A different way of life!✌🏻️

As expected, my heart was smiling all day long!💓 We started with 6am birding - apparently, watching the sunrise from a boat on the Amazon River is something teenagers will get out of bed for...first hour at Mountain Pointe High School, not so much.😳 With our experience this morning, Wildlifing is a much better title.  We saw lazy sloths, jumping fish, 8 legged freaks and a few birds flying around. Coupled with a picturesque sunrise and Rainforest stories from the guides, the kids easily started to fall in love with the Amazon. 

Our morning continued with an overview of Yagua culture and lifestyle, presented at our lodge by the natives themselves. The students had the opportunity to paddle a dug out canoe, perform native dances, sample local foods and drinks, build a thatched roof, experiment with natural dyes from plants, play with a machete😳 and shoot a Blowgun!🎯 They went all Yagua in - so much so that I thought I was going to have to institute a dress code for the rest of the trip!😁 After lunch, they visited the Yagua Trading Center and picked up a boatload (literally) of souvenirs - all handmade in the Amazon.  Some may say that teenagers are close minded to things they don't know - they haven't met the #PeruCrew (the official Jungle hashtag)! They shook the hands of the Yagua presenters, learned how to say thank you in their native tongue, willingly volunteered to dance/paint their faces/try new foods - all with a smile on their face! They're not afraid of different - they embrace it (real world Mp style)! It didn't even cross their minds to be or do anything else, and everyone affiliated with these students (family, friends, MP) should be bursting with pride right now, just like I am! We have a community service day with the Yagua soon - better get the box of tissues out now for those happy heart tears!😂 

We also found time to meet with Dr. Linnea Smith today. She is the American doctor from Wisconsin who came on a trip similar to mine, fell in love with the magic of the Jungle and never looked back...sound familiar?✌🏻️ She spoke with them about healthcare in the Amazon, the differences in America and perspective. To be wealthy means many things, but to the doctor, it's having clean drinking water, a plumbing system and a little bit of perspective. My trip to the Jungle put my world in focus. The reflection time we had with the students at the end of today showed me this trip is already helping them find their own pair of glasses. 👓🌎 

We finished with a very brave night hike that brought out the Indiana Jones hiding inside all 16 kids - and ended with a glowing red eyed...moth? Good thing the guides have our back! The kids continue to amaze and inspire me with every activity we do. Tomorrow, I'm certain will be just as Oscar worthy with a visit to the Shaman and more wildlifing! Thank you to everyone who's following our Jungle journey and commenting/sharing my thoughts - the #perucrew appreciates it more than you know! We are moving to a lodge with weaker Jungle wifi and a collection of monkeys known to chew up in bandwidth.🙊 If the lines go dark, please wait patiently - the day tripping resort of Ceiba Tops is on the horizon and has guaranteed postable wee-fee!📲 Thank you!😍

Wide Eyes, Open Hearts!❤️

Three flights, one bus and one long boat ride later - we are in the Jungle! These 16 kids deserve a Kanye West sized shout out for their 23 hours of travel to get to the jungle, and only a couple grumpy cat faces directed my way in the process! I'm so proud of them, for this and so many other reasons so far.😍 Here are some pics of the eager bunch, earning their passport stamp in Iquitos!🌎

After getting the room assignments and having 30 short minutes to take a "relaxing" cold shower, they finally got to sample the Amazon fish dinner and began the wildlife exploration! You'd think these kids would be tired...instead, their inner Steve Erwin came out and before I knew it, we had racked up a giant snail, a snake that could eat you,🐍 a toad as big as my Sasquatch sized foot, a pink toed tarantula (she's a lady) and a handful of frogs, butterflies and spiders...and that was before we got on the boat! Our first night boat ride was magical and can be summed up in one sentence, "It's only been one day and most of my fears have already been conquered," Lauren, a 2015 MP grad. Sorry Lauren, you sit next to me on the boat, you get quoted in the blog.😁 She was referring to her fear of the unknown and trying new things - a teacher's *dream come true* - I can retire now. How can it possibly be only Day 2?💓

