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2010 China Immersion

July 25-29, 2010
This is our final post from China! We can’t believe our trip has already come to an end. I am writing from the inside of a sleeper train. It’s 6:30AM, the lights are on and the “wake up now” elevator music is playing.  We arrive in Kunming at 7:30AM and, after breakfast; we’ll drive to the airport and fly to Beijing. Our last meal together will be none other than the world famous Peking duck 北京烤鸭. Tomorrow morning, we’ll return to the USA with plenty of stories, jokes, memories and gifts to share.
Our final days definitely held our biggest physical challenge – Tiger Leaping Gorge 虎跳峡.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature did not appreciate that we only had 6 days left in China or that we would be hiking and it has rained almost every day this week.  Before we tackled the gorge, we had a few more relaxing days in Shangrila. The rain interrupted our photo scavenger hunt but Will and Ian still pulled out a victory and earned a milkshake. I’ll let everyone share the picture that won for “Chinese Fashion” on his or her own!
On our last day in Shangrila, we took a ride out of town to Daguan Temple 大观寺. An old woman and a young monk maintain the temple. Daguan Temple is set back in a forest (supposedly 180 different species of trees grow around the temple). As we walked up the steps, we turned the golden prayer wheels. Multicolored prayer flags hung between the trees, the winds carrying the prayers up to heaven. The 5 Buddhas of Wisdom hung within the temple, painted on large scrolls. The old woman showed us the giant prayer wheel and Lynn, our guide, explained that prayer and movement go hand in hand.
On Friday we said goodbye to the quiet, lazy days of Shangrila and drove south to Qiaotou 桥头, the entrance to Tiger Leaping Gorge 虎跳峡. The powerful waters of the Jinsha River 金沙江 created the gorge and its peak is over 5000 meters high. On our first day, we climbed over 3,000 meters. In less than 5 hours, we made our way up the mountain passes, around the 28 Bends and finally back down to Tea Horse Guesthouse, where we spent the night. Ian, Will and Aaron climbed like goats, quick and sure-footed, Kevin and Tori climbed like horses, slow and steady and I climbed like a stubborn donkey, stopping to graze every few meters!  We were all amazed by the pristine surroundings and the awesome power of nature. On our second day, we hiked for 3.5 hours down to Tina’s Guesthouse, where we had a much-deserved rest.
After braving the elements, we indulged in a little luxury and traveled to Shuhe 束河, a small village outside of Lijiang.  We stayed in the beautiful Moon River Guesthouse. We got a great night’s sleep in comfortable beds and prepared for our long journey home.
And now we’ve come to the end of a long journey. We have overcome many challenges, celebrated many victories (mostly in Low Life) and grown as individuals and as a group. We have expanded our knowledge of the people; history and culture of China and the insights we have gained will undoubtedly influence our future. Time will tell in what ways.
For Lan, Bieber, Tori, Kevin, Aaron and Angela – The China Group 2010 – A Final 再 见!

2010 Costa Rica Immersion C

Hola Parents and Friends,

The students have been truly enjoying their time here in Buena Vista. On Friday the 23rd they got together to write the blog below which sums up their service project experience nicely. We are half way through our journey and it has been very rewarding for us to watch how hard the students are working and how well they are immersing themselves in Costa Rican culture! Enjoy their blog entry!

