Brooklyn Latin School Peru 2025
April 9, 2025
Today was a magical day. We woke to a fruitful breakfast of melons and pineapples. Then we went to the airport to fly into Cusco. We faced some obstacles (lost and found items). But we conquered the sky and made it to Cusco. We had a fire lunch of ceviche and alpaca steak. After, we exchanged our money in the town and Luca bought a cool pan flute. Then we went up the mountain to an alpaca farm. We learned the long and detailed work that goes into embroidering and weaving alpaca and llama fur. It was little awkward to pet the alpacas after feasting on their flesh, but they were cute anyway. From there we split into two different buses. We enjoyed music as we came down the mountain to our hotel in Calca. We explored the hotel, played pool, chess, and card games before having chicken jockey, pasta, and a yogurt dessert for dinner. After, we debriefed and played an ice breaker. We are SO ready to take the next step in our adventure in Peru.
By: Lilli, Luca, Calvin and Thibaut
April 10, 2025
Today we woke up in a new hotel, nestled in the Andes Mountains—breathtaking views all around. We gathered early for a nutritious breakfast and headed out to start our adventure! We had a scenic drive to the Pisac ruins, winding up a mountain road. Taking in the high air, we found ourselves surrounded by the remnants of an ancient civilization. The Inca ruins were empty, but filled with the ghosts of a prior society—and alpacas. They spit.
We then descended to an artisan market, where we bargained in Spanish for our baby alpaca wool sweaters, leather belts, and other traditional items. We then had yummy empanadas in the town center and took the bus back to the hotel.
Our group split into two groups: one would do silver working, the other pottery. The silver-making involved measuring our fingers, blowtorching, and bending metal. The other group did pottery—we got to work with the wheels and paint our own pieces! As well as this, we got to see a bunch of kittens and puppies!
We then all returned to the hotel to chill and play soccer. Later, we got ready for a gentle stroll through the city of Calca to reach our restaurant, where we had delicious traditional Peruvian food—along with our American cheeseburger.
We then returned to the hotel, stopping only for a picture with a sign of Calca, watching the nightlife and traditional dancing on the way. We then settled in, wrote this blog, and went to bed, excited for tomorrow!
By Rajeev, Rio & Sophia
April 11, 2025
Peru on Friday! 🦙
Today was our first day of service! We started off early, waking up at 6:30 am, to go visit an indigenous community very high up in the mountains called Kajillarakay. Once we got there, we were able to meet the community members, who were incredibly friendly and open to our help. We helped them to build irrigation systems, and while doing this we were able to gain a new perspective on the hardships of people’s daily lives, and the extent of determination that these people exert regularly. It brought awareness to the privilege we have living in New York with running water and access to healthy resources on a daily basis. While completing our daily work quota, we had a lot of fun and learned more about each other and the community we were in.
We stopped for a delicious lunch in Urubamba where we got a test of Peruvian cuisine, including trying a blue corn drink and delicious meat dishes.
After returning to the hotel, we continued to do pottery and ring making in our respective groups. We then had time to catch up with one another, and bond with people we wouldn’t normally hang out with. We explored the hotel, played games, and took some well deserved naps.
Dinner was pasta in the hotel. Finally, we recapped our day and did some squad building exercises. These exercises contained conversations about sustainable and ethical service, which led to the making of short fun skits that expressed our beliefs in these topics. Overall today was full of fun service and activities that brought us together and helped to make this trip even more special.
By: Kamala, Sophia C, Rio & Xerxes
April 12, 2025
Hola Familias!
This morning we were split into two groups that did community service with local schools for kids with special needs. In our group we did a variety of services such as building and painting tables, shoveling and bagging dirt and rocks, and painting a singular wall. While we were there, we engaged in friendly conversation with the school staff practicing our Spanish. Before we left we presented the supplies that us and our families had compiled.
Then both groups regrouped for a meal of ceviche and mushroom chicken pasta.
After a brief stop at the hotel we walked to a local place to play soccer and volleyball with some members of the community, we had so much fun! Then after a needed shower and rest we met with local families and enjoyed a barbecue meal of authentic Peruvian skewers, with flavors such as beef heart, with uchucuta sauce. To close our day we had s’mores around the fireplace, shared lots of laughs and reflected on the magical day.
By: Nathalie, Sabrina, Xerxes and Calvin
April 13, 2025
At the early hour of 6:45, we arose to get ready for breakfast at 7:15.
Breakfast was eggs sunny side up, avocado, bread and a papaya fruit salad.