Today, as I listened to their expectations and fears for the trip, I realized I was feeling so grateful. My trip to the Amazon last summer changed me - it opened my eyes wide to the magic in travel, the magic of the Amazon - my "happy!" (Please see the AmazonMerd blog 1.0.) I have the awesome opportunity to not only relive my adventure, but also help 16 students find their own eyes wide open to whatever it is they're looking for. Like I did, I hope everyone here leaves the Jungle with a new wide eyed perspective👀, a desire to see the world, and with a little bit more "happy." And I think we're off to a pretty good start! ✌🏻️

On the docket for tomorrow - a day of visits with many inspirational people in the Amazon. Speaking of inspirational, I was reunited today with Christa, the director of Amazon Workshops at EcoTeach. She's here with me in the Jungle and I am over the moon excited to be here with her again - who knows what she'll talk me into next!😍 

Amazon 2015 Take Off ✈️

June 23. It's finally here! 16 teenagers and I just said our (tearful) goodbyes in Phoenix and are off to see the world! I know this trip to the jungle will be very different for me from last year and I'm already starting to realize just how magical it will be. This is one student's first ever plane ride. Seven of the sixteen have never left the U.S. None of them have ever seen the Rainforest.🌱 Over the next ten days, they are about to see places, meet locals and have experiences that most only dream about. I am so grateful to be able to share this time with them and see the world through their wide eyes!😍 Their excitement is infectious, their desire to see the world is inspirational and their big open heart's make me smile! I'm bursting with pride...and it's only Day One!💓

With enough Malaria and anti-diarrhea pills to cure Ebola😳, and enough portable chargers to survive a zombie apocalypse📲 our Amazon journey begins! Thank you for following along with our Ms. Frizzle🐊 adventure! Stay tuned for jungle updates as we take chances, make mistakes and get messy! 🚌🐍🙈

Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon & Amazon 2015 - Everything was Inspiring

It's been a hot minute since I posted on my blog, but now I'm back with a bushels of good news that's kept me smiling from ear to ear.💗 This quote by writer Robert M. Drake pretty perfectly describes me at this moment.

"Then, she began to breathe, and live, and every moment took her to a place where goodbyes were hard to come by. She was in love, but not in love with someone or something, she was in love with her life. And for the first time, in a long time, everything was inspiring."

As promised, I have been on the hunt for a lucky group of MP students who are willing to let me take them to the Jungle next summer. The October first deadline approached at warp speed✈️, and I am over the moon🌙 excited to report that 16 brave souls have booked their tickets to adventure land. When I think of the trust they have in me and what our 10 days in the Rainforest will mean to all of us, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude - my heart is so full, it might actually burst.💓 In just 8 short months, they'll be counting down the minutes to take off, fully equipped with enough vaccines to last a lifetime, charged camera batteries surrounded by desiccant packs, hiking boots with very flattering tear away pants to match, and a set of binocs that could spot a Pippa chameleon🐊 buried in the Las Vegas meadows. There will be more posts about this bold group as we start the fundraising and bonding activities. For now, here they are - may the odds be ever in your favor (just kidding parents)!

This past weekend, another notch was marked off the bucket list.✅ I had the opportunity to live out loud in our state's very own backyard. With 3 (now) great friends, I hiked 23.9 miles from Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon.🌄 We hiked 13.9 miles down from the North Rim on Saturday, spent the night in the cutest little lodge, Phantom Ranch,⛺️ and hiked 9 miles up the South Rim on Sunday. We saw the sunset when we arrived at the bottom and the sunrise as we hiked up to the top - there is something very special about being outside when a day starts or ends. A little piece of the Amazon Rainforest magic from Dr. Linnea Smith exists in the Canyon (and we have the filtered pictures to prove it). I knew this experience would be meaningful and breath taking. I knew it was going to be one for the books that I couldn't wait to tell everyone about. But it wasn't until I took those last steps up on to the South Rim that I knew the impact of these 2 days. The canopy walkway in the Amazon, the top of Machu Picchu in Peru, the plane ride back to Phoenix on July 16 and now, the last steps of a 23.9 mile rim to rim Grand Canyon hike - I want to do more, see more, inspire more...live more!💚

"I only got one life, I want it to mean something," Dallas Buyers Club. 

Welcome 2015 Amazon Students and Parents!

Welcome potential Amazon 2015 Rainforest student participants and parents! I am very excited you've stopped by the Jungle! There will be more information posted here soon. In the meantime, please check out the Amazon 2015 webpage for important documents, costs and links.

