July 5th, 2009

As of 4:30 pm Sunday, the group has successfully arrived in Lima, has visited the San Francisco Catacombs, had a ceviche and seafood lunch and is wandering around the LarcoMar ocean-side shopping mall. What a change from Chilca! They have only about five hours before check-in for their flight home to the states. See you soon! Alecia, trip co-leader.

July 4th, 2009 Final Post

7/4/2009

Hola amigos y parientes…it is Eva and it is currently 10:15 on Saturday night. We are down to our final hours here in Peru. As we were enjoying Indian cuisine off the plaza in Cusco, it suddenly occurred to me that today is our independence…Happy 4th! I imagine as I am typing this, most of you are watching fireworks and eating popsicles on a muggy Nashville night which feels so far away from where we are now. Although, in only 24 hours, I realize that we will be boarding a plane and ending this journey we began together 2 weeks ago in the Nashville Airport.

I will give you a quick (brevity has never really been my forte) rundown from me on the last few days. Garrett and I rose from our sick beds and returned to work on Tuesday where we brought much life to the job site; starting a sing-a-long to Grease and other show tunes as we peeled bamboo. Wednesday we finished up our work and had a huge celebration, called Patacancha, with our host families and other members of the Chilca community. It was quite a feast and all cooked over hot stones. We had plates piled high with a variety of meats and potatoes which we ate with our bare paws. It was some serious carnage. Thursday we said our goodbyes to our Peruvian families and friends and departed for Ollantaytambo. In Ollanta we visited the local high school and then drove up to Patchamanca, on a road that is only about 10 years old, to see a weaving village up in the mountains where the people continue to live as they have for hundreds of years. It was pretty amazing to witness and their work was unbelievable.

Yesterday we arose at 4:15 am, grabbed some pan (bread) and caught the 5:30 train to Machu Picchu. There are truly no words for that place. I am not even going to try but we did take lots of pictures that I hope will at least bring some of it’s magic to all of you. We returned to Ollanta around 7:30 where a dinner of trucha (trout) and cui (guinea pig) awaited us. Let me tell you folks, they cook that little pig up whole down here…put it on a plate with teeth, claws and all. I will be forever haunted by Garrett and Creed making that little head sing to me “Eva Lea eat me please” or something along those lines. This morning we got up and hit the road for Cusco. We had Indian for lunch which I know sounds strange as we are in Peru, but everyone was ready to mix things up a bit especially as last night was clearly the chart topper when it comes to the Peruvian cuisine experience. After lunch we went to Qorikancha and the Basilica Catedral. Jason, our fearless and fabulous leader, had a last meeting with each of the kids and we went for our cena final (final dinner).

Tomorrow Molly and I will take the crew back to Lima, where it all began, and start our journey homeward. Though it is difficult to fully process right now, this experience has been pretty incredible for us all. We have stretched ourselves way beyond our comfort zones and we will return home with broadened perspectives because of it. We have eaten the food, lived the culture, spoken the language and invested a little piece of ourselves in a tiny Peruvian village whose people we will not soon forget. I am so very proud of our students and you parents should be too. You have raised them well! They have been open minded and gracious. They have met challenges, faced fears and rarely complained. Together we have worked and laughed and bonded over everything from experiences at the latrine to the education crisis in developing countries like Peru. Our appreciation for others, our similarities and differences, has definitely deepened as well as our appreciation for our families and our opportunities back home. I am so thankful for our time together and though it is sad to see it come to an end, we are all very excited to get home to each of you. Mom, Dad and Max I love you and I will see you soon! Until we all meet again at BNA…buenas noches…Eva

July 1 and 2

The Final Day in Chilca, the group in front of the almost finished cafeteria.

