Friends!  Our apologies for the extended silence.  Internet is hard to come by around these parts, but we’ll be posting some of our adventures from the last week in the blog.  So stay tuned!

The blog entry below was written by student Sydney Fleishman.

Last Thursday, we began work on our community service projects!  We spent the morning on a farm planting potatoes and peas. Most people helped out with potatoes and those who didn’t were strapped with a pouch full of pea seeds (it looked like a kangaroo pouch). After spending time working hard in sunny Iltaqui, we quenched our thirst with freshly made lemonade that everyone agreed was hands-down the best lemonade we had ever had! By the end, we were all sweating and dirty, but we felt super accomplished.

After a tasty lunch and siesta, we started on our main project: expanding the town’s community center and completing work on a wall around the center. Our work began with the wall’s foundation, which included carrying heavy rocks. By the end, everyone was dirty and sore from the hard physical work, but it was definitely worth it. We ended the night with a celebration for Adam’s birthday which involved cake and a fun dance party under the stars.

Since then, we’ve been digging a hole for a well to accompany the new bathroom we’re building, as well as continuing to work on the town’s communal farms.  Everyone is working hard and we’ve been rewarded with some rest and fun activities.

Our Friday evening, we learned how to make bread (wheat and corn). We were welcomed by a local woman named Pati, who taught us how to gather firewood, sift the flour, kneed dough, and bake bread in a firewood oven. Pati was such a nice lady and we were extremely grateful for her cooking! Pati also made us a delicious meal of chicken, vegetables, rice, and bread, which we devoured around a warm fire.

We listened and danced to traditional music performed live by a group of talented local musicians. The entire experience was so delicious and exciting that by then end we were all exhausted!!

So far, the trip has been amazing, and we can’t wait to update you on our many more exciting adventures!!  Bye for now!