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benjaminalv 2017, Dine/Navajo, Field Trips

Benjamin’s first time at Wishtoyo

1st day

My very first day at Wishtoyo was very awesome! The people there greeted us, as we came in, with songs and hugs. I felt very welcomed to be there. The view of everything was very beautiful. We all went to the beach after 2 hours of settling into our tents. The beach was nice, the water felt good to my feet and legs. A hour went by and we all came back to camp all wet. We celebrated Auntie Julia’s birthday, it was nice. I saw some new faces but didn’t get to talk to them. As we ate dinner, we listened to Kat’s amazing song. Her song/voice gave everyone chills. After all of this my friends and I took a group picture, it came out really nice. I made some new memories thereat Wishtoyo.

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2nd and 3rd day

The two days combined was very fun, we basically did the same thing. Woke up at 7:30 for the morning ceremony, ate Nana’s delicious food, and did the best activities. We went to the beach and surfed, it was the best time. I had so much fun at Wishtoyo, can’t wait to go there next year again!!35222657403_e6e879614b_z

jarrodchap 2017, Wishtoyo Village

Wishtoyo!!! – Jarrod

On the first day at Wishtoyo, we were greeted with a song by the Chumash people when we arrived. We hugged and introduced ourselves to each other. But right as i got out of the car I felt the energy of Wishtoyo and it felt so great. Later, we had some of the best food i have ever had in such a long time. After lunch, we had a little group that went to go learn some traditional archery, which was easy to pick up if you did it enough times. The traditional archery was way different than the type of archery we know today, you actually throw the arrow with some type of stick. I kind of sucked at aiming it but all i was good at was throwing it far.

On the second day at Wishtoyo, we woke up and we did the sunrise ceremony, which was something different than most things i have done. The thing i liked most, was the fact that we had a blessing for every meal. And again, the food was just great. Then the beach was great also, i went swimming and the waves just took me so many times, so much salt was in my nose and sand was everywhere. I was even turned into a beautiful sand mermaid. Later on that day, the men went to a sweat. I was one of the men who hasn’t done a sweat before, and that sweat took about three hours all together.

On the third day at Wishtoyo, our last day, we went to the beach. The waves at the beach were more common than the day before. Most of the group went surfing, while i stayed on the sand for most of the time. After we were done at the beach, we went back to the village to have lunch. We said how we felt about the last few days. And then had lunch, but after lunch we said our goodbyes. And we all got Wishtoyo shirts!! and we took a bunch of photos together. I am so glad that i was able to experience this program that has been teaching me so much.

 

tyvongrey2001 Uncategorized

Another Day at Pitzer

by: Tyvon Greyeyes

As we sadly approach the ending of the program the teaching of everything gets more exciting and interesting like for example the lessons of Aztec Math, Rehearsing and Learning new songs, etc. The amount of knowledge is so large and learning about it makes me think about most of it such as Aztec Math how we use the nepohualtzintzin abacus is so simple yet complex it is very amazing how it works, also how we sing songs that have so much meaning with every passing word I can almost feel the large amount of pride and determination also with every passing word which gives me hope for the future. This program makes me feel as if I am at a home away from home because my bond with everyone grow everyday and so for I am enjoying it, so that is all I have to say for today.35226159453_7a3731b854_z.jpg.

kylerodriguez63 Chumash, Field Trips, Uncategorized

Kyle’s Wishtoyo Experience

 

It all started when I arrived at Wishtoyo. The welcoming was Mati and Luhui singing a welcoming song. I felt like I was at home when I first got there. The chumash village had such good energy. On the first day after we arrived we had gone done to the beach to soak our feet. Then we were served this amazing dinner by nana. The food was delicious because nana had put so much love in it. Then came the second day. We started by having breakfast and then going down to the beach to go boogy boarding. We were also able to go surfing. Even though it was hard the first couple of times i was able to pick it up pretty fast. Then we came back to the village for lunch and then we participated in activities like making necklaces and learning sacred geometry. Towards the end of the night we began to prepare for a sweat. then came the time for the sweat. I was prepared for it but I still knew it would be tough. I was able to last for 2 out of 3 rounds. In all together Wishtoyo was awesome and great

 

 

sylenar Uncategorized

Day 9!- Sylena

07/19/17

To start off our morning, yet again, we had another class of Indigenous Games with Hector and John! I will admit that I did not want to get up this morning but, today we did something different. Today we played a game similar the capture the flag and I really enjoyed it! It was a great way to start off the day and wake up. I can honestly say that by the end of the session, I was fully energized and ready for the rest of the day.

