mention a notable person and some incredible activities of our
stay in the Amazon.

First, Gerson. Gerson (Jerr-sone) has been the Traveling School's
guide in the rainforest for at least four years. He is incredibly
knowledgeable about everything from oil exploration to the habits of
conga ants, and he shares what he knows willingly and passionately.
He revels in getting to know the girls (and in teasing them: at one
point in a hike through the forest, he leaped out with a delighted and
jaguar-esque roar...).

Gerson led us on all our trips: to an indigenous Quichua community, on
our extensive trek through the rainforest, down the river in
innertubes, to an indigenous museum, and through an animal
rehabilitation center.

One of the most memorable parts of the trip was walking (through a
downpour) to a our boat driver Nilo's house (which was raised up on
stilts to prevent the entrance of snakes and floods) -- the family is
Quichua, and lives in a traditional way. We watched them prepare
chicha, a traditional drink made out of yuca (a tuber similar to a
potato); heard about life in the traditional village; and ate a few
tasty morsels of baked bananas. Seeing a lifestyle so completely
different from our own was stunning for the girls; many of them
describe this experience as being one in which they realized they were
completely present on this trip.

We spent one full day trekking through, up, and around the rainforest.
Several times through our seven-hour journey, Gerson (with a wink and
a sly grin) muttered, "Hmmm...does anyone know where we are? I think
we may be lost..." We ate lime ants, swung Tarzan-esque on vines,
tasted the stems of sour plants, followed nearly indistinguishable
hunting trails through the thick undergrowth, glimpsed (but, worry
not, did not touch) a few poisonous dart frogs, offered ourselves to
the mercy of mosquitoes and biting ants, sloshed through mud and
water, and soaked it all in. Literally: it rained the entire time.
But, as we decided, that just means we FULLY experienced the
rainforest.

We returned to our jungle lodge for a bit of rest and fried bananas,
and then departed on a slow float down the river in innertubes.
Absolutely lovely.

(At this point, we had a few gastro-intestinal disorders that
debilitated almost half the group -- I'm sure the girls will love to
fill you in on all the gory details. Suffice it to say that it seemed
to pass within a day or two, and, as a group, we are now back to full
health...)

The next morning, those feeling healthy enough to spend the day
traveling went to an Amazonian museum where they saw examples of
traditional traps and practiced blowing dart guns. (Dawn, it turns
out, is the group's master at that skill...) They then explored an
animal rehabilitation center, where they saw an uncanny number of
monkeys, an ocelot, the smallest species of monkey, and a myriad of
other delightful creatures.

Everyone, sick or well, returned to Tena with a few (or more) bug
bites and an insatiable delight in the group, the Amazon, and the
trip.

We arrived in Tena on Wednesday, slept in on Thursday, and are now in
the middle of a full day of classes.

And thus ends the report.

On Monday, we are heading up to the group stays in the indigenous
village of Agualongo; we will be there for almost a week and return to
Quito the following Monday. I will have the girls put together the
next report and make sure they all talk about what's going on in all
our classes.

I hope all is well. This trip, thus far, is incredible. The girls
are wildly passionate about what they are doing, about getting to know
each other, about figuring themselves out. I cannot wait to see what
happens with each of them as this trip progresses.

(Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts.)

Your South American Correspondent,
Claire

 

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March 7, 2008

Hi, Parents:

I told you I would send a trip update in the girls' words, and here I am to deliver. This Trip Report starts and ends in Quito, but has substantial stories in between. So. We start with our adventures in Quito (a visit to Guayasamin's art museum, a salsa class, our coffee house). We then move to our experience in Agualongo, with descriptions of the groupstay, our forays into bread-making, English-teaching, trips, helping the community, and saying goodbye). We return to Quito for a few days and a bit of rest...and we get a description of a few of our classes. With no further ado, here they are:

* * *

Our trip to the Guayasamin Chapel of Man (Jemma)

On February 24th, we visited the Chapel to Man Museum, which is solely dedicated to Oswaldo Guayasamin's unique artwork about Latin American unity and various world events. Before we arrived, I was expecting the usual art museum with colorful paintings places 12 inches away from each other. I imagined myself walking from one to the other without being drawn into a piece like a moth to lightbulbs, without absorbing the energy and meaning of whatever picture was plastered to the wall. However, once we stepped inside of the first floor, I knew I wouldn't be able to aimlessly wander from one painting to anther. Each piece overwhelmed the wall upon which it hung, and every one was spaced far enough apart that I was never distracted by its neighbor. Guayasamin painted mostly with black, white, red, and yellow. He went through different stages with his artwork, so yellow was never in a painting from his "Age of Anger" (in which he used mostly black and white). The proportions of every person were based on a body part's ability to relate emotion to an onlooker. Each person had huge, block-like hands and small heads but big eyes. One painting in particular, "Lagrimas de Sangre" or "Tears of Blood" depicted hist style perfectly. Three teardrops of deep red blood ran from the left eye of a small gray face and remnants of older tears of blood meandered through the crevices of two large hands which covered three-fourths of the canvas. On the bottom right corner of the piercing black background are the names Salvador Allende, Pablo Neruda, and Victor Jara, three men who fought for the unity of Latin America. Large round eyes conveyed all the anger, sadness, and fear many people in the world have felt during world wars, civil wars, and oppression. Every one of Guayasamin's paintings translated these kinds of harsh emotions to the viewer, drawing me into the importance and significance of each one of his pieces. It was an experience I will never forget and one I'm still processing simply because of the intensity and truth behind every message painted for the viewer to slowly digest and maybe act on in the future.

