For the past two weeks we have been at SSCY working with the children and doing a lot of gardening. Overall it has been a very good experience that we are enjoying, although it has not been without its challenges.
Starting with the positives, we have very relaxed days there, starting with meditation, breakfast, then gardening (we´re currently working the earth so that we can plant in a new shade area that was recently built). Currently, the garden includes quinua, lentils, carrots, chamomile, mint, young fruit trees, alfalfa, corn, strawberries, peppers, onions, lettuce, brocolli, kale, and radishes. Also, there are composting toilets which have been fun to learn about.
Around 2:30 a bunch (around 20-30) energetic children show up and we all have a yummy meal together, after reciting a mantra. Then we get to try have to children listen to us and do the activities that we plan. This can be very challenging, as there is little discipline with many of the children, but we are learning a lot from it. After the children leave we have the place to ourselves for the rest of the evening and can cook, read, or just enjoy sitting there. There also is an outdoor bread oven that we tried using once. It didn´t turn out too well because we couldn´t get it hot enough, but we might try again.
On the negative side, the place is rather disorganized. This is primarily a problem when it comes to the children, who, as I mentioned, don´t listen very well. Also, after a few days of hanging out with some cool volunteers they left and were replaced by others who we didn´t mesh with as well. The past week there haven´t been any other volunteers, which has been too bad. We will spend one more week at SSCY and hope that some other fun people show up!
After we are done with this volunteering stint we are going to do a bit of trekking in the Sacred Valley. We will do one hike from Lares to Urubamba, which will probably take between 3 and 5 days. Based on the topo map we have, it should be a beautiful hike through valleys and on top of mountains. After that trek we will spend probably 5 days going to and coming back from Macchu Picchu (we will walk about 18 miles between Ollantaytambo and Aguas Calientes to get to and from Macchu Picchu to save about 70 USD a person).
This Thanksgiving will be a different one, especially if no other volunteers show up at SSCY. However, we will still eat lots of food, be thankful for LOTS of things, and have a good time. We will be thinking of all of you that we love so dearly!
Peace and love,
Megan and Kyle
Happy Thanksgiving you two (a little early)! Glad to hear you're learning lots and having a good time. And hey, what South American experience would be complete without a little disorganization? :)
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