Wednesday, July 22, 2009
My boys, Teddy and Jobe, and I arrived in Ollantaytambo on Sunday an hour or so before the hikers returned from their overnight. We greeted a dirty but exhilarated group, and the boys were thrilled to see their bearded dad. After a quick change out of their hiking clothes, Lilah, Chloe, and Julia were kind enough (and energetic enough after hiking!) to take me on a running tour of the town. They instructed me to pick up some small rocks and brace myself for some aggressive dogs. As a pack of four, we happily avoided any nasty encounter, and I was grateful for the girls’ patience as I adjusted to the altitude.
Craig fell in love with Ollantaytambo last year and was eager for me and our boys to experience the great pleasures of this place and its people. He was also so enormously impressed with the Groton students on the trip that the experience, in fact, served to deepen his commitment to the school and its mission. Craig, Fred, Cindy, and I believe wholeheartedly that experiences such as this one—away from the Circle but together—enhance our understanding of community and play a profound role in preparing our students for the “active work of life” in a world that needs individuals to exhibit great understanding, compassion, and ethical leadership. Talking with this year’s students and watching them both labor and play with local community members and each other, I have been remarkably impressed with the fusion of purposefulness and playfulness on display here – and with the genuine drive to connect meaningfully with people whose life experiences are—in so many ways—different from our students’.
As I write today from inside a classroom of the elementary school, our students’ host families are preparing a Pachamanca—a feast of pork, beef, and chicken mixed with a variety of vegetables and cooked together over heated stones in a hole in the ground—to celebrate the near completion of the building project. Next to me in this classroom, three local girls, Veronica, Celeste, and Guadalupe are making thank-you cards for all of the volunteers. The students have worked incredibly hard and made remarkably swift progress. The pictures will tell you much of the story. I have been blown away by the vision and efficiency of the mural artists. And in this country of the expert Incan stoneworkers, our students have proven themselves to be very able terrace and wall builders. More important than their talent, however, have been their spirit and commitment to this work. Today, they worked almost non-stop from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Never a complaint was heard; rather, they reveled in their dirtiness and their progress. Groton kids know how to work hard. How great it is to see them so proud of their efforts and having such fun along the way!
****
At the close of the Pachumanca, a host parent, Ana, stood up to thank not only the students but also their parents, whom Ana realizes have sacrificed much to allow the students to be in Ollantaytambo this summer. Like Ana, I appreciate how difficult separation between parents and children can be, particularly in the precious months of summer; thus, I am also particularly grateful to be able to share this experience with Craig and our boys this summer. I am grateful also for the warm embrace the children of Ollantaytambo and the students on the trip have given Teddy and Jobe. There is no better education than experience. We are all lucky in so many ways!
Tomorrow morning we will all be gathering in the town plaza at 4:45 a.m. and heading down to the train station in town to travel to Machu Picchu. The trip will take about an hour and a half. It should be yet another remarkable day. We will write again on Friday.
Viva Peru! -- Nancy
My boys, Teddy and Jobe, and I arrived in Ollantaytambo on Sunday an hour or so before the hikers returned from their overnight. We greeted a dirty but exhilarated group, and the boys were thrilled to see their bearded dad. After a quick change out of their hiking clothes, Lilah, Chloe, and Julia were kind enough (and energetic enough after hiking!) to take me on a running tour of the town. They instructed me to pick up some small rocks and brace myself for some aggressive dogs. As a pack of four, we happily avoided any nasty encounter, and I was grateful for the girls’ patience as I adjusted to the altitude.
Craig fell in love with Ollantaytambo last year and was eager for me and our boys to experience the great pleasures of this place and its people. He was also so enormously impressed with the Groton students on the trip that the experience, in fact, served to deepen his commitment to the school and its mission. Craig, Fred, Cindy, and I believe wholeheartedly that experiences such as this one—away from the Circle but together—enhance our understanding of community and play a profound role in preparing our students for the “active work of life” in a world that needs individuals to exhibit great understanding, compassion, and ethical leadership. Talking with this year’s students and watching them both labor and play with local community members and each other, I have been remarkably impressed with the fusion of purposefulness and playfulness on display here – and with the genuine drive to connect meaningfully with people whose life experiences are—in so many ways—different from our students’.
As I write today from inside a classroom of the elementary school, our students’ host families are preparing a Pachamanca—a feast of pork, beef, and chicken mixed with a variety of vegetables and cooked together over heated stones in a hole in the ground—to celebrate the near completion of the building project. Next to me in this classroom, three local girls, Veronica, Celeste, and Guadalupe are making thank-you cards for all of the volunteers. The students have worked incredibly hard and made remarkably swift progress. The pictures will tell you much of the story. I have been blown away by the vision and efficiency of the mural artists. And in this country of the expert Incan stoneworkers, our students have proven themselves to be very able terrace and wall builders. More important than their talent, however, have been their spirit and commitment to this work. Today, they worked almost non-stop from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. Never a complaint was heard; rather, they reveled in their dirtiness and their progress. Groton kids know how to work hard. How great it is to see them so proud of their efforts and having such fun along the way!
****
At the close of the Pachumanca, a host parent, Ana, stood up to thank not only the students but also their parents, whom Ana realizes have sacrificed much to allow the students to be in Ollantaytambo this summer. Like Ana, I appreciate how difficult separation between parents and children can be, particularly in the precious months of summer; thus, I am also particularly grateful to be able to share this experience with Craig and our boys this summer. I am grateful also for the warm embrace the children of Ollantaytambo and the students on the trip have given Teddy and Jobe. There is no better education than experience. We are all lucky in so many ways!
Tomorrow morning we will all be gathering in the town plaza at 4:45 a.m. and heading down to the train station in town to travel to Machu Picchu. The trip will take about an hour and a half. It should be yet another remarkable day. We will write again on Friday.
Viva Peru! -- Nancy
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