El Ultimo Update

Dear family and friends,

Have you ever sat perfectly still in a circle of people and wondered, "will I ever experience a moment like this again?"  I’m sure many of you have. Now my question is; did that moment ever come?  Did you ever sit again within that same circle? Did you ever look upon those same faces with so much left in their familiar creases that you don’t understand? For that, the answer is surely no. Even if those people came together again, creating the same space, everything must have changed, for it would no longer have been the same moment; they would no longer be the same people. Everyone would now be different.

Have you ever noticed your thoughts at the beginning of things? Have you ever noticed that kind of relaxed anticipation? Days, months, years it seems until you will have to realize the end. That realization comes with a certain degree of resistance.  It takes you by surprise. You ask the wind, “Why does the time of the world move me? Why do I not move it? After all, this is my life.” And in response  the wind whispers that your life is the same life as that of the world, that your time is its time, that time in and of itself does not exist but it is our own yearning for the future that creates it. You sit now and think of that response, you wonder if it is not our yearning for the past that creates time. Yet as you wonder you realize that only in time will you find your understanding, so you let it go back into the wind and yearn for now.

Time has created an edge, and we are now on its brink. There is a principle in permaculture that states, “optimize edge, for it is the most diverse area”. The space between a field and a forest, the land and the sea, holds great abundance and richness. It is a place to grasp at opportunity. Why can’t this also apply to the edges in our life? It is the time of transition that changes us the most. It is the time of detachment and reattachment that holds within it opportunity. Yet it is our own choice to realize it. It is a fact that the edge of a pond is a fertile place, yet it is not a fact that we always use it.

Before I came on this adventure, my sister gave me a piece of advice that I didn’t forget. I don’t remember exactly how she phrased it, but she planted a seed in my head and it has been growing there throughout semester. She said to me, “When you come back you will be changed, and the people around you will be changed as well, but at a different pace. People will know that you have changed but they will not know precisely how or how much, and that is the challenge”. When we return there is so much we want to share, to teach, and to express, but we also want to listen, to understand what you have learned as well, for it is not just us that has changed. We are looking for an exchange, we will give you all that we can and some, we must know, lives only in our hearts and can not be understood, even by our closest family. We ask that you try to understand that, and to see that a part of our thoughts are only for the birds, for the trees, and for the wind.

Amor, Siena Powers.

Where am I going? - Shai
I don’t really know what to say. I feel different. I feel strong, happy, and ready to face the challenges ahead of me. Right now I am amazed at having completed semester; from skills, to adventures, community life, patience, listening, and silence.
Everything has its time and place, and I feel that I did the semester at the perfect moment. Thank you to everyone who made it possible for me to be here, and who supported me in this process. 
Hasta Pronto, Shai.

What Next? -Charlie
Semester has gone by in a flash, and now that we have formed an efficient and functioning community that is made up of spontaneous interactions between individuals, we must head home. Everything we have built up together now must be carried on by individuals to keep the groups spirit alive. I am excited for the challenge ahead of; reintegrating into the fast-paced world back home while keeping all that I have learned and seen within me to shape what I do. I have six months of my gap year left when I return home and I am looking forward to deciding what it is that I want to do and see before going to school at the University of Vermont in the fall. It will be a useful period of living totally independently and putting to use the experience I have gained here from this extraordinary community.

Kat
Thinking about where you are at in your life is hard, because how could you be at any other place? But when you start thinking about all of the other places you could be, you start to appreciate the “right here”. For three months I have been surrounded by the most amazing people, people who want to lead a life of simplicity and adventure. We have climbed mountains, struggled through swamps, been frustrated with each other, and learned a way of life that I want to keep with me forever. Even though goodbyes are soon to come, I will continue to hold everything I gained here in my heart. Going back to the U.S. is going to be a hard transition, but I have so much to hold on to. Whatever I do, I can take bits and pieces of this experience and weave them in. I am excited for the next chapter of my life, which consists of more adventure, but in Europe this time, and then an exciting four years of schooling at Warren Wilson. I am ready for whatever life throws at me!