July 1, 2009

Hi everyone, it’s Hayden!! We are about to get started on our second-to-last day of work! Sunday morning we left to go on our big hike. It took about four and a half hours to get up. It was quite hard, mainly because of the altitude. We hiked almost 2,000 feet and ended up on top of a mountain in the middle of no where at about 14,000 feet. It was freezing when we got to the top!! We had some great food and struggled for warmth throughout the night. Jason was right when he said it would be the coldest we’ve ever been. Garret and Coach Lea didn’t go because of their sickness, but luckily are feeling better now. Candace woke up hyperventilating, and said she couldn’t get air to her lungs, so she had to be carried down the mountain in the middle of the night, but is feeling much better now! We got some sleep and woke up around 7 for breakfast and to pack up. The mules carried our stuff for us. Coach Wilson woke up Monday morning on the top of the mountain with a 103 degree fever and feeling horrible. She was a trooper though, as it took about another 4 and a half hours to get down the mountain. We were definitely all ready to get down. We stopped for lunch at the bottom and rode a bus back to Ollanta to take some hot showers and have a FABULOUS dinner! We are having a blast and enjoying our last few days in Chilca with our homestays. See you all soon!!
_______________________

Hello Again, Olivia here. Right now we are sitting watching the students ceremony before school. This is the first day they have had school since we have been here, and nothing has happened. I played volleyball with a group of girls, that I have played with a few times before. Now, they line up in lines, and this guy is giving them a speech. The teachers are on strike today, so there is one teacher and then a lot of students. Literally we are almost having a stare-down with smiles, pretty interesting. Just got surrounded by a group of them and I just explained how I am typing to our families back in the US, they all seem so interested in this blogging. We are on our fourth day of work today, hopefully we will get a lot done, and then tomorrow is our last work day in Chilca. Everyone seems to love their host family, and the kids in each family are adorable. It is amazing how each family makes each of us feel like we are at home. Last night we had a great dinner when we got home from the hike. It was delicious, many of us had llama steak, others had pasta, and for desert we had ice cream and brownies, DELICIOUS! Now off to work!!!
__________________
July 2nd
Bryce and Sam here.
This morning at 7 o’clock we departed from Chilca. As we left the houses, we gave the families our contact information for when we landed in the US. These people from Chilca have made an impact on our lives and have become our friends. As we leave this rural town we are headed to Ollantaytambo, where we are visiting a class at the High School this morning. Climbing the mountain was probably the toughest thing we have accomplished so far. Bryce and I brought up the rear about 90% of the time. When night rolled around it was insanely cold, we estimate that everyone froze. Either way the mountain hike was amazing, and a great experience. The bus ride is almost done to Ollanta so we are going to have to cut this blog short. We will be home soon, approximately 3 days. Can’t wait to see everyone.
Much Love, Sam and Bryce

__________________

Buenos Dias!

Last night was our last night in Chilca and to celebrate our final night with our families and finishing our part of the cafeteria the entire community held a Panchamanka in our honor. A Panchamanka is a feast in which the food is cooked under heated rocks and covered with a tarp and then dirt under it is fully cooked.
For our feast, we had pork , chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, cooked bananas, and trout. Quite a combination and a ton of food. It was delicious! After the meal, we all went back to pack up and spend time with our families before heading back to Ollaytantambo in the morning.
In Ollantaytambo today, we first went to Observe a class at a high school. The English teacher apparently decided that she didn’t feel like coming in this morning so we had to observe a math class. Hayden, Megan, Candace & I sat in on a class of students our age and they were just now learning the basics of angles. In the last 5 minutes of class the students were allowed to ask us questions. A lot of them tried to speak to us in English it was funny to hear their attempts at saying English words. After visiting the classes in that school for awhile we had about 3 hours of free time, which the majority of us used for shopping for ourselves and our families. Now we are on our way to visit another school then we will head home for the night, hopefully get a warm shower and get ready for Machu Picchu in the morning!

See you all in 4 days!