(Alex) Upon entering the Guayasamin Museum, I was skeptical as I reminisced about visiting museums as a young child. Then, the boredom seemed to overtake my mind...but when I stepped into this museum, boredom was far from my childish thoughts. Emotion poured from floor to ceiling. Bold colors and sharp lines radiated from every picture. Guayasamin made me feel the anger, tenderness, sadness, and fear as I walked from canvas to canvas. Never once have I ever seen an artist who could depict these emotions with such accuracy. But what I loved most of all were the hands. They were way reflected the emotion in almost every picture. Whether the hands were stiff and hard to represent hanger or soft and gentle to show tenderness. Guayasamin's artistry was an experience that definitely changed my outlook on art.

* * *

Salsa! (Amber)

After our special visit to Guayasamin's Capilla del Hombre, the excitement grew to even greater heights as we stepped foot in a dance studio. However, this was not any dance studio, this was Jorge's SALSA studio. We had nothing short of a blast as we learned "basico", "dileno", and all the other moves. We are basically master salsa dancers as a result. Look forward to your daughters' dazzling new moves...

* * *

On our Coffee House (Lizzie)

Our first coffee house was so much fun. Montana and I decorated the living room of our hostel with all of our sarongs and scarfs. We lit up our colored water bottles with our headlamps to make colorful lights. After all settling in, we began to draw and make collages. Each of us was free to be creative. A few of us recreated pictures from the Guayasamin museum we had just visited. During the coffee house, the cool crew made lots of fun snacks. Dawn made bruschetta that was amazing! We even had fruit salad. The experience was really fun, and I think the time together brought us closer. As the coffee house came to an end, we turned off the lights and had a few performances. Phoebe, Grace, and Caitlin all showed off their voices. Amber turned on some fun music and gave us a belly-dancing preview. The floor was also open to poetry. We all realized how much talent we have!

* * *

The Groupstay Experience (Sarah)

What seemed to be one of the most daunting aspects of our peregrination through South America turned out to be one of the most life-changing and moving experiences I've ever had. This last week, four families in the indigenous community of Agualongo graciously opened their homes to us and showered us with their generosity. Throughout the groupstay, we had incredible insight into the Quichua culture and experienced first-hand some of the chores and routines that are done on a daily basis. With our activities ranging from cooking, cleaning, helping out with the minga, teaching English, talking and getting to know the people, our eyes were opened to an entirely different way of living that many of us hand never previously been exposed to. Even though there was sometimes a language barrier, that would be quickly erased and replaced with smiles and laughter. Many host families were very curious to know about the way of life in the United States and would eagerly ask us many questions. Within those few days, we developed close relationships with our host families and felt as though we had a second family here for us in Ecuador.

(Charlotte) I could write pages and pages on my groupstay family, but if I have learned anything from the experience, it is that time is short. My family was poor but happy -- every night we cooked together over a smoky outside fire, and laughed -- a language that required no words. In group stays, I became awakened with a lot of harsh realities that I knew existed but had never been exposed to. My heart could not help sinking as I watched my 8- and 10-year-old house sisters care for their one-year-old malnourished baby sister. They clothed her, fed her, carried her on their backs, and constantly rocked her to make her stop crying or coughing. Their mother died four months earlier, there was no father in sights, and their 20-year-old sister and her husband had to move in with their two children to provide for the family. In total, eight people lived in the small house. The two twin beds held all the family members, and the matted floor provided a sleeping space for Heather, Alex, Montana, and me...as well as two guinea pigs the first sleepless night. We tried to immerse ourselves completely in the lives of our groupstay family: we did the dishes under the cold outside faucet, danced with the small children, shared our camera photos, and had fun translating conversations. In every groupstay, we became part of the family...regardless of social and language barriers.