*There is an informational meeting on August 25th at 7pm at the Pecos Community Center. It is for students and their parents who are interested in the EcoTeach trip to the Amazon Rainforest in Peru in the 2015 summer. I will have information about cost, fundraising, safety, health concerns, a sample itinerary and what to expect. Please RSVP to attend. 

7/15 - My Final Thought

7/15 - My Final Thought

Here is my Jerry Springer final thought for the most amazing and unbelievable 15 days in the jungle.
As I sat on the plane leaving Lima, I was heartbroken this experience came to an end. I had no idea I would feel this way on this day, no idea that I would form friendships that I know, will last a lifetime. (I actually thought I would be sick of traveling and would have literally jumped speedboat a long time ago!)
Over the past 16 days, my life has been more meaningful than I ever could have imagined. I've seen and done things that scared the H out of me, made me cry happy and sad tears, and made me want to sing out loud at the top of my lungs! The morning and night boat rides on the Amazon River, interacting with the Yagua kids and teachers, holding a baby monkey (and watching one jump on my head!), feeling like I'm on top of the world and the sky's the limit on the canopy, getting a postcard live view of Machu Picchu - I feel re-inspired to live out loud in the classroom and my own life.
I've met so many inspirational people along the way. All of the teachers - so dedicated to their students and wanting to always learn more. The faculty served as mentors for all us - an example to always stay motivated and committed to science. The amazing guides and all of the Peruvians - I learned so much from your knowledge, your lifestyle and what it means to be happy where ever you are. My Amazon BFFs, we became a family overnight in the jungle - I never would have survived without you and I know, our story is just beginning. =)
Above all, the past 15 days have taught me what fills my heart. My desire to learn about different cultures, travel to exotic places and help everyone I can is now stronger than ever. I'm grateful for this opportunity, for the people I met along the way, and for it opening my eyes wide enough to see my happy.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my adventure with you. I know it was a little cheesy (and hopefully funny) at times, but it's real, it's live and it's all me! Luckily, my journey doesn't end here. I get to experience it all over again next summer, this time with a group of 7+ fortunate students, watching their eyes light up, as mine have over and over again. The magic of the rainforest is not just a filter on my camera (though it is an awesome one) - it's exactly what Dr. Linnea Smith described and I love it!
Now more than ever, my heart is full, I'm living out loud, and my story is just beginning - the future's so bright - I gotta wear shades! :)

I leave you with a slideshow of my favorite pics from the jungle and the 'Chu.
Next stop - no se - the world is my oyster! :)

Here are my favs - kind of a lot! :)

7/13 & 7/14 - Machu Picchu!

7/13 and 7/14 - Machu Picchu!

Today we hopped on the Peru Rail for a 3 hour chug through the countryside that would drop us off at Aguas Calientes - the town at the base of Machu Picchu! We spent the first day touring the "Stonehenge" city, taking in the views and hiking the Inca Bridge.  We spent the night in an amazing hotel in Aguas Calientes so we could have the whole next day at the 'Chu, where we did one last morning birding (specifically looking for the Cock on the Rock😳), hiked to the sun gate and explored, before heading back to Cusco for our last night in South America. These 2 days were a magical experience that I will never forget. Our leader, Mo from ASU, told us to periodically stop, close our eyes, take a deep breath and then take a second. Sarah and I did this all over the 'Chu and now, the beauty, views and emotions I had are burned into my memory forever. This mini break really made me appreciate where I was and what I was seeing. We've decided we are definitely returning with our 3rd Amazon Amiga Joan to hike the 4 day Inca trail that ends on the 'Chu in the very near future - talk about a 180 degrees change in my attitude towards being outdoorsy and life without wifi! (The Amazon really has changed me...for the better!)
I don't think it's possible to put into words what I saw or how I felt on the mountain, so I've decided that this post is best described through photos of the views and my excited selfie face! 😝 there are 2 slideshows - one of the town Aguas Calientes and the other is Machu Picchu! I went a little crazy with the Picchu pics - sorry about that!

Next stop - a tearful goodbye in Lima. 😪

Click to play traditional Peruvian music while you watch the slideshows.

Click for the Machu Picchu slideshow.

Click for the Aguas Calientes slideshow.