Sarah


This is Garrett here! Hope everything is great. Everything is here. After getting over being sick, it’s been awesome. To start off, yesterday was our last day in Chilca. We worked from 8:30 to 3:00, and got really far in our project. On top of a lot of work, Candace, Olivia and I had a mud fight. Bad idea. My face was covered, and thanks to Candace, my ears were clogged. We had a quick wash off, and hopefully the shower tonight will get it all. Then we had a celebration called Panchamanka were we had a huge early dinner, which consisted of pork, chicken, trout, potatoes and beans. It was incredible. Then we just hung out the rest of the night and played some soccer. We woke up bright and early this morning to leave Chilca at 7. After saying our goodbyes we went to a high school, and sat in on a class for a while. Creed, Cory, Pearce, Coach Lea, Coach Wilson, and I sat in on a communications class. It was crazy to see how out of control it was. Most of the student, of about 40, weren’t even paying attention. We were then set free to do what we wanted to do in Ollatatambo. I went Peruvian shopping with Creed, Hayden, and Olivia. We got some pretty sweet stuff. Then we all went to eat the most amazing chicken burritos that have even entered my mouth. They were our second time to have them, and just as delicious as the first. We went back to the hostel we are staying at for about thirty minutes, and then hopped on the bus, which is were we are now. We are heading to another school, where we will watch a weaver. Hopefully it will go well. I love you and miss you Mom and Dad! And Happy Birthday Mr. McClellan! Hope it’s a great one. See you on Monday!

Garrett



Dear Mr. McClellan, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthdayyyyyyyyy Mr. McClellan, Happy Birthday to you! Hope you have a wonderful birthday!


Love Olivia, and Hayden

P.S. Kathy and Cromwell I love and miss you both sooo much!!!

Group Headed to Patacancha

Hello parents,
I wanted to let you know that I just spoke with Kennedy Leavens, our ground coordinator in Peru, who let me know the group is in Ollantaytambo now and headed to Patacancha this afternoon as scheduled. All the kids and teachers are doing great. They have been blogging but are unable to post their blog because electricity is out today in this entire region of Peru. As Kennedy explains it, "They still have not figured out how to work on the electrical system without turning off electricity to the entire region!" The group will post as soon as the electricity comes on. In the meantime, they will continue to have a great time. The kids have done a great job and we're really proud of the work they have done.
Ross

The Ensworth students are coming home soon!

Message to Parents:

The group is returning on Monday morning to the Nashville Airport. Below you will find the return flight information for your convenience.

•July 5th LAN Peru 018 Cusco- Lima 9:25AM – 10:50AM
•July 6th Delta 0236 Lima - Atlanta, GA 12:20AM – 8:09AM
Delta 5474 Atlanta - Nashville 11:05AM – 11:15AM

Parents are asked to meet their sons and daughters at the airport. Please call the office at 303-679-3412 or e-mail Erin at erin@worldleadershipschool.com with any questions.

Blog Update

Hello parents,
I just wanted to post a quick note to say that the students had a wonderful trek and have now returned to Chilca, where they are finishing up their service project today. The dining hall is slowly taking shape and the students have been working hard. Today they have a community pachamanca, which is a community celebration in which meat, potatoes and other vegetables are roasted underground with red-hot rocks. They will return to Ollantaytambo, where there is internet access, and hopefully will update the blog then. Tomorrow they will spend time in Ollantaytambo and also visit the weaver's cooperative in Patacancha, a Quechuan village high in the Andes.
Ross

June 26 and 27

Note to parents and friends: We will be on our overnight hike through the high Altiplano Region on June 28 and 29th. On those days we will not be able to update the blog, but will do so on the 30th.

June 26, 2009
Chilca, Peru
James’ Blog

Hello Nashville,

I hope all is well there, everything here in Peru is great. Today was our second full day of work here in Chilca and it left us all tired and sore, but eager for more because our work is beneficial to the school and people here in Chilca. Our work today consisted of: hauling adobe bricks closer to the building site, stripping bamboo of its exterior covering, moving many rocks that are to be used in the floor of the building, and cutting down cacti and cutting off their spikes. I spent a majority of my time with the cacti which proved to be a pretty hard job. I had to climb up a steep hill, axe in hand, and chop down some of the most vicious cacti I had ever seen or been around. Chopping the plants down was the easy part, on the other hand moving these individual cactus plants was extremely difficult. I couldn’t grab the cactus and just throw it down because the spikes tore right through my gloves, so I had to maneuver a rope around each one and swing it down like there was a lasso on the end. Once we were all done with our work day, everybody went back to their host family’s houses and proceeded to eat their lunches and rest. I finally got to shower after two days in Chilca, and it was refreshing even with the freezing cold water. Today we had to members of our group go down from illness, being Garrett and Sam, but I am sure that both will recover by tomorrow. Right now we are taking vans back to Ollantaytambo to make some pottery which should be fun. That’s all for now, see you all soon.

