We began their journey to New Mexico by packing our belongings. Although the process was tiring and challenging, we discovered a helpful strategy. To pack efficiently, it's best to have small items so that you can fit more in your bag. One effective technique is to separate your sleeping items, such as a sleeping bag, pad, and pillow, from your clothing. Loose items from the packing list can go in your carry-on bag. If you struggle to fit everything in your bag, try sitting on it to condense the items. It's also important to double-check the list and pack before the required time to identify any gaps. Pro-tip: get sufficient sleep before your trip to avoid exhaustion. Lastly, don't forget to bring multiple decks of cards and brush up on your gambling knowledge for entertainment. Mental preparation is also crucial when entering a new area with different cultural norms and fluctuating time schedules. Plans may change unexpectedly, and things you were looking forward to may be canceled abruptly. Now, begin your journey into the unknown. Be cautious, but try new things. This is an experience that will not be soon forgotten.

Once we arrived in Albuquerque, we took a bus to the Cochiti School. On the bus, we had our first meal in New Mexico which was bean and cheese burritos. Every meal had bread. I mean EVERY meal (tortillas count as bread). We even experimented with different kinds of bread like fry bread and paper bread but we will get back to that later. On the bus, we learned a very important lesson that later led to our downfall at the school festival. The weather in New Mexico can change very quickly. One minute the sky is clear and the next it is pouring rain. Once we got to the school we saw our sleeping arrangement, we were sleeping in the school's old gym. (They had recently built a new one.) There were 3-4 people per tent. After we got settled we met our leaders, and since we were all tired we tried to go to bed. (It did not work very well, and if there is one thing you need to remember from this entire presentation, it is not to bring Axe body spray or someone WILL get axe bombed.)

By Nick Eliopolus and Liesl Bahrman

Today we started our 2-day service project, building an outdoor kitchen next to the school's garden. We removed bulky rocks, pulled weeds, and finally laid dirt and gravel down as a base.

Cochiti Pueblo Storyteller

On the first full day of our trip, we went to the Cochiti Pueblo to visit an elder named Nadine. She was very kind and showed us how she made her storytellers. She shared oven bread, watermelon, and tea with us. She has a lot of experience with making storytellers as she has been making them for most of her life. She learned many techniques from her mom and grandma. Overall it was amazing to meet an elder, we learned so much from her and had an absolutely amazing experience. I would recommend meeting up with an elder to anyone visiting somewhere around the Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico!

Nadine welcomed us to her home with welcome arms. The storytellers are a way of making a figure out of clay to tell a story. For example, if you want to make a storyteller about two kids there would be a big figure and two little kids on the side. She started making them with a little bit of clay then turning it into a body. Then she would make the arms next and put them on the body. Then she would fire and paint them. Then they are ready!

By Ian Lynch and Delainey Nygaard

Santa Domingo Festival

We had the opportunity to attend a festival at Santa Domingo School. It was held at a track with nice, fake grass in the middle next to the school. In the middle was a rock concert. All around the track were a bunch of cute little tent stands that sold a lot of jewelry and the other ones sold food. One of them had ENTIRE BUCKETS OF DILLPICKLES! And it also had some awesome cotton candy. It was fun to explore all the tent stands and see what was inside of them. But the weather in New Mexico is unpredictable, and it started raining and hailing. Which is good because New Mexico only gets a little rain. So we all did the rain dance and mozied on to the bus before the incredible lightning show.

By Kian and Roman Wright

6th Grade World Leadership School

Lily Provencio and Kc  Abed

Community service 

What is community service?

Community service means voluntary work intended to help people in an area without getting paid. Community service can be fun but it can also be boring. It could be a way to socialize or help people when needed. Another meaning of community service is, volunteering to help someone with their work to help another person. Community service is not just going to the beach and cleaning trash, that would be called helping save the planet or helping. 

What did we do for community service?

When we helped with community service we made an outdoor kitchen. In the outdoor kitchen, they would plant seeds that would grow into Pumpkins, apples, and more. What we did for our help for community service was, we helped make the garden. First, to help the garden we pulled out weeds in the area the people wanted us to make the garden. After we pulled out all the weeds, there were 2 piles. 1 pile was a dirt pile and the other was a gravel pile. So, after we pulled the weeds we grabbed wheelbarrows and headed to the dirt pile. We also grabbed shovels and with the shovel, we would scoop dirt from the pile and put it in the wheelbarrow, and place it on the plane area we pulled the weeds.  We did this for 2 days then moved on to the gravel pile. We did the same thing with gravel as we did with the dirt. It took way less time that we finished in a day. 

The history

The Pueblos would farm the land that they had. They were first established in 1250 AD. After establishing the name they agreed on the Anasazi people. They would use their natural resources to make bows, crops, and clothes. Their community slowly moved into the Bandelier, also known as the Bandelier national monument. They would carve into the canyon and make holes in it for homes. They would make farming land hear the walls of the canon. Almost everyone would farm to get their food or medication. Dirt was their life. With having ceremonies they built a ceremonial place called Aciva. They would skin turkeys there and prey. You would have to climb 100ft to get there. The reason why they built the canyon was to escape the Mexicans. Back then the Mexicans wanted to take their land and use them as slaves. That is why they built the canyon wall to escape them. They used ladders to climb to their houses, at night they would pull the ladders up so people could not invade their homes.

