The past nine months that I have spent in Peru have been a rollercoaster of adventure and crazy experiences as well as an amazing opportunity to grow and get to know myself.
While carrying a full course load ó in Spanish ñó I have done my best to take every opportunity to see as much as I can of the country with its beautiful coast, lush jungle and incredibly impressive mountains. My summer break (winter in the states) was spent in the city of Cusco where I spent a lot of time exploring as well as gathering data for my I.S. which deals with the ways in which people use their identity to appeal to the expectations and desires of tourists. I interviewed tourists as well as local people who work in “tourist markets,” and observed the goings on of street and market activity focusing on these interactions among tourists and locals.
Now I am halfway into the second semester and apart from classes I am also volunteering in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Lima called Pamplona, working with young girls from 11 to 17 years old. We hold workshops with them on Sundays and take them on excursions with their mothers where we integrate fun activities that get the girls interacting with their moms in an effort to help them to build stronger, more compassionate relationships ó something that most girls anywhere lack with their mothers at that age. The hardest part about working in Pamplona is knowing that only 30 minutes away is Miraflores, the wealthiest and most luxurious section of the city. What a contrast it is from Pamplona, where the homes are built out of pieces of board, string, trash, whatever can be found and used. Where the garbage trucks never pass leaving heaps of trash littering the streets making the stench inescapable and polluting the air because people light the garbage on fire. Where there is no running water, only tanks that have to be filled by a truck that struggles to pass through the steep, rocky, unpaved “roads.” It’s a paradox that is difficult to accept, especially living in beautiful Miraflores with its expensive hotels and upscale restaurants and cafÈs.
I have found it necessary to get out of the city every now and then, take a bus up into the mountains where the air is fresh, the people friendly and where the alpacas and llamas run free. One of my most memorable experiences was my time spent in one community in the mountains. Last semester I took a class called EtnografÌa Andina (Andean Ethnography) in which we were to conduct a group investigation in an Andean community. The topic of my project was the non-Christian beliefs still in existence in the town of San Pedro de Casta, a small farming town 12,000 feet above sea level. On arrival we interviewed some of the locals, asking them to share with us their stories about various sacred beings such as Soqta Kuri, the man and god considered to have rid San Pedro de Casta of the seven-headed serpent who used to do harm to the people. Everyone knows Soqta Kuri and fears his awful storms. Fortunately he now lives in Bolivia and only returns every 3 or 5 years. We found it interesting that this sacred being is closely related to the seasonal storms that burden the farming community. Life there is dependent on the weather: water is essential but too much is detrimental.
Of course visiting Machu Picchu was another highlight and I was lucky enough to make it there in the first part of my trip as the train tracks leading to the town just below the ruins was washed away by the heavy flooding and mudslides that struck Cusco this summer. Taking the difficult hike up to the ruins at 4 a.m. while the mist still hangs over the mountaintops was definitely the way to go as we got to enjoy the sun rising over the peaks just as we reached the top. The sights in Machu Picchu were breathtaking; something that can’t really be described nor given proper justice in photos.† Choosing to study abroad for a full year was the best decision I could have made and overall my experience abroad has been wonderful. I have taken the good and the bad as learning opportunities that I will be able carry with me for the rest of my life.