Update # 1: Safe in Cuzco

Bridge Peru Families and Friends,

Greetings from Windsor Mountain!

Bridge Peru 2008 is off to a great start. The journey from New York to Cusco went well, aside from a couple of minor glitches here and there, like leader Katie's missing backpack, and Rachel Holoff's unfortunate delay! But all that is resolved now: Katie has her backpack, Rachel is with the group, and everyone is all settled in with their home stay families. Yesterday was the first full day of Spanish classes at the Macchu Picchu Language School, and everyone is totally psyched, and ready to learn more Spanish.

After three days of international cell phone tag, Katie, Jim, and I had a great check-in call late last night--they are very excited, and couldn't be happier with the way the trip is shaping up. They love their students! The group is very flexible, open, and everyone is 100% willing to jump right into their Peruvian Adventure.

Right now think that I will step aside and let you all read about the program straight from the source. Here is an email report directly from Jim and Katie in Cusco:

Peru 08 first update:

June 29th
The group arrived safely and headed to lunch at Naturales Hecho en Peru. They tried new foods right off the bat and then we were off to Ollantaytambo. On the way we had a phone call marathon in Urubamba and went on to our hostal in Ollantaytambo, La Nusta. We relaxed a bit and then went over some safety info. At dinner the students really liked the traditional music performance and at our evening meeting we had a great and varied conversation about cultural differences that was started by student observations of local dogs. Dogs led to cultural differences, politics, economics, etc. Then the power went out and some tried to shower and to bed.

June 30th
Breakfast at la Nusta. Full Value Contract on a flag of Cuzco [WMI Note: A Full Value Contract is a Windsor Mountain Student Travel tradition--the group collaborates to create what can best be described as a group "Constitution"--a set of rules and values that everyone agrees to live by while on the trip] and then a hike through the ruins of Ollantaytambo. Students read aloud descriptions of the ruins and how the Inka used the mountains as a giant clock to show when it was the summer solstice to help them in their agricultural endeavors. The sun rises through a carved face in the mountain and first shines on giant pink granite stones that represent the eye of a llama. After the visit to the ruins we ate a late lunch and various members ate alpaca on the first full day - even the vegetarian! Then we sent group off on their first MMT. There were many great interactions during MMT and all the students used their Spanish! After we debriefed, we ate pizza and students performed skits acting out possible home stay scenarios. After all that, it was early to bed.

July 1st, 2008
Travel back to Cuzco for an MMT in the Plaza de Armas where students successfully used local phone cards to call leaders and tell Jim the number of benches around the fountain. (Somewhere between 83 and 103. There are a lot.) Then we had a wonderful dinner with our host families. The students sat in groups and each group had one or two of their host parents there to talk to and get to know. It was a beautiful scene. Many great interactions and bilingual conversations were taking place at one time. Everyone was engaged and speaking in Spanish various times throughout the evening. Truly a victorious moment in WMI history, and a thing of beauty [WMI Note: this is exactly what we are looking for--genuine cultural exchange, in Spanish!]. It also made the students more comfortable about the move the next day. The group then did some journal writing while drinking mate de coca and then went home to bed.

July 2, 2008
First day of class and first night in home stays.
The group took all their things from the hotel to the school and began classes. Two hours in class and two hours in small groups around town using what they learned in class: naming fruits in the market, buying masks or hats, or simply having conversations with locals. Students returned from second part of class to see Rachel H. who arrived earlier in the day and then all went with their host parents to their new homes in Cuzco. After lunch, the parents showed them how to take a taxi from their houses to school. A great group meeting followed where the students checked in about the homes they are in and we had a group orientation for Rachel. They reenacted all the important points of safety, the ruins at Ollantaytambo, proper diet, EAP (Emergency Action Plan), cultural passport, basic expectations and requirements, repeated leader messages, etc... We then went over our service project for July 3rd, where the group will work at a school called San Juan de Dios and help nurses organize and feed children with special needs.

Cheers, and now for the students:

Meghan was a great leader on the ruins of Ollantaytambo. She set the mark along with Dwayne as the first pair of group leaders, choosing the route, and making sure we all stayed hydrated and protected from the cold and sun.