* * *

Making Bread with the Community (Grace)

It's crazy to think that the simple task of making homemade bread can bring joy to an entire community of people. We spent a long afternoon watching a local woman, Josefina, skillfully knead enormous batches of dough and then pass pieces out to everyone to mold into fine shapes. There were caterpillars, snakes, twists, spirals, and Phoebe even made a dolphin. The hours seemed to pass in a flash while all eighteen of us, along with what must have been at least thirty members of Agualongo, crowded under the shelter above the hot fiery oven as rain fell in sheets around us. It was cold and claustrophobic, but the fun overpowered and the final product of melt-in-your-mouth bread was well worth the wait! We laughed at deformed bread me, relished in piece after piece, and above all, we spent a glorious afternoon in the beloved company of the people of Agualongo.

* * *

Teaching English in Agualongo (Phoebe)

The room was pounding with excitement of kids' voices as we walked into the community center with our lesson plans. Their faces were shining and I could tell they were so eager to learn. These kids had so little but they were so grateful for the knowledge we were about to enrich them with. The first day included an English lesson on animals, colors, food, and body parts. We sang "Old MacDonald", played a run-around-the-room color game, and did the Hokey Pokey. Our lesson plans for the next day we taught English were days of the week, the family, and emotions. It was a challenge to keep their attention to the end, but the games and activities we did ended up being a success. I so enjoyed teaching them something we all cared about. They learned English from us, and I learned what it really means to be grateful for education.

* * *

The Trip to the Lake (Caitlin)

On Friday, we (all of TTS and many members of Agualongo) piled into the back of two pick-up trucks and drove. There were kids jumping all over each other and us. Women in traditional dress chatted. As we drove through more modernized gas stations, I began to realize what a different sight we were. When we arrived at the lake, Cuicocha, all of the kids and women began to laugh at me. While I didn't inhale any, my entire area of exposed skin (and my hat) were completely black from exhaust. Laughing it off, we all climbed around the rim of the lake. It was breath-taking. Two women who came with us shared stories passed down to them from their grandparents. Finally, we ran back down (I raced some boys), and we shared a snack by the shore. We made it safely back to Agualongo free of exhaust and having had a wonderful time.

* * *

The Minga (Montana)

Saturday morning I woke up sleepy, but soon snapped out of it as I settled into my realization tha tit was the day of the Minga! I rose off my straw mat, quickly dressed, and happily yet groggily walked up to get a bite to eat before the day's work began. "Minga" is the Quichua word for community gathering and service project. We were to help the community install a bathroom by the kindergarten, complete with two toilets, a urinal, a shower and a septic tank. We began by moving cinder blocks from one side of the soccer field to the other, where they were stacked by the site of the project. Over the next few hours, we contributed in numerous ways. We mixed cement, shoveled dirt, then moved it with wheelbarrows and stomped it down compact. We also cut down trees in our free time to make laundry-hanging posts. We delighted in the ongoing soccer tournament, lollipop sucking, and empanada eating during our breaks. Our combined efforts with the local people had astonishing results, and by the time we left the community Sunday afternoon, the project was nearly completed.

* * *

The Closing Ceremony (Sarah)

Many of us sat apprehensively in a circle waiting to try our first bite of cuy (guinea pig) that was to be served to us by the indigenous community of Agualongo. It was funny to see the expressions on everyone's faces as the cuy was presented to us in a large silver bowl with potatoes and chicken. At the time, it was slightly awkward as we were the first to be served (it is a Quichua tradition that the guests are served first), but many of the girls enjoyed the cuy and it was nice to relax and settle in. After filling our bellies, the community thanked us for the work we did and welcomed us back any time. Afterwards they presented us with beautiful scarves and purses. To conclude the ceremony, a band played beautiful Andean music, and we danced in a circle (Lizzie broke out the Irish Jig!). The ceremony was ineffable and bittersweet, as we were extremely sad to leave, but at the same time, it provided a nice closure to our wonderful and unforgettable time in Agualongo.

(Jenna) After holding out on a big breakfast, we sat in a circle ready and waiting for the lunch that had been prepared for 24 hours by the community. We were ready for the lunch we had all been anticipating. We were ready for cuy. A gigantic pot of fried cuy, chicken, and hidden potatoes at the bottom of the pot were given to us. I glanced around the room at the girls' faces, some of which displayed disgust, others excitement as we looked at the cuy's friend body...head and all. We were all given a piece of cuy and took the first bite with caution. However, most of us asked for seconds. When we had filled ourselves, we took photos with our families and prepared ourselves for goodbye. Then, the representatives of the community told us that as a thank you for all our help, they had gifts for us. Each of us got a different colored scarf and bag, but it wasn't the gift that we all loved, it was the fact that they thought of it. With all of us close to tears, the music began to play, and everyone began to dance until the trucks came to pick us up. Instead of ending on a sad note of goodbye, we ended on a wonderful high of know we would be back again.

