Arrival Recaps!

We left Jacksonville around 7:15 and flew into Dallas... We only had about an hour lay over in Dallas but we made sure to grab a bite to eat... While most people decided on "breakfast food" for breakfast, Dr. Guardino and I chose burritos!! :) I like her style!!! :)

Our next leg of the trip was Dallas to Honolulu!! Only a seven 1/2 hour flight! :) no big deal! Fast forward 8 hours and we have landed in Hawaii!! Yayyyyy!

We all were sooo excited to get off the plane and to finally be in Hawaii!! :) Off to baggage claim we went to find 14 suitcases, and 14 50 pound boxes!! After everyones luggage was collected we headed to our vans...we only needed 4 to get all of us and our luggage to the hotel... :) After about 30 minutes we were at the hotel and once again luggaging around all of our belongings.

Dr. G had the responsibility of checking us all in and giving us the ground rules... after all of that was situated, we were on our own! We couldn't wait to get into the room and freshen up before going out to find something to eat...

We headed towards the international market and found a little place called the treehouse to eat at...it was nothing too fancy but it hit the spot!

After eating lunch/dinner we headed towards the beach which was absolutely packed... oh man, we looked like tourists!! We were all completely dressed, whereas everyone else was 1/2 naked in bathing suits. We headed back to the hotel shortly after and called it a night, we were all exhausted from a long day of traveling.

The next morning, Friday, we were hiking Diamond Head! We had to go early because we had to go to the airport that afternoon to catch our flight to the Philippines! We started the hike around 7:30 and it was absolutely beautiful! :) After the hike we had to get back to the hotel to shower and change and make sure we were ready to leave for the airport...10 hour flight, here we come!

The flight went as well as a 10 hour flight could go! We hit a bit of turbulence that sent my drink bouncing right off of my tray! Oops! :) Finally we landed in MANILA!!!! :) Off we went to retrieve all of our luggage plus the 14 50 pound boxes! We got all of our luggage with no problem, no lost luggage!! YAYY! :)

Transportation was a bit of an issue trying to leave the airport... So many of us and so much stuff! We finally got everything in the vans and were headed to the University of the Philippines campus. The UP campus has two different places to stay, one of which we stayed in last year. This year, Dr. Guardino decided on the other hotel which was neat for me to experience. The hotel last year was just one room with 3 beds in it...this year we have a living room, kitchen area, bathroom and 2 bedrooms. This is working great for the 4 students staying in each room. We were all exhausted by the time we made it to the hotel and called it an early night. We had to get up early the next morning to hike the Taal Volcano!

Typos and Technical Errors

Okay, so frustration and exhaustion are setting in.... the last post has some errors in it and I could NOT fix anything! I finally decided I was over it and I'd just post it... at one point in the paragraph I was stating that we collected enough donations to fill 14 boxes at about 50 pounds a box! :) :) such a rewarding experience!

Hawaii/Philippines Round 2! 2012

Ah loa! We made it to Hawall ili!!!! Everything has been wonderful so far!! All 13 students made it to the airport bright and early Thursday morning for our flight that left at 7:15. We all came with our suitcase, carry on, and a 50 pound white box. The American Airline guys at the outside counter knew who I was and what I was doing as 8 other girls had checked in prior to me with the same white boxes.

Wondering what the 50 pound white box is....well, for the past couple of months, all of the students going on the trip were asked to collect items that are needed in the schools in the Philippines. Such items included school supplies, books, text books, and clothing. When the time came to start packing the donations, we had collected enough items to fillat about 50 pounds a box. Our professor and each student had a box to bring to the airport! I can't wait to see the reactions when we get to the school with the boxes!

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Relaxation

Sunday we got to go to this wonderful ECO-Yoga Retreat!!! We got there and just got to lay around and relax and then did a yoga class at 11... The class was an hour and 45 minutes and was completely amazing. We were looking out to the river and had a wonderful instructor! Ahh soo breathtaking and such a great way to end a busy trip!! After yoga, they had lunch prepared for us! So healthy and fresh!! After lunch, we all laid around talking, reading, and napping! Such a perfect, perfect day! 

