Created by Lawrence Academy Students

Where in the World are the Winterim Groups?

Friday, March 19, 2010

Winterim Ends

When asked to describe their Winterim, we recorded what students said in order to make the Wordle below:
From Lawrence Academy Winterim

Check out the final slide show of various photos we received throughout the 2-week Winterim experience. The song on this slide show was taken from the Animoto music lounge, which artists use to promote their music. The song used for the Winterim assembly slide show was called Propane Nightmares by Pendulum. We currently do not have permission to use their song on our website.

The Fun Doesn't Stop at 3:00

For each night for the past two weeks, the student life office has come together to plan out some fantastic activities that everyone has enjoyed. (Thank you Ms. Simon and Sully!) They planned very fun trips such as going to Boston to go to a Celtics game, bowling, movies, and lazer tag. They have also had a casino night and a dance. My favorite was by far the Celtics trip. What were your favorite activites? Please comment on our blog. Thanks.



What Makes a Good Winterim?

Renowned field reporters, Gabe and Kerrin went into the action first hand to ask various groups what makes a good Winterim. When posed with the question, France replied with various responses, such as good leaders, good food, and group bonding. Arizona was a little less helpful, but still provided some good answers such as: library cards, accomplishing a goal, and working together. Mr. Smith, Winterim Coordinator, agrees that reaching a common goal as a group is the most important factor of a successful Winterim.

As we can see, most of what makes a good Winterim is centered around the group getting along, and having minimal fights on the trip.

RUaDgtalNativ: The Results of Our Labors

After two weeks of running our blog, we have seen significant results! Using our Google Analytics tool, we are able to see the number of people who have viewed our blog, which pages have been viewed the most, and so much more. Our analytics indicate that we have had over 2000 views of our blog and on the highest day we had 361 visits (Monday, March 15). We have visitors from over 30 countries on every continent except Africa & Antarctica. 43% of our visitors were first-time visitors (which means that people revisited our page multiple times) and on average people spent around 4 minutes on our blog! Through our hard work and promoting, we had a very successful winterim!

The Dangers of On-Campus Winterims Volume IV: Off-Campus Injuries Prove More Dangerous

As the off-campus winterims have begun to return, my on-going injury report has received a number of stories from various winterims. I was overwhelmed with the degree to which the off-campus winterims out-injured the on-campus Winterims. In Arizona, the biking group disclosed their scary experiences. They reported a number of crashes; Mr. Smith said that he took "a header" his first time on a tough trail. I didn't take their crash stories to heart until I saw Meghan's large road rash [see below]; she had crashed on the same trail as Mr. Smith. The Going Green in the French Alps group reported blisters, sunburn, and digestive problems (from too much cheese). I think that Meghan's injury and the Going Green in the French Alps group are evidence that off-campus injuries are on a whole other level then those of the on-campus winterims. Although quilting, stained glass, and RUaDigital Nativ proved to be dangerous in their own right, the off-campus winterims overwhelmingly prove to be more dangerous then the on-campus.

Live from Wachusett Mountain... in a Hotdog Suit

We were able to dig up this gem from Wachusett Mountain's YouTube account, featuring one of our students from Total Mountain Experience, Matt, wearing a hotdog suit. Check it out!

More Groups Coming Home Today

The following groups will be arriving back on campus today and tomorrow, Saturday.
We hope they had a great trip and find themselves welcomed back by family and friends.



The following Winterims are returning on Friday, March 19th

Something for Nothing

Dominican Republic
Costa Rica
Bahamas
Underwater Discovery

The following Winterims are returning on Saturday, March 20th

Peru
Andes

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Flustered and back in the classroom...

Today we were all very productive as a group and got a lot done. Together, we posted about ten more new posts for the blog, worked on making the slide slide show for tomorrow's presentation, Eric visited the martial arts group, Tyus visited the Iron Chef group, Kerrin watched some chess matches, Gabe wrote a post on yoga, Judd wrote a post on casino night and talked about the trips coming back today, and I finished editing and put up the last two interviews for Head Start. We also got together in groups of two and came up with ideas for the last three blog posts for tomorrow.