* * *

Study Day/Rest Day (Amber)

Today marks our second Study Day/Rest Day almost all of us have discovered bliss in the shower after a week of...minimal bathing. In addition, we all that that nice bit of extra sleep that has been long overdue. Although we all regretted leaving our host-families in Agualongo, it is a huge relief to get all of our lingering assignments and errands out of the way. Despite the fact that our last Study Day/Rest Day's announcement resulted in unanimous cheering, this one has proved much more relaxing, as we are a little more familiar with the hostel and the area around it. Some of us also went to see great art at Guayasamin's second museum today! Score! Rest assured that your daughters' dress levels are all the way down!

* * *

What we're doing in classes...

History (Melissa)

In History class, we have been learning about the early history of Ecuador from the times of the indigenous tribes to the conquest of the Incans in Ecuador and then their fall to the Spanish explorers. We recently did a re-enactment of the arrival of Francisco Pizarro and the fall of the Incan Empire...musical style (including adapted music from various Disney movies and a lovely rendition of "All By Myself" from Lizzie). Tomorrow, we are exploring Old Town Quito as an all-day history fest.

Literature (Melissa)

In lit class, we are beginning to delve into poetry. Everyone made her own version of the poem "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams in mad lib fashion. All of us have been working hard to memorize various poems that we will recite in the near future (scary to someone who has never read any other poetry except that of Shel Silverstein...). We are also working on our own story about lessons we learned in the Amazon jungle and relating them to our own lives. This is an adaptation of Pam Houston's "Three Lessons in Amazonian Biology". Finally, we are starting Isabel Allende's book about South America, The House of Spirits (which Montana has already finished!).

On our recent Poetry Recital (Adia)

As soon as I rejoined the group, I started slipping back into reality. I felt like things were more or less pressured back into my life. I found tranquility in repetitions of one poem. It wasn't anything special or beautiful, but fun to learn because of its rhythm. Waiting patiently for the chance to recite our poems wasn't hard for anyone. We were all nervous about how well they would work with us. Every minute a person would say, "Okay, I'll go!" but when they were up there, it all flowed beautifully. Every single poem held a different emotion and everyone expressed them in the most realistic forms. The authors would have been impressed.

Science (Jemma)

We wrapped up our study on biodiversity and tropical rainforest ecoosystems in the Amazon. Because most of the families we met in Agualongo survived off their land, we began studying agriculture and sustainable farming. The families survive by growing corn, beans, blackberries, potatoes, and other crops; it was the perfect environment in which to start our studies in these subjects. Although we only had one since class during our stay in Agualongo, it was packed with information about indigenous ways of farming. We were able to soak in the incredible amount of information that one of the women in the community, Josefina, had about the indigenous methods of farming. Some of the most interesting things were that many people use a combination of soap and garlic, onion, and chili made into a tea to use as a natural pesticide. Almost every corn plant supported a bean stalk. To end with one of our science terms, the corn and bean plants are involved in a symbiotic, or mutualistic, relationship because the bean plant grows better on a vine and it adds nitrogen to the soil to enrich the soil for the corn plant. As usual in the Traveling School, our class is completely relevant to our surroundings, making each day that much more interesting.

Travel Journalism (Phoebe)

Right now we are working on our first draft of oil in the Amazon, our topic for the first article. This article is so we can get a feel of what it's going to be like when we begin sending our writing out to real newspapers. Our first article is going to go to our school newspaper, then we will send one to our local paper, then our big newspaper of the state (for me, the Denver Post), and finally a big-time magazine or paper such as National Geographic or Seventeen. It has been a bit hard to narrow down all I have to say into one small article and to choose the right words, but the article we are writing now is helping me get used to the Travel Journalism world. We even got to talk with a professional travel-journalist from Seattle who coincidentally was staying at our hostel in Quito. It was helpful to get an up-close perspective on the real job. We are all encountering amazing experiences and through this class we will be able to share them with the world.

Math Applications (Caitlin)

In Math Apps, we are learning about personal finance. Our big, recurring assignments have to do with something called the Game of Life. we each drew options out of categories that determined our name, age, marital status, job, location, car ownership, and number of kids. We range from divorced CEOS in Manhattan to married Walmart employees in Wyoming. We had to find a bank and create a budget. Every month in the game passes every two weeks in real time. Soon we will get life changes and have to use our money accordingly. In Math Apps we also do activities where we discuss finance in large and small companies and try to define poverty. This is the only math class I've taken where the question, "How will I ever even use this?" can never go unanswered.