We had lots of free time today which I really needed to catch up on laundry and get organized. The activity that stood out the most for me today was the talking/drumming/singing circle with Josie Montes. I have never experienced something quite like this before so it was so touching to be apart of! My favorite song that we learnt was the humming bird song which made me feel so alive and dive deeper into my spirit. I could feel the power in all the women around me and knew that we were, yet again bonding! This was such an inspiring experience and I am so thankful Aunt Josie was there to share her wisdom and stories with us! She taught us so much within a short period of time and made the time pass like it was nothing. This is something I feel like I would like to experience again and learnt more about!

-Sylena

Aolani Uncategorized

There’s no place like home

Well, my spirit isn’t at Pitzer College…it’s at Wishtoyo. Those three days were the best. Anything involving my homeland is just so medicinal for my body, mind and spirit. The moment we got there, I was greeted by my grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, my brother (He’s not really my brother. He’s my cousin’s fiancee who is one of my favorite people.) and MY MOM! I missed my home-girl so much. After greeting, we had ceremony filled with songs, stories and prayer. Then we went out to the cliff and did a prayer for our Mother ocean because she is hurting. Then we went down to the water and people got their feet wet but the tide came in and majority of the people were drenched. We then had a separate Woman talk about the importance of the Moon Time. The ,men had their talk too but i have no clue what they discussed. Then we ate food BROUGHT TO YOU BY NENAAAAAA!!!! Then we went to the beach and I sang some Chumash songs to Anna. Basically the whole entire trip was amazing. The funniest part for me was the way back. So, the night before, the men had a sweat and everyone was sleeping but somehow Cuauhtli managed to stay awake. On the way back to Pitzer, Zaryn, Marissa, Sylena, Violet, Jasson, Aleyah and Kyle were talking and Cuauhtli passed out on the floor of the van. So while he was sleeping, we were messing with his face and stuff like that. Then he started to snore…LOUD! And Kyle laughed so hard. It was hilarious. Anyway, it was dank.

-Aolani

destinythelegacy 2017, Dine/Navajo, Uncategorized

Destiny’s First Experience at Wishtoyo!

This is my first time at Wishtoyo and I already have a feeling that I’m going to like it here. When we arrived, everyone was so nice and welcoming. Later we learned about sacred geometry. It was really cool because it was math, which is my favorite subject. It also had art and science and I thought that was interesting. It was so interesting that I really wanted to learn more. After that, all of us went to the beach and that was fun. At night, just looking at the stars made me feel like i was back at home. That made me feel homesick, but my friends were there to make me feel better. 35863476952_b0ec291337_z

The next day, i woke up to a nice scenery of the ocean on a cool morning. Then we learned how to make traditional jewelry and I had fun making my bracelet. On the last day, I didn’t want to leave. I felt so sad, but there is always next year and I’m defiantly coming back to Wishtoyo.

tyvongrey2001 2017

Wishtoyo

by: Tyvon Greyeyes

I want to point out first that Wishtoyo was very beautiful mostly due to its people and the scenic view of the ocean and the village which was a very nice experience that I will certainly remember for a very long time. At Wishtoyo we learned so much like the culture and tradition of the Chumash people that is very touching because they have so much respect and grateful for everything they have and they love what they have which is very rare to see. We also learned some fun activities like making bracelets, necklaces, learning sacred geometry, surfing, and so much more all of these activities have created a strong bond with everyone of us, to me we are all family even if we aren’t blood related  we are spiritually related. My experiences here at this program are indescribably amazing which I have never experienced at any other program, So for whoever reads this I thank you for reading what I am currently thinking about.

isaacmartin32 Uncategorized

wishtoyo- Isaac

Wishtoyo was really fun. i have learned a lot from monty. all of the songs he shared with us was really cool. they was a lot of bonding that went on also. everyone got along. later time when we were at wishtoyo, all of the guys had a sweet. the sweet was really need and it was really good. we also got to learn how to surf, which was really fun. that was my first time surfing.