The Dangers of On-Campus Winterims Volume III: RUaDGTALNATIV?

The past two weeks have taken a- publicly unknown- toll on the bloggers who created your friendly Lawrence Academy Winterim blog. On the average work day, we spend about four hours on the computer (not to mention the times we use our computers for personal purposes after Winterim). My fellow bloggers have reported headaches, hand cramps, and sore butts from sitting and working on the computer for long lengths of time. Ms. Poulin cried out in pain today, "O my hands and wrists" as she wrung her hands furiously. Although quilting and stained glass proved to be dangerous in their own right, I believe blogging takes the cake! Research warns that computer screens lead to significant eye strain without 10 to 15 minute breaks every hour. With such a heavy stream of news, it is safe to say that the bloggers have not been able to take the appropriate amount of breaks during this Winterim which has led to several headaches. Likewise, the warning labels for keyboards state that extensive use of a keyboard for many hours without breaks could lead to severe wrist and hand injuries like arthritis and carpal tunnel. Most bloggers at the LA Winterim Blog have reported tight and sore hands in the past two weeks. According to the European Respiratory Journal, sitting too long- like on planes or in front of the computer- can cause blood clots which can cause severe disability or death. Luckily, the LA bloggers have thwarted the worst of these injuries; yet, we have suffered our fair share of strained eyes, headaches, and wrist pains. Who ever knew it was such a "pain" to blog about Winterim!?

Original Taste...Original Recipe

The Iron Chef Winterim has mastered the art of making different kinds of foods including, eggs, seafood, roasting, hamburgers, and pasta. Now its time for them to put all of it together to make an original recipe. This afternoon they will be judged by the top taste testers: Mr. Wiggins, Mrs. Bagley, Mr. Horne , Mrs. Margraf, and Mr. Cassidy (Director of Lawrence Academy Dining Services). This will be the event of a life time. Only one team will prevail. Let the judging begin! Check out the video below to see the final crazed moments in the kitchen. Post a comment and let us know who won!


LA Chess Championship

The LA Winterim Chess Tournament took place today on the LA Campus. After a day of playing chess in Harvard Square, the LA chess players used their knowledge from the past two weeks try to beat each other out for the championship! By the end of the tournament, Min Soo and Steve were the last standing! If you have the news, let us know who won the tournament!
UPDATE: We've heard from Mr. Curran that Min Soo was the champion. Congratulations!

Returning to Campus

Winterim is winding down, and the following trips are coming back today:

The System Arriving campus 3:15 p.m. (approximate)

Ireland Arriving campus 5:00 p.m. (approximate)

France Arriving campus 8:30 p.m. (approximate)

Arizona Arriving campus 9:00 p.m. (approximate)

Mexico Arriving campus 11:00 p.m. (approximate)

Yellowstone Arriving campus 12:30 a.m. (approximate)

Panama Arriving campus 1:00 a.m. (approximate)

Make sure you welcome your friends back as their planes roll in this evening (or tomorrow morning!)

Going for Stripe Number 2

The Martial Arts Winterim have been training for 2 weeks. The owner Mike Luth said that it takes about 4 months to achieve 2 stripes on a white belt. However, these students have worked hard to achieve this milestone in 2 weeks. Check out our Picasa web album to see 50 new pictures.

Reflections of Head Start Volunteers

As stated on the Head Start website: "Created in 1965, Head Start is the most successful, longest-running, national school readiness program in the United States. It provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. Nearly 25 million pre-school aged children have benefited from Head Start."

Here is a video with Jake, Will, and Mitch talking about what they love about this organization.



Please comment on my video! Thanks.