Global Studies (Laura)

After wrapping up our discussion on the many forms and definitions of privilege in the Amazon, we headed to Quito, where we began conflict resolution. We learned about VOeMP (Vent, Own, eMpathize, Plan), a strategy for smoothing out frictions and coming to a compromise. We then talked about the stages of group development and identified our group's position in the scheme. After Quito, we headed to Agualongo, a rural community 30 minutes away form Otavalo in northern Ecuador. Most of the community spoke Quichua as well as Spanish, and some of the kids were learning English in school. Our Global classes consisted of two activities: planning English lessons for the kids and discussing the effects of living in a low income rural community. In summary of the class, we were all deeply impacted by the way the families offered all they had to us. From the Amazon to the Sierra, Global class has opened our eyes to a beautiful corner of our own world and has taught us the responsibilities we carry to help and care for these areas as they are now our home, as well...

* * *

(Me again.) Alright, parents (and friends). That is a description of us, through Quito. As you probably know, we are now in Cuenca, and the girls are doing their groupstays. Yesterday, we visited each of the girls, and I can tell you that they are being well-fed and absolutely pampered. (It made us a little jealous, to be honest...) The girls are going to spend the weekend with their families, and then we will be doing some classes early next week.

As ever, let me know if you have any questions.

Love from the southern hemisphere, Claire

 

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April 4, 2008

Dear Parents:

It has been a little while since you last heard from me. Let me
rephrase that slightly: it has been a little, jam-packed, stunning,
gorgeous while since you last heard from me.

Yes, I will explain.

I last wrote from Cuenca, where the girls were in their groupstays.
From all accounts, they were pampered, loved, and remarkably well-fed.
A few of the girls rejoined the group with entirely new outfits
(jeans seemed to be a popular purchase) and all with a sense of
leaving behind good friends and family.

From Cuenca, we had our first experience with a public bus (we had the
pleasure of watching the deservedly unknown "Pet Cemetary 2", with
volume at full-blast, for a good portion of the drive), and arrived in
the warm and humid metropolis of Guayaquil. We spent a mere night in
a secluded hostel and then embarked on our great adventure westward
to...drumroll...the Galapagos.

I am at a rare loss for words, thinking about how to describe the
magic of the islands. After an hour and a half flight over the
Pacific, we descended over a cluster of islands beautifully bordered
by the vibrantly cobalt sea. As we disembarked from the plane, we
were greeted by a hot, dry gust of air and a sense of tingly wonder at
the history and import of this archipelago.

After we passed through customs, our excitable, dry-humored guide and
new favorite person, Diego, met us, grabbed our bags, and led us to
our new, if temporary, home: the boat Angelita. We immediately set
sail around the islands, and later disembarked on a seemingly deserted
island, only to find ourselves surrounded by blue-footed boobies,
brightly-colored land iguanas, the improbable Frigate birds, and
countless lava lizards.

And so went every day of this magnificence: we spent our hours
snorkeling in the pristine water; hiking around various islands;
coming mere inches from sea lions, land tortoises, marine iguanas,
land iguanas, a myriad of boobies, crabs, and Darwin's notorious
finches; eating fabulously-prepared food; swimming above hammerhead
sharks and next to antediluvian sea turtles; studying the history of
the islands (full of stories of pirates, whalers, intrigue,
murder...and, of course, the 26-year-old Charles Darwin -- yes, he was
only 26 when he spent five weeks traveling around the Galapagos -- but
then it took him twenty years to publish his ideas on the origin of
species...); contemplating the glory and mystery of natural selection;
and otherwise reveling in our surroundings.

The girls were absolutely fascinated by the islands: every time Diego
opened his mouth to speak, the girls whipped out their pens and
science notebooks and began scribbling -- by the end, they were able
to recognize plants (some could even recite their scientific names),
knew every aspect of the life and adaptation of the Blue-Footed
Boobies (and every other animal we encountered), and could point out
the islands we had visited and the animals endemic to each one.

We also immersed ourselves in poetry: one evening, we had a recital
atop the boat, under the full moon and glistening stars. Another
evening, we created a poem together about the Galapagos and being in
the Galapagos: each of us contributed a line until we had a finished
product. Here is what we made:

It is Written

Whether traveling for cause or by accident,
follow my fumbling, twisted feet.
We are children.
Under this vast dark ceiling of sprinkled diamonds,
a romantic movie is all I can think to compare it to.
The water shimmers with the sunset,
a faint memory of the sunlight from the extinct day.
Birds plunge purposely, momentarily forgetting the presence of wings,
thoughts race through my head of this new found place,
moving,
leaving each moment for life to decide,
I see what it means to survive while in some form doing it myself.
I saw
not your venom's intentions, for its reasons have long been lost.
This is the life I am living.

(May 20, 2008)

And so we spent our time in the luxury and mystery of the Galapagos
Islands, soaking it all in, becoming experts in specified fields,
simultaneously entirely and barely comprehending the import of our
location.

