This has been the hardest post to write, it seems to be a period in this semester where I am learning more and more, I am taking in feedback, and have been recieving the hardships of leadership.  The inner-personal as well as the group dynamics.  What does it mean to approach one another wth respect for the other, while still being true to ourselves and speaking up for what we need?  What I most want to write about is Machu Picchu, although what feels honest is this insaine growing spurt I have been entagled with. In the midst of having more than ten parents present for the Inca trail, as well as my lovely boss/teacher/motivation in town for such an adventure, we have also been engaging in a group analysis of how to make our program most supportive for everyone.  With the presence of parents combined with the spiritual journey of the Inca Trail it seems our students have spoken, and as treachers we are recieving the inevitable honesty aloud through third party sources.

Skipping past the details I have learned more and more about my ability to take in constructive feedback, and adjust my teaching and leadership methods.  I have taken responsibilty and also felt an incredible power within the group, enough to ask for help, hoping each member will speak up for their needs and hopes of me instead of hiding in the percieved fear of intimidation or judgement.  As I have remembered from my own father, and shared with the girls, "This is one of my most incredible learning experience, just like you.  I am learning and as much as I am your teacher, you are mine, I cannot become a better teacher and leader without the input of those who I am influencing, please help me become the best that I can be."  This learning experience and direct conversation between our group has encouraged me to accept the role of Logistics Director for this fall semester with The Traveling School through South East Africa. I will be going back to the land I was originally inspired by, in a role I a, rather intimidated by, although know I can learn life lessons from.  I am encouraged to use my motivation with this experience to manifest directly in the next semester.

Hold on tight this blog will continue into the near future! Thanks for following, I am encouraged by your presence.

Love for Life

Puma our dear guide and friend

Moray ruins, the womb of Mother Earth, Pachamama

The colors of life here continue to make me smile!

The best corn in the world is found in the Sacred Valley of Peru

"Yes falling in love with the Earth is one of life's great adventures.  It is an affair of the heart like no other; a rapturous experience that remains endlessly repeatable throughout life.  This is no fleeting romance, its an uncommon affair, one that is unconstrained by age or custom, and strengthened rather than diminished through sharing.  In fact the more one gives away, the stronger it grows" -Steve Van Matre

Home Sweet Home at 14,000 ft

Celebrating the remains of the recent avalanch

Math Class at elevation

River crossing with Louise

Morning View

Life at Elevation

    I have been apart of a variety of backpacking experiences; time and again it is assured the group will bond in a unique way. The back-country strips us of traditional interactions, of blinking lights and honking horns. Give it forty eight hours...you start adjusting to the efficient method of packing, and hoisting your pack, making a pillow out of your down jacket and remembering to look up, and around to the mountains and streams, instead of simply the feet that are transporting you there. Give the adventure another forty eight hours and the group has delved into trail games listing celebrity names, childhood songs, or existential conversations about life and what makes it tick. We learn how to be in nature, how to tread lightly, how to find a trail when it disappears, how to embrace the burned rice, the chilling rain and the wet snow. Each night the food becomes even more delicious, as it becomes even more quirky and unlike anything you might consume at home, “Cheese, cucumber and jelly, YES!” or “Spaghetti with cinnamon and sugar, best dessert ever!” Falling asleep with a hot water bottle in your sleeping bag can save the shivers, and in the morning, you learn to dismiss the soaked bag you woke up in, you just stuff it now and dry it later. Of all the isms I have learned to love and become accustomed to in the back country, I will never dismiss the “Ah Ha!” moments that prevail when you are bonding with a group in a unique way!

    This last week our group walked with boots and full backpacks, camped and scrambled through avalanche fields, and cooked and laughed throughout the Cordillera Blanca Range in Peru. In the last couple years I have been spending more time as a leader in the back-country, and this time I was apart of something different, a astoundingly present and close group of participants. Not to dismiss any other experience, it is simply reality this group has been living together for two months night and day, they are closer than close. Our participants, our students, our ladies, seem to beat a zenith that only continues to expand up, they are soaking up every sight, every interaction. Each member has apparently made a promise deep inside- to be positive, help others around them and constantly seek to learn more about the world around them. Match this psychological environment with an expansive arena of twenty thousand foot peaks framing my reality, these seven days felt like something I couldnt even make up. The feeling of humility, pride, youth, wisdom, hot, cold, discouraged, inspired, high as a kite, and more rooted than an old redwood. This is the feeling we live for as leaders, as friends, as seekers of growth, challenge, and success. Each morning we would stretch and share our intentions for the day, and each night we would 'shout out' to those who supported us. Reflecting on the book we read aloud each night “The Alchemist”, it is said: the universe will conspire to help you realize your dream and your role in this world, every thing will come together just as it should, simply love, and do not fear the unknown. These moment we spent in the mountains felt perfectly right, as if the entirety of the cosmos had brought us together in this place, just as it was meant to be.