We boarded the bus at 8:30 to take an hour-thirty bus ride to the same indigenous village as Friday, Kajillarakay. Once there, we split into groups of 3–4 to help individual families with their daily chores, which included: harvesting potatoes, weedwacking, digging trenches, and separating types of habas.
Then, we took a tour of their houses, and we separated the kernels from the cob.
Then, we regrouped and took part in an indigenous ceremony, which involved the bringing of a donkey (named Pancho) to the top of a mountain, giving an offering to Pachamama, which in Quechua means Mother Earth, and enjoying the incredible views. It was a very special moment for everyone.
We enjoyed a meal of fresh vegetables and cheese, followed by dancing and singing, and then we left the place.
We then split into two groups: one group went to a museum of native Peruvian tribes really interesting, and the other went to design shirts. The shirt design was fun because we got to take them home as a souvenir, and it was also a moment to relax while painting and listening to music after a day of work.
Finally, we went back to the hotel, relaxed, and had a dinner of chicken Milanese, rice and chips & guacamole.
By: Luke, Charlie and Lily
April 14, 2025
¡¡¡Hola familias!!!
Today, the group split into two again. Some kids went to a school nearby, which was a preschool. Some people built a table and painted it, some people painted a mural, and some mixed in and then poured in some concrete. Alida painted a table with some others, which needed problem solving because there were no instructions and they needed to think and communicate together. At the preschool, some kids were there, and they were friendly and social, Juliet & Nina painted the mural at the school; she did the background with the paint roller. The paint was kind of streaky, and needed multiple layers. One of the teachers taught her some Peruvian sign language, colors like red, blue and green.
At the school in Pisac, gardening, cutting velcro, and painting was needed. Daryoush needed to cut pieces of velcro for a backdrop that would be used for pasting up vocabulary words, and then weeded. Weeding was certainly tiring. Madalyn did a lot of painting for the outside wall, and weeded a bit. Both needed a lot of crouching and made her very tired. Finally, she made some signs for the garden (lechuga, repollo, cilantro).
After reuniting, we all had lunch (a well done T-bone steak) Afterwards, the group split again to paint t-shirts and go to the museum, which had the most prominent ethnic groups in pre-colonial Peruvian history. Painting t-shirts were fun, and there was a little girl who was nice and very talkative and sassy. The museum was also cool. Juliet thought that the Paracas were the most interesting group, because they added vibrant colors in their textiles to contrast the dreariness of the desert.
By: Madalyn, Daryoush, Lili M. & Juliette
April 15, 2025
We had a delicious breakfast after a night of dancing. We recalled the past new days in Calca, and reflected on all our activities. We enjoyed the sights of Calca once more before we enjoyed lunch and new local delicacies like Guinea pigs. After that we enjoyed the sights of an ancient Inca sight. We then took a train to Machu Pichu where we met this amazing server called Angelo. He was an angel and served us amazing food. We then returned to the hotel where we had new roommates and enjoyed a good night’s rest.
By: Jack & Richard
April 16, 2025
Hola todos!
Today was a such an exciting day! We woke up early to take a bus to the top of Machu Picchu, where we split up into groups and roamed around the ancient ruins. With two new guides and our amazing Fabri, we learned about how the Inca people lived their lives; including how they grew crops, built their homes, and used the sun and the moon to flourish. We got informed that Machu Picchu was a town of great importance for skilled men. These talents included, astronomers, scholars, priests, and some royalties. While the city was not a place for women, 80% of the people buried there were female, due to the women traveling to Machu Picchu to escape Spanish colonialism.
While visiting, we were able to explore the ancient city, and take gorgeous photos with one another. Everything, from the mountains to the llamas was gorgeous and was deeply rooted in Peruvian history. After three hours of wandering around Machu Picchu, we took a bus ride back to Aguas Calientes (Machu Picchu town), where we indulged in a Peruvian buffet style lunch! With full stomachs we walked back to the hotel and gathered our suitcases. Stopping at the deli to grab snacks, we then took a scenic train ride that led us to a bus, taking us back to Cusco. Finally, after the long ride back, we ate a pizza and presented our short research projects to our other discips. While the presentations were exciting to watch, we tired after the long day, so the girls took their stuff and left to go to their hotel.
The hotel itself was stunning 🤩. While small in size, the common area looked like something out of an Italian getaway. Tall pillars, rows of flowers, small benches, and a fountain in the middle, it was safe to say that we were all astounded. However, we still were tired, so everyone retreated to their rooms and ended off their day with calm laughter and fun conversations.
By: Rio and Kamala
