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Dear Parents, Families and Friends,
Hello from Lima! We've just spent our first full and exciting day in Peru and have much to report. We started the day off at the Parque del Amor, a pedestrian park that overlooks the seashore at the Costa Verde Beach (just a short walk from our hostal). There, we explored a small stretch of the Peruvian Coast, got to know each other a little better and enjoyed a lunch overlooking rolling waves, the die hard surfers and the incoming mist.
From the beach, we bussed to the laboratory of our National Geographic contact, the renowned archeologist, Dr. Guillermo Cock. The two hours we spent wandering his laboratories, where he studies the excavated remains of pre-Columbian Incans (from pottery to textiles to mummies!), were the highlight of our day. Dr. Cock generously unveiled some of his most interesting and gruesome finds and spent time answering all of the questions we came up with. We were even able to view, thanks to Dr. Cock, one of his most recent and notable projects—the oldest remains of a person killed by firearm, an indigenous man shot during the Spanish conquest. The personal narratives and national histories seeped into the very bones that Dr. Cock works with are exquisite.
After saying goodbye to Dr. Cock, we took a ride to the beautiful Museo Larco which offers the best collection of pre-Columbian Incan artifacts in Peru. Gold, silver, ceramic and wooden artifacts are displayed in maze-like floor to ceiling shelves and we roamed over the impressive two story collection observing thinly hammered precious metals, drinking vessels sculpted to look like sea shells and a myriad of stone amulets made to look like plants, animals and their ancient owners.
We finished our day with lunch on the Parque Central, the central plaza of Miraflores, the architecturally beautiful and culturally hip neighborhood where we're staying. Over comida typica (traditional foods of Peru) we watched residents and tourists stroll by in the shadow of the beautiful colonial municipal building and cathedral.
We have an early flight to Cusco tomorrow morning and will proceed on to the village of Ollantaytambo by bus. We'll write more in the coming weeks.
Hasta luego,
Sarah, Mark, Joseph and Brenna
We've received word from the expedition leaders that the group has arrived in Lima.
2008 Peru Expedition Leaders, left to right: Joseph Lambert, Sarah Bryan, Mark Pommer, Brenna Casey
Archaeology & Ancient Culture
Sarah Bryan. Bates College, B.A.; School for International Training, M.A. candidate. Sarah graduated cum laude in Spanish from Bates, where she took extensive coursework in Archaeology and Education and received her Maine Teaching Certification. She was a teaching assistant on an archaeological dig in Brunswick, Maine, and spent a summer as a research assistant for the Maine State Archaeology Lab, where she was part of a team investigating the possibility of an Earthwatch project on the Maine coast. Sarah lived with a host family while completing an advanced Spanish program at the Academia Latinoaericana de Español in Cusco, and later returned to lead a group of high school students on an educational and community service program to Peru. She has traveled widely in Latin America and served as a volunteer for the Escuela de Enseñanza Especial in Ciudad Quesada, Costa Rica. She sang with the Winneba Youth Choir in Ghana, West Africa, received a scuba certification in Fiji, and participated in an Independent School Alpine Climbing Society expedition to Argentina’s Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the world outside the Himalayas. Sarah teaches Spanish and directs the Outdoor Education and International Student Programs at Hebron Academy in Maine. She is fluent in Spanish.
Writing
Brenna Casey. Boston College, B.A.; University of Notre Dame, M.F.A. Brenna is a nonfiction writer currently based in Indiana. She recently graduated from the University of Notre Dame's M.F.A. program in Creative Writing, where she received the Sparks Fellowship. While there, Brenna served as Managing Editor for the Notre Dame Review, taught several Academic Writing Seminars, received the university's Distinguished Graduate Student Award, and facilitated a writing group for adults at the Center for the Homeless in South Bend, Indiana. Brenna's love for travel and travel writing flourished during college when studied at the Universidad de San Francisco in Quito, Ecuador. While living in Quito, Brenna also volunteered at the Center for Working Boys, teaching classes for working children and their parents. She has traveled extensively throughout Latin America, including a trek along the Inca Trail. This year, Brenna received an Honorable Mention for the prestigious Associated Writing Programs (AWP) Intro Journals Contest in Creative Nonfiction and was also nominated for the AWP George Garrett Prize for Community Service. She is currently at work on a cartographically-themed book of nonfiction. Brenna led Putney Student Travel's Ecuador community service program in the summer of 2007. She is fluent in Spanish.
Photography
Joseph Lambert. Montserrat College of Art, B.F.A. Joseph majored in Photography and Graphic Design at Montserrat and received the Annual Talent Award for achievement in photography. He was a contributing photographer for the History Channel production, History’s Mysteries--America's Stonehenge, and is the photographer and co-owner of Sunrise Publications, publisher of America's Stonehenge: An Interpretive Guide. In 2006 Joseph moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he worked as a freelance photographer and web designer. He has traveled and photographed in many countries around the world. He led Putney Student Travel programs to Australia/New Zealand/Fiji and Alaska, was a resident advisor and photography assistant in the Excel at Bennington program, and taught Travel Photography in the Excel Oxford/Tuscany program. Apart from photography Joseph’s interests include music, cooking, film, drumming, and cultural studies. During the year he designs Putney Student Travel’s print and web publications and coordinates Putney’s programs in Australia, Oxford/Tuscany, and Argentina. He is fluent in Spanish.
At Large/Special Projects
Mark Pommer. Butler University, B.A; Columbia University, Ed.M. Mark's love for travel began in high school when he spent a summer playing soccer throughout Europe against local teams. During his years at Butler, he tutored Latino students in inner city schools and served as leader of an after-school youth program, leading week-long backpacking trips through the Appalachian Mountains. He spent a semester studying literature in London and a summer studying Spanish in Mexico. At Columbia, Mark studied Child & Educational Psychology and provided psycho-educational consultation at a high school in Spanish Harlem as well as in Costa Rica. He has traveled extensively in Western Europe, New Zealand, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Mark led Putney Student Travel community service programs to Costa Rica and Ecuador. He currently lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he works as a high school psychologist, ski coach, and service learning coordinator. Mark is an avid skier, snowboarder, backpacker, fly-fisherman, and photographer. He is fluent in Spanish.
Welcome family and friends of National Geographic Student Expeditions participants!
We have created this blog in order to keep you updated on the progress of your child’s National Geographic Student Expedition this summer. We hope that occasional updates throughout the expedition will help keep you informed about the activities, projects and successes of the program.
The expedition leaders will post entries approximately once per week during the program. The leaders’ first priority is the students and the program. If updates are infrequent, it is likely due to the group’s very busy schedule and inconsistent internet access. Please know that any important issues that arise during the program will be discussed and resolved with leaders and parents by phone, not through the blog.
We suggest that you subscribe to the blog so that you receive e-mail notifications when a new update is posted. To subscribe, enter your email address under ‘Subscribe via e-mail’ on the right-hand column of the blog.
Best wishes from us all at National Geographic Student Expeditions
