Racing in Texas

Kristin and I made a quick stop in Austin, Texas on our way back from Chile. Kristin had decided to compete in a slalom kayaking race here on the San Marcos River… her first race ever. It was fun to make the stop here in Texas, because my older brother Ryan and his wife Heather live in Austin. Also, my older sister Mandy, her husband Jorge and their kids live in San Antonio. San Marcos is directly half-way between both families, so we were able to see everyone.

We first visited the San Marcos River in November when we took Ryan and Heather kayaking for their first time there. Returning for the race, we were impressed with the Rio Vista Whitewater Park, and how much fun it was to have a slalom race there. The water, even in February, was 72 degrees. On the day of the race, it was 76 degrees outside, and Sunday.

There was a good turnout for the race. Kristin’s category, K-1W, included a former British National Team paddler, one former member of the U.S. junior national team, and Michelle Kvanli, a longtime slalom and marathon racer. Former Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Jacobi was on site and helped work with Kristin in the training days leading up to the race.

Ultimately, Kristin had two very successful race runs. She had no problem getting all the gates, and had only three touches her first run, and two on her second. These solid runs ended up putting her in third place overall, which qualifies her to compete in the U.S. National Team Trials in Charlotte in April this year. This is very exciting, because it means she can focus on training and learning as she goes onto her other planned races this spring, and have fun at Team Trials.

We both enjoy the benefits that slalom kayak racing provides… it is probably the best way for a paddler to develop her/his technical river running skills, and it lets paddlers challenge themselves on whitewater without adding additional danger. We feel that Alzar School students should have a basic involvement with racing, as it can help them learn how to compete well, teach them sportsmanship, and introduce them to many different parts of the world. We are helping host a simple race this summer, open to all the camps of Western North Carolina.

Look forward to hearing more about Kristin’s racing progress this spring!

Sean

W to the Ilson on Leader of the Day

When I was leader of the day, we had to get Claudio to the bus station by 9:45. It was also the day we were heading for the beach at Pichilemu. When we arrived in Pichilemu, the hotel had already sold the cabana that they had promised us, so we had to find another place to stay. That was one of my biggest challenges as leader. But, when we got settled, we went walking in the town and I bought a churro… and it was so good I got 12 more!

The next day, we went to the beach and surfed with our kayaks. It was so much fun, and it was easy to catch the waves. Pichilemu was definitely one of my favorite stops of the trip.

I have had a great time in Chile and the weather here is great. I recommend going to Chile to anyone who loves to travel.

- Wilson

The Day

A few days ago, I was LEADER OF THE DAY!! I had a interesting time for I was the first leader and wasn’t sure what to expect. They told me what had to be done and what I was going to have to do to get this stuff done. Then, I told the group what time we were going to wake up and what had to be done throughout the day. That night, as I set my alarm for 6:25, I started to wonder how everything was going to go and if we would be on time… everything a leader could worry about. That morning I woke up at 6:25, bright and early. When I finished waking everyone up and battled all of the morning groans, I packed my bag, ate breakfast, and put my bag in the back of the car. I checked to see if we were on time, we were a little off but not too bad. Sean got in the car and started to back out and that is when the trouble started. We were stuck! We weren’t that far deep into the sand until we tried to start it again. Then, after we realized that it was only getting worse, we decided to try and push it out. That went up in flames. Then our neighbors saw that we were stuck and decided to come and help. We tried to dig some of it out but it was way to deep. Then one of our neighbors went to get two oxen at first we didn´t believe it would work until we hooked them up to the car and they shot off and the car came with it! It was so cool.

Katherine

My "leader" day

Today I’m going to talk about how was my day being the leader. Last Friday I knew that I was going to be the leader. So being the leader means waking up people, do the plans for the day, etc. I woke up the people at 6:30, because we had many things to do. We had to hike down, then we had to go to the campsite and collect the equipment we didn’t hike with, eat lunch, and go to las “siete tazas”. When we got to campground we set up camp, Wilson and Katherine had to do their homework, and then we visited las “siete tazas” (the seven tea cups, seven waterfalls). I had to plan all that. The different times that the activities took, and everything. It was fun.

Is very different when you are being the leader, because you have to care of everybody, and see if everything is ok, and be the example for all your group.

At the end of the day, we had a meeting and all the “Alzar Team”, told me how I did. They said very good things about me being the leader. They said that I did good so I’m happy for that. Also they tell you something that you need to work on, and then you have to do it right for your next day of being the leader. Tomorrow is my second day being the leader, so I hope do it well.

Atte,

Rosario (chilena a mucha honra!)