TTS Girl Problems

Our group is keeping a list of non-traditional "problems", its cracks us up in the moment, and we thought we would share with all who are interested in our journeys.  Enjoy Helen's list:

"Traveling School Girl Problems"

"There is a chicken in our bedroom eating our bananas..."
"My foot just got stepped on by a toucan..."

"Putting on a skirt and earrings- it´s like prom!"

"Can I borrow your Nalgene? I need to brush my teeth..."
"This is clean, I've only worn it three times..."
"This cabina doesn't have Magnum bars? Somewhere else then..."
"Hiking boots kinda look like combat boots with my skirt..."
"When's snack?"
"Run! Maybe you can make it to the shower while it's still lukewarm!"
"My boots just got cleaner from stepping in a mud puddle..."
"Watch your camera carefully- the monkeys might take it..."

"Has the water in this juice been purified?"
"Why do I feel so exposed? Oh, my knees are showing..."

"7:30 breakfast? Yes, I can't wait to sleep in!"

"I don´t think I'm able to sleep in that late (8:00)...."
"Is my rain cover tucked in?"
"Cesar said to run over this part of the trail or the army ants will eat you!"
"I'm out of Pink Lemonade Emergen-C..."
"I just ate three courses of starches..."
"I thought 98.11% DEET would be enough!"
"Do we get P.E. credit for whitewater rafting?"
"My nose itches after being cured of bad spirits by a shaman and a rain forest leaf..."

"I just wrung-out my Gore-Tex jacket..."
"Can I borrow your headlamp to find my headlamp?"
"Pass the rice...."
"Turn off your headlamp! I can't see the glow-in-the-dark mushrooms!"
"Scoot over, you're hogging the inner tube..."
"My Tupperware is at the bottom of my big pack..."
"Do you have hand sani on you?"
"I need more Con Bro Chill time..."

"The chocolate just fell off my Magnum bar..."

"My face just got clothes-lined by a mosquito net..."
"Wait, the ocelot is under that bush? I can't see it..."

Spring Break 2012!

Wild Giant Tortoises on Santa Cruz Island

Christmas Iguanas

Our home (this week) the Golendrina!

I could live on a boat, the wobble rocks me and the views excite me. I thought I would be ill with constant moving, and I have been happily surprised that our small fishing yacht the “Golandrina” has served as a lovely home this past week. In a bunk with a small light over head I have been grading midterms and furiously writing academic comments for every student in each of my classes. In between snorkeling with spotted eagle rays, and hikes with marine iguanas I have been spending free time computing grades. This week has been a lovely vacation, moments of pure bliss, warm water, postcard views and incredible food. It is Spring Break here with The Traveling School and we are on a boat, traveling throughout the Galapagos archipelago; classes are on hold but you guessed it, we're still learning! We travel with a crew and our naturalist guide Katy, she is twenty two and is studying to be an environmental engineer, she is from the Galapagos and has served not only as our guide but a great friend and incredible science teacher! If you were ever wondering where the wild things live, we have found the mother-ship. It is here where dinosauresque animals cross your path, interact and smile at you, paying little attention to your presence, never assuming you will hurt them rather curious in your stature. Each day Katy introduces our group to a new island, with different species endemic to either the specific island itself, or the archipelago. We have walked with giant tortoises, Galapagos seals and blue footed boobies, watched the red necks of frigget birds balloon in hopes of attracting their mate, hiked with iguanas, finches, and lava lizards and swam with eagle rays, white tipped sharks, snakes, penguins, puffer fish, parrot fish, and my favorite-green sea turtles. Katy gets excited about mocking birds and lava tunnels, she educates us on mating rituals, adolescent behavior, life spans, eating patterns, relationships with other animals, speed, and how each bit of information on every animal or plant species we encounter ties back into evolution and the specialness of these islands.