The Total Experience at Total Mountain Experience


Monday, Wednesday and Friday we arrived to the mountain at 9:00 am. We skied/snowboarded from 9:00 am to 11:30 am. At 12:00 noon we came in for lunch and then from 1-3 we worked with the Wachusett work members. The jobs were all different. We did a different job every day. Some jobs consisted of working in the park where you fixed jumps and racked the snow, working in the cafeteria serving food, working in tech fixing snowboards and skis, working in the store, working at rentals, standing at the lifts checking tickets, and ride in the snow cat and groomed the mountain. It was a great experience for us because we got to experience working by doing many different jobs and learning about how a mountain is run. On Tuesday and Thursday we stayed at the mountain until 8:00 pm and went night skiing. We arrived to the mountain at 12:30 and then worked from 1-3 the same as Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Total Mountain experience was a great winterim because we got to experience two things: Working and Skiing/Snowboarding. Many of the students skied/snowboarded before and some have not. The ones who skied/snowboarded before improved by landing difficult tricks off the jumps and some who never skied/snowboarded before improved by going down the black diamonds. Many people worked before but never experienced working at a mountain so this was a great experience for us.

Pre-Game Report

The Sports Journalism group will be going to the Bruins game tonight. They will be playing the Pittsburgh Penguins. These two teams have some recent problems with each other after one of the Penguins players, Matt Cooke, took out the Bruins point leader, Marc Savard on March 7th. Conor Helfrich wrote about the upcoming meeting tonight, and the possible reactions to the cheap shot. Check out his complete article here. A video of the hit, if you missed it, is below.


The Final Struggle for Perfected Glass Art




The artwork is finally coming to a close. The art is looking beautiful and the students can almost take a breath of fresh air. The group is spending their time grinding the glass down so there are no sharp edges and polishing it to shine like a diamond. The Final Struggle is here. Tomorrow we will see the finished art work.

The Luck of the Irish doesn't Help Everyone During Casino Night!



Thursday night, St. Patrick's Day, students crammed into the Student Lounge for a night of Poker, Roulette, Craps, and various other casino games. Chips could be traded in for tickets, which would be drawn for a raffle. Winners could win various prizes, such as Red Sox fan packages, and the like. Two lucky winners received iPod Shuffles. Kids who decided not to gamble sat and watched TV, played pool, or played Rock Band.

Week 2 in Costa Rica


(Photo found at: http://travelcostaricanow.com/index.php/Central_Valley_of_San_Jose)

Report continued from Kathryn Babin and Scott Johnson:

On Monday morning we awoke early to tackle the even more challenging water of the lower half of the river and then once more met our faithful bus driver for a 3 hour drive to La Fortuna, our second to last destination. Here we will go on a safari paddle, swim in natural pools and hike the base of the volcano. This will be a real contrast to both the Caribbean sea coast of Tortugero National Park and the mountain gorge of the Pacuare River. Our trip will end with a final day in San Jose and the next morning, we will leave for home. While some may look forward to the comforts of warm showers and spider-free bedrooms, we will all be sad to say goodbye to Guapo and our experiences in Costa Rica.

Pura Vida!

Yoga on a Field Trip

Today, yoga is on a field trip to the Kripalu Yoga Center to do some new styles of yoga including heat yoga. The Kripalu Yoga Center is a well known health center where people come from all over the northeast to take classes. They will be taking part in some hardcore yoga and learning about to lifestyle of a yogi.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Internet Cafe with no wall plugs.

Today the RUaDN group took a trip to Jitterbeans Internet Cafe in Marlboro, NH. There, we worked on our upcoming slideshow for the school assembly on Friday. We added pictures from each Winterim, as well as a couple of pictures of the afternoon activities that boarders participated in after the day was over. our group needed to find some music for the slideshow, as well as non-copyrighted version that would be posted on the blog. We had a great chance to spend the day outside of the classroom, and it was a beautiful day. We all needed that!



LAzer Tag

On-campus Winterims loaded 3 buses and traveled to Lazerzone in Marlborough, MA. Split into three groups - Blue, Orange, and Green - each student played a game of laser tag, ate pizza and played arcade games for tickets. We think Joe (and his "crew") had the most tickets coming away with an ugly purple blow up alien for 5,000 tickets. Ty and Connor had a blast squirting invisible ink over unsuspecting students. Several students found themselves "trapped" in the floor to ceiling playground. After a long night of lazer tag, students are looking forward to large winnings at Casino Night tonight.

