Day Eight

" ... I would just work. And then I would work some more and try to pay attention to whatever the work was teaching me." (16)

"Just start and let the work teach you." (221)
(Jacqueline Novogratz, The Blue Sweater)

From the start of this trip, we've encouraged students to be mindful. Recently, we've been discussing what work means and the various ways in which students are engaging in work during this trip. We've come to recognize that work happens at numerous points throughout the day--talking in Spanish with host families over meals, completing tasks at the work site, contemplating the complex interplay of cultural forces in Ollantaytambo, stretching oneself on the soccer pitch or in a challenging portion of a hike. Below students reflect on some of the work they've done in the past few days.



Jimbo
I've built up an appreciation for the basic work that farmers and physical laborers do. I also have realized that the language barrier is not as serious when you have the urge to get to know each other.

Dilong
I've learned that I can function effectively in the group even though I have a broken arm. I think that a heart devoted to bridging the gap between the rich and the poor is something I am gaining.

Molly
Throughout this project, I have learned patience. The patience has come from the kind people of the town and the patience of our group as we await the arrival of different materials. I am amazed by the kind, smiling faces that I see every morning when the townspeople arrive to help out.

Jenny
When we finished the first mural, we had to start another one. While we were working on the mural, we asked a group of other kids to plaster the wall that we would paint next. When they finished plastering the surface, it wasn't as smooth as we'd like and we asked them to make the surface smoother so it would be easier for us to paint. When we were ready to start the next mural, we realized that the wall still hadn't been smoothed out. With Gia and Thoma's help, we were able to make the plaster smoother. I came to realize that plastering wasn't an easy job and I shouldn't ask other people to do work for me to make my job easier; in fact, if I want something to make my job easier, I should do it. I also realized that we need to be more patient with each other. Sometimes I become very frustrated that people want to 'take a break' and sit around being unproductive. But as we spent more days together, I slowly am understanding that some people may need more time to cool off from work than others.

Nick
I have learned that setting short-term goals and working towards them together is beneficial. But working for a long time without a break is detrimental to productivity.

Thomas
I learned so much already on this trip. In the house I have learned the significance of saying buenos dias and buenos tardes. The entire family has been incredibly sincere and kind. The language barrier has not been as bad as I thought considering just a smile can express what you want to say. Even playing soccer allows us to become friends with the local Peruvian kids. While working I realized that you really can't accomplish much at all by yourself. Also digging holes was harder than I thought.

Tim
Over the last couple days I have been building bookshelves. I have learned that carpentry is quite frustrating and has many problems. Although many criticism fly across the room we build in, our group has become closer thoughout the process. I also realize what Alberto and the men in the shop go through every day making their community a better place.

James
"Bless our Work" Signs with this message we find in several homes and shops around Ollanta. Religion is an interesting concept here with a fusion of Christianity and local traditional religion. This age old Christian concept of 'work' is a compelling one. It gives us much needed hope and assurance that everything we do matters even if it may not seem like it. Yet, this week makes me wonder about this human need for a sense of purpose and for a greater being. Will we ever be able to find assurance and strength in the work itself? Yes, the work will fade into nothingness in the greater course of the river like life, but what of it? Perhaps we are here to help ourselves rather than those around us. Maybe it is the same thing. This week has brought me questions rather than answers, and I am not sure I want to find the answers.

Kaitlyn
In my family, we have a 13 year old girl. Her name is Rafaela, and she has been taken in by our mom. Originally, she came from a poor Quechua family in the mountains. In the house she works a lot so that she can go to school. In the evening Madeleine and I invite her to play soccer but at the field, she only wants to sit and watch. Yet she is always asking to come with us to play. I've found that she simply likes to get out of the house because free time is rare for children of her background. Most of these kids don't really have time to 'be a kid.' Working in Ollanta or Anco Pancha has taught me that it is easy to get caught up in the work, the business, and the greed of the world I've grown up in. Instead of opportunities to succeed financially, my family has given me opportunities to enjoy the leisure of childhood. Rafaela is not lucky enough to be in my shoes, so while I am here I want to help her experience youth, however I am able.

Gia
I learned a lot of things through the working process. I was part of the group which painted the mural. It was a pretty large wall that we had to fill with designs, but we made so much progress within the 5 days of work and finished the mural in such a short amount of time. I bonded not only with the people who were working on the mural but also with the people who were working on other things. I learned that people who barely talked to each other before this trip can make one of the greatest teams and cooperate so well performing excellent team work. Through working, I also learned how the educational environment needs a lot of improvement and got to realize how thankful I am to receive one of the best educations in the world and how I shouldn't complain about having too much work or the work being too hard.

Brad
I learned that over all working is very hard and difficult after I hauled dirt and dug several holes. Even though I have only been here for a week, I could already feel how much hard work the people here do. Moreover, while working there, I saw many Peruvian children who had smiles on their faces. They encourage me to work harder as I see how they are still happy even if they don't have as much as we do.

Madeleine
I've not only learned from painting the mural that painting requires a lot of patience and steadiness of my hand, but also I've learned from the work in a different way as well. The work has taught me how much people can appreciate what we do. Seeing the smiling faces of the little children from Anco Pancha everyday is a wonderful reward for all of our hard work. It has also taught me what I can do and made me want to work a lot more at home. This trip has made me want to give back.

Diane
I've been working with Nick, Tim and Prescott for a couple of days on the bookshelves. I know we all thought the project was easy, and we volunteered only because no one else was interested in making bookshelves as opposed to painting murals/houses. But now, we all realized that making bookshelves is not easy, yet we also would never change projects because the four of us have bonded immensely. We have learned that things only proceed efficiently by pulling out each others strengths. Nick and Prescott nail things, Tim works with the screwdriver, and I glue and bracket. I have loved working with my group.

Prescott
Over the last few days 'Los Quatro Amigos' worked on some bookshelves and during this experience, we learned that bookshelves were a lot harder to make than we anticipated, and we learned a lot about each others strengths and weaknesses.