Two for Tuesday

We have the benefit of two perspectives today!

Hola Amigos!

My name is Tyler Sar - aka Tito to my Peruvian friends - and today was quite a wonderful day full of awesomeness. So, my day started out at 7:30 with a savory omelet with cheese and a nice heaping helping of Peruvian bread. Following that, I ventured through the colorful streets of Ollantaytambo to El Tambo, Groton's meeting place (Tambo literally means safe place).

When we all finally arrived in our safe haven, our day full of awesomeness officially began. Poncho, our main man who collaborated with Mr. Das to organize the entire trip, and his esposa were waiting for us at the safe haven to help us make baskets. In order to get the reeds needed to make the baskets, Poncho had to hike up a mountain for two hours, then spend two hours picking out the cream of the reed crop (to ensure they would make the best baskets), and two more hours to return.

Some enjoyed the intricate craft work and concentration needed to weave the sturdy reeds into a basket and found solace in the comforting meditation the process provided. Some screamed in agony as reed after reed broke and tangled in a mess of sticks. I was part of the latter group, in pain from my lack of aptitude in the business of baskets. However, after several hours of hair pulling, screaming, stomping around like a rhinoceros, I finally finished the basket; or rather, Poncho and his wife finished it while I stood in awe at their basket-making skills.

Following that, each of us parted ways to eat hearty lunches at our homestays. After lunch, we engaged in a good old fashioned soccer game in a concrete stadium. While playing, my heavy lunch consisting of chicken and spaghetti soup and trout weighed my belly down, making running almost an impossibility. I still managed to score on poor Iftikar several times. Nonetheless, we lost. Sadness.

After the game, our group congregated back at the safe haven for Quechua classes. The room filled with laughter as we butchered pronunciations and, at the end of the lesson, sang raucous Quechua songs about fish and spiders. Then the leaders of the day (Tyler and Jae-Hee) started off a shortened version of ANCHOR - AHL (Announcements, Highs, Lows). It must have been a pretty great day, because almost nobody had a Low to share, except for Nailah, whose low was that she cut her hand (not badly, just a scrape). Sadness.

Tito

Iftikhar and Field:

I hope this message finds you well in your homes this evening. Today was another action packed day down here in the mountainous Andes. Our main events were basket weaving, a traditional Groton School soccer throw-down, and Quechua classes. Basket weaving was difficult for some but was rewarding for all. Many failed to finish in the time allotted except for the three basket weaving naturals Wells ‘16, Stefano ’16 and Feild ’17. The process of weaving baskets is an ancient one that has been passed down through the generation of Poncho’s family. He and his wife patiently put up with us as we struggled to complete the simple task. Thankfully, at the end of the day everyone now has a basket to bring home to their families. The second event of the day was a pickup Groton soccer match- pitting those dressed in darker colors against those in lighter. The final score is unclear (as Mr. Pomeroy always says, “Hey! There are no losers.”) so everyone is a winner. One highlight from the game was Mr. Pomeroy’s courageous display of soccer prowess as he galloped down the pitch losing not only the ball but also his pants. The day was wrapped up in a Quechua lesson for the ages- the type ballads are written about-increasing not only knowledge but also our understanding of the language. We realize we can’t learn the entire language so we focused on some basic phraseology and have found great success in doing so. Tomorrow promises the start of the trip’s community engagement programs. As we all switch our focus from engaging just one family of Ollantytambo to engaging the community as a whole. SEE YUH LATER!!!

 

New stories and new experiences

Hola amigos!

It’s the end of the day, and most people are probably hanging out with friends, heading home, or getting ready for dinner. Where am I? In a café listening to Jae-Hee tell us that people name Angelica or more likely to go insane. Her reasoning? They associate their name with being good, being an angel. Personally, I think this is great fun fact.

When I decided to go to Peru I thought that I would only learn about the Peruvian culture; picking up some Spanish and at least generally getting to know my homestay family. Thus far this trip has gone above and beyond all expectations. I have made new friends in other forms. More than that I have had an amazing experience with my homestay family. Originally I didn’t expect to think of my family as a real family, their home as my own. Now, however; I couldn’t imagine my life without having known these people. For example, last night I made bracelet’s with my mom, Yenet; her daughter, Macaela; and her nephew and nieces. In reality my Spanish is sparse at best, and I probably didn’t do the greatest job of explaining how to make the bracelets. Did this stop anyone from having fun? No! We communicated with smiles, and laughter, and tons of hand motions. This Peru trip has given me more than the chance to immerse myself in a new language. I gained the opportunity to immerse myself in new friends; a new family.

