Reflections from Bolivia

Through all the amazing sites, food and adventures that we have all experienced, I been reflecting about the company that I have gone through this experience with. I know I could always eat this delicious food or see these views alone and enjoy them, however it has been infinitely more enjoyable with this group that has come to be another family to me.

While I could also go on and on for pages about how much I enjoy spending time with each of these 10 other individuals, I wanted to mention those who often go unmentioned. In this case, I will be talking about our tour guide Mariela. She has truly been our guardian angel this whole trip. Not only does she take us around to these unforgettable places with breathtaking views, but she helps us order our food and communicate with the locals, especially for those who have the Spanish language skills comparable to an 18-month old (aka me). While she goes above and beyond for us, she always does it with a smile on her face. She took us to get a snack on day 1, and ordered a sampler of sorts, which we did not know or remember the actual names for the dishes. Therefore, we decided to come up with our own names for things, most memorable "corn surprise." Instead of dismissing us as ignorant Americans as she probably should have, she laughed hysterically and complied with all of the jokes that ensued from it.

So not only has she been an angel and a guide, but has been a fantastic person to be around. I learned that she is also a physical therapist (which is what I am studying!) in addition to helping with these tours. She is clearly extremely passionate about her home country and has welcomed us with open arms and loves to let us experience her culture.

Going on trips like this, I want to remind everyone that when looking at your pictures, never forget those behind the camera and the people who helped you get to where you are. I wanted to pay tribute to an amazing woman, who without her we would still be staring blankly around at the airport, or wandering lost around Bolivia not knowing how to obtain food, and trying to find a nice person to take a group photo.

The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Interaction

Yesterday, our group visited Shenandoah University's sister university Alakhawayn. We received a tour from our friend and forme SU student Aymon. We got to see the campus and even played a friendly game of soccer. The campus and the town of Ifrane had a very Swiss European feel to it that was very surreal to us.

Now were off to the Sahara to ride camels and sleep in Berber tents!

Pictures are on our Facebook since we can't seem to get  them up on this blog!

GCP Bolivia: Andes Adventure

(posted on behalf of faculty leader Kathy Ganske)

After driving three hours into the Andes, our road was washed out due to heavy rains yesterday and today. Our group stayed calm and carried on to Samaipata, a charming historic town where we visited a museum on ancient Amazonian and Inca history and culture. Then off to lunch where we had delicious beef, chicken or Quinoa. We shopped till we dropped in an artisan shop and then proceeded a bit further to explore a winding, muddy path leading to waterfalls. There were several small ones but then saw a magnificent powerful one that fell into a pool. The pool was too tempting and some of our group cooled off with a dip underneath the falls. The rain began in earnest (again) and we hiked back to our van. Our tour guide and driver are fantastic sports with great humor.

GCP Albania: Pending clever title

This morning a few of our group members Joey,Mike, Nikki, Doug and our Peace Core voulnteer Danielle went on an early morning run through the city center. This was a different experience because in Albania people don't exercise in public spaces. The only difference between running here and in America is that you are dodging cars running through the streets. 

After everyone got showered and cleaned up we all enjoyed the complementary breakfast the hotel offered which included eggs,cheese, bread, and jam. Once Danielle and Brandi came back we were off to the Venice Art.

Venice Art is a mask and costume factory that makes hand make masks for Carnival. These masks are hand crafted and sent to Italy for the world known carnival. All of the masks are colorful and had a wide range of different designs, some were made to wear others to hang on display at home as trinkets. Everyone was wanting to buy a mask but some thought that they were to expensive and delicate to fly home without damage. 

After the mask factory we headed to the town of Vau des.  This is a small village town outside the city. Here the way of life is very different it quiet and no hustle and bustle. We parked the van and took about a fifteen minute walk up the mountain to a small coffee shop. On the way up we saw our first trash  pig. He was wondering around and headed towards our group but Jewel and Zeff sent the pig away but it was still such a funny experience to see a pig running down the street.  After we got up the hill we saw the Hydroelectric plant/dam that the Chinese built for Albania.  Finally, after reaching the coffee shop we sat down and got warm.  Danielle told her table about the shop owners story.

The shop owner's story is one that apparently most have in Albania.  The older gentleman was inprisioned during the communist regime Albania expereinced. He was in jail because he was against the government at the time and he was deemed an "enemy of the people." While we were there we met his young son Since most of his young life he wasn't able to marry or have children. In this country it is your goal to have a family. 

After coffee we walked down to the van it was now time for another traditional meal.  This restaurant was called MRIZI ZANAVE which was located in the town of Fishta. The town where its located is named after a political hero and writer. At this resturant everything that they use to cook with comes from within the town. This includes all the produce, meat and even the grapes for the wine. Here they let you know before hand that you are suppose to enjoy this meal slowly. The first thing that you are given is a pomegranate juice, then they offer you wine. One thing that you are surprised by or what we were all suprised by is the salad, it was topped with baby goat brain. After that they food kept coming, and coming. Once everyone was stuffed we all piled back into the van and headed back to the hotel.