Going Green in the French Alps

Today, the 17th, Going Green in the French Alps is going to be taking part in a variety of activities. In the morning, they will be all constructing an "organic shelter", which I assume is something like a tree-fort. In the afternoon, they are taking a 3 hour walk to a farm tavern. At the tavern, the owners make their own goat and sheep cheese. They will take a scenic tour of the farm, and then dine at the tavern with solely organic foods. It sounds like they're eating very healthily and having a great time thus far.

(tripadvisor.com)

Tragedies Strike in Digital Photography!

Who would think that taking photos would be so dramatic? Here, straight from the hotel rooms, we have some footage of the toilet and bug crises at hand. Wish everybody in the hotel luck.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Mexico Update!

Mr. Karp, the on-campus Winterim coordinator, received a message today from Jerry Wooding. The Rafting in Mexico trip is having a blast! They've been swimming, rafting, and relaxing in hot springs. For more info about their planned activities, check out Tyus's blog post.

The Groton Flood, Or Why Nobody Can Get To Work Today

After three days of heavy rain (over 9 inches total), parts of Groton and the surrounding towns have become islands. We drove on out to Groton and Pepperell to see if we could catch some of the flooded areas on camera. The water level was incredibly high, making driving a little difficult. Luckily, being a boarder, the commute isn't terrible!

Week 1 in the Costa Rican Rainforest

(Map found at: http://www.arenalcostaricacr.com/)

Report from Costa Rica by Kathryn Babin and Scott Johnson:

We've just arrived in La Fotuna, the town at the base of the Aernal Volcano in central Costa Rica. The trip has been fantastic so far and a great deal has to do with the people involved. First of all, all of the students have been getting along quite well and dealing with wet socks and long bus rides with a great sense of humor. Our Tico guide, Walter or 'Guapo' is truly fantastic. He has been with us from our arrival in San Jose and will be with us until our departure. His knowledge of everything about Costa Rica is vast: biodiversity, plants that can kill you and plants that can save your life, the people of the area, the history of the country, not to mention an uncanny ability to grab poisonous tree frogs from the jungle floor.


We began the trip in bustling San Jose in a hostel overlooking the city. A blanket of lights spread out before us as we settled into our new country. The next day we drove through winding mountain passes bordered by small cattle farms and tiny villages. We passed by a university dedicated to creating 'greenways' connection the national parks of the country. As we dropped out of the mountain mist and entered into the coastal plain, banana plantations run by names like Dole, Del Monte and Chiquita dominated the landscape, complete with “Warning: take no photos of the workers” signs.

Our faithful bus and driver, Juan Carlos, dropped us at the put in for the first leg of our water adventures. We kayaked for 5 hours through rich tropical rainforests on canals that serve as the only roads of the Tortuguero National Park. For locals, owning a boat is more important than owning a car. Our campsite and home base for the next 3 nights was a well-manicured lawn nestled in the rainforest. From here we adventured to the nearby town for a walk along the Atlantic shore to look at empty turtle nests and for an ice-cream treat. We also went 'gunkholing' through narrow waterways leading into the interior of the park. Howler monkeys warned us to stay away from the tree tops as we passed by sun-bathing turtles and caimen.


(Photos found at CBBC.)

On the fourth morning, we left the park via motorboat and cruised to our bus, which drove us to our next destination: a put-in on the Pacuare River. Walter was joined by two more guides who led us in paddling through the Class III rapids. Our lodge for the next three nights was carved into the hillside above a wide turn in the river between two tall canyon walls. From the hammocks and rocking chairs we observed the daily life of the jungle. Some highlights included a hike to the top of the ridge, a river crossing via small basket pulled hand-over-hand on a cable, scrambling up a small stream to a natural water slide and of course, zip-lining through the jungle canopy.

Pura Vida!


(Photo found at: http://www.costaricatours.com/pacuare/pacu01.html)

Showtime!

Here is a short video of pictures of the Something For Nothing Player's performance of the Wizard of Oz at Lawrence Academy in the black box theater on Friday. They departed for their tour on Sunday morning, where they will travel to Connecticut, New York, and New Hampshire, to perform their show at various elementary schools.



