Over March break, Trinity-Pawling faculty members Tim Pillsbury and Ben Kafoglis traveled to Peru with ten students as part of the School’s service learning program. Over the course of 10 days, destinations included Machu Picchu, Cuzco, and Lake Titicaca, and many sites in between. The itinerary introduced students to diverse geography, from desert to mountain to lakeside, rising from sea level up to 14,500 feet.
“We want to spark a love of travel in our students,” explains Pillsbury. “We want them to come back from trips like these with a greater understanding of the amazing breadth and diversity of experiences and cultures to be found in our globalized society. We also want to give them opportunities to serve and help others, just as we do in our school community back home.”
The highlight of the trip came at Lake Titicaca, where the team stayed for two nights in an Aymara community at Luquina village. Students lived in groups of two with generous host families. During the day they worked with community volunteers to help build a concrete path from the lake up to the local school. Nights included dancing and soccer matches.
“The trip showed me that we should always think about what life gives us instead of what life takes away from us,” says Glyn Ge ’17. “Peru will become part of my best memories. Traveling for the first time with my T-P classmates and teachers, we helped each other, and that made me feel like we are actually one large family. I learned a lot.”