The building on the right is where we had yoga. The building all the way at the top is where lunch was prepared and served at. 

 While doing yoga, I was completely relaxed and concentrated...I was in a pose and when I came out of it, I was looking straight at a cow that was just grazing in front of the window... I wanted to laugh but kept my composure! 

Yoga Retreat

Nice and relaxed! 

 Hey buddy! 

This is what we got to try on our last night in Peru...it's called Cuy....Cuy is another name for Guinea Pig!!! Ahhh, :)  it actually wasn't bad! I wouldn't order it on a normal occasion but it wasn't horrible! :) 

Last day hanging out in the Plaza de Armas

Last day walking around San Blas... Such a great trip we had!!  

Monday, we left the hotel at 2pm to head to the airport... We were so bummed to leave but we were happy that we at least had the whole day to do one last trek around Cuzco! All of our flights went well and we finally arrived home around 10am on Tuesday morning! It is nice to be home but boy do I miss it a ton! 

Machu Picchu!!

Thursday and Friday were filled with fun activities but for some reason I did not capture any pictures on those two days... We went to the school both days and then the afternoons were just filled with free time that we used to walk around the city and explore on our own! We had so much fun getting to know the city and each other!! 

Saturday we went to Machu Picchu! We had to leave the hotel at 5:45am!! We had to take a bus, then a 3.5 hr train ride, then another bus to get their!! :) it was a long morning but totally worth it! 

 My lovely roommate relaxing on the train! 

Melina and I hanging on the train... It was absolutely Freeeezing on the train, hence the scarf! 

Machu Picchu!  

Jessica and I! 

Such amazing views!!!! 

  

 We walked up and down, and up and down!!! :) Such great exercise! 

 This is one of my favorite pictures that I took while at Machu Picchu!! -Sadie!!! 

 Train ride home, we were all EXHAUSTED!!! :) Jessica, all snuggled up under her blanket!! 

View on the way home in the train!  

 We were all sleeping when we heard this extremely loud, obnoxious noise... we woke up to this crazy guy running around dancing on the train!!! It was soo trippy waking up to that!

 Once we were awake we were laughing hysterically! 

 He made us dance with him!! 

 So beautiful! 

Cutest little munchkin ever!! Was smiling and waving to us through the window of the train for a good 10 minutes!!! 

 Loading down the donkeys with goods to take home!

School, Sightseeing, Salsa!

Wednesday was another fun filled day! School, sightseeing, and Salsa dancing!! 

I think I mentioned before that the children get a snack every day. Today's snack was a hard boiled egg and a potato. I walked into the classroom and Roger (the teacher) had put a bucket in the middle of the classroom, so children could peel their eggs and put the shells into it. Their were children sitting on the floor putting their shells in, and then children standing who were purposely dropping the shells on the other children's heads. I was trying not to laugh hysterically but it was quite funny...they are first graders! The children on the floor had absolutely no idea! Once they all sat back at their desks, I walked around and brushed off their hair! 

 These are the school's bunnies! All of the children are responsible of taking care of the animals at the school! 

These are the cuy (guinea pigs) 

This is my first grade classroom! Roger is reading to them! So bright and cheerful in the classroom, so much natural lighting! 

 This is music class! 

Music Class

Chiccaron! This is fried pork, corn on the cob (with HUGE kernels), cheese, and some other yummy stuff! So much food!! 

 What the heck?!!! Walking down the street we run into a Barney??? I was laughing hysterically for a good ten minutes! Just very awkward...and he was selling lollipops! A little sketchy! 

This is the market where the Peruvians go to buy all of there meats, grains, fruits, veggies, and cheese. 

Lady walking her llama through the market, no big deal. 

Raw meat just hanging out...

 Yum, chicken! 

 Notice the chicken heads, and the feet.... 

 This is the entrance to the market.

So after all of our sightseeing, we got to take salsa lessons from a wonderful instructor at his studio! We were all excited and kind of nervous as we had never done salsa before! We ended up having a great time and got the hang of it pretty quickly! Franshesco (the instructor) brought in some guys so that we would all have someone to work with...we just rotated around the room so we got the feel of different styles.