The Galapagos Islands where first “discovered” in the 1500s by westerners, buccaneers came here as a pit stop, they would take the giant tortoises for food, just one tortoise can supply food for up to a year, hundreds of thousands were taken mostly between the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. Charles Darwin landed in 1835 and stayed here for several weeks studying marine biology and natural selection, it is here where he conjured up evidence for the theory of evolution, although it was not until several years later The Origin of Species was published, outlining Darwin's ground breaking theories. Now 97% of the islands are National Park, with very specific rules: only a certain number of people on an island at any one moment, no collecting of any kind from the islands, only step on marked pathways and, one we learned today, snorkeling and specific beach time can only take place in the morning and after two p.m.

Pause.... It is almost time for bed and a scream from the bow... Dolphins are flying through the ocean in front of our boat! They are glowing in luminescence, their bodies and water imprints/pathways glow in the darkness. As the sky twinkles from the equators view of the Milky Way, a pod of ten or more dolphins race to the front, jumping high into the air at the bow, squealing as if they are trying to communicate with our accompanying whistles When the dolphins cant keep up any more, we are left watching the consistent wave created by the Golandrina's speed, as the white water slashes up to meet our sun burned cheeks, dots of luminescence revolve through the water. Happy Equinox!

I could definitely live on a boat.

Drenched in water, yet still saving all of it

Squoosh for face paint...

Stilted homes next to the Napo River

I swear my eyes are open! As I looked down to the ground I had to convince myself my eyes were seeking clarity of any kind, the darkness consumed every inch of color and depth, I entered a state I have never known. The sounds surrounded my body, the hums and buzzing crept into my ears, throwing off my balance as I tried to designate whether the stillness around me was silence, or complete chaos. I had just turned off my headlamp, silenced my mouth and tried to focus on the fluttering instances of glowing-ness... my brain could not decipher a thing besides the layered outlines above, perceived to be leaves against the clouded night-sky. My peripherals caught glimpses of shining organisms, fungi and iridescent leaves. The jungle embodies life, countless layers of living organisms- seeking light and water. Within any one centimeter of space I seem to stumble over what it is to be alive, what makes up an eco-system, co-habitation, photosynthesis, natural selection, breathe... the oxygen is heavy here, drenched in rain, it is wet, and sticky, necessary, perfect. It is collected by thousands of pores aching to grow, reaching to the sky. A route many of us take during our time here alive, a yearning to seek and grow, looking for a place to just be, supported in a space shared with others.

The Amazon feels just like I have always known it would... and yet I have never exactly put a feeling to the concept before now. It was clear in the moments we spent trekking through the mud and leaves, I have never, ever entered such an intricate web of life as this before. Our group hiked through secondary and primary forests, passing termite mounds nestled into branches, walking trees literally move their roots to seek light, and gurgling sounds from inside towering worm holes; we learned about the medicinal properties of countless leaves and flowers, tried the poisonous touch of stinging nettles, ate caterpillar larvae, painted our faces with red berries and made crowns and bracelets with palm frawns. We took a canoe into the jungle, adventured through various hikes, including the night hike touched on above, we practiced our Kichwa, learned about Shamans of the Amazon and spent time in local communities. One community was made up of one large extended family, within the banana and guava trees we waded through in mud and water, stood several stilted homes, typically housing five or more members. One one home in particular welcomed us in, the family taught us how to make the traditional Chicha drink by mashing, and fermenting Yucca, or cassava, for several days. They drink this for three meals a day. Our group of twenty sat under a small roof, with one room above, home to nine people, the rain poured down around us. The rain spilled off the roof, through a black tarp, down into a small bucket, just inside this lean to lay the kitchen fire and a couple dishes. On the fire they warmed plantains as we ground baked Cacao beans. With a pile of black powder in front of us we watched the methodical motions of the weather mother of the home, she swooped up the remains, plopped them into her only pan, dossed it with a cup of sugar and stirred over the fire. Within five minutes we were eating warm bananas dipped in real, luxurious, dark chocolate. Our stomachs were full, lips smiling rain jackets deemed completely useless. Drenched and happy, inundated with culture and language, we took in the sights of the Napo River, feeling the lifestyle difference exposed during this afternoon's adventure.

