Piper: (a blog about Monday, March 28 )Picture this: 13,000 feet high, as you continue to drink and chew your gum under the command of Mr. Sampson, you reach the small mountain-top weaving village of Patacancha.  The lush peaks stand piercing the blue sky all around you, but even the clouds must hang lower than the mountain tops.  This is what it was like when we made it up to Patacancha.  The voyage, however, was not as picturesque.  I mean, it was beautiful, but it was a bit difficult (scary) for the bus to get through the small, steep, muddy paths.  Nevertheless we made it through without as much as a scratch.  While there we learned about the women who make a living by selling their beautiful weavings to tourists who make it that far.  I could see why they were such a tourist attraction: everything they make is so beautiful.  It seemed almost devastating, the prices they charged for all their hard work.  They put in so much time and effort and delicate care, yet they received only a minimal reward.  Thankfully, everyone bought many items of their craft.  One “llama boy” (Walker) in hopes to complete his all-llama-all-the-time outfit definitely made a lot of their work worthwhile.  I enjoyed this trip to Patacancha a lot, and I hope that one day I may return.

Kate: (a blog about Tuesday, March 29) We had an option to either hike or shop after the tour of the ruins. Most of the students shopped, but Maddie and I went on a hike with Mrs. Ashley, Mr. Sampson, Mrs. Rutan, Jenifer and Aldolfo. Aldolfo would explain the ruins/ storage place of the Incans to us in Spanish. We would try to pick up what we could then Jenifer would help with translation. Next to the storage unit where the Incans would keep grain and seeds there was an open area to sit and take it in. We sat for about 20 minutes but it felt so short. The view was incredible. I felt lucky to be here. On our way back down the mountain we saw that other hikers had craved their names into the cactus. We wrote our names and also craved SMA 2011. The experience was unforgettable and I am grateful for opportunities like this.

Jack

3/29/11

7:00am-3:32pm

Today has been one to remember. We started off  bright and early with a 7:00am wake up call from Mr.Sampson. Then we headed straight off to have a breakfast of french toast. After that we had an hour to get dressed, clean and hang out in the courtyard of the hostile. Once everyone was ready we headed off for a hike to the ruins. It was a very long, but interesting hike. The most interesting thing we learned was that the Incans had created a water transport system throughout the ruins. After the ruins we had the option of going to the Incan store houses or going around town. I chose to hang around town with Austin, Walker and Michael. We shopped for almost the whole time, finding things to bring back for our families and friends. Once everyone had come back we went off in our groups to have lunch with our host families. My group had a blast. First we talked about our days, then played some card games, had our lunch of soup and vegetables and chicken, then finished with more card games. Once our time was up we went to the preschool to start to finish up our work. We started to clear rocks from the grass, paint murals in the school and finish making tables for the students. After our work we are heading over to our host families houses for dinner. Once dinner is over we are heading back to the hostal to do visit with a local author and hang around till it’s time for bed. Everyone is very excited for what else  is to come on our trip, and can’t wait to come home and tell everyone about or experiences.