Sunday, June 12, 2011

Day 2

Day 2 has come to a close and the kids are getting settled with their host families.  Susan, Angela, Adele, and I will make the rounds to visit all of the families before they go to bed tonight.  You would be so proud of your children; they greeted their host mom, dad, brothers and sisters with excitement, kindness, and respect.  They were all very excited to shower their families with the gifts that you so generously provided.  Here is a round-up of our day:
The kids got a great night sleep; we woke up at 7:30, took WARM showers and ate an American breakfast of bread and scrambled eggs.  Afterwords, we worked on the first curriculum piece entitled "Why Are We Here". It was a nice beginning to the day and the kids shared great insights.  We were picked up by our raft guides at about 9:15 am and traveled to the put-in spot.  Donned in wetsuits, spray jackets, life vests, and helmets, we paddled for about 2 hours. The first part was an enjoyable, scenic cruise and then we got to ride class 1, 2, 3, and 3.5 rapids to the finish.  There were some water fights and all of the kids "tried" swimming in a Peruvian river, Urubamba River; some chose this and others did not.  I expect to see some payback throughout the trip. 
Our rafting trip ended at a restaurant surrounded by Inca ruins and mountains.  The scenery here is spectacular, and we are all constantly wondering how we deserve to be in such a beautiful spot.  Lunch consisted of squash soup, grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and a dulche de leche (sweet milk) crepe.  WOW!  What a treat this meal was.  The kids have been so polite at every meal, and they eat with gusto.  At my house, I get to graze all off my kids plates for leftovers.  So far, either the kids clean their plate or Maddie beats to the leftovers.
We came back in to Ollantay just in time to see Adele's husband, son, and nephews dancing in the festival.  The costumes are amazing, and each year something new is added by a family member to the clothes and/or mask.  After the dancing, we went back for some downtime; the kids showered and packed for the transfer to their host families.  Before they left, we took some time to discuss cross cultural situation and gave the kids some tools to help navigate how to be polite and take care of themselves while with the host families.  They were great during this exercise and appreciated the content.  Then, we had cake with our host families, and the girls started a soccer game with some of their Peruvian brothers and sisters.  Incidentally, Angela and I got a small taste of how you might have felt at the airport.  As the kids were leaving, we had pangs of guilt, saddness, loneliness, and pride, especially as they happily and gracefully scooted off with the new Peruvian families. 




The leaders for today were Tierney and John.  They did a great job set the bar very high for tomorrow leaders, Kristina and Carver.  Speaking of tomorrow, we will reunite at 8 am, then spend some more time getting familiar with the town while watching some more of the festival.  We got very lucky with the timing of this trip; it is not too often, that we get to see a festival like this and then get to know the participants intimately.  We will have the opportunity to meet a Shaman tomorrow afternoon and learn about the modern-day connection to Incan culture and spirituality. 

4 comments:

Gregory said...

Okay, that's it, it sounds like there is just too much fun going on down there...we can't hold out any longer! Barb and I are heading down, so please locate another host family ASAP! What a great day, thanks for the pictures. Much love, Mom, Dad, Boomer and Scout

linda said...

We loved the pictures and wish we were on that raft with you. It looks amazing. The food sounds yummy too. Maddie, we are glad you like it. Enjoy every minute. Not missing anything here.
Love ya lots,
Mom, Dad, and T

mattwillandben said...

So proud of all of you!!! William, Matthew missed you on his 16th Birthday. He said, "I wish William was here, I miss him so much!" Keep the pictures coming and I can't wait to hear about your families. Love you! Mom, Dad, Matt, Ben, Henry and Gus

paynerg said...

wow! what an exciting adventure! love the photos, & the blog content is just amazing - thank you SO MUCH for giving us so much detail about what the kids are doing. I feel like a fly on the wall... hugs to Carver xxoo Rebecca Rob & Elizabeth (who really misses her big brother!!)

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