Please leave us your feedback! Thanks.

Singing With Your Hands

Today I went to see how the Talking With Your Hands winterim was going. They will be performing a song in front of the school on Friday. They are going to perform Hot N Cold by Katy Perry.
Here is a preview of Friday's performance:

Where in the World?

One of the tasks that RUaDN has been working on for the last week has been a map showing where in the world each of the Winterim groups are (see the top of the blog). You can zoom in (like on Google Maps) and drag the map around to see different places. Click on a pin to see which group is there, what they're doing, and, in most cases, a group photo. We created this map using Your Gmap, which is a tool that allows you to create locations on a map, add text and embed photos, then publish your map either as a link or an embedded object.

Chess Recieves a Lecture of Strategy and Logic

Today when I checked in at chess, they were amidst an intense chess seminar. The chess group took a break from playing to learn about the strategy and logic of chess from a chess master who came to visit Lawrence Academy. On Wednesday, they plan to go to Boston to play chess in Harvard Square. We expect the intensity to really heat up Thursday when they begin their tournament; we will report back about the chess tournament- stay tuned!

Dominican Days of Service and Sun

Although we have not heard from the Dominican group, we have a good idea of what they have been up to. From last Tuesday to last Friday, they have been working on their service project to help the children of La Cienaga. Building a playground, painting the school and reading with the children are just a few of the activities the LA students have been doing.



Saturday they went fishing in La Boca de Yasica with some locals. This past Sunday they made chocolate. Yesterday they went back to the school to keep working; they will be working there until Wednesday. On Thursday, they plan to jump from waterfalls in Damajaguas. Friday, they will end their trip with shopping.
(Waterfall photo from a tour guide website. Fishing photo from a tour guide website.)

Kayaking in the Bahamas


From Bahamas

Because "The Bahamas: A Kayaking and Snorkeling Experience" is, well, kayaking and snorkeling, we haven't heard from them. However, we have done some research about their destinations and are a little jealous of their journeys (though not of their inability to shower for most of the trip, and their seawater coatedness). If you want to check out their planned route and activities, see the map below. You should be able to click on each pin and see both the name of the location and what the group planned to do that day. They're travelling in rainbow order (starting and ending at the red pin). For more info, check out Wilderness Inquiry.


View Bahamas Kayaking in a larger map

Rafting In Mexico - An update on Their Activites


Yesterday the group traveled to Jalcomulco, which is a whitewater boater's dream to go down. It finishes at a hot spring resort that lets you relax in a perfect 90 degrees of naturally heated water.

Today they plan to raft the Rio Pescados River that is known for its constant rapids. When there are small breaks in the rapids, it overlooks the beautiful mango forest. Then later today they will take a mountain hike to Poza Azul.

Tomorrow's plans are something unique because of the river that they are rafting. The Rio Actopan river gets all of its flow from a pristine mega spring gushing of natural ferned wall. The headwaters are continuous and after the first couple of rapids, the difficulty eases for a unforgettable and enjoyable experience.

Dangerous On-Campus Winterims (Volume 2): Artists Encounter Scary Shards in Stained Glass

On my way back from quilting, I decided to step into the stained glass winterim to try to continue our running string of articles about the possible injuries at on campus winterims. The stained glass artists are pretty far along with their projects, so the pieces of glass are looking quite beautiful and harmlessly arranged nicely in their designated patterns [see below].However, from speaking with group members, I quickly learned not to let the graceful product of stained glass fool me- the art of stained glass can give quilting a run for its money as the most dangerous on campus winterim! When I spoke with the artists themselves, I felt my pulse begin to race and my eyes begin to search for safety glasses, a bullet proof vest, and thick gloves that would cover from my hands to my elbows.



Chase told me the injuries range from cuts to burns, and they could occur no matter how carefully you cut the glass. Jackie and Vail went further into detail and even described several incidents that had occurred during during the first week. Jackie was the victim of a burn to her stomach [see picture below] and Vail's fingers were littered with burns and cuts [see picture below].