Best,

Heidi and Jadi

July 23rd, 2010

This weekend we celebrated our two week “halfway point” ! It’s crazy to think that half of our time here is finished. Yet, we have two amazing weeks ahead of us. We last left off in our blog having just arrived at our home stay in Buena Vista. After an awkward first night with our families, we woke up to a full day of work. Through working, playing soccer, and spending time with our host families, everyone seems to be nicely adjusted to the tico lifestyle. For the past week, we have been mixing cement and laying out our sidewalk. In the past few days, we have also begun construction on the base for the two new walls in the Police Station. Although work days have been hard, we have been able to take well deserved breaks. This past Sunday, we visited a local zoo in a nearby town and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon hanging out in natural pools and hot tubs at a nice hotel. We drove back to Buena Vista that night, exhausted yet thoroughly rested. This Wednesday and Thursday, we took an overnight trip to La Fortuna. There we took the afternoon to shop about town and chill poolside. For dinner and the rest of the evening, we went to Baldi Hotel and Hot Springs. It was so incredible. Each pool had its own unique temperature and feel. Don’t even get us started on those waterslides ! We slept easy at our hotel, Monte Real, and awoke the next morning to a hot day in La Fortuna and a delicious breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. Nothing compared to that amazing fruit plate… but Gallo Pinto ? Of course ! No one could resist. After a relaxing morning we piled in the bus to drive a quick ten minutes to a secluded river area complete with a rope swing. The more daring in the group took the plunge, and the crazy few managed to complete some tricks off the rope. At around 3 in the afternoon, we drove back to Buena Vista… but were we tired ? No ! There’s always more energy for a spontaneous kick ball game ! All in all, we have worked hard, played hard, and flopped into bed at the end of each day with smiles on our faces. PURA VIDA !

2010 Costa Rica Immersion B

The Wall of Troy?  No… The Wall of Las Brisas.

¡Buenos Dias!

It’s hard to believe another week has already passed.  After enjoying a glorious break in the hot springs of La Fortuna, we have fallen into a routine here in Las Brisas, one that is anything but boring or ordinary.  Work steadily advances on our project, each day bringing us a greater sense of satisfaction and purpose.  What started as a simple grassy slope off the backside of the school has evolved into so much more; a retaining wall of epic proportions, constructed by a team of our eager students and the Costa Rican foremen, Edwin and Ramón, who run the show.  Pick-axes and shovels became our best friends, slinging dirt and mud into wheelbarrows and buckets.  As work progressed, everyone found his or her niche on the worksite, working hard to help us reach our goal.  Matt, Nora, and Hannah became the “Concrete Crew”, mastering use of the cement mixer.  Alyssa and Julia bounced between a few jobs, but really came in clutch to help clean out the cement base of the support columns.  Ely, Sarah M., Morgan, and Michelle became expert movers, hauling buckets of earth, concrete, and cinderblocks to wherever they needed to go.  Sarah C. took charge of leveling the earth at the bottom of the wall into a nice ramp where Karchye and Kerry found their place filling up and leveling out the top.  Dan, our resident strongman, could be seen lifting buckets of concrete, moving earth, or carrying heavy bags of cement down to the mixer.  Everyone worked hard, and worked together, to help get this project to where it is today.

The second part of our project also came into fruition this week: our mural!  The group got together one night and brainstormed ideas for our painting, settling on a desire to include landmarks from all over the world.  The mural begins in Costa Rica and sets off across each continent, portraying major landmarks in each.  This has allowed many students to display their artistic talent and skill for all to see, and has given us all a new challenge on the worksite.  School begins again for the Las Brisas students on Monday, which signals the nearing of the end of our time here.  Tuesday night we will say our bittersweet farewell to the town that has become our home away from home and set off on yet another adventure: ziplining through the canopy of Monte Verde.

¡Pura Vida!

The Immersion B Family

 

 

2010 Costa Rica Immersion A

It was inevitable for our goodbyes to be hard given that our amazing memories were all too easy to make!  Pueblo Nuevo inspired us, tested us, and transformed us with their humility, affection, and hospitality.  We will be forever thankful!  After infinite hugs, a few tears, and several attempts to pull away, all 17 of us made it on to the bus, happy and excited for new adventures in Monteverde!

That said, we asked for adventure, and ADVENTURE is what we got. The second we stepped foot in Monteverde, we were literally airlifted up into the high canopy jungle, zipped along on 11 cables through vast primary forest and over clouds, our screams and laughter filled with adrenaline!  We ended the canopy tour with the Rope Swing, yelling at the top of our lungs like Janes and Tarzans of the jungle!  Flying over the most bio-diverse landscape in all of Costa Rica was absolutely priceless and just the beginning of our extreme sport rollercoaster.

