Reflections on the experience...

Giovanni

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Henry

Henry from aric visser on Vimeo.

Sachi

Sachi from aric visser on Vimeo.

Lucy

Lucy from aric visser on Vimeo.

Alexa

Alexa from aric visser on Vimeo.

Kenny

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Lucy - Friday

After a long week of work, today was our final day. We began work at 9:00 and then journeyed to all the houses help finish. We had to put plastic on the roof of the greenhouses, but that required measuring and cutting the plastic and then making sure it was put evenly on the house. After about four hours of meticulous work, we had helped to finish five greenhouses.
After we cleaned ourselves up for lunch, we all met in the center. As we were approaching the center, we could see a sea of red. All of the women weavers met in the center to show us their work. The Awamaki director gave us a brief walk through their work. It was cool to see how many people were actually involved in the weaving and how hugely talented they are.
After our demonstration, we went down one of the weaver’s house for Pachamanca, which was a celebration for us and the work we had done. We walked into the backyard and saw a huge mound of dirt and we were soon told that the meat we were going to eat is being cooked under there. Soon all the weavers who were at the top arrived at the house, along with the Awamaki volunteers, so they began to shovel out our lunch. All of the meat was wrapped in tin foil, so they quickly pulled it out of the inferno and unwrapped and put in a bucket. After they had finished grabbing all the meat, we sat down to eat. All of the food went into the kitchen to be prepared. While we grabbed a nice shaded spot, the first plate of food emerged from the kitchen. The amount of food on the plate was unimaginable and it quickly became clear to me that there was no way I could eat an entire chicken breast and hefty serving of sheep, along with three potatoes and lima beans. The task of eating the food became even more daunting when I realized we didn’t have knives or forks. After about 20 minutes of devouring our food, Alexa and I finally finished our colossal shared portion.
While the larger part of the community gathered in the back garden, I realized that this is their version of a barbecue, but it differed in the fact that it was a community gathering and everyone helped in some way. There was an opportunity for everyone to get involved. This meal is indicative of the community. It would be easy for them to just show up to someone’s house and wait for their food to come, but in Patacancha, people want to help be a part of the process. It’s not solely about filling up your stomachs, but rather spending time together and helping one another.

Gio - Thursday

I woke up this morning knowing that we were going to work our hardest. We gathered in the center of Patacancha and headed out to our jobs. We worked the hardest this day managing to finish most of the work on the greenhouses. It was a lot of work but we managed to finish it. We took a break between both work periods and ate some lunch. We arrived at our house and were welcomed with a meal. Our host mother always managed to have some food for us. The people in Patacancha have to be some of the hardest working people I have ever met. Our host mother had to both work and feed us but she never complained one bit. I showed the kind of people that put you before themselves. Basilio our host father had come back from a trip with some tourists. He didn’t complain either given into account he had walked miles and miles. We went back to work for the second time that day and managed to knock out almost all the work on the greenhouses. The fact that we got to pay back the people for their kindness made everything worth while.

Sachi - Wednesday

Last night we were given the option to either go on a walk or tejer, so Lucy, Alexa, and I went on a lovely walk with Visser to the lagoon about 4 miles away. Although that sounds like a walk in the park it was a very challenging hike along the mountainside. At the highest point we were about 4,600 meters above sea level (approximately 15,000 feet). During this walk while the four of us were huffing and puffing, the people of Patacancha and local villages were sprinting by us with no problem breathing. The one thing that struck me most was the way the people in this area live so harmoniously with Pachamama (Mother Earth). They don’t try to add unnatural items into the land. For example the houses that we walked by were made out of rocks or adobe bricks and had roofing of a native grass that can sustain the monsoon season. There were farmlands that the people have been using for generations. The water that the families use is from the rivers and the clothes that they wear come from the wool of their animals. The people of this area are very aware of using natural resources wisely.
When we saw alpaca and sheep roaming the mountainside I tried to pet one, but I failed because they kept running away  it was a sad moment… When we reached the lagoon, the first thing that Visser said was that we weren’t at the lagoon. When we asked why, he responded with there should be 10 more meters of water. The sight wasn’t as beautiful as we were hoping the lagoon has dried out a lot, and the water is brown and muddy. Also we saw the happening of global warming, the mountain peaks used to be covered in snow, and now there is not even an inch of snow. From this walk I learned to appreciate our Pachamama, because she provides us with all of our essentials, food, clothes, housing, and water. Also I came to appreciate the difficult lifestyle the people in this area live to keep the sustainability of the natural resources going. Furthermore after seeing a live example of deterioration of the environment through global warming, I would like to do more to prevent other glorious sight from disappearance.