Although many injuries are possible in stained glass, Mrs. B (the stained glass leader) informed me that injuries can be avoided by correct protection and attention. The artists' descriptions of their accidents made the quilting winterim across the hall look like a walk in the park (and we're not talking Central Park here folks), but the final products are definitely worth the pain!

Quilting Quickly Completes Their Quilts

This morning I took a walk to the Old School Building to check up on the Quilting Winterim. They have made quite a bit of progress over the last few days! Most of the quilts are almost finished; most quilters have sewn their patches together to create their quilt design. The quilters are starting to put their padded backings on their quilts. To attach their backings they must pin the quilt to the backing and then sew. Between now and the end of Winterim, the quilters will be completing their personal quilt and helping to complete the group quilt!



This Baby Be Turnin'


Turn, Baby, Turn is entering week two with a boom, having made beautiful wooden bowls that are glazed over and ready for use. Students are now working on making what they have thought of and envisioned to be created. Some of the creations have been set out in the theatre to be viewed by any passers by while they dry. I had a chance to drop by and snap a few photos of these bowls and assorted creations pictured below. They look great and we wish the wood turners luck in their final week of Winterim!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Iron Chef Cooks!

Today's winners of the Burger Challenge.

*and because Ryan wanted to be on the blog.

RUaDN: Stuck in the Classroom...Again

Greetings from M121 in the Ansin Building!

Today we caught up on our weekend content that was submitted to us and put out roughly 13 posts. I (Gabe) spent a great part of the day for one, working on the banner at the top of the page, which has made me very frustrated. The globe kept getting stuck on Africa for one, and it's also very tedious work editing a ".gif" file because it involves alterations to every single picture collaborated into the file. Now that I'm done with my little rant, I'll move on to semi-interesting things that went down today. Mostly everyone has at least one post for each of their assigned Winterims, so we're approaching the final goal of the Winterim!

We analyzed the blog and it's reports from "Google Analytics" which showed us some pretty cool facts about our website. I mean, it's pretty cool that we've even had someone look at our website from Australia isn't it?

We also read over every single article for typos and edited the tags to make sure that we looked as professional as possible.

Now, all that we're missing is the interactive hamster we had earlier on the front page...if you support the hamster, please say so in your comments.

The Art of Glass is Only as Beautiful as the Heart of the Artist

The Stained Glass Creations are coming together like true love. The group has achieved utmost concentration. They have been working diligently for a week already and are planning to continue this hard work until Friday of this week. At the end they will have their perfected glass art and will have learned new skills.

From Stained Glass

Student Post From Yellowstone

Submitted by Meredith on Saturday: We started off the day by delivering our handmade batch of brownies to our courageous leader MacNeil. Then we drove our lovely white bus to the Roosevelt Lodge. There we started our two and half mile hike up to Tower Falls. We hiked the snow-covered road and made sure not to step in the cross-country skiers trail. On our way up we encountered three bison, the most dangerous animal in Yellowstone. After being escorted past the bison by our extraordinarily daring and wise guide MacNeil, we came across fresh wolf tracks. The tracks continued up the path towards the waterfall. Then we arrived at the viewing terrace to see the waterfall. The waterfall had an aqua blue shield of ice with flowing water visible underneath. After gazing upon that we quickly made our journey back to the bus. Next we met with Janine Waller at the Yellowstone Association Institute. We had a discussion with her about global climate change and its effects on the ecosystem. Then we took pictures with MacNeil in front of the Roosevelt Arch, before we parted ways. Our last day at Yellowstone concluded with dinner and packing for Big Sky!

Here is a slide show of the pictures the students took.


HeadStart Interviews 1 & 2

Tyus and I visited HeadStart in Lowell on Friday with Mrs. Bev Rodrigues, to interview some students about what they have been doing in their Winterim and what their favorite experiences have been so far. The goal of this course is to provide an experience through which they can learn more about children in poverty and about early childhood education by working as teachers at HeadStart. Three and four-year-olds go to school every day there and each participant will work with a professional, an aide, and about twenty children in a classroom and on the playground, assisting a teaching team through the day.



Please comment on our video and leave us your feedback.