Ciara
The first time around words were not spoken,
Gestures not made, and no one left broken.
The future is coming, and I stand in fear,
The future is coming, the future is here.
I will bid farewell to all that I know,
Turn my life in circles, go back to the snow.
The love that has flourished will never be lost,
But it will be frozen with the new season’s frost.
I will go back now and maybe start to forget,
But not one moment will I ever regret.
The future is coming, and I stand in fear,
The future is coming, and I am now here.

Malcolm
There is a saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” But a picture can’t convey the smell of dawn. No photo can show the crunch of a glacier at three in the morning, and no painter, however skillful, can paint a cooling breeze. No matter how many stories we tell, all we can speak of are the things we did. No words can describe the experience that we had. These experiences are what I am bringing home with me, with me but not for me. I have carved, cut, and bought presents and gifts, but I am bringing home a lot more than that, and that’s what I am excited for.
“The best things are not things at all” – Anonymous.

Piwi

To stand with my feet bare on the earth, the wind blowing by me and through me and in me, my soul quiet with the mountains. To join hands in a circle and trust the truth in the eyes of you, my friends. And now, to walk forward, alone yet not alone, knowing that your hearts are with me, the trees are with me, the strength of the mountains and the changing embrace of the rivers are with me. I know that in my soul I have all of the quiet and wisdom and light that I have encountered here and though I must leave it, I will not lose it. Thus is my transition from here to there, from eternal springtime to the sleep of winter, from one home to another.

Churo
Me pareció una experiencia muy buena y aprendí muchas cosas interesantes y que quiero ver si las puedo hacer en un futuro como por ejemplo escalar en roca otra vez, cuando vuelva a quito de Galápagos. Voy a pasar en Galápagos unos meses y de ahí volveré a quito a estudiar.

           

Meredith

When I first arrived to semester, I thought I wanted the experience and the knowledge I would get and the strength I would build. I was deluding myself, what I really wanted was to get away. I didn’t like the direction my life was going, I didn’t like the relationships I had with my friends and my family and most of all I didn’t like the person I was growing to be. So I went on semester. At first, I only focused on what semester could get me, but as time passed I began to shift my focus on what the people around me could teach me in regards to being a better person. I learned about all of the things I wanted to learn about, true, but they meant so much more because I associated them with the people who were with me, the people whom I grew to love. What I got out of semester that means the most to me is the relationships that will last a lifetime.

Ayere
I will go where the wind blows me,
Up to the mountains and down to the sea,
I have learned much in the past three months,
About living, and life, which you only live once,
And even though we shall all live apart,
We shall be together, within our hearts.

Nicole
In less than a week
We will return home
And shall all speak
Of what we have known.

There will be jungles
Full of deep rivers
And very high mountains
That gives us the shivers.

In addition to sights we have seen
There will be epiphanies gleamed
To lead us as we continue our trip
Back in the U.S no longer joined at the hip.

Work should be done
Until 100% complete
Otherwise your work ethic
Will soon deplete.

Things should be built
With our nature in mind
Devoid of pioneer permaculturists
Earth must be left behind.

Enjoy those you see
Just like you and me
It may not be long
Before your time with them is gone.

The world can be seen
As you travel about
Experiencing new cultures
Until you become an old lout.

Mateo

Me siento bien al regresar a casa con tantos recuerdos y conocimiento valioso. Haber caminado y recorrido en bicicleta por el Ecuador conociendo y maravillándome con la cultura y el paisaje, fue una experiencia muy especial para mi. Ver al grupo de 14 jóvenes trabajar tan duro. Resolver problemas y disfrutando cada día. Me da motivación e inspiración para aplicar lo que aprendí en KROKA en mi vida. Para los que quieran visitar Galápagos, son bienvenidos cuando quieran.  