At times we seek to blend in, although it never truly manifests. We can be wise, and seasoned travelers, yet we are still visitors. The conversations never cease, we hold our heads high, although our composure is forever humbled by the various differences of this world, and our place within it. Seeking clarity in a living, breathing world of organisms.. each seeking light, water, and support. Some times selfishly seeking our goals, but usually actualizing the necessity of help from others.

Village Immersion

In a plastic picnic chair I sit, basking in the shade of the community center where our group was welcomed a week ago to the small village of Agualongo. The constant base beat of music remains in the distance, chattering Quichwa voices, stomping of men shuffling above as they replace the roof, women cooking Guniea Pig outside the window and children playing hand games with our students. This is our last day in our home-stay community where we have been welcomed as family, today we have helped to transport tiles and poles for today's Minga. Every Saturday in Ecuador communities often participate in a community project, each family is expected to be present, in fact if they do not send someone from the family they can be fined. During the week the women stay home with children and the men are away working. Our house is a whirlwind with nine kids from ages one to nineteen looked after by Laura our smiley and upbeat host mother, her quite and humble husband Alfredo works at the cement plant over the hill. It is Saturday when families spend time together, and it is Saturdays when the men continue to work hard and the women fill their roles of cooking for the community. Yesterday three of the women we have been working with slaughtered, plucked and gutted nearly ten “Qui” and today we have been roasting them along with ava beans, potatoes and corn (or “choclo”).

Set back in the horseshoe of a small and flourishing valley our humble village is made up of some twenty families. The lifestyle is rural, traditional and completely indigenous. There is a palpable difference in Ecuador between the Mestizo culture (that of mixed race between Spanish and native) and the Indigenous groups, the main difference at first glance is the dress. The mestizos walk with their heads high and proud, they are well dressed, women strut in tight jeans and revealing shirts. They own the property, the wealth, the clout, and they have for generations. The indigenous walk with the world on their shoulders and the sun stained on their cheeks. The women wear black velvet toed slip on shoes, a simple wool skirt to their ankles, wrapped tightly around their waste with an embroidered two inch belt, topped with a white lacy blouse daintily stitched with colorful flowers. On their wrists, orange beads, on their neck several gold strands, in their hair a pony-tail wrapped with a mini version of their belt, on their head- either a felt hat, or folded piece of fabric. This is ubiquitous. They step off the sidewalks for the Mestizos, they carry their babies on their back, bring their cows to pastures and often walk many miles from their rural villages to town. We have had the rare chance to live in their homes, cook over their wood stoves, wrap their children's pony-tails, learn their language and share in a cultural exchange unlike any I have experienced.

For Science we have gardened with the women and worked with a local tree nursery, for Language class we learned Quichwa for several hours, for History we learned from the locals of how they attained land, how they sustain education, their rights to water and lasting remnants of the encomienda industry, Spanish ownership over the native indigenous populations. Between working with The Tandana Foundation and having a school curriculum on the road, traveling becomes much more alive and robust, we are able to dive into juicey conversations and learn things otherwise may remain under the surface of a typical adventure or vacation. Tomorrow we leave for the rainforest! Thankful for cultural interaction and lively Spanish conversations! Sending love and warmth home!

For one moment, the clouds dispersed, leaving this view of the massive volcanoes surrounding us!

Plants are accustomed to soaking up the virtues of the clouds

Massive and minute organisims yearn for the sun's rays

Many hikes through pre Incan trails!

Our little friend Angelica

Vivisima!

As we set up our tents in the misting rain atop a mountain, the clouds begin to sweep to the side just enough for us to look over the edge into a vast valley, made up of other green valleys, culminating into one huge valley, ending with more valleys ahead. Each steep pitch is green and creates a slope for humble mountains which kiss the heavens and are often engulfed by the sky's hug, the clouds. This area we have been in is the Cloud Forest, a pristine area unlike any other in the world. It is where the jungle covers the mountains and converses with the clouds. It is our first time staying in Yungilla with The Traveling School - we have been welcomed like family into this small community who is working toward sustainability in an area they are starting to realize is more than the common neighborhood they grew up in. As a group we have shifted from tents inundated with dew, to a small wood cabin like attic, and into the main house of the eco-lodge where daily meals and classes take place. We are learning how this community works together, making the tastiest marmalade in the whole ding-dang world, watering orchids in the nursery, planting starter trees for reforestation programs, and taking part in the cheese making process produced for visitors, community members and buyers alike.

