Rugged Leprechaun Braves the Dingleway

The Rugged Leprechaun group headed out this morning for a long walk with their belongings. They are scheduled to walk from Annascaul to Dingle off the coast line of Dingle Bay. The walk is 12 km with a 350m ascent and it is mapped to take about four hours.

It's almost showtime...

During this week, The Something For Nothing Players have been rehearsing in the black box theater to get ready for their first show on Friday. The group has been getting to know each other, building and painting props, and will have spent almost 60 hours together before the "preview" performance of The Wizard of Oz on Friday at 2:00 p.m. This will be a great send-off for the SFNP. Please come and see all of the hard work that has been put into this.



The SFNP website is now up and running.

Groton Church On FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!

A COOKING CATASTROPHE! While in the middle of making a beautiful roast of chicken, potatoes and other vegetables, there happened to be a slight problem. The roast was producing smoke. Enough smoke to cause the fire alarm to go off. The smoke alarm directly called the fire department. It looked like the whole fire department was there. Even our very own Mr. Hawgood, the director of Admissions. They had to open all the windows and the doors to let the smoke out. The fire fighters left, but there was still a competition going on. The group had to finish their roast! By the end of the afternoon they had it judged, and it tasted delicious!

Germination!!!

As you can see, the Food For The Health Of It group was germinating seeds and analyzing commercial fertilizer on three different plant species on Tuesday. According to their itinerary, they went on their first field trip yesterday to the local dairy farm called Gardner Farm, to look at a few different types of hay.

Andes and Amazon Adventure Works in Imbabura Community

Yesterday, the Andes and Amazon Adventure in Ecuador group engaged in a community service project in Imbabura [see picture above] where they aided with the reforestation of a local habitat. This morning, they taught local children art and English.This afternoon, they will be visiting the handicrafts market in Otavalo [see picture below], and tonight they will be attending a dinner and celebration dance with the community members in Quitugo.

REPORT FROM THE WEST

Submitted from Yellowstone by Mr. Sugerman

After a very long plane ride, which we spent bonding and getting to know each other, we stopped in to get supplies for the week at the Bozeman co-op, which is a community-run grocery store. The first night, we were divided into 3 cooking teams and each night we would either have cooking, cleaning, or you would have the night off. Some of the advantages of cooking our own food were that we quickly got to know each other better and made more friends, such as Nikki and Barrett who are now best friends forever! On the morning of Tuesday, March 9, everyone woke up very tired and ready to start off the new day. We met a guide from the Yellowstone Association named MacNeil, with whom we began our adventure through Yellowstone National Park. We saw many untamed, wild beasts of the unknown! One of these fascinating, brute animals was the brilliant wolf. He prowled through the harsh landscape among the towering mountains. Our incredible guide MacNeil, could spot animals from afar while he was driving. On Wednesday, everyone woke up at dawn and put on snow apparel and packed into our Fast & Furious Chevy Suburbans. We met with professional photographer Dan Hartman, who is very experienced In the natural art of finding wild beasts. We went snow shoeing for 2 hours, snapped photos, and had a vicious snowball fight. After the snow shoeing, we went to a Thermal Pool, locally known as the Boiling River. The first 2 days of our Winterim were exciting and breathtaking, filled with beautiful views of mountains and animals.

They took some pictures of both the kids, and the beauty of Yellowstone. Click to see them in full size.

Biking in Arizona Finally Reports In!

It's great to finally hear from our group mountain biking in Arizona! A diary from the Winterim leader, Mr. Smith, says, "Great first day of riding yesterday. Ten miles of saguaros, rocks, cholla, and rolling single track. Patted a Gila monster and chased a black-tailed jack rabbit. Squeezed through Fat Man’s Pass (nine inches wide) to Hidden Valley. Keaton made s’more quesadillas – rival the dining hall’s." Yum, I do like the s'more quesadillas from the dining hall...
It sounds like they had a great time biking. Talking with a few group members, all of them have fallen quite a few times, but no major casualties so far! I just thought you should all know what a "Gila Monster" is...I will admit, I had to google it.

(faqinfosite.com)
How adorable.
Along with the diary entry, attached was a picture of an exhausted group of bikers that I will share. It looks like they have all had quite the work out, and I can tell a few people (no names) need to start upping the dosage of their suntan lotion. Just saying.