A week after arriving, we again boarded a plane, this time east-bound,
and returned to the mainland of Ecuador for another brief evening in
Guayaquil. Here, we reunited with Cara and Heather and greeted a
welcomed guest: Heather's brother, Paddy. Paddy, who is a teacher in
Washington DC, spent the week with us, sharing his perspectives,
helping me teach History, talking to the girls, and gaining
understanding of the glories of the Traveling School. The next day,
we piled onto yet another bus and headed toward the border, toward the
land of Incas and Andes, of majestic ruins and thriving cities, of
coastal towns and mountain treks...toward Peru.

We crossed the border uneventfully, except for the new stamps now
permanently embedded in our passports, and arrived at a small and
charming surf town on the Peruvian coast: Máncora. We spent a week
here catching up on classes and, perhaps more excitingly, surfing.
The girls were stunning surfers, and everyone, even those terrified of
the ocean, stood up at least once. It was exhilarating to watch their
determined faces as they paddled in front of the wave, caught it, and
managed to shakily or confidently stand on the board. Yes, the
glories of surfing.

Máncora marked another part of the trip: midterms. The girls spent
countless hours working on science presentations, a creative history
project, and an article for Travel Journalism. After much work, much
stress, and a few late nights, they each produced fantastic results
(more on this below) -- they have spent the past few days presenting
their projects, and we teachers are stunned.

From Máncora, we loaded onto a bus (we have entered the epoch of
buses) and almost twenty-four hours later, arrived in the glorious
mountain town of Huaraz. As Jennifer wrote you, it was on this bus
ride that Phoebe's boots and the Traveling School laptop were stolen.
While we are not able to replace the laptop, we were able to get new
boots for Phoebe (she has already started breaking them in) -- and
thus we are ready for our imminent hike. I could talk endlessly about
this town of Huaraz; I won't. Suffice it to say that it is nestled
high in the Andes, it is surrounded by glistening snow-covered peaks,
and it has the best cafe in Peru (conveniently located right next door
to our hostel). Here, we have been doing more classes, hiking up
nearby hills, and preparing for the Santa Cruz Trek.

Early Sunday morning, we will depart for this Trek. We will be
spending six days backpacking through the Andean range (an area called
the Cordillera Blanca), stopping at quiet and breath-taking campsites
-- one, in particular, that I consider to be the most beautiful
campsite in the world -- and ascending a pass over 14,000 feet. We
have been prepping the girls for this all week, and while they are a
bit nervous, the excitement of the adventure and its necessary
beauties is palpable.

A brief overview of our recent classes: in Science, the girls just
studied garbage and then created usable products out of the trash they
produced in twenty-four hours: we saw, among other things, cereal-box
purses, a water-collecting shower, a fair amount of jewelry, and a
makeshift umbrella. In Math Applications, the girls presented their
Game of Life characters, much to the amusement of their classmates.
In History, they are sharing their midterm project, the extensive
Multi-Genre Research Paper: for this, each girl created a story or
interpretation of Ecuadorian history, complete with invented artifacts
from various eras and incredible drawings and decoration -- seeing
their presentations filled me with incredibly delighted awe both at
their talents and at what they have learned. In Travel Journalism,
they are putting together their second article on their travels
through Ecuador and now Peru. In Literature, we just had what I would
consider an exciting class on the history of the English language,
complete with examples of Old and Middle English -- and a brief
tangent on the Reeve's Tale from the Canterbury Tales -- enumerations
of words borrowed from other languages, and our own creations of words
that should, but do not, exist in English. In Global Studies, the
girls are researching and presenting the current candidates for the
U.S. Presidential elections -- by the end of this unit, they should
know the major candidates' stances on health care, immigration,
foreign policy, the war in Iraq, and the general leading of the United
States.

And that is the news, so far.

Please let me know if you have any questions or thoughts. I think you
should know that I was on my time off a few days ago, and spent the
entire time talking about your daughters. I spoke of their
determination, their excitement, their incredible potential, their
warmth, and their love of the world. I imagine that I convinced
several people that I have the best job in the world, and that is true
because of the extraordinary spirit that lives in each of your girls.
As the semester goes and and we teachers get to know them better, we
reflect constantly on their strength, on their intelligence, on their
beauty, and on their desire for adventure.

Thank you for sharing them with us.

From your Peruvian correspondent,
Claire

 

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May 1, 2008

And we're back.

...back from three days of following in the footsteps of Hiram Bingham
and millions of Incas, extensive ascents, exhausting descents, rain,
sunshine, Incan legends, parent visits, and one glorious day exploring
Machu Picchu.

...back from a twenty-four hour whirlwind tour of Lima, most notably a
tour of the U.S. Embassy, but equally as exciting, a dinner at Dawn's
friend's (and embassy employee) ocean-side apartment.