James

June 27th
Hello it’s Sammy J.
The trip has been an adventure, that’s for sure. Today we are working on the adobe cafeteria building. It is pretty tough work but nothing to cry about. Everyone is having a pretty good time, the food here is really good but sort of repetitive, I can’t wait for some Mazatlan. I am getting pretty dominant with my Spanish but I have a lot to improve on because we have a lot of awkward silences at the table. I don’t think I have gotten used to waking up to a bunch of chickens running into the room. Tomorrow we leave for our hike into the mountains, it should nice to get away for a little while. After our two day trip into the mountains, I only have 2 more days of working on the adobe and its all fun and games after. I have learned a lot of different things so far and think I will definitely appreciate everything once I get back. Love you family adios.

From Kennedy, Country Coordinator

A screen set up for sifting dirt. Behind it, the site of the future cafeteria.

Jose Quispe, a curandero from Ollantaytambo, prepares the offering to the Pachamama (Mother Earth) that we will bury at the site of the building to bring safety and success to our construction project, and prosperity to the life of the building.

All decked out for rafting!

Hi All! Thanks for checking in! The group is settled in Chilca, enjoying their families and working hard. We have had beautiful weather and a great turn-out on the worksite from the community. Local students and parents show up to help each day. Because of their help and the hard work that Ensworth is putting in, we are progressing significantly on the project. I am posting some pictures from the trip. Thanks for reading!

From Pearce

Hello civilized world it’s Pearce. We arrived in Chilca for our homestays two days ago and tried to get settled in. Yesterday was our first day of work at the school. We are building a cafeteria for the students here and although we arent going to have enough time to finish it, everyone in the town is beyond happy to have us here working. After the ceremony they had for us which was very interesting to say the least, we started our service work day 1. First we had to move adobe bricks, rocks and dirt from the area were the cafeteria will be built. We also moved a truck load of rocks from the road down to the site, we made this easier by forming a massive assembly line. The food here is for the most part good, we have had soup in my house for almost every meal except for last night. I am rooming with Sam and we both thought it was the best meal of the week, that is until Sam got sick last night. We don’t know exactly what he has but it is some sort of minor stomach bug, probably from eating the tomatoes last night which I did not eat. The weather is very odd here, it can be hot or cold during the day, but if the sun is out you better make sure to put sunscreen on because it will burn you. We had a little bet that if Garrett, Bryce and Sam got buzzes, I had to go completely bald from the little hair I had to begin with. They got their buzzes and I got mine too.I have to re-apply sunscreen every 15 minutes while working so that the top of my head will not burn, but don’t worry Mom, it is already starting to grow back, just very slow. After our work yesterday we had lunch with our families and then played soccer with some of the local boys. It was very fun but it got very cold and we had to stop when the sun started going down over the mountains. It gets dark here very early because we are completely surrounded by mountains which some even have some snow on. We have our second day of service work today and then another one tomorrow before we go on an overnight hike in two days. We then come back to our host families after the hike for three more days of service work. Its been a very eye opening experience so far and I cant wait to see what the rest of the week holds in store for us. Adios until next time, Pearce.

From Creed

Hello it is Creed. Two days ago we left from Ollanta and met our host families in Chilca. Its amazing here. I can’t believe the conditions many of these people live in. No hot water, some don’t even have flush toilets. I am staying with Bryce and Corey. We got to know our host family pretty well at dinner the first night. We have two little brothers Fabian Agosto 14, and Juan Diego Who is 5. The next day we started our work. Before we began we had a little ceremony to bless the work site. This man came and made some gift with some pretty bizarre stuff in it. He had a llama fetus and marshmello bunnies among other things. We each got to choose our own cocoa leaves that went into the gift. I was confused the whole time so it was probably a bad explanation. We began moving rocks in an assembly line which worked well. After work we played soccer with many of the local boys. That was a lot of fun. Sam caught a small stomach bug and isn’t going to be working with us today. He gets to sleep instead. We are working right now, moving more rocks and making the adobe. This afternoon we are going to be doing some ceramics back in Ollanta. Our leaders, Jason and Alecia are great. Peace.