After trekking through the Santa Elena National Reserve and spotting hummingbirds, tarantula burrows, and the most varied array of insects and birds, we spotted the ever-elusive quetzal.  The good luck we carried with us from Pura Suerta where we saw a sloth on the ground, followed us to Monteverde!  From Monteverde to the Paquare river, the fun and adrenaline came with us as well!

It was at the Paquare Lodge where we rested in the sun after a short one hour rafting trip on the winding river that led straight to the Lodge.  After a delicious lunch, Michael, Helaina, Alec, Sam, Meghan, and A-Rod, trekked with the guides to a hidden waterfall in the dense jungle.  There, we painted our faces with mud, played cowboys and Indians, and swam in the refreshing water!  We spent the afternoon touring the grounds, swimming in the luxury suites, and hiking and exploring all we could!  Before we knew it, we were dinning under a canopy of stars, feasting on caprese salads, macadamia encrusted tilapia, beef tenderloin in porcini sauce, and pineapple flambé!  The night was magnificent!

The next morning we all awoke to the sound of the river calling our names!  Rapid after rapid, we winded down the river.  Britney and Ben’s raft chanted the rhymes while Malia and Hayley’s raft pounded out the beats using their paddles!  With our energy levels soaring, we swept through the river and no one was spared a soaking!  We reached San Jose wishing we had the month to do over again!

Once in San Jose, our time was bitter-sweet.  We had an amazing dinner at Café Mundo, a hot-spot restaurant in the heart of San Jose.   The night did not end, as many attempted to stay up all night to make the best of the last few hours together!  We avoided goodbyes by keeping the good times rolling until the clock struck 4am and Santiago rolled up one last time in our never-to-be-forgotten “buseta.”  As said before, goodbyes are always hard, but with these invaluable memories we now have to treasure forever, the PURA VIDA of Costa Rica too easily transformed us all and will remain a part of us until we return and meet again!

We miss you all already!!!

David and Fernanda

 

2010 Peru Immersion

After taking in the breathtaking sights of southern Peru and getting acquainted with the language, we arrived in Ollataytambo, the city that we have called home for the past two weeks. Ollantaytambo, or Ollanta, as those who live here call it, is the last living Incan city in Peru. We live among the mountains of the Sacred Valley and ancient Incan ruins with families that have welcomed us into their homes. While each student on the Peru Immersion program is having a different experience with their Peruvian host families, each is getting accustomed to the local food and culture. Students practice their Spanish and get to know their families during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which they eat at their homes each day. Many students, like Abby, have attended local celebrations and festivals with their families. Other students, like Talia and Katherine, also help their younger siblings with nightly homework. While living with another family always comes with some trepidation, it is safe to say that all the students have forged comfortable and caring relationships with their families here. Sydney and Chloe have a lively 2-year-old brother Rio Ferdinand who constantly dances to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, which rivals Tara and Emily’s 4-year-old brother Edwin’s affinity for make believe action games. Robert and his host brother decided to wake up early hike up to the ruins before work.

However, our days in Ollanta are devoted to the group service project. We have been working long satisfying days at La Escuela de Las Mujeres building a cafeteria for the students. We began the project by digging trenches that would serve as the foundation for the building. After digging out and collecting rocks from the river here in town, we created the foundation. But the majority of this project was laying adobe blocks to create the walls for the building. This incredibly strong group of students hauled in over 3000 adobe blocks and 2500 ceiling tiles and got to work. Mixing dirt and water to create the mud to keep this building together has been an essential daily task and one that gets us all dirty. After laying the foundation and building the walls, we have finally reached the ceiling. Our maestros de obra or our foreman at the worksite, Renaldo and Jaime, have been teaching us step by step during this process so that we all had the confidence to get up on the roof and lay the layer of reeds. Take a look at the pictures to check out our progress. This group has been working incredibly hard to complete this project and is looking forward to celebrating its completion with the students and parents that attend this school here in Ollanta.

TO VIEW THE ONLINE PICTURE GALLERY, FOLLOW THIS LINK: http://www.flickr.com/photos/homesurgery/sets/72157624555150646/

Jonathan, Debbie and Judson

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