...back from six days of hiking, singing, poeming (not a recent word
of the day, I assure you), laughing, giggling, huddling in the rain,
cooking massive amounts of food on a small gas stove, and otherwise
thoroughly enjoying life, Peru, and each other.

(...and that's all working backwards.)

So allow me to give you an update of our past few weeks. Last you
heard from me, I was waxing poetic about the Galapagos, and we were
mere hours away from our departure for the Santa Cruz trek. That was
almost a month ago.

Wow.

As you may have heard, at the beginning of April, we spent six days
exploring the Andes on the Santa Cruz Trek. We got a little
rain...which occasionally turned to hail...but it didn't stop us from
singing cheesy songs (and all other songs we could remember, actually)
at the top of our lungs off the top of mountains. The trek was
certainly a challenge (read: a lot of uphill, a lot of downhill, a lot
of inclement weather), but the girls were fantastic throughout. We
gave each other Disney princess titles, played raucous games of
something called Stupid Ninja Time, snacked on pancakes and cinnamon
rolls, talked, recited poetry, and spent our days basking in the
majesty of the Andes.

The day of Punta Union (also known as The Massive Pass) was
particularly impressive: after a few hours of mind-boggling
switchbacks, we arrived at the pass. Picture, if you will, eighteen
girls carrying leviathans of packs. Picture also, coming up from the
other side, a group carrying exclusively daypacks and looking quite
winded. They were, to put it bluntly, impressed. "You're a SCHOOL?
And you girls are HOW old? You are AWESOME." Yes. We felt
hard-core.

We returned from the Santa Cruz Trek and almost immediately made our
way to Lima, the most metropolitan of the cities in Peru (they even
have a Starbucks. No joke). Dawn has a friend from the Peace Corps,
Dave, who now works in the U.S. Embassy. In our
less-than-twenty-four-hour stint in the capital, Dave arranged a tour
of the embassy for us (complete with talks from representatives from
the economic, public relations, and human rights sectors) and then
invited us to dinner at his ocean-view apartment.

Talk about luxury. And education.

From Lima, we boarded a (rather early) plane to the navel of the Incan
empire, to the jumping-off point of trips to Machu Picchu, to the home
of an incredible mixture of Incan and colonial Spanish influences...to
Cuzco.

Our time in Cuzco is a whirlwind. We met up with parents and members
of the fundraising trip (Matt Stopher, Grace's dad; Barb Snyder,
Jenna's mom; Ellen, Bill, Andrew, and William, Caitlin's family all
joined us) and then had a few wonderful days in Cuzco. When she was
in college, Heather spent three months living in Cuzco with an
indigenous family of shamans and weavers -- she brought us to her
family's house, where we watched the process of traditional weaving
and dying, looked over their stunning array of woven items, and
performed for them what has become our notorious dance. (At the
beginning of the semester, Montana taught us a stomp dance, which we
have now perfected. It's pretty freaking cool.)

We spent the next morning on horseback, touring one of the most famous
sites around Cuzco: Saqusaywaman. (Not, as the guides continually
reminded us, Sexy Woman.) We saw sacrificial stones, monuments to the
sun and moon, models of Incan deities, and the improbable mortar-less
architecture that has become representative of all that is Incan.

And then, we packed our bags, donned our boots, stepped onto the Inca
Trail, and began our journey toward Machu Picchu. The Inca Trail is
no mere meander: one day is spent almost entirely ascending (this is
the notorious "Dead Woman's Pass" -- named, by the way and to assuage
your worries, because the form of the mountain looks like a dead
woman, not because anyone actually died there); another has a good
four-hour descent where it doesn't actually ever even flatten out.
But, we all survived (and, as you would image, thrived) on the trail,
and the effort was absolutely validated when we arrived at the Sun
Gate. There, spread out below our feet, stood the vast, immutable,
abandoned Machu Picchu. We watched the sun slowly illuminate the
ruins, and then we walked down among them, exploring the terraces,
houses, and temples; whispering into alcoves; imagining the area in
its glory; hearing about its history and meaning.

We each spent an hour in our chosen places, contemplating the area,
contemplating ourselves, and soaking in the magical aura of the place.

And then we returned to Cuzco for a few days, said goodbye to the
parents, and made our way to our last Peruvian town, Puno. Puno is on
the shores of Lake Titicaca, and the group took a day trip to the
floating islands in the lake. These islands are remarkable because
they are created entirely out of reeds, and people actually live on
them. We were greeted with gifts of small reed-boat replicas, and we
spent the day talking to the inhabitants and exploring the islands.

Finally, I find myself almost at the present. Just yesterday, we left
Puno and received our final new passport stamp: we are in Bolivia.

