Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2005

CHALLENGE

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ar I2 student, Madeleine Cameron, recounts the challenging journey taken by , . Gift to an Andean community. students from Years 11 and 12 and their re

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Over the Christmas holiday break 26 girls from Years 11 and 12 travelled to Peru with staff members - Mr Seaha, Miss Axelsen, Miss Barrett and Mrs Macintosh. The expedition was founded around three basic constructs - community service, leadership, and personal challenge. We travelled via Sydney, Auckland, Santiago and Lima before heading to our 'destination at altitude' in Cuzco - a total of 39 grueling hours on the move. We had managed to sleep in four countries in one day!

The mural on the finished shower block features a Grammar gill

begin construction of a shower block at the local school. Our goal was to improve community hygiene standards by providing basic facilities and a means of teaching hygiene though the school. The girls had fun bricklaying and plastering The Ducks arrived to finish the job - learning the art of plumbing, roofing and rendering with the chickens taking their turn to travel Together, in just eight days, and with the help of parents, the shower block was completed right down to the mural painted on the outside! it was an amazing accomplishment and a most satisfying Grammar legacy in a very needy community. A once in a lifetime opportunity, the Antipodeans Abroad Expedition is an experience highly recommended to anyone with an interest in travel personal challenge and community service. For those adventurous souls in Years 11 and 12 in 2006, look out for information on the next Girls Grammar Expedition to Africa of the Himalayas or even back to peru!

Once in Cuzco, at an altitude of approximately 3600 metres (that's nearly twice the height of Mt Kosciusko); we really began to take responsibility for ourselves, finding transport, food and accommodation in broken Spanish! We split into two travel groups - the 'Chickens' and the 'Ducks', and set out on our itineraries with student leaders, goals and plans. The groups crossed paths at different times and places making for lively evening meals We spent time acclimatising to the nauseating altitude which caused sickness in some and made exercise more difficult for everyone. While the Ducks set off for Macchu Pichu and the challenging trek into the Inton Sacred Valley, the Chickens travelled to the Lampa community lust a short distance into the An ean foothills to

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