The night we arrived our guides, now good friends, Guylindo and Deisey shared, “Manana vamos a caminar para ocho horas mas o menos” to our surprise our schedule unveiled an eight hour hike for the next day, timid although excited we rose to the occasion at 5 in the morning. Straight off the trucks, we spotted a green parrot and several toucans! “Fuerte Suerte” we began to repeat, strong luck! As we climbed down the steep slopes of the jungled mountains we covered each inch of our body, shielding our skin from the poisonous plants and trenches of mud. The “trenches” are narrows, similar to those you might find in Southwest Utah, except made of mud and clay covered in fauna and roots, moss and interesting patterned leaves and flowers, looking up to see glimpses of the sky through layers of mother nature's timeline. Nowhere near the dry and smooth narrows of the desert in actuality, although just as jaw dropping! We ran down slippery crevasses of sorts and hung onto vines as Jane might in her search for Tarzan. Shrieks and screams came down the line, I turned to Guylindo in the back and we both acknowledged, “Tenemos divertido”, we're all having fun, and smiled! We ate a lunch of banana chips, apple, another banana, and bread on a covered bridge looking down at a raging river. We hiked back in the rain, singing songs from the Jungle Book and feeling mighty hard core. The following day we stumbled with sore glutes and calves through another misty and muddy hike, this one is well-known to be a pre-Inca trail, used for contraband of sorts. The crevasses on this hike were even deeper, the depth we are told is from the construction, erosion and years of use-some 20 ft deep in spots.

We are happy to be returning to Otavalo as our clothes are covered in mud and our skin has been damp now for several days. This weekend we will take Spanish immersion classes in groups of two with local teachers, and next week we will jump into home-stays and a long awaited service project. The send off of our much beloved student who departed last week has been an incredible gateway for many girls. Our group has decided to use this unfortunate event and truly reflect on it as a blessing. Many girls have reported back to us how they have reengaged themselves in every opportunity keeping in mind how it could change in an instant. One can just observe the changes in the group- the sense of adventure and flexibility, the wide eyes when they wake up and the stoke for each moment is palpable. Our fingers are crossed our dear student resting back home in the States will be able to rejoin in a couple weeks!

Oh, classes: In History I just gave a presentation on the pre-Incan cultures of Ecuador and tomorrow we move into the study of the Incan Empire. In Math Concepts we have started the Game of Life, each girl has a family and or pets and a life they must budget for and take care of. We have a billionaire surgeon in Napa, School Teacher with three kids in Santa Fe, a Manicurist with a dead beat boyfriend and two dogs in Denver and a party girl in Burlington VT. Tomorrow we are learning about Credit Cards and we will soon go into resumes, cover letters and interviews! In Global studies we are talking more and more about the gruesome details of the Chevron/ Texaco case in the Amazon and its effects on the cultures and people in the area.

Thank you for your lovely thoughts and smiles. Sending cloud forest love your way... lots and lots of green hues, huge leaves and tiny mosses!

History class from the bell tower of a Boroque Chrch in Quito!! :)

Finally a sunny day at the Hacienda

Spending a weekend learning about the culture of the indigenous and Pre-Incan Groups of Ecuador

Much love!

Gaining speed

Life on the road, with sixteen teenage girls, throughout Ecuador with a backpack... is setting in. I know where my hand sanitizer and bugspray live, I have a flow for lesson plans and implementations, sinking into our leadership roles, shifting from chief who is the main voice for the day all the way down to our diva days when we get to hang back and divert questions.  We are teaching the girls how to wash their own clothes, encouraging them constantly to converse in spanish, "take off thier blinders" when we are in towns and cities, and to think critically about the world and apply what happens in "class" with what takes place "outside class".

