Tuesday, July 14, 2015


Hola! After having a great night of restful sleep, we started our day off with some free time. Melissa and I woke up at 8 o’clock and went to get breakfast. Then, we joined Karla and Chanel and headed over to the Entertainment Center, which is ten minutes away from our hotel Leon de Oro. Entertainment Center is basically a mall with an intriguing structure; it seems as if it were buried underground in the middle of the streets. It consisted of a semicircle of a movie theater, various stores, and restaurants open to the sea.

Our technology deprived selves holed up in the iStore for about an hour, watching music videos, and checking emails. The only reason we left was because the staff members cut us off our precious wifi. Then, we visited various shops like Exit, which is a mix between Abercrombie and Aerie. Then, we trudged back to the hotel so that we can pack our bags and head over to lunch.

Surprise! The lunch took place in the exact same Entertainment Center we had left behind few hours ago. We headed over to the restaurant Mangos for a quite fulfilling buffet. I myself had two full plates with a colorful assortment of food: personally made pasta with Alfredo sauce and pieces of ham, beef sprinkled with onions and tomato, rice, French fries, and a ridiculously large quantity of sushi. Words could not express how happy I was when I saw this amazing food. I am going to guess that everyone was quite content after lunch.

We were given two more free hours at the Entertainment Center. After wandering aimlessly for few minutes, Chanel and I found ourselves in front of the arcade. We played numerous games which included Whack-A-Mole and Dance Dance Revolution. Then, we met up with the group and headed back to the hotel. We gathered our stuff and departed to the Kucynskys’ house.

Kucynskys generously provided us with fantastic dinner: pork, chicken, sausages, rice, salad, cake, and other desserts. We were occupied with eating and talking for the rest of the evening while some of others in the group went swimming after dinner.

After another night of great sleep, we left the Kucynskys’ and headed to an elementary school in Manchay.  Upon arrival, we were placed into classrooms in groups of 2.  After a brief time working in the classroom, we headed out for recess.  The kids at the school were very excited to spend time with us; we felt like celebrities.  All the Groton students had swarms of kids around them asking for their autographs! 
          Now, we are waiting to head to the airport for our flight home.  I can’t believe our time in Peru is almost over!

-Jae-Hee

Monday, July 13, 2015

Lima

We are sorry for the pause in the blog action; the last couple of days have been quite busy.  All is well in Peru!  We had our final day and night in Ollantaytambo on Friday.  Our time there culminated in a wonderful dinner and dance party at El Tambo with our host families.  After a delicious meal, we had the pleasure of watching Fanny and Luis perform the Marinera dance.  Soon afterwards, the dance floor opened up for all to join.  It was a memorable night!
On Saturday morning, we left early by bus for Cusco and spent the day touring the city. Sadly, we had to part ways with one of our leaders, Molly Belsky, in Cusco.  She is staying there to work in orphanage for the next 3 weeks.  She will be missed!  In the late afternoon we flew to Lima, and, after checking in to the hotel last night, we had a group dinner at a local restaurant (roasted chicken and french fries). 
Today was a great day!  We went to see the government palace in downtown Lima in the morning (pic below) and then headed to beach in the afternoon at the Regatas Club.  For many, it was their first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean.  We are now back at the hotel after having had "Chifa" for dinner, which is a mix of Chinese and Peruvian food.  In the morning, we will have some free time to explore Lima before lunch at 1:00.  More pics and news coming tomorrow- we are back on track.  Along with being a beloved addition to the group- the recently departed Molly was also our head blog organizer :).

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Hello readers!
Aidan speaking.

Today was a day my peers and I will most likely never forget. Why? Because this day we trekked to the glorious and awe-inspiring ruins of Machu Picchu. The start of the day included myself being fashionably late waking up and having to sprint down to the train station with nothing in my stomach but ambition. We boarded the train one by one until the entire front car was filled with our excitement. Following was roughly a two-hour train ride. Thirty minutes in the excitement had died down and our group began to rest their heads, realizing how early it was. Upon arrival we were greeted by vibrant colors of the market and our tour guide’s ear-to-ear smile. From the train station we headed towards the bus station where we would take a seemly dangerous ride up the face of the mountain. Once we arrived the sites we had seen previously in magazines and on posters in our Spanish classrooms were all they had lived up to be and more. Our tour guide brought us up close with the Ancient Incan ruins. He was not only kind but provided a large pool of knowledge that we all took turns sipping from. After the tour we found a nice Incan terrace to relax on and soak in the Peruvian history. After we had all recharged our batteries, we decided to take pictures that we would hold onto for the rest of our lives. These pictures that we would one day show to our children, bragging about how cool we were. After about an hour of picture taking we took one last savoring look of what once was a thriving civilization before we boarded our bus. Departing the bus we helped ourselves to a buffet dinner, which was free of charge courtesy of the owner who was a fan of marinara dancing. (Sra. Viacava is a Peruvian celebrity known for winning many marinara championships) After dinner we shopped as we weaved our way through a maze of stands selling bags, jewelry, hats, ect. Reminiscing on the day, we rode the train back to our cozy family homes in Ollantaytambo.


Adios Amigos!