We are staying in the funky little town of Copacapana, which is on
Bolivia's side of Lake Titicaca. We're going to be catching up on
classes, exploring the Isla del Sol (the mythical birthplace of the
Incas), and basking in the sun. We'll be here for about a week, and
then we're heading to our last stop, La Paz.

And what are we doing in classes? Oh, the glory of our classes. In
history, the girls are finishing up giving presentations on the
research they did on the Incas (each has a different topic:
agriculture, religion, astronomy, etc.). In literature, we are
studying poetry, beginning a section on short stories, and writing our
own versions of what some of you may have heard on NPR: This I Believe
(this is something that was started in the 1950s and recently
rejuvenated: it asks for individuals to write personal essays about
their beliefs on anything from politics to quotidian aspects of life
to religion -- you can read more about it online
www.thisibelieve.org). In science, the girls are putting together
their final projects: in groups of two, they are researching and
presenting on environmental problems that exist here and in their home
towns. In beginning Spanish, the girls are preparing to write a
letter entirely in Spanish; the advanced Spanish girls are roaming the
streets interviewing people about their daily lives. The girls in
Travel Journalism are putting together their final articles. In Math
Applications, the students are studying global economics and
predicting the effects of rising gas prices. And finally, in Global
Studies, we are focusing on the Zenith Project: the girls are coming
up with a plan to give back to the areas through which we have
traveled. We are brainstorming different ways to do that, and I'll
let you know what we come up with.

You'll be hearing more from me soon, but in the interim, please let me
know if you have any questions, thoughts, or quick hellos. All are
welcome.

Your now Bolivian correspondent,
Claire

 

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May 12, 2008

Well, parents:

This is it.

We have officially returned from the glacier (the GLACIER), we have
one more day in Bolivia, and then we board a plane, Miami-bound. The
semester, as you know, is drawing rapidly to a close.

But before I get into that, let me talk a bit about the feat we just
accomplished. Because, you see, we just summitted a glacier. In
Bolivia. At more than 16,000 feet.

We are hard-core.

The adventure started a few days ago with a quick three-hour hike to
our base camp (after the Santa Cruz Trek and the Inca Trail, the hike
was barely noticeable). We settled into our tents (snuggling in
against the cold), gazed at the majesty of the snowy glaciers that
surrounded us, and contemplated the challenge that lay ahead.

The following day seemed anything but a challenge: we got to play in
the snow. Really. That was our task for the day: play in the snow.
Of course, we got to do it in style with ice axes and crampons and
helmets (I told you we are hard-core), and we did it by practicing our
walking techniques (i.e. waddling like ducks), ascending in
rope-teams, and throwing ourselves on the snow to practice
self-arrests. Pretty freaking awesome.

Then came the big day. We woke up at 3:00am to find a dead rat in our
water pot and a layer of snow three inches thick covering the ground.
We disposed of the former and prayed that the latter wouldn't affect
our ascent. It didn't. (It merely postponed our departure by thirty
minutes.) Our headlamps and the bright stars illuminated our trek
through the carpet of snow, and we arrived at the base of the glacier
at the first hints of dawn. We snapped on our crampons. We grabbed
our ice axes. We tied into our ropes.

And we began.

The snow, untouched by the sun, was crisp and icy, the wind biting,
and the air frigid. With noses running and eyes watering and with
every step a gruelling fight against gravity, we slowly made our way
up the glacier. It took us over four hours to reach the top, but when
we did, the clouds broke, the sun emerged, and the views around us
were fantastic: snow-dusted hills, glimmering glaciers, and deep murky
lakes.

We screamed. Took pictures. Jumped up and down. Declared that we
never thought we'd do it. Marveled at ourselves for doing it. Made
the video that I am attaching (it was, after all, a notable day).
Took more pictures. Screamed again.

And then we descended.

We arrived back at camp to find Caitlin (who had made the brave
decision to stay back and protect her fragile knees) and Dawn jumping
with glee: from our base camp, they watched us as small ant-like
figures complete the entire trek (and they made us popcorn to
celebrate the occasion).

This morning, we hiked out in another snow storm.

And now we're in La Paz. Tomorrow is our last day (shopping,
anyone?), and then we will be in Miami.

MIAMI.

Impossible.

I must end this. But first, allow me to brag to you (just a bit)
about your daughters. I was absolutely floored by the girls: each of
them showed phenomenal determination, and though many of them declared
the ascent to be the hardest thing they've ever done, each
accomplished it with grace and optimism. In other words, they
absolutely rocked.

It has been an utter joy to be with them this semester, to see how
they have grown and developed, and to watch them become more
comfortable with this environment and themselves. They give me faith
that the future is a bright one, and that they are the ones to dictate
what it will be. I cannot wait to see it happen.

Your South American correspondent,
Claire