June 22nd and June 23rd

Ollantaytambo:

Hola parientes. It’s Candace from beautiful Ollantaytambo and we have just finished our evening activities of mafia. I successfully took out about 6 of your sons and daughters. SORRY. Well actually it’s just a game, don’t freak out, Mom. We are all doing marvelous and having a blast. Sarah, James and I found access to the roof of the Hostel that we are staying in and the view is amazingly breathtaking. The stars are brighter than I’ve ever seen. We are currently in a valley that is surrounded by the Andes. We have had so much fun today even though all we have done is travel. We ate dinner at a local restaurant and had shredded chicken on top of a potato with white rice. It was muy delicioso. We are all bonding, practicing our español and drinking our filtered water! Much love to the states. Later.

Hi everyone! We miss you all already. We are having a fabulous time! We arrived in Ollantaytambo today and it is BEAUTIFUL. We had about an hour and a half bus ride from the airport to our two-night stay at a Hostel. When we landed in Cusco it was so pretty. There were mountains and villages everywhere. Dogs are always roaming the streets and the way people drive here is crazy. I think we can all agree that we have not stopped laughing and are all becoming closer by the minute. We have already tried some new foods, and so far they have been fantastic. Tomorrow is supposed to be the coldest day of the year: thank goodness we switched our rafting days! Love you mom, dad and family! : )

See you soon!

Hayden

Ensworth Blog 6/23/09

Ollantaytambo

Hey this is Corey. Today Candace, Olivia and I went on a scavenger hunt to find our way around town. During our journey, we met two kids named Cableene and Maria. When we first met them they acted like they knew us all along, and showed us everywhere we needed to go, and even brought us to their house. We had been walking for about two hours, then Cableene and I came across an ice cream store. We were really hungry and he emptied my pockets out! I had a blast and also got to practice my Spanish because he spoke no English. It was difficult at times, but lots of fun. I am looking forward to meeting my new family and living the lives they live everyday. I miss you mom and dad!

Hey hey hey. Garrett up in here! Today we went on a tour to see the town and the Incan ruins. They were awesome, and the views were amazing. Then we had some free time. Sorry mom, I got a buzz, along with some of your very own children…Bryce and Sam. Bryce and Sam look rather swell…However, I resemble that of three naked mole rats. Then we started our scavenger hunt. My team consisted of Megan and Sam. We were off to a rough start, until we found the school. This time around, we were invited to play soccer with true life Peruvians. We struggled to say the least. We returned to our cozy little hostel, and went over leadership. Can’t wait to see what’s to come…Much love, Garrett Morris Carmichael.

Hey parents this is Megan. Today we started off with breakfast at our hostel. Afterwards we went on a tour through the town and up into the Incan Ruins. We were very high up and there were gorgeous views so we took many pictures. We then went to a restaurant for lunch to have burritos that were delicious. We were put in groups of three, mine being Garrett and Sam. We only went to two places and gave up and went to play soccer with a bunch of locals. It was a team of guys that were a few years older than us. They were all very nice and good at soccer. As soon as we arrived they invited us to play with them. We didn’t do very well but it was still very fun. After we went back to the hostel to talk about leadership. Today was a fun and exciting day. Love you mom, dad and family. Megan

