June 23 - July 1, 2008
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Tuesday 24th
What a wonderful, beautiful day—a great beginning to the Friendship Session here at Cabaña. Opening Ceremony brought us together with a pledge to enjoy and share, making new friends along the way. We began our day learning about Mexican customs, traditions, language and food, including the history of the piñata, playing the ocarina and singing songs.
The morning wrapped up with our introduction to the craft house—a new home for many of the participants! Lunch was another delicious meal (arroz con pollo). The afternoon of free time brought new friends together—again in the craft house, the pool, or enjoying the beautiful grounds.
Learning about the World Centers was a fun adventure as dorm groups competed to complete a series of relays and answering questions. The “wiser” generation was denied a victory, but it is, after all, “by girls, for girls”. The winners were determined by the first team to jump in the pool (fully clothed) and complete their dorm cheer. Congratulations to Tulipanes!!
We look forward to learning the Cabana Story, and jumping into the week with both feet! Salta con los dos pies!
Wednesday 25th
Today we worked with habitat for humanity. When we arrived at the site they split us into two groups and made us work at different places. We worked at two different sites digging holes for latrines to help out the families. At one site they started the hole from scratch and unexpectedly found a pig skeleton! With the second group they unexpectedly worked at two sites and the holes were at least ten feet deep! Afterwards the families rewarded us with a fabulous/delicious/nice home cooked meal.
Today the group went to tour the Mayan ruins at Xochicalco. We hiked around for about an hour, then rode the bus back to the Cabana. Once back at the Cabana, we ate lunch, then had about an hour of free time before the “Olympics”. At the “Olympics”, the cabins were in groups, and we raced in five events. The winner for the athletics was the Rosas, and for team spirit was the Llamaradas. Two girls from one cabin won the Best Sportsmanship award. All in all, it was a very busy, fun day. Buenas noches!
Today we went to Taxco and we experienced the local culture. We noticed when we were in the town how sad it was that children had to beg to sell their products to tourists for money to survive. Also, we noticed how important religion was in the culture. We found this out when we went into a church, Iglesia de Santa Prisca y San Sebastian and saw all the intricate beautiful carvings in gold. This church is on the 100 Most Endangered Historical Landmarks of the World List. We also learned how to distinguish real silver from fake silver at Toños. You can rub the silver and if it is shiny it is real and acid can also be poured onto it and if it turns green it is fake, just silver plated. Taxco was a fun day full of learning about authentic Mexican
Wednesday 25th
Today we worked with habitat for humanity. When we arrived at the site they split us into two groups and made us work at different places. We worked at two different sites digging holes for latrines to help out the families. At one site they started the hole from scratch and unexpectedly found a pig skeleton! With the second group they unexpectedly worked at two sites and the holes were at least ten feet deep! Afterwards the families rewarded us with a fabulous/delicious/nice home cooked meal.When we arrived back at our cabana we rested for a while then we learned to Salsa…which was unexpectedly fun! …and he was cute :]
Thursday 26th
Today the group went to tour the Mayan ruins at Xochicalco. We hiked around for about an hour, then rode the bus back to the Cabana. Once back at the Cabana, we ate lunch, then had about an hour of free time before the “Olympics”. At the “Olympics”, the cabins were in groups, and we raced in five events. The winner for the athletics was the Rosas, and for team spirit was the Llamaradas. Two girls from one cabin won the Best Sportsmanship award. All in all, it was a very busy, fun day. Buenas noches!Friday 27th
Today we went to Taxco and we experienced the local culture. We noticed when we were in the town how sad it was that children had to beg to sell their products to tourists for money to survive. Also, we noticed how important religion was in the culture. We found this out when we went into a church, Iglesia de Santa Prisca y San Sebastian and saw all the intricate beautiful carvings in gold. This church is on the 100 Most Endangered Historical Landmarks of the World List. We also learned how to distinguish real silver from fake silver at Toños. You can rub the silver and if it is shiny it is real and acid can also be poured onto it and if it turns green it is fake, just silver plated. Taxco was a fun day full of learning about authentic Mexican
Saturday 28th
The day began with the usual flag ceremony conducted today by Jacarandas. They made the flag ceremony special by having us join hands and sing the friendship song and the Our Cabana Song. Breakfast followed flag; the special dish of the day was eggs with bacon bits and cheese mixed in. After a quick breakfast, it was time to set up for the service project. Every travel group had a different station involving crafts and games. Children from ANSAM came to the Cabana and went to each station; after visiting each station, they ate lunch and had an hour of free time to play sports before it was time to leave. This experience was extremely rewarding; we got to practice Spanish and we made every kid smile as they were leaving on their bus. After the service project, we had free time until 3:00. At 3:00 owner of a free trade shop came and explained that she sold homemade goods that the crafts people priced and then the money went directly to the makers. After the explanation, we had the opportunity to purchase some items from the free trade shop. We had free time the rest of the day. There were some Olympic badge meetings where the girls worked on completing their Olympia badges. The pool was open for an hour and then it was time for a dinner of taquitos!!! Directly after dinner we had our international festival where the travel groups presented skits, songs and facts about where they came from. Following the presentations, everyone had the chance to visit each others stations to exchange information, food, and swaps. To end this rewarding day Llamaradas shared the thought of the day: Friendship is the universal language.