Since the beginning of the trip, the idea of Cullen’s birthday and how we would celebrate it has been a topic of much discussion. Cullen insisted that he did not want any type of party, but he had very little say in it. On the 12th, Jason asked us all to gather in the plaza at 5:30 in order to “check up on how everyone was doing.” Most of the group knew we would be celebrating Cullen’s birthday, but Cullen had no idea. We arrived at the plaza, distracting him with talk about paddle tennis, and started walking towards the bakery, where Chloe and Mr. Gemmell had teamed up to order a large birthday cake. As we neared it, we all started to sing Happy Birthday as the cake was brought out of the bakery. Cullen was taken by surprise, the cake was delicious, and it all was lots of fun.

William Goodenough

After our third day of work, we’re ready to eat lunch with our home-stay families. Julia, Jane and I, covered with dirt from “Tierra De Los Niños”, walked back from the school to our home which is right across the street from “El Mercado”. Rumors say that our mother, Sra. Toya, is the best cook in Ollantaytambo and they were true! At the JFK Airport on the first day of our trip, I was extremely scared and panicked because it was my first time away from home. But Jane told me that once I got to Ollantaytambo it was all going to be okay. And now that I’m here, it does feel great and I never want to leave. Going home for lunch everyday feels like I’m really going home to my family.

Jajairy Fong