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.