Gap Year Excursion to Peru!

I could not have had a more amazing experience in Peru through EdOdyssey! My name is Jake Leary, and before starting Harvard this fall, I took a gap year. One of my goals for this year was to go outside of my comfort zone and travel internationally for the first time. EdOdyssey was the perfect group for my gap year. They were helpful with every step of planning my trip (about a half semester) and assisting with all of my activities, homestay family, volunteer opportunities, and acclimating to Lima during my time in Peru. Trekking through the Amazon rainforest with Patty was one of my favorite experiences of my trip, along with the amazing pics of the all the wildlife! I loved waking up every morning and talking with my host family over breakfast all in Spanish- it was the perfect daily practice that I needed to improve my Spanish! Whenever I had any questions or problems, Luciana, Patty, and Rey were always there to help me. One experience that had a strong impact on me was participating in volunteer work in Pamplona, an undeveloped community where I was able to help build stairs out of concrete. Seeing the difference in the community in real time was incredible. During my excursion to Peru, I was able to witness and learn about different cultural aspects of Peru, and my favorite was probably the food! For my trip, I was able to combine taking Spanish classes, participating in activities, volunteer work, and traveling within Peru. If you are thinking about taking a gap year, do it and travel the world if you can, especially Lima!