Class is a very loose term in these contexts, yesterday we had our Math Applications class around an outdoor firepit next to some American travelers in hammocks with beers in hand chatting about the bedouin lifestyle they live on the tourist curcuit.  Earlier today all the spanish classes took place in the market place, meeting with vendors, asking about the production and place of origin of the textiles and paintings drawing them in.  PE this morning got us out of bed at 6:30 with a run to the central square where we did step ups and calf raises on the side of the rose beds while school girls and businessmen passed.  Sometimes I wish I could be on the other side, listening to the comments and looking through the perspectives of those who encounter our braids, wide-eyes and sing-song voices.  Mostly a smile helps to ease the glare or questioning body language, and sometimes it doesnt.  The fear of wrestling with others personal bubbles and controled lifestyle plagues me at times, although it is a fact we leap through daily in order to run this program, hoping our girls will venture with respect for those they encounter, and those on the other side will open their hearts to us.  If not at this present moment, maybe they can in their own time.

There are moments in a group (and in life) when we are forced to recognize how fortunate we are for the opportunity at hand, and the people we are with.  Moments that stop your momentum and allow you to reflect.  All to often we dont have these moments as we live to prevent mistakes and unfortunate events, although if we can see such mistakes in a positive and trusting light we may just get through the hardest times of all.  Several days ago, one of our bubbly and personable young girls jumped over a hammock in the dark and triped, we snapped into our Wilderness First Responder care in hopes of controlling the pain and aftermath, then taxied to Quito's pediatric and plastic surgery wing.. our dear friend had twelve stiches sewn into her chin and came back with x-rays of a fractured jaw.  Since then our world has been transformed and we count our blessings our company has a structure and intention in place to triage such emergencies.  There has been an abundance of communication and risk management consultation.  Our team has contacted and been in constant review with several doctors in Ecuador and in the states, professionals and specialists and it is to all of our dismay that we will be sending our lovely and inspiring young girl home this weekend to heal with her family, the nature of our program has too many variables for us to proceed together.  With the tears and the emotion, this collision with reality has been an unthinkable feat for our group of girls, although they have risen to meet the occasion and speak from their hearts, affirming our lovely member who will have to fly back home.  We are holding positive and healing thoughts for her, trusting this is situation in which there is a reason for this event.  Her journey to get here has not been easy, and to be sent back is heartbreaking, there is a chance she can return after healing.  It is lovely to see our group come together and witness their already new found connection!  It never ceases to amaze me the way humans can explore themselves in radical experiences such as these, especially when they are with people who hold space for one another growth.

Thank you for following and holding safe and healthy thoughts!
Much love to you and your loved ones,
We are off to the Cloud Forest.

A view from our eyes..

Hacienda we are staying in!

A walk to the Middle of the World

Tavel Journalism class at a nearby Rose plantation

A hike up to the top of this mountain... gorgeous views of quilted farms and beaming mountains

Diving In

 “Lend a hand, make the most of every moment, respect each other, take responsibility, care for others, come to class prepared to discuss and be engaged, be enthusiastic, encourage others, be flexible, take off your blinders and don't yuck on my yum!” These are a few of our “community standards” the girls created for our group, we then drew each thought as we interpreted them, and in the end 20 prayer flags are now flying in the wind at our Hacienda, we will carry them where-ever we roam and strive to live by them. This gives us a way to talk about what matters, referring back to these words and phrases when we feel we have lost the essence of what this time has to offer us. How do you stay present and intentional during this duration, how do you hold love and respect for home, and continue to live present here? It is ever changing, and never easy, life on the road is challenging, but it requires of us intention and authenticity! Together we will facilitate conversation and motivate action to stay in this moment. From the depths of these bonds much will arise although the goal is to have created a connection that will allow trust and comfort for all to express themselves as they wish.

As the chorus goes, it really does seem like we have known each other for ever, although we have barely been in this country together a week. We have diligently processed what it means to be apart of this school, the expectations and opportunities, and the way our classes and activities are different than schools back home. We as teachers engage with our curriculum and seek to open the walls of every class to encompass what is around us. Today our history class will be a tour of the Hacienda we have been staying in. The property owner Diego will speak to us about the encomienda industry, instilled by the invasion of the Spanish with catholic fervor, and proselytized language to boot, the total re-writing of the indigenous people and land of Ecuador. This class will be followed up in our class tomorrow which will take place in Quito, sifting through the nooks and crannies of the Old Town section filled with Boroque cathedrals and museums. We will climb to the top of the highest church, looking at the city from a different perspective; this is where we have starting our dialogue with this class... never take one perspective as truth, keep researching different interpretations, and especially search past the history written by conquerors. This class will take place in conjunction with our Spanish classes, as our joint curriculum will stress conversations with individuals passing through the “Square of Indepencia”. The girls are just starting to wipe the sleep from their eyes from the years of traditional schooling, when History was lectures and tests, given by an unenthusiastic preacher-man, when Literature was simply summarizing what you read in a book that may not have pertained to you, or when math was a lost-in-translation scramble of numbers.. here we strive to wake them up and meet the world which created these subjects in the first place!

