getting ready

its june 17 at 10:40 pm right now. i'm sitting at my house, preparing not for my year off, but for my summer. i will leave on thursday for 9 1/2 weeks of camp. that means i have 2 weeks in september to come home, unpack, do laundry, repack, and go to california to begin my year. the other day, when it was 103 degrees out, my mother and i went to REI. we spent $1200 on the things i needed.
let me back up.
i joined a program called leapyear leapnow. on september 14, i will go to california for a 10 day retreat at the program's campus. there, 20 people ages 17-21 will work on campus building, gardening, cooking, etc. we will get to know each other and learn good group dynamics. we will also begin discussing options for our solo internships in the spring. on september 24, we split up into 2 groups of 10 and go to south america. our itinerary is as follows:

September 23
SFO to Quito

September 24-26
Orientation in Quito

September 27
Travel to Cuenca

September 28-October 10
Language School in Cuenca: Language study, volunteer work and cultural exchange with host families

October 4-5
Weekend excursion

October 11
Travel to Amazon region

October 12-17
Work with indigenous community on a ecological preservation project in the Amazon

October 18-20
Free travel to Otavalo or the coast.

October 21
Fly to Cusco, Peru

October 22
Explore Sacred Valley

October 23-24
Inca Trail trek to Machu Picchu

October 25
Rest in Cusco

October 26
Travel to Arequipa

October 27- November 5
Language school in Arequipa: Language study, volunteer work and cultural exchange with host families

November 6
Travel to Sacred Valley for Spiritual Retreat

November 7-10
Spiritual Retreat

November 11
Fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina

November 12-13
Explore Buenos Aires

November 14-15
Travel to Patagonia

November 16-22 (I turn 18 on November 19 on a horse ranch in patagonia!!!!!!!)
Work and live with Gauchos on a ranch: learn sustainable building techniques

November 23-27
Horse trek in the Patagonia and learn survival and horse handling skills

November 28-29
Travel to Buenos Aires

November 30
Last Day Buenos Aires

December 1
Fly back to San Francisco, CA.

on december 2 we fly back to our respective homes. i am home from december 2 to february 5, and then i go back to the california campus. the program helps us with our transitions into our solo internships. during the retreat, we do more work on campus. on february 21, our parents fly out to california and we have a rite of passage ceremony, which is the official "releasing us into adulthood" ceremony. three days later, we go on a solo internship for 12 weeks in the country of our choice, doing something we want to do. there are 20,000 different options, or we can create our own. on may 29 we fly back home just in time for summer.

because we'll be doing so much traveling and hiking in south america, it's important to pack light. that brings me back to what i was talking about earlier. our clothing has to be very modest because of the culture, and it should not be made of cotton because of the weather. this meant i had to buy all quick-dry clothing at REI. it will all fit into a hiking backpack. the clothes i bought will last me for 10 weeks:
3 t-shirts
2 tank tops
2 pairs of long pants
2 pairs shorts
3 pairs underwear
4 pairs socks
hiking boots
water shoes
rain coat
2 long sleeves
1 skirt
2 bras
1 jacket

something you should know: i can't bring a cell phone with me to south america or california. therefore, e-mail by cyber cafe and this blog will basically be my only forms of communication.
i'm going to camp now for the summer, and my next entry will probably be when i'm in Ecuador. until then, have a good summer!
Kate

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