Tuesday, July 7, 2015

This morning I, Stefano, woke up, fired up and ready to eat my breakfast. After a very rushed meal I hurried to El Tambo because I slept in. From El Tambo we all rolled out with the buffest swag you have ever seen. When we reached our destination (the elementary school), we were confronted with a challenge. The door was locked. I as leader of the day and because I was bitten by a spider, I unleashed the spiderman in me and hopped the 11 foot gate and I opened sesame. When we all pranced in like a bunch of innocent school girls, Beto (our fearless leader) began to scream like Joe Pa, instructing us on what to do. We ended up mixing poop (manure), water, and grass seeds to sprinkle all over the dirt wasteland. we spend around 4 hours at work and managed to cover more than half the field. After we had gotten down and dirty for a marathon long amount of absolute savagery, we all went back home. At home I made a fire and warmed up some water to a climatic temperature, so I could shower. In the shower a cleaned up nice and shampooed. after drying of, I changed and ate the best meal I've had since I've been in Ollanta. I won't disclose my meal just to keep you guessing but I'll give you a hint and say it involved fried trout. After lunch I procrastinated for a bit and then went to El Tambo once more. When we all gathered up like wolves I as the alpha wolf lead my ferocious pack back to the school were we had workshops to conduct with the swarm of high pitched, excited, and just absolutely insane kids. The workshops were an absolute success. Aron, Aidan, Nilah, and I played against a group of adolescent girls who breathed and lived for volleyball. We were able to take the win in two sets even though we were out numbered, because our team chemistry was straight fire. We would lay it up for each other to spike it consistently. At the end of the two sets it was time to go and we left towards El Tambo for a group meeting. During the meeting we shared what had happened today and also shared some delicious snacks. We're going to Machu Picchu tomorrow, can't wait!

Monday, July 6, 2015

Family work day

Hello, my name is Melissa and I am writing the blog today. Today, I woke up around 8:30 am and had breakfast with my family: omelets and bread. After we finished breakfast, we went to work at my family’s field. We planted onions and took out the weeds. We took a break and my mom showed me the different kinds of plants that they were growing: apples, peaches, mint, and roses. After that, we went back home and we had lunch together. Then, we headed over to the soccer field to play soccer. My team won 4-3! At 3, we went to the school to work on our workshops. Since today was National Teacher’s Day in Peru, there were fewer kids than last time but we still had lots of fun. After the workshops, Jae-Hee, Karla, and I took our sisters to a café and had tea and brownies.


It was a good day. I’m excited for tomorrow!

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Making the most of the weather

Hi, all! Karla, here. Even though we’re far from home, it’s been a great 4th of July weekend. Currently, we’re watching the FIFA Finals, USA vs. Japan. It’s 4-0 USA 16 minutes in!! The weekend was riddled with disappointment early on. The pinnacle of our trip- our overnight hike- was canceled due to rain. I had a slow, dreary morning filled with shopping and card games with Ella and Field. We did try to recreate the missed experience, though. We ate lunch together at El Tambo and the whole group watched the end of the Copa America Final with high anticipation. Most people were rooting for Argentina, but I could have told you from the beginning- Chile had it in the bag. Granted, they won on PKs, but they did play much better. (Sorry, for all those non-soccer lovers.) Then, everyone camped out at El Tambo, watching movies all night. So we made our own fun experience.
To continue the magic, we all ate breakfast together at Pancho’s house. Even though our overnight hike was canceled, we still hiked today at the site we were supposed to before. It was really, really fun. I keep making the joke that by the end of this trip, everyone’s legs will be amazing. We’ve been hiking a ton. Then we ate lunch on the mountainside. It was true bonding.
After we got back, we had free time. I hung out with Melissa and my host sister, Xiomara. We got gelato, visited the market, and Melissa and I showed Xiomara Jenga. My host mom, Írma, taught a cooking class this afternoon to some Americans from the Pittsburgh area. It was cool to meet some more kids from the US. Írma is an amazing cook-she owns a restaurant. Sadly, I had to leave before the dish was finished, but that was fun all the same. And now, we’re here, watching the game. Now the score is 4-1. I hope you all are rooting for the United States!
                                                                                    Happy Belated 4th of July,

                                                                                    Karla


Saturday, July 4, 2015

Work day

It's Elle here!
We spent the day at the local school today. We started off by working with local parents to make a soccer field at the school. We brought rakes and moved rocks off of the field to the side. We worked in pairs with the parents and group members. Feild and I were a dream team, by the end of our three hours we were expert rock collectors. Other students paired up with teacher's and parents. We made a lot of progress. We took a long break at the end and bonded as a group.
After the rock collecting was over and we were covered in dirt and visited my mom at her station in the market. We found souvenirs for our families and then we went home for lunch. I watched some Mexican soap operas with my family and had a delicious meal of pollo a la plancha (grilled chicken). We had a quick break before returning to the hostel,
In the afternoon we worked with the kids. As soon as the bell rang all of the stations were filled with forty or more kids. It was chaos; at my station, card and board games, kids were playing Jenga, playing chess (without knowing the rules), and played a very confusing game called "cartas." Next door was the Marinera dance station. Unlike the games station, which was basically anarchy, the kids eyes were glued to Sra. Viacava's graceful dance moves. Each kid hand a napkin in hand, mirroring Sr. and Sra. as the danced together. Outside was a soccer game, with probably sixty kids who would each follow the ball. It was like a swarm of bees following the ball. The sheer number of kids everywhere was overwhelming, and they were overall hard to control. In the end it was great interacting with the kids, trying (and failing) to teach them chess, and watching them dance.
Tomorrow is our overnight hike. I am excited to celebrate the Fourth of July with the group on top of a mountain!