My great experience with my home stay isn’t the only awesome thing that has happened on this trip this far. Take today. Today was the festival of Ollantayraimi. This is a celebration of the founding of Ollantaytambo. I spent my day frolicking the markets, and watching performances. In morning there was a huge theater production on the Incan ruins of the history of Ollantaytombo. It was fantastic with amazing music. You really felt transported as the backdrop of the mountains loomed over you, and the Incan trails serenaded with music. Later there was a dancing performance, with girls and boys doing dance routines so complicated they seemed almost to float as their skirts and ponchos swirled around them.  After the festival we were treated to a traditional feast called pachamanca, in which food is cooked underground over hot stones.  We also had our first Quecha lesson today.

For the people who don’t believe in magic, or can’t find it, come here. It’s everywhere, and my adventure in this magical place is just beginning.

-Nailah

Day 4: Sun Temple and Stray dogs

Hi everyone! Molly here. Today, the leaders and I woke up and went for breakfast at our friend Poncho's. After a delicious meal of banana pancakes we headed back to El Tambo, where we met up with the students, all of whom came back to us overflowing with stories about how wonderful their first nights in the homestays were. This morning we had a wonderful tour of the Sun Temple that sits overlooking Ollantaytambo. We learned about how amazingly advanced the Incan architecture was and saw their religious symbols carved into the walls. It was gorgeous! After that we gave the students some free time in town before sending them back to their homes for lunch. Then we met up back at El Tambo and walked about an hour to Anchopacha, a very poor community where Groton groups have done work in the past. We saw the basketball hoops they installed and the walls they painted, as well as the community center that they helped to build. I even got a special treat when I saw my younger brother Jared's initials and handprints on the wall from his trip a few years ago! Tomorrow there is a big festival in town that all the students are very much looking forward to! One of them will be blogging tomorrow. We can't wait to tell you all about it!

Day 3: Meet The Famiies

Today we started the day off right: with chocolate and banana pancakes! After breakfast we took a short but very beautiful hike up to the old granaries overlooking the town. These ruins were very important to the Inca people, whose agricultural practices were highly advanced for their time. We had gorgeous views of Ollantaytambo and the surrounding valley, and it was an excellent first activity of the day.

Upon returning to our home base of El Tambo, we continued with our second and final day of our conference to get ourselves oriented to the country of Peru. Today we watched a documentary on the rise and fall of former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, who is now in jail for corruption and other charges. We also heard from Molly Belsky, Katie Slavik, and the Viacavas on the theatre, environment, languages, and dances of Peru. We are feeling very excited to get to know this country for ourselves!

The definite highlight of the day came at 5pm, when our host families started to arrive. There were tentative introductions and we played a bit with the kids while Fanny spoke with the families. Then we finally got to meet them! Everyone gave short introductions and then we were paired up! Everyone is off now to spend their first night with their families, feeling equal levels of excited and nervous. We can't wait to get to know the wonderful people who have opened their homes to us!

-Molly Blesky

Day 2: First Day of Peru Conference

Day 2:  First Day of Orientation

Hey, it's Wells and Aron.

We are taking our turn writing the blog entry for day 2. We started our morning here at El Tambo with a hearty breakfast of eggs and fresh baked bread. The day consisted mainly of presentations about the culture, geography, and history of Peru. Mr. Das started us out with a brief introduction about the Inca and pre-Inca civilizations. Mr. Pomeroy led us through a very telling exercise in which he had us attempt to draw the Americas along with multiple geographic features such as the Tropic of Cancer and the Appalachian mountain range. Cho and I were not alone in guessing on most of these landmarks. Afterwards we watched a video clip showing the exact locations of these features as well as their geographic and cultural implications. Next we watched a BBC documentary on the Incan empire detailing its rise and fall from power. Then we took a ride to Urubamba to meet with a local journalist, Mr. Asheshov, where he gave his perspective on the history and recent progress of Peru and South America altogether. We finished the day with a pizza dinner accompanied by the Argentina v. Columbia soccer game at a restaurant in Urubamba. The picture above is Mr. Asheshov during his talk.

We are looking forward to finishing up our conference on Peru tomorrow and meeting our homestay families tomorrow night!

Wells and Aron
 

WE REACHED!!

More to follow