Nora started off a little quiet but was able to use her Spanish to make a very complex request of two different items from two parts of the menu once in Cuzco. With a little assistance she got up the courage and approached the waitress with her respectful request and was rewarded later with exactly what she wanted to eat!

Ali is trying very hard to learn more and more Spanish. Even when hiking the ruins she was talking and getting Spanish lessons form Leah and the other members of the group. She is always very positive and was very articulate during the dog-culture-politics discussion, and expressed her views and positions on a variety of topics from politics to cultural differences.

Ben tried alpaca the first day in Cuzco! He said being a vegetarian wont stop him from trying things. His Spanish is great, and he had a wonderful conversation with his host mother Bertha. She says he is a flirt. He was also happy to learn a new verb tense in Spanish with his group and is always making the group laugh and lifting spirits.

Rachel made it down to Peru on her own and figured out how to use a Spanish language phone card on her own in Lima airport to call the Windsor Mountain Office. She got here tired and a little hungry but jumped right in anyway! After going to her home stay with her house mates she participated in her own orientation skits to catch up with the group.

Kayla is observing a lot and trying more and more to use her Spanish. She repeats phrases in Spanish games and is able to order on her own after practice. She will be making pancakes for the host family tomorrow morning.

Michael really helped out with the formation of ideas for the full value contract. He expressed that we should feel comfortable enough to say if something is truly wrong or one doesn’t feel well, etc. He had a great time playing with the local children around the school in his new mask!

Nella is doing great in Spanish and uses her understanding of Italian to help her out. She even read aloud from the cultural passport in Spanish on the first day. Wow! She is very mature and was into the ruins at Ollantaytambo and thinks her home stay in Cuzco feels like home.

Charlotte is trying hard with Spanish and the group helps at every chance they can. She volunteered to be the secretary for the FVC and is always positive. She has added great insight to conversations discussing comparisons between US-Canada-Peru.

Rachel has done great in Spanish and even translated the MMT aloud in English on the spot! She loves her teacher, Sony, and screamed twice during the ghost story, and soon she will be enjoying a fiesta for the great grandmother of her home stay!

Daniel won the prize for the first GIA (gastrointestinal adventure)! He beat last year´s record by 5 hours. He is doing great for the youngest member of the group and was very motivated and encouraged others to eat alpaca. He may have even shared his meal with everyone at his table. He is very excited to meet his home stay brother, who is almost the same age.

Liz is able to understand and communicates very well in Spanish both with the group and locals. She had no troubles with her first day of classes and hopes to be challenged throughout the next weeks. She has been a great help to the girls in her home stay. She is really looking forward to salsa dancing classes.

Leah is very excited about everything. She tried a bit of Jim´s alpaca and has been facing her fear of dogs daily on the streets of Ollantaytambo and Cuzco. She is awesome at Spanish and also translated MMT on the fly. Ina a word, Leah is great! Along with Kayla, she will be helping to make pancakes for her host family first thing in the morning!

Noah really enjoys the political conversations during meals. His Spanish is great and he was happy to learn a new verb tense in one day that he could not learn in a year of classes back home. He had a big plate of alpaca on the first day and is a rock-solid group member.

Dwayne fell in love with Bertha, his host mother. He calls her his “lady”, and says he will go home and cook for her. He was a member of the first set group of 'Leaders of the Day' and set the bar high by checking on everyone, including his leaders. He is trying at every opportunity to speak Spanish and whips out his cultural passport to help."

Well folks, that is it, straight from the source on the ground in Peru. Back here in the office in New Hampshire, we are thrilled that the trip is off to such a great start. Not to mention jealous that we aren't there with them!

Our next scheduled check-in call with Jim and Katie is next Monday, July 7th, and all Bridge Peru Families will receive Email Update #2 the following day, Tuesday, July 8th. All Bridge Peru students will phone home the day after that, Wednesday, July 9th--if everything goes according to schedule, please expect this call in the evening.

If you have any question, please call us in the Travel Office.

Best,
Angus, Marjorie, Lou, and the entire Windsor Mountain Team