Tommy
Yesterday Malcolm, Charlie, and I talked to the four cowboys who are staying at Palugo. One of them, the Australian, told us about many of his observations while on his expedition.  They were very close to what Michael had said the day before, and one part specifically touched my heart.  In both their expedition and ours, the only thing to do when things got hard was to keep going.  We had no choice but to power through.  But one of the biggest problems with modern society is that there is always an escape route for when things get hard.  There is always an excuse or a way out.  So when life is hard, and it is the most important time of all to keep going, people stop doing what needs to be done.  But now we have learned how to keep going, and experienced the joy of following something through to the end.  That is what I want to take with me, and what I hope everyone on this trip brings home. We need to remember that there is no more important time to work hard than when the times are hard. We need to remember, even if we are given a way out, to fight to the end.  Thank you, Michael and Marcela, for teaching me this and everything else. 

Zoë

Many people think that it is this experience that will be the challenge. Before I came here, many people said to me how hard they thought it would be. However, for me it is the changes that represent the challenge. I have learned so much in the past few months, and taking these ideals back into my life is a huge responsibility, yet there is nothing I would rather be doing at this point in my life. I know it will be hard, but some of these very ideals I speak of are here to help me upon this journey. I am excited for this new chapter in my life for it is what I make of it. I have this space of opportunity in front of me to be extremely creative in everything I do. I will miss everyone I have shared my life with for the past months dearly but I know I can not lose them since they have become a part of me. When I return home, I will be living in Burlington VT, away from my family. I will be finding work, taking classes, and doing lots of art. It is exciting and exhilarating to be making this change, and though I shall be suddenly away from these people, I know that I shall be constantly surrounded by memories. There is no better thing for me right now. I hope to get a cat or maybe a dog and at some point in the far future I am going to build a yurt, but don’t try and visit it soon. Thank you all who have taught me so much and enriched my life with so much love.

            

Update 10

Dear readers,

At the moment I am sitting here in the kitchen of the Chozon with a carrot in one hand and a bit of peanut butter in the other. Charlie is in the corner vigorously washing the 20 something nalgenes that have carried our food for the past two and half weeks. The rest of the group is down in the Bodega cleaning the gear that has brought us across mountains and valleys, carrying us through the rain and snow. Each piece holds within it a bit of our past, a bit of what we have accomplished, and so we work with love to make it last for another memory.

After leaving Antisana about a week ago, we split up into two groups to do our solo trek to the west base of Cotopaxi. We left on Friday afternoon with high spirits. We headed into the Paramo and walked for three beautiful days. In small groups, we all got to experience the parts of the work of expedition that we may have left for someone else in other times. If you didn’t know how to properly set up a tarp, or make a fire using the scarce materials, this was your time to learn, for no one else was there to do it for you. We had such a wonderful time walking out there together, navigating our way through the rolling hills that spread out around us in an endless array. In the evenings we set up beautiful camps, cooked delicious foods, and sat around the fire talking and playing music.

In some amazing stroke of luck or fate or whatever you want to call it, our group somehow obtained a small furry friend again that we named "Fletch" and that may or may not have had some part of Michael’s spirit inside of it. This dog joined us on our first night (the group being Nicole, Charlie, Malcolm, Ayere, Shai, Mateo, and myself) and to our dismay left us two days later, following the Outward Bound group that was doing the same trek but in reverse. He is greatly missed among us. We are a little bitter about the loss of our dog.

We reunited as a whole group the following Monday and began our hike around the base of Cotopaxi to Cara Sur (the south face) where we would be attempting our summit push. We spent two days on this traverse, climbing over rocky moraines and going up and down over the buttresses of Cotopaxi's colossal layout. We camped in a little alcove between the hills, and had warm soup and pasta for dinner before quickly retreating to our tents and our warm sleeping bags, where we took refuge from the cold wind. It was a sort of overwhelming environment to be in. The sheer immensity and power of the rocks around us made us feel like an ant crawling over a gravel pile that never ended. It had its own kind of beauty, a harsh and jagged beauty that put you in a constant state of submission to the mountains will. 