Service Project Wrap-Up

We met Tyson and Bryson on our last day of the service project. Tyson and Bryson were in charge of cleaning the garden and getting it ready for planting. We all sat in a circle around one of the plant beds and they introduced themselves by telling us their names and what tribe they were from. Tyson gave us a very heartfelt speech just to thank us for what we had done. He told us things about his culture and made us all feel appreciated as he spoke. He wove cultural stories into his words. We all left feeling proud of what we had done and knowing that the school appreciated what we had accomplished.

By Kempton Rudolf and Sofia Wilkinson

Cochiti Culture Poem

Our class listened to a Pueblo native 

He showed us his moccasins

We thought they were cool and neat

He also painted dear antlers

They were for the annual native village dances

He passed a hat around

With different kinds of feathers and leaves 

There are many kinds of dances 

Like the Summer, Winter, and Spring Dance

By Cullen Doherty

Cochiti Jewelry Making

My class at school, the blue group, walked into the science classroom at Cochiti School, not really knowing what to expect. There was Bernard, sitting at the table with all of his supplies. I saw a bunch of very sharp objects, pliers, an oxygen tank, a small bottle, and a big covered glass. He started off by introducing himself, and where he was from, then showed us the materials. After that, he picked up the bracelet he had started with the green group. At first, he used some of his tools for bending, so that he could shape it. Then, he soldered it with a massive blue flame. After he was finished, he passed around some turquoise set in stone. We had an opportunity to purchase his and his late wife’s jewelry.

By Teddy Werner

We ate paper bread (like crepes!) and learned about some of the decorations native people wear during dances to symbolize animals that are important to them.

Bandelier- Hike & Practice Ladders

We arrived on our bus, excited for what awaited us. After a quick bathroom break, lunch, and an introduction, we began the hike up to the first few cliff dwellings. Along the way, we stopped to discuss certain spots that we came across and their history. Eventually, we hiked up to the first two practice ladders, where we would be experimenting and exploring. While inspecting the dwellings, we learned that the native people had built homes using sandstone and ladders, for shelter and security. In addition, we saw holes carved out of the sandstone walls, from erosion and weathering. These practice ladders were a great opportunity to gain experience before the final triple ladder, which we were excited to conquer and accomplish.

By Peyton Egeland and Sofia Pavlovich

After the long hike to the Alcove House, we made it to the sacred ruins. We climbed up 140 feet using ladders and very very thin paths in the rock. After we climbed up the ladders, we were in the sacred space. We were 140 feet above the ground. There were holes in the walls from former buildings and a remaining kiva. They are used for religious purposes and for decision-making. They somehow brought bricks up there and built it. In the cave, it was so serene and quiet. It was the highlight of our experience for many of us.

By Finn Andersen and Ezra Lynch

The candle circle is when you make a circle with everyone and pass a candle around talking about something you will take with you. By Owen Becker

Candle Circle Haikus

In candle circles

Grind rocks in between your toes

It makes your dogs glad

In candle circles

If someone contracts covid

Make a very big gap

In candle circles

When asked what will stick with you

Say “sticky things” lol ;)

In candle circles

Assert your dominance (flex!)

Over mosquitoes

When reflecting 

Always make sure your partner

Does their work and helps

By Isaac Osborne

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

On our New Mexico trip, we visited many places, such as Bandelier national park, the Cochiti Pueblo School, Nadine’s house (a woman who makes storytellers), and the festival at Santa Domingo school. We did many activities leading up to the last day when we visited the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center where we learned about what different symbols mean in Cochiti culture when we walked through the museum. It was amazing to learn about how far-off stereotypes might affect one community and the way people think of it. Once we got out of the museum we saw two traditional dances in Cochiti culture. One of them was called the eagle dance the eagle dance was traditionally men wearing eagle feathers and then using them to dance. The other dance was a dance where a woman had a piece of pottery on her head, balanced throughout the entire dance. The person sharing facts about those two dances shared that many people think they live in tipis and walk everywhere they go but also told us that these stereotypes are not true and that was a reminder to be thoughtful before you are about to make a comment about a certain community you are visiting. This was an amazing experience and we learned so much from our guide! Shoutout to Jill! 

 By Ziva Fingerhut and Hunter Westhoff

Old Town

On our way home from our trip, we went to Old Town Albuquerque. It was a mall with everything you could get whatever you wanted, from ice cream to candy stores, even a Breaking Bad shop. The guy who owned the store was an extra in the show so he had so many cool props. He had signed a gas mask from the show. One of the kids went to the hot sauce store and got some local hot sauce with various creative names.

By Ethan Esmer and Cameron Dillon