(Click on the image to see a close up view of their beautiful, red, sweaty faces.)

Readers, what is the longest bike ride you've ever taken? Have you ever been on an overnight trip dedicated solely to biking?

Community Service and Sightseeing in Lima, Peru

On Sunday, the Peru group landed in Lima, Peru. On Monday and Tuesday morning, the Peru group participated in community service at the Sisters of the Order of Mother Teresa, who care for a special group of needy children and adults near Lima, Peru. At night, the Peru group has been participating in leadership activities. Today, the group visited the Government Palace which used to be the house of the Peruvian government.

Origins of Winterim

Have you ever wondered how Winterim started? Here is a video with Mr. Arthur Karp explaining the origins of Winterim.



Do you remember any of your greatest Winterim experiences? If so, please write a brief comment here.

Art, Walking, and Culture in Ireland with the Rugged Leprechaun group

The first two days of the Rugged Leprechaun group's journey has been a mix of walking, painting, and absorbing Irish culture. Once they landed in Ireland they took a bus to Annascual, Ireland to move into their hotel, The Old Anchor Guesthouse. The Old Anchor Guesthouse is described as "walkers paradise...[and] a wild life sanctuary." Today, they took a bus to the entrace of the Dingle Way walk for an 11 mile walk. Tonight, they will be returning to the Old Anchor Guesthouse for art lessons.

Behind The Scenes of Monday Night Hypnosist

Monday Night Hypnotist, left many people with a puzzled look on their face. And a question in mind, "Were the students on stage acting or were they actually put in a trance?" We decided to interview some of the people with first hand experience of the mesmerizing effects of hypnosis. Fact or fiction?

-Were you there? If so comment and let us know your thoughts.

Yoga featuring.....*drumroll*....Tokyo Joe!

Tokyo Joe made a guest appearance at MacNeil Lounge for the Yoga: Beyond the Mat winterim today. Tokyo Joe (Bobby LaMattina) is a 10th degree black belt and runs self-defense courses for a living. Mr. Joe did an interactive self-defense lesson which is basically yoga on steroids, moving ten times faster and much more strenuous. He talked about focus, concentrating, and discipline, and how that plays a very big role in his lifestyle. At the end, Joe did a presentation with his Bo Staff which was very impressive. He has won many awards in competitive scenarios, and he is a very good role model. I think it was a great idea bringing in someone so impressively successful and with great morals for the students to look up to.

ARC Volunteers Going Strong

Yesterday, the ARC Volunteers continued to work and play games with mentally-challenged adults at a community center in Fitchburg. Group members have been playing games, building block towers, and hanging out. Group members have had mixed reactions about their first few days at the community center. Jordan H. noted that "there are some adults who say really funny and cute things." Ashley V. said that she was a little nervous when "one man invited me for a beer, but then I told him that I'm too young to drink...he then invited me for coffee instead!" Although the ARC Volunteers come home tired at the end of the day, they generally feel good about their time at the community center!

Sewing: Peaceful Past-Time or Cruel Craft?

Imagine your grandmother sitting in her rocking chair by the fire, sewing you a set of sheets for your bed. What could be more harmless? Emily, a sophomore at Lawrence Academy agreed to tell the tale of her violent encounter with sewing materials. "I was cutting my fabric, and my tip was over the edge, and I cut the tip of my finger off. I have my tetanus shot though so it's alright!" As you can see, the art of sewing is one with dangers similar to crocodile wrestling. Ms. O'Connor, the Winterim leader quotes, "Yes, there are many ways to be injured in sewing...you definitely have to pay attention." Although no statistics can be easily attained, a quick search on Google reports that there are plenty of scissor related deaths every year, many of them involving moving from one sewing station to another while holding scissors and falling on top of them.


So if any lessons can be learned here, next time you see your grandmother, give her a big hug and thank her for putting her life on the line in order to provide you bedding and warmth.

Dear viewers, have you had any traumatizing experiences in your Winterims? Let us know in the comments!

Digital Photography Heads to Boston

The Digital Photography winterim group traveled to Boston yesterday. They took a tour of Fenway, and then headed to the NorthEnd for lunch.