Anyone else reminiscing on this past summer? I know I am. I had an amazing summer! I was able to spend over 4.5 weeks in Peru. I was volunteering as a teacher for Spanish to English classrooms. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy to be back at USG. I’ve missed my friends dearly so I’m happy to be back with them. My trip has inspired me to work harder this last and final year. I will be graduating in May, yay! But anyways, on my trip, I met so many inspiring people who introduced me to new things and new opportunities. It’s hard being overloaded with work, but I feel inspired to push myself harder, study more, and go the extra mile this year.

Now to tell you about my trip! Like I said, I was a volunteer teacher assigned to teach English classes. Myself and 12 other teachers traveled from all over the U.S. to spend over a month in Peru. We lived in a small village called Huchuy Qosqo, near Lamay, Peru. This was about a 45-minute bus ride outside of Cusco. Our village was situated in-between the Andes mountain range in an area called “Valle Segrado” or Sacred Valley. Our village was next to a strong flowing river and we could see a snow capped mountain from our houses. I was there from the end of June to the end of July, which meant this was their winter time. It was COLD! I had to buy warm gloves, jacket, and a hat, because it was much colder than I expected. Plus the altitude…we lived at close to 9,000 ft. Compared to Rockville MD, at sea level, this took some adjusting. I had a few bad headaches when I first arrived, and exercising was very difficult.

I really enjoyed being able to try teaching and also in a subject that is challenging for me. See, I’ve been studying Spanish for over seven years, but have never been immersed. I was able to improve my conversational Spanish and listening skills. So teaching English was challenging for me but I also really enjoyed it. I also loved being able to play soccer (or Futbol), with the kids after class, and/or integrating English into a soccer game.

Class in the village.

One of the best parts of my trip though, was meeting 12 new amazing people, who were the other teachers. It might sound cliche, but I feel like I truly have 12 new friends for life. Each and every one of them were unique, funny, nice, and simply loving people. I had the pleasure of going to Machu Picchu with my friends Cameron, Sean, Bailey, Shay, and Gloria. Another weekend, Sean and I went to the Rainbow Mountains. This was one of the most amazing places I have ever been.

Anyways, back to hitting the books! I have some pep in my step this semester that can’t be stopped! Happy to have had great experiences this summer that will impact me forever.

Sean, Cameron, Shay, myself, Gloria, and Bailey. (left to right)

Sean and I at Rainbow Mountain.