Student Post From Yellowstone

Submitted by Barrett on Thursday: The epic day began with our grinning, fearless leader MacNeill Lyons, as we took a ride on the magic school bus around the park, we spotted the carcass of a bison that has been dead for about two years. As the day progressed we met with wolf expert, Rick.

Today, we hiked up a mountain above the Lamar Valley and found dead animal carcasses of elk, which was recently pushed off a cliff by wolves. We also learned how to protect ourselves from a curious/angry bear. As we walked down the mountain, we watched from afar a pack of wolves picking apart a dead elk. Our amazing day ended making lasagna for dinner as a group, baking MacNeill a birthday cake, and looking forward to seeing him and Rick on our final day at yellowstone.



Sports Journalism takes on the Big City and the Big East

The Sports Journalism group headed to New York City last week to watch the Big East Tournament. The group got front row tickets to a number of games, and even got to visit a professional sports desk!

Tomatoes for the Health of it

Last Friday, Food for the Health of it took a trip to an organic tomato farm where they learned about organic foods and the tomato growing process. They took a tour of the farm and talked to workers about what they do and why they support the organic sensation that's sweeping the nation. (I've always wanted to use that saying.) They got a few picture opportunities inside of the carts the workers use, and here we have a picture of James seemingly enjoying himself:

Exhilarating Experiences in Ecuador!

Saturday was probably everyone´s favorite day so far! We woke up, ate breakfast and checked out of our hotel. Then, we went Zip Lining at Mindo Canopy Adventures [see picture below]! They had about 13 different cables that totaled more than 2 miles over the rain forest. We don´t know how high we were exactly, but let´s just say that falling would not have been fun. After zip linning we went down the street, grabbed helmets and life jackets and jumped in white water tubes down a river full of rocks and waves! What an exhilarating day! For lunch we stopped at a cute hotel/restaurant place that had a lake with boats, which we all took turns riding and racing each other on. The food was delish! The second half of the day was a once in a lifetime opportunity to straddle the equator! We drove to the museum and learned all about the gravitational pulls that we experienced first hand! The second museum we stopped at was interesting because it marked where they thought the equator was 200 years ago! Lots of pictures were taken next to the equator signs.. and we are thinking there will be a Winterim 2010-2011 Book Cover Photo in our future. After the museums our awesome bus driver Carlos blasted some American and Ecuadorian music on the radio and we danced in our party bus all the way to our hotel in Quito! We went out to dinner, had some milkshakes, pizza and burgers (YUM American food at last!), and went back to our hotel for showers and a good night´s sleep! Today we are heading south of Quito for horseback riding around Cotopaxi National Park [see below] where a lot of volcanoes live! Hope they don´t erupt!! The rest of this week we are going to our second community service project to a different community to help paint and do anything else they need and on Thursday we will spend the day white water rafting!


Overall, everyone has been having the time of their lives and we will definitely miss this new culture we have learned so much about in only a week!Until next time!Adios!


TEAM ECUADOR


P.S- Mrs. Peterson: Jess is doing just fine, she having a great time, but misses you and would like some apple crisp when she gets home!

DigiPhoto Is Off To Maine!

After week one of snapping photos in and around Boston, Digital Photography is ready to ship off to Maine, where they will be staying in a cozy lodging space and capturing photos of whatever Maine has to offer. Expect photos soon!

From the best tasting eggs...to the worst tasting drinks






Iron Chef has a new task at hand. The classic breakfast food. And goes great with cheese. Eggs! The RUaDgtalNativ group took a trip to the Congregational Church with only one goal in mind: to taste the best egg meals we have ever tasted. The first plate arrived on the table. The egg frittata looked and tasted like heaven. Then the next plate was a poached egg inside of a bell pepper, called Eggs in Purgatory. It was good and my personal favorite. Lastly, we had a bacon, egg, and biscuit sandwich. It came with an iced coffee that did not come out as correctly as the group had hoped for. I tried the drink and it had a weird flavor, like an iced coffee with too much water and no ice. The winner was group 1, John, Ned, & Sun, with the egg frittata.