Hello family and friends of the Calvert New Mexico program,
The group is all checked in at the airport and waiting for their flights back to Baltimore! As of right now, the flight is on time and should be touching down at 7:40pm. Please don't hesitate to reach out to the WLS office at 303-679-3412 with any questions or concerns. If there are any flight changes, we will update this blog. Thank you for your continued trust and support, The WLS team
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Tuesday October 29, 2019
Leaders of the Day: Morgan & Vianna Our second night in the hostel, and we all slept wonderfully in our beds. We got up to head down to San Pedro, stopping along the way at a glass/bronze museum/shop. Vianna fell in a fountain by the way (but I’m okay). Our group watched a glass, juniper berry bowl being made, and got to ask some questions about the process. A few of us also purchased a souvenir or two. After that, we went to Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, and did some work with our corn. First, we cleared the kernels off the cob, roasted the corn, and then ground it into flour using a bicycle grinder. Nicole made us a warm corn drink from our delicious corn, and Roxanne flavored it with honey. We also fired our pottery in the driveway. There were few (pottery) casualties. While doing so, we also wrote notes in little journals for Jorge, Michelle, Nicole and Porter, Gina, and Roxanne. At the end the day, we finished with the leaf and stick activity, before heading back to the hostel. Monday October 28, 2019 Leaders of the Day: Alex and Elise We woke up after a refreshing night sleep, and then headed down to the entrance of the hostel and grabbed our chore assignment and some breakfast. Once we were finished, we drove to a place called Meow Wolf. Meow Wolf was originally a bowling alley that was changed with the help of some artists that came together. It is a beautiful, immersive experience that has you starting in a seemingly normal house, called the house of eternal return, but when you look closer you find the story of a kid who disappeared, a new dimension behind the fridge, and a multiverse on the verge of collapse. It is much bigger then seems possible, spanning dozens of large rooms, and an experience you truly must see to believe. Wish we could go back. After that, we headed to another World Leadership School building and had lunch. Then we told our “Stream of Strengths” Leadership story, and learned a lot about each other. We also had to work together to lower a pole to the ground using only our fingers. Next, we went to the Santa Fe Plaza and began a scavenger hunt. We ran for what felt like miles from building to building, searching for the answers on our question sheet. We saw a museum of art, a beautiful church called the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, the State Capital Building, The Loreto Chapel, The Palace of the Governor, and more. Eventually, our hour was up, and we returned to the plaza for some prizes. Afterwards, we were given the opportunity to explore the shops in the area we just ran around and bought some souvenirs. We also paid for a pocket knife that says “#1 teacher” and added an S to it to give to the three teachers. The group then went to have dinner at Maria’s restaurant. We had an amazing meal. There were chips, salsa, burgers, nachos, beef fajitas, and more. After dinner, we returned to the hostel for a good night sleep. Here are a few photos from today. Again, we had a really full day. We went hiking, saw some glassblowing, ground corn, and fired our clay pots. The leaders of the day from the last two days will write their blog updates tomorrow morning and we will try to get them posted before we head to the airport. Looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
Another fantastic day! It was really fun with lots of adventures from Meow Wolf to the plaza in Santa Fe. We will have a longer blog about it to post tomorrow. Also, just realized that yesterday's post didn't go through. If you scroll down it should now be updated! Sorry for the delay.
Sunday October 27, 2019
Leaders of the Day: Lin, Nathan, & Joon In the cool, maybe too cool morning, we were lucky enough to be graced with a warm night (30-40 Fahrenheit). Sleeping in a little later than usual, we started the day with some fun campfire snacks, such as biscuits on a stick, along with cereals, and eggs. After breakfast, we rushed to pack our bags and get them loaded into the vehicle. We took the road down to the visitors’ center to meet Porter and Nicole for a tour of the canyon at Bandalier National Park and its many remnants of Native American dwellings. Some were situated in the valley below, while others were built directly on to the base of the cliffs. We returned to the visitors’ center and enjoyed a packed lunch of sandwiches. We piled into the van to return to camp and take down our tents. With our tents packed away, we left our camp and headed to San Pedro Permaculture Institute to finish up out clay bowls. This session included sanding and polishing our work. We then sat down to a delicious dinner and headed to our hostel in Santa Fe. Hope to enjoy every single pleasure we can in New Mexico Saturday October 26, 2019 Leaders of the Day: Emma & Bren We woke up less early yet still a bit jet lagged to a freezing morning. Everyone crowded around the fire and ate some granola bars to start the day. Then, we came to San Pedro at about 9:15 and ate our second breakfast. After our breakfasts, we washed our dishes and herded outside for a quick learning session. Jorge explained his story and we began our Stream of Strengths activity. After that, we each made another pot thanks to Roxanne’s wisdom. Then we had some lunch once everyone had finished their pots. After lunch, we split up into two groups, one of boys and one of girls. The boys stayed inside to harvest tobacco, while the girls went outside to harvest amaranth. Traditionally, tobacco is harvested by men because of the belief that a male presence makes the tobacco harvest more fruitful. Thankfully, it was much warmer than the previous hours and we had a very successful harvest on both parts. Afterwards, Porter taught us how to make rope out of yucca plant fibers and Teagan and Emma made it the farthest, with ropes at least eleven feet long. Later, we had a delicious dinner and went back to the campsite. We are all excited for the rest of the week and can’t wait for the exciting thrills of New Mexico! Leaders of the day: Teagan, Elena, & Jacob
Due to jet lag, our day started with an early rise. This was the perfect chance to watch the sunrise over the Rockies. We then packed our day packs (with plenty of layers) and headed to San Pedro. After a delicious breakfast, we husked corn and learned a lot about the uses for corn silk, husks, and kernels. This was most of the day; however, we took a break to hike to the Rio Grande. Later when all the corn had been husked and sorted, we got to make clay pottery and learn about the traditions surrounding it. We then ate dinner, celebrated Teagan’s birthday and headed on our way to Bandelier National Campsite. After a scenic drive, we began to settle in by building a fire (thank you Jacob and Nathan!) and debriefing our thoughts about the day. This was a great start to the week and we are all looking forward to the rest of the trip. Another full day! We will have the full detailed update tomorrow. We did some horn cornhusking and Clay making today. Here are a few photos and check back tomorrow album around noon for a longer update on all of our activities today.
Hello Family and Friends!
Greetings from New Mexico. We had a really full day yesterday. Upon arrival we were greeted by our WLS instructors, Michelle and Jorge and then drove North to Santa Fe and stopped at Coronado Memorial park to have lunch on the way. We enjoyed an outdoor lunch with gorgeous mountain views. We then headed to Poeh Cultural Center, learned about the history of many of the Native American Groups of the region and saw some amazing pottery and sculptures. We then drove to Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute and had dinner and did some group activities. At last, we headed to Casa de Sachar and got some much needed sleep. Tonight and tomorrow night we will camp at Juniper Family Campground and then move to the International Hostel for our last three nights. Everyone is in good spirits and we are excited to get to our work and cultural activities today. |