Our Journey Has Begun!

Hello friends, siblings, parents, grandparents and the greater community as a whole!

We, the 2016 Ecuador Semester programmees would love to include you on the amazing journey we have just begun to embark upon. Our names are Rosy, Tashi, Olympia, Malena, Emma, Lilah, Tanner, Paul, Aidan, Alessio and Colton. Together as a team, with our other two comrades who will meet us in Ecuador, are excited to make the next three plus months a wonderful and life changing experience to look back upon for years to come.

For the past week we have been engaged in a numerous amount of activities, such as early morning bike rides to Gustin Pond to swim and watch the sunrise, as well as rock climbing on Marlow Profile, and participating in daily farm chores to help the community around us. During each of these tasks we all are learning how to step out of our comfort zones in able to achieve our greatest potential.

Checking out the maps on our first whole group bike trip

Swimming at Gustin Pond is always a treat

Besides an endless amount of strengthening our bodies, we have also been improving our wilderness skills. This has been done by sleeping in wooden dwellings covered in sod, "a living hill,” also by knot lessons taught by Thomas and Davicho, two of our teachers. A group favorite have been navigation classes led by Nathan, a long time staff member and pillar to the Kroka community. His extensive knowledge ¨wows¨ us, and his teaching style allows us to hone in on our instincts. Lastly, we have been lucky to have Hannah Billian, the semester coordinator at Kroka, who has been teaching us the art of making friction fire with bow drills. Some of us were fortunate enough to get smoke to start coming out of our kits, while others were not. A few of us even got our first coal which we blew into flame together. By constantly living outside we have also in this short time become more aware of our surroundings in nature.

Emma works carefully on her coal-burned spoon

Our first spoons!

Along with learning vital wilderness skills, we have also been honored to have the help of Lisl, who has guided us in the making of our own backpacks. Every year Lisl gives generously of her time to the Kroka semester students and we are so grateful that she continues to come.

In preparation for our voyage to Ecuador, we have been taking classes to learn about Ecuadorian culture, while also taking Spanish classes from fluent Ecuadorian citizens.

Class with Morgan and Marcea in beautiful Kroka Village

A main part of the Kroka semester is assigning big jobs to each student, who then carry the responsibility of that task throughout the complete four months. This allows us to take charge and show leadership on many different occasions.

Rosy and Tashi, laughing and smiling as they head off to work around campus

Here are our big jobs:

Rosy- The Scribe- in charge of writing and posting things on the blog, weather reports, mail woman, general group writer and in charge of the annual Book of Wisdom

Tashi- The Food Manager- in charge of planning out daily meals, making sure everyone has enough to eat, and packing food for expedition

Olympia- Logistics Wiz- she has the wonderful job of waking everyone up at 5am, keeps us on time throughout the day, makes sure everything is planned out on expedition; she is the machine that keeps us all turning

Lilah- Our Farmer- Big animal care, in charge of fresh food and vegetables from farms throughout the expedition, as well as food dehydration

Malena- The Shamen- She takes care of all our health needs, carries all medical supplies and records injuries of all students

Emma- The Navigator- Our fearless leader, mapping out routes throughout New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and the wild Ecuadorian wilderness

Tanner- Bike Repair Man- From flat tires to broken derailleurs, Tanner can fix them all, while teaching you how to maintain your bike as well

Paul- Kitchen Manager- He is accountable for everything in the kitchen, works with Tashi, and packs supplies for expedition

Aidan- Gear Manager- He is in charge of bikes, boats, and all the supplies that we will need while traveling, while also being able to maintain and keep track of that gear

Alessio- Camp Manager- Master of set up and break down of camp, in charge of cleanliness, and overall organizer of camp

Colton- Crafts, Fire, Energy Manager- In charge of daily energy, setting up fires in new camps, and in charge of projects such as sewing, spoon making and knife carving, also the keeper of the bow drill!

We keep finding new wonders as we ride along the trails

We have all been getting in the swing of things in a nice way and we can't wait for our adventures to continue. All of us are working so well together, and it is starting to feel like home here at Kroka!

We are setting off on a twelve-day expedition, biking to local farms throughout Vermont and New Hampshire. This will be the first of our three semester expeditions and we are aiming to arrive home just before parent day, on September 18th! We can’t wait to see you then!

Your scribe,

-Rosy

A silly bunch! Excited to show off our new backpacks

Naya and Nina, daughters of Thomas and Marcea headed up the hill on a beautiful afternoon