My Summer in Peru

I went to Cusco, Peru through United Planet for eight weeks after I graduated college. I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life. I think traveling will always be my favorite thing to do, but I also think a program can either hinder or enhance your experience. I am so glad I chose to go through United Planet, which is why I have decided to write a review. I feel so strongly about how well they planned and conducted the whole experience.
Upon arriving in Cusco, I was greeted at the airport by my host family. My host family was amazing!! I cannot say enough nice things about them. I thought I was so lucky, but other volunteers and I would tease that we had the best family, so it seemed like everyone felt the same as I did! My entire stay at their home I felt comfortable and cared for. We had three home cooked meals everyday. I am a vegetarian and United Planet made the effort to place me in a home where they were willing to provide those style meals for me. I was so grateful and it was never an issue.
I worked for 5 weeks at a womens shelter. Those girls challenged me everyday and although some days I felt discouraged or saddened by their situations, I learned SO much from them and feel they felt the same way about me. I made some great connections with the girls and it was through this program that I learned how much I enjoyed tutoring English, which is something I am currently pursuing at home. The last three weeks I spent volunteering at an Animal Sanctuary. This had not been my original plan but there were some openings for volunteers at the site and United Planet allowed me to switch over. I loved working here! We were outside all day. I gave tours to English tourists and helped the owners with their English. We painted, cleaned, cared for the animals and cleaned trash out of the river. It was a great experience.
I also took Spanish classes while I was there as part of the program. These classes far and above exceeded my expectations. The classes consisted of myself and one or two other students and the professor. This setup allowed for a great deal of personal attention and encouraged us to speak much more than a typical class at home. I could not believe how much my Spanish improved after only eight weeks!
There were also weekly cultural activities throughout my time. I loved these because I felt like it was a great way to learn about the culture and meet other volunteers. The cultural activities were also at the school which became a great hub for meeting other volunteers. We took cooking classes, a Quechua language class, origami, and salsa dancing. I loved it! We also went on three amazing excursions. We took a weekend trip to Macchu Picchu which was absolutely amazing. I still cannot believe that I was able to have that experience. We stayed overnight in Aguas Calientes and then hiked Macchu Picchu the next day. There was a group of about 8-10 of us which made it a really fun trip. We also went horseback riding for an excursion and white water rafting. White water rafting was one of the best days of my life! We spent the whole day out there and it was beautiful. We wore wet suits and jumped off a boulder into the river. After we finished for the day we were served a huge, delicious lunch and even got to go ziplining!
I can honestly say everything about my trip went smoothly and I would definitely travel through United Planet again. The only issue I encountered throughout my stay was that I got sick, which is obviously completely out of United Planets control. However, when this happened I called the in-country coordinator and she actually came and picked me up and personally took me to the doctor and waited the entire time with me. And then checked in on me for the next few days until I was better. I also received an email from the coordinators in the Boston offices checking in on me to see how I was feeling. I just thought this was above and beyond what anyone had to do for me and I don't think I would get that through another program. I am so grateful for my time in Peru. I met so many wonderful people and still keep in touch with my host family and several volunteers. I highly, highly recommend traveling and volunteering through United Planet.