Pichilemu and the Final 3 Days

We arrived in Pichilemu yesterday afternoon after spending three days in the mountains, hiking, looking at waterfalls, as visiting an alien landing zone (the students will provide more information on this). The trip provided some epic moments between getting our truck towed out of ridiculously thick dust by oxen, to everyones first round as “leader of the day.”

The students, although not looking forward to the hike as the best part of the trip, were all challenged and rose to the occasion. We hiked 10 miles through Descabezado National Park, and were rewarded with a view of the twin volcano peaks. Hiking out of the Park on the second day Katherine was flying down the trail. When asked where all the energy came from she replied, “Well, I was thinking about everything we have done in the last two weeks, and between paddling every day and hiking yesterday with these packs, I feel like I can do anything.”

The beach is a refreshing place to wrap up the trip. We are staying in a cabana with a shower, so we are all working to slowly remove the dirt from our feet. The waves are unbelievably fun to surf, and the students are given lots of opportunity to interact with the Chilean culture. They went out to diner last night as a student group ordering their own meals (we practiced before hand), and rode a “horse taxi” back to our hotel. The evening ended with feedback to Wilson on his preformance as “leader of the day (he did a great job),” and a little taca taca (Chilean foozeball). The students are wrapping up the last of their homework and working on their reflection projects for their presentations when they return to school.

We have one and a half more days here before we go to Curico (Rosario’s home town), for a personal tour, a Chilean asado (cook-out) with her awesome family, and a visit to the local orphanage. After that we travel to Santiago for our flight back to The States. This trip has flown by for all of us, but we are going to make the best of last few days here!

Look for student updates this afternoon-

Kristin and Sean Bierle

My rolling story

Today I am going to talk about rolling. Yesterday we went to the Trancura river. Sean, Claudio, Katherine and Wilson, went to Pescador rapid, and I stayed with Kristin practicing my roll. This is kind of cool, because I finally could do it. Of course I need to practice a lot more, but I think that I got it. I know is easier for me to do it now. I used “Shakira method” (hips don´t lie), and that has really worked!

Today I went with Claudio and Kristin, to paddle the Luicura River again, I practiced my roll again. It’s getting better, and I am happy for that.

Tomorrow we are going to Valdivia. The adventure continues…….

chao, escribo luego..

Rosario Torrealba (chilena a mucha honra!)

Two Casualties

Normally, I would be writing about all the great things going on here, but something else has come to my attention. That is the loss of two of my favorite hair bows. It all started when we were on the Rio Enco–I was just sitting there in my kayak having such a good time and I didn´t even notice that I had lost my black bow. I knew that I had done a few rolls but I didn´t think that if would have been enough water pressure to lose a bow so I didn´t worry that much about it. Boy was I wrong! As we were packing up, I noticed that I had lost my bow. I asked if anyone saw it but no one knew, and no one could remeber the last time they had seen it either. I searched all around for it but it was nowhere to be found. I was depressed for a few days so I didn´t wear a bow on the river. Later, Sean noticed that I wasn´t wearing bows so he said “Why don´t you wear a bow today on the river?” I told him that I was still a little depressed about the loss of my black bow but that I would wear a bow today on the Rio Luicura. We went down the river and everyting started out fine until we got to this one big rapid. I went down and was having so much fun but then I flipped and when I rolled back up my bow was gone. At first, I didn´t relize it but by the time I did it was too late. Sadly, I have now learned my lesson that bows and rivers with big rapids don´t mix. Now I am considering other options such as painting a bow on my helment, but I´ll be sure to get back to you with that. But until then… chao!!

Sincerely,

Katherine

Pescador

Today, for the second time, we ran Pescador Rapid. Pescador is probably the hardest rapid we have run on this trip. It has so far been the most fun. It is about 75 yards long. Later, they will have pictures posted of us on it. Tomorrow we will be leaving the Pucon area and making our way towards Valdiva.

-Wilson

Getting ready to leave Pucon

Well, the Alzar School is about to leave Pucon, and begin our journey northward. From here, we will tour the historic city of Valdivia, where Claudio (our lead Chilean instructor) is from. Afterwards, we are going to hike around Volcan Descabezado, a giant volcano.

Life here in Pucon has been good fun. We´ve been camping the entire time, and learning lots. We have practiced a bunch of the 10 Elements of Leadership… for those of you who don´t know what they are: Character, Technical Proficiency, Communication Skills, Resiliency & Resourcefulness, Accurate awareness of self, Personal Leadership, Inspiring Vision, Community Membership & Service, and Continual Learning and Improvement. We´ve also practiced Spanish, learned about Leave No Trace camping, and thrown a lot of Frisbee. Everyone is taking turns cooking and doing dishes, and the group is getting along spendidly. We can´t be happier!

We will let the students tell you more… as we know you´d rather hear about it from them…

- Sean and Kristin