My hardest sticking point: Spanish! It eats at my soul to not be able to make the connections and jovial relationships with the people surrounding us, helping us, guiding us, taking care of us, driving us, directing us. Not being able to communicate with other humans kills me. I'm slowly getting over my hesitancy and shyness of putting my words together, its magic when you are able to communicate, even a little bit, but sometimes I hold myself back from this! My goal is to push myself, to learn, although it is hard, one of the hardest obstacles I have come up against in my travels. I new lesson, a new adventure, this time – with language.

Much love to home!



2.2.12

Our teacher team! Pheobe is from Boulder and just graduated from Ekerd College, she will be teaching Beginning and Intermediate Spanish and PE (with me!); Allegra is from Vermont and recently finished teaching on the Zuni Reservation in New Mexico with Teach for America, she taught with The Traveling School in Central America last year this time, and this year will be teaching Pre-Calc, Algebra and Advanced Spanish; Rhea, she is also from Santa Cruz and is our Academic Program Direct, she is a journalist and a certified teacher she has taught the Africa semester and the Centeal America semesters with The Traveling School and she will be teaching Science, Literature, Travel Journalism, and her and I are co-teaching Global Studies! Im teaching History, Math Conecpts/Applications, Global Studies and PE!

We have just had a short orientation with all of our sixteen girls and about half of their parents here in Miami and we are leaving for Quito in a couple of hours.  Tomorrow we will have a half day of classes where we will be staying about 2 hours out of Quito.  In the next couple weeks we hope to visit a rose farm, where we will start to understand this industry, just in time for Valentines day.  Think this year about where your flowers come from, the pesticides used in order to preserve the long journey, and how this affects workers rights ect.  More on this later. 

As explained a bit below, the planning and legistics of this trip are incredible, I am relieved to be in the presence of our participants and able to taste the adventure.  Its time, we're all scratching for the moment we step off onto Ecuadorian soil and a new culture.  Although, imagine sixteen highschool girls all piled together for the first time... this already is a new culture in and of itself!
YEHAW, blessings, y mucho besos!

Listamos!

(This is from my blog Im writing for Osprey)

It seems the planning, packing, organizing and legistic side of my adventure is always the the most laborious and taxing to my soul.  It is the passion and excitment for change and spontenaety that sets me free from modern ammenities and the comforts of home, although I am most always stopped in my tracks right at the beginning as I find myself relying on technology, research, updating gear, umpteen stops at various stores, doctors, banks, libraries, and the list goes on.  By the time I get to the airport with every last accessory and map in tow, Im worn out and proceeding through a fog of theorhetical plans I have made.

Here I am at that very point, ready to leave for the bustling international airport in Miami, tired and dazed.  The one major component keeping me awake- the 20 women I am blessed to be leading, teaching, and traveling with for the next four months!  They are, sixteen high school students who have signed up for a semester abroad with an adventure travel and experiential school hoping to hone their spanish trek through the Andes, explore the Galapagos, engage in community service proects, homestays and immerse in history, culture, science, math, journalism and new ideas on what independence can look like!

We are The Traveling School, all girls school, learning through the experiences we find ourselves in.  We teach all required highschool classes while on the road.  We are comprised of females from all over the United States traveling together for one semester.  With us: one large (stuffed) backpack and one school pack filled with vibrant curriculum, and six gear bags filled with a library of books, tents, white baords, maps and a sat phone.

We’re living with expression and helping to engage these young minds with the world they live in, knowing they will find an incredible new way of thinking.  We have the tools to steer them, although it wont take long for them to have that “AH HA!” moment we all yearn for in life! No doubt it will happen here!!
Thank you to all our fellow adventurers and soul searchers.

Ecuador's Amazon Basin