Day 3 in Peru was full of twists and turns! Eva and I woke up this morning to the sound of cars racing by our window and roosters crowing- kind of an interesting combination! After a big pancake breakfast we took off for the Sacred Sun Temple and toured around for about 2 hours. It was shocking how out of breath we felt after only a short flight of stairs. The tour really focused on the aspects of Incan architecture and masonry- super interesting! We then had a huge lunch- burritos with tons of chicken and fresh veggies. The food so far has been fantastic, and so healthy and fresh. After lunch we gave the kids a little time to shop at the local markets and then reconvened in the afternoon for a scavenger hunt around Ollantaytambo. They did great- and really embraced the Spanish language, recruiting locals to help them in their search! Following the scavenger hunt we talked about leadership styles and engaged in some team building activities. We had another big dinner of pata cancha, which is sliced sirloin with rice. Tomorrow we raft the Urumbamba River and head to our homestays in Chilca! All is well…Thanks for checking in and we will post again soon…Molly

Ensworth Arrives in Cusco

Hello parents,
I just spoke to Jason Hunter, World Leadership School instructor, and he confirmed that everyone and their luggage arrived in Cusco and are now en route to Ollantaytambo. Over the next few days the students will raft, hike and get a thorough introduction to Peru before heading to Chilca to begin their homestays and service work on Wednesday. The students should begin blogging over the next day or two. Please call me on 303-679-3412 if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Ross Wehner

Ensworth off to Cusco

Hello parents,
Quick confirmation that the Ensworth group left about a half hour ago for the airport in Lima, and will now take their flight to Cusco. All their luggage arrived well and they had a big breakfast, featuring watermelon, at One Hostal in Lima. Alecia Berman-Dry and Jason Hunter are awaiting them in Cusco to begin their trip! We had a conference call with instructors and the ground coordinator, Kennedy Leavens, last night to review all preparations and everything is set for their arrival.
Ross

dia uno!

Dear Loved Ones,
Olivia is writing about yesterday, so I will write about today. We woke up at the One Hostel, had delish pan y fruta for breakfast and we are about to get on a bus to go back to the airport to fly to Cuszco to meet Jason (yay) and our other leader woman who I have never met. We will then take an hour bus ride to Ollaytantambo where we will stay at the cute little Hostel that we stayed at last year. Here, we will have our safety debriefing and explore the beautiful village! I am so excited about the remainder of this trip and look forward to posting again in the near future!

Sending Peruvian love to all!
Sarah

Day One; One Hostel

Hello Parentals, Olivia speaking... I hope all is well. We are having a blast. So far we have had a 45 minute flight from Nashville To Atlanta, the plane was tiny and very hot. After that we had a four hour layover, including an intense game of hide and go seek. We got on our flight from Atlanta to Lima, Peru. On this flight my row was Coach Wilson, Coach Lea, Myself, Garrett Sam, and Creed. To start off the flight the movie playing was "Confessions of a Shopaholic." Most of us slept during this movie. We woke up to dinner being served. Since we were in the back of the plane. the only food left was chicken, those who were at the front had the choice of pasta or chicken. The next movie playing was "He´s just Not that into you." We watched some of that, but then Garrett Sam Creed and I got bored so wearted a game of Who am I. After this flight landed we walked into mass chaos. It was thrilling. We found our bus driver and got on a bus to head to our hotel. The bus ride was around 30 minutes. We got to our hotel, One Hostel, and unpacked and went to sleep. Now Sarah is going to blog about our upcoming adventures of June 22 2009.

PS Mom and Dad I love you, along with the other parents!!

Olivia :)

Prepararing to Go

It's Wednesday, and we have only a few short days before the Ensworth trip to Peru begins. Students and families are making decisions about what to pack and finishing up the readings for Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, and High Noon by Jean-François Rischard, World Bank vice-president for Europe. The faculty instructors are busy assigning students to homestays, checking and rechecking details, all the while getting packed themselves. All the last minute details are being attended to by World Leadership School staffers.

In Cusco, which is not far from Ollantaytambo, we're expected to have partly cloudy weather on our day of arrival, at around 71 degrees...but at night it drops down to about 36, so pack those long johns! We'll make sure to update this blog as much as we can, at least every other day. Each student will have the opportunity to post at least once. In the meantime, you can get a glimpse of some of the adventures awaiting us all by watching the Groton School's video of their Peru trip from 2008.