The following post features student writing.
Last Thursday we woke up and ate our usual breakfast of scrambled eggs, yogurt, and granola. At 9, some of us walked down to the community center worksite, where they dug a trench for water pipes while others headed to teach in the preschool or work on their independent project. For lunch we ate potato soup, rice, beans, and salad. Then we had some free time where we could relax, take a nap, or work on our independent projects.
In the afternoon, we all started setting up for the Putney Olympics, a social gathering with the other nearby Putney group in Ecuador. In preparation, we went to the market to buy food, we cleaned the grounds, and we peeled enough potatoes and snapped enough peas to feed 75 people!
Once everyone came by and the games began, we competed against each other (including with members of our respective communities) in several events, including soccer, basketball, a wheelbarrow relay race, and a water ballon toss. Many people from the community came and cheered for us! Afterward, we ate a communal dinner with members of the community and had s’mores by the bonfire we built. The score ended as a tie (we were feeling nice and didn’t want to hurt their feelings by beating them)!
Once everyone left, our group had an impromptu dance party and agreed the night had been a success!
– Anna G.
