Update from Ross

Hi this is Ross with a quick note to say I have just returned from Chilka and the students are having a great time. They are settled in with their host families, who have taken them in as if they are their own children. The boys will be helping out around the homes, washing dishes and their own clothes, and will also be working out in the fields. At 8:30 a.m. yesterday we started working on our service project, which will be to complete a sustainable agriculture center at the local school. This center specifically is a place where the school kids will learn to raise guinea pigs, which is an excellent source of both income and natural fertilizer. So we worked several hours carrying adobe bricks (about 50 pounds each) in a line before the boys got to work placing the adobe bricks on the wall with mud mortar. Very tiring work. They are working with a local foreman, Mauro, who is also head of the parent-teacher organization of Chilka. In the afternoons, the boys are working on secondary projects of their own choosing, which range from teaching English to working in the local clinic. The boys are without internet and phone access but I can call Jason whenever I need to via a Nextel cell phone -- plus they are only 15 minutes down the road from where I am in Ollantaytambo. So if there are any emergency messages I would be glad to deliver them. You can send them to ross@worldleadershipschool.com or call me on 011-511-99-425-8076. They will be able to check internet when they leave the community for Machu Picchu on Aug. 9. From this point forward, they will try to update this blog two times per week.

News on the boys: Matt and Jack are in a household where the host mother has a 4-week old baby, of which WLS instructor Jason Hunter is the godfather. This home has lots of kids so the boys are having a great time. Evan and Ethan are staying in a very nice homestay along with Brett and Jason -- Ethan´s Spanish is very good and he is using it quite a bit, and Evan is also fast transforming his Latin into Spanish. These two boys will be tutoring the college-aged daughter of the family, with whom they are going to trade English and Spanish conversation sessions. Charles and Patrick have the most rustic household -- a latrine, now shower, and lots of farm animals (guinea pigs, cows, dogs, cats, you name it) but they are flourishing and embracing the challenge. Ben, Halter and Conor were up at 6 in the morning to help their host father plow the fields (using a wooden plow and oxen). This family has an impressive variety of animals -- all the usual suspects plus pigs and ducks. The father slaughtered one of his piglets yesterday in honor of the group and we all gathered around during a work break to see how he did it -- very interesting for everyone to see what goes into making a pork chop! Brian has an impressive command of Spanish and seems to understand most of what is said. He and Cullen are living in a house with a gorgeous view of Veronica, the snow-covered mountain that towers over the town. Cullen is all smiles and energy. That's about it. I am really impressed with these boys and their desire to work hard and learn. It´s been a real pleasure to spend the last several days with them
-- Ross Wehner