We reached the Cara Sur refuge on Tuesday afternoon and were welcomed into this special place by Eduardo and his staff with such love and such amazing food! After days and days of dirt and sweat we took wonderfully warm showers and ate crepes with jam and fruit. We drank pots and pots of tea and made oodles of popcorn, all while resting, making music, and playing the most hilarious games that birthed some of our finest quotes, such as Charlie's “ That famous Leonardo DiCaprio painting!” and Ayere’s (trying to say Captain Jack Sparrow)  “Captain Jim Parker!”.

After those days of rejuvenation and sleeping in the most comfy beds we packed up our packs for high camp and set out in slightly precarious weather. In was a beautiful walk up to alto camp, we started out in the moraine and as we progressed we found ourselves in the snowy terrain where we set up our tents. We got up to camp later than planned due to the weather so we made a quick but yummy dinner of miso soup and bread and settled down into our tents to rest and stay warm for a few hours.

At 11:00 that evening, Meredith woke us up with her pretty singing. With high spirits and slow bodies we all rose to attempt Cotopaxi. At 12:17 we began to hike up to the glacier and as the clouds cleared we noticed for the first time the cities of Lasso and Latacunga stretching out so far below us. Their lights showed up to match ours and as we climbed up the rocks and ice we looked to the lights above, and to the lights of our slowly moving train that penetrated the enveloping darkness. When we arrived at the glacier we put on our crampons, took our ice axes in hand and roped up into our teams. As we began to climb on the ice I felt a kind of exhilaration that emptied me of all tiredness, and with each step the pulsating rhythm of the mountain filled that space with a sense of tranquility and happiness.

But soon I felt that something was different here, Something was not the same as when we climbed Antisana and the first time that Davicho radioed down to Micheal many could tell that something was wrong. As we walked our feet sunk down into the snow up to our knees, snow that should have been packed down and firm to step on. It was continuing to snow around us and as we progressed the conditions turned worse. After what seemed like much too short of a time Michael brought his team up to the front and we all stood around him and Davicho as they performed an avalanche test. They dug out a big square chunk of the snow. As it was pryed loose, it all of the sudden slid forward by its own weight and if it had been possible, it would have cascaded down the mountain creating a deadly force. When Davicho stepped into the snow, at certain points he could feel the whole mountain quiver beneath him. Because of the conditions, the snow underneath the first semi-hard layer was soft and slushy, making an avalanche a more than likely risk.  It was impossible for us to continue. To make light of the moment, Davicho told us that we could wait there for the summit, maybe it would come to us and that would be much quicker. It made us laugh, but with sad hearts and with a determination that wasn’t completely fulfilled we turned back to where we had come.

We didn’t feel like going to bed when we got back to high camp, so we made hot chocolate and sat out on the snowy hills, watching the city lights below and waiting for the sun to rise. Although we didn’t summit, we found a bit of peace in that moment, watching the darkness turn to light and knowing that wherever we were, this change would still be happening. Sitting there together, we found our summit in a more unexpected way. But who is to say that it wasn’t even more beautiful?

In canyons cold,

In times without hold,

A mirage of stories are hidden and sold.

They are traded to the darkness,

They are bartered for by the brave,

And in the night they are taken to their caves.

Yet only a shadow are these stories lost,

Only a trace are these words past.

For one can not steal, or kill, or buy

A story that only the

 canyons cry.

I hope you are well and happy.
Lots of love, Siena Powers.

A very happy birthday from Nicole (and myself) to Nicole’s little sister Ariel whose birthday is tomorrow and is the same as mine! We will be celebrating both with lots of cake, I hope your day is wonderful!

Shai would also like to let all of her friends know that they are all invited to graduation.