Once eveyone rested for a bit we all decided to spilt up to do a guys and girls night. They boys headed to a sports bar also known as "LLoto Sport" and watched an exhibition soccer match and had some dinner. The girls headed to the restaurant "San Fransico" who Danielle and Brandi knew very well. The store owner lived in San Fransico for awhile and wanted to blend them together. He welcomed all of us to Albania and wanted to make sure everything came out well. He took a picture with all of us and wanted us to find his resurant on Facebook and help us promote it. What we all enjoyed was that this is one of the only places in Albania that was smoke free. We all sat and talked about school and Albania. We really compared the norms of the U.S. and Albania. 

The girls were very sad to see Brandi and Danielle leave us at the end of the night they had become very close with us over the two days we had in Shkoder. We really did appreciate what they did for us and what they do in the Peace Core.   

It was an early night because we had an early time the next morning to head back to the captial city.

Breath Taking GCP Costa Rica

From the food, to the creatures and natural beauty,  Costa Rica is marvelous!

Letting go in CR

As we embark on our 5th day on our GCP trip I have noticed our group push themselves more and more, trying new fruits picked straight off the trees, trying out the new Spanish words they are learning and really living in the moment. It's as if the saying Pura Vida has become permeated in us. Today we head out to the Carribean side of the country and I can't wait to share with the group more of what this amazing but down to earth country has to offer. Until next time....

Talks in the Mountains: GCP Albania

Talks in the Mountains 

I believe mingling with the locals is the most prominent step when learning a new culture. I speak for the whole group when I say the Albanian people have welcomed us into their country with loving arms, and we’ve just continued to dive right into adventures that may seem a tad bit “odd” to us, only because it does not directly fit into our social norms. I myself, along with Jordan Healey had the opportunity to meet an elderly local woman in a northern Albanian village. As we walked up a mountain we fell behind the group a little when speaking with our Albanian guide Zeff, and our driver Jewel. Along behind us was an older woman walking with a cane up the hill to take care of her cattle (which we later found out she does 4 times a day). The woman was friendly, and clearly a native to the land because every single person we past acknowledged her and said hello. After awhile of walking in front of her, the two men we were with began to talk to her. She started to tell us her life story while adding in her own personal wisdom and guidance. The woman never told us her name but she said to us, “A mountain does not meet another mountain, but people meet each other,” in reference to how her lands and mine will never directly connect but there we were walking up this mountain and talking together. She went on to tell us she’s 64 years old with 4 children, and was born and raised in Albania. When her oldest kid was only 9 years old, her husband drowned leaving her to take care of her family alone. Also, during this period of time Albania was lead by a dictator, and it’s only been about 20 years since it discovered it’s new found freedom. Surprisingly, the woman explained to us how she does not like this “free” life. She said, “Everyone needs only one person to talk,” and she thought the old way of living was way better off. She also explained how hard it is for not only her, but people in general to find work now. While under the previous communist period everyone was forced to work, and if someone didn’t work they could be looked at as an enemy of their country. She never told us what her job entailed of back in the day, or how she managed to get through the daily struggles without working now… but she shared a lot of insight that only someone who has lived through could describe. Along with the economic structure she told us an old story, which started out by saying, “Life is like a shelf”.  The story was about a poor man who worked his life away for a very wealthy man, and one day the wealthy man gave him a self as a gift, which was very underappreciated by him at first. However, the poor man told him, you are well off now but things could change and YOU could be the one receiving this shelf as a gift. This story just goes to show how appreciative and strong the woman we were walking with was. She told us she has worked hard her whole life for what she has and continues to live that lifestyle today. She is the ideal conservative Catholic woman, who continued to say, “May God bless you, and may you live to be 100 years old”. Since we couldn’t understand anything she was saying our guide was translating back and forth for us, and he later told us from the second we started talking to her all the way to the top of the hill she was blessing us the whole time. She told us a story that was a little unclear of how her family went to America for a better life but was deported and sent back here many years ago, however, her oldest daughter managed to stay and is currently living her life in America. While continuing to talk about her daughter she said I reminded her of her own, and I told her about how this was my first trip away from home and my mom was really nervous. She told me she knows exactly how it feels and my mom wouldn’t get one bit of sleep at night while I’m away because she still constantly thinks of her own daughter and knows from experience. As we approached the top and said our goodbyes she threw in her last minute advice, telling us to wait for boys and marriage… focus on school and create bright futures for ourselves. Before walking away she kissed us each twice on the cheek, and we told her, “You are an extremely respectable and strong woman and we’re very glad we have met you,” and she said back to us… “No no no… I’m just simple.” Sometimes people don’t realize how much they can affect someone, and whether she knows it or not… that woman has given me one of the best memories of my life.

-Heather Shannon

GCP Albania 2014