Alexa - Tuesday

Today we began our work on the greenhouses first thing in the morning and worked straight through until lunch. We were working on the greenhouse for a man in the village who is unable to work, making this project especially important. It was difficult work because we had to make barro and then use it to make the walls of the greenhouse out of adobe bricks. Last night, we had decided to try working as one big team instead of splitting up into groups of two or three. After some time, we discovered that this was a better plan, because we managed to get more work done in a shorter amount of time. Also, this allowed us all to learn the importance of teamwork. Each person had their own job, enabling everyone to participate in the project and feel as though they were helping. Using this system, we managed to complete a good part of the walls of the greenhouse by lunchtime. This was only about four hours, making it a successful day.
After lunch, we were scheduled to have Quechua classes in the school, but some of the group misheard the meeting time, and so were late. The boys thought we were supposed to meet at two in the school, when it was really half an hour earlier. When Lucy, Sachi, and I showed up at the school and the boys weren’t there, we decided to go up and get them. While we were gone, the director of the school, who was going to teach us for the day, came and said he could not wait for all of us to show up since it was already past the scheduled time. This was an important lesson for all of us about the importance of communication. This simple error in communication ruined one of our activities. As the boss of the day, I learned that I need to make sure that everyone has the correct information and that I should double check that the entire group is ready before heading to the activity.
After this confusion, we went to the house of Mama Adela and Visser to learn how to tejer. This is the weaving that the women of the Awamaki create. Several of the women came and helped us all make our own creations, including bracelets and belts. At first, it was difficult to do, but after some practice it became easier. I made a belt that, with the help of one of the women, has my name on it. It looks really cool and I’m glad I had the chance to learn how to tejer. The entire time, multiple people came in and out of the house to chat with the family and us. It was then that I was able to see how close-knit and caring the community of Patacancha really is.

Kenny - Monday

Today was our first complete day in Patacancha, Peru, which is where we are building the greenhouses. At breakfast we ate some really interesting food, I’ll leave it at that. This is our first day working and as leader I get to decide the groups of two. I take Alexa, Gio gets Sachi, and that leaves Lucy and Henry. Alexa and I stay working on a greenhouse that is almost completely done; it was just missing a few things such as the plastic cover and the PVC pipes that hold up the plastic. I end up going with Valerio (owner of the greenhouse) to get the plastic, which was in another home that was quite far away. The plastic was pretty heavy and its hard protective casing dug into my shoulder. Rewardingly Valerio and I managed to climb up with the plastic. Oh, it’s hard to breathe; I forgot to mention that. Adela and the other people are trying to figure out ways to efficiently put on the plastic. Due to the language barrier cause by Quechua, the native tongue, Alexa and I are just sitting there doing nothing but at the same time trying to understand what they are saying. I realize that we are wasting time; therefore I ask Adela if we can go to another greenhouse to see what the other LFA students are up to. Mr. Visser gives me the choice of picking either Gio or Sachi to stay with Alexa and I. I chose Gio because when it comes to physical labor, he would be more of a help to me than Sachi. We start digging up the dirt that will be used to stick the adobe bricks together. Pretty much the day was successful; we got a good amount of work done. Henry, Gio, and I spent the night talking about all sorts of things without the interruption of a computer, a text, or any another technological equipment that we depend on as a society. It was really awesome to hear what they had to say and just seeing that it took being 5000 miles away from home, in the middle of nowhere, to hear some of the things I did was totally worthwhile. Visser told us Peru would change us or have an impact on us and I think that statement really made sense by the time I went to bed. I learned to appreciate what I have in my life and after 4 years of hanging out with Gio and Henry, I had never thought our conversations were as real as tonight’s conversation.

Henry - Sunday

Although the journey was less than enjoyable, our arrival in Peru has left us awe-struck. Our first days in Ollantaytambo, Peru have been filled with bucket list worthy experiences from eating delicious native meals to climbing mountains and witnessing the Incan relics that have been so delicately preserved by the town of Ollantaytambo. The town is a perfect example of the preservation of culture with the adequate amount of modernization; one can live comfortably while still showing the proper respect to the ancient civilizations that once thrived on the same land. When entering the town, one can’t help but to gaze at the wondrous surroundings. The breathtaking mountains create a kind of a barrier that almost seems to capture the town’s natural charm. Travelers are more than welcome as there are more than enough cozy hotels or hostels for one to reside in during their stay. Our stay in Peru so far has been nothing short of amazing in terms of catching a glimpse of a beautiful part of the world that has often gone unrecognized.