Best semester of college!

My 4 months in Peru were absolutely incredible. I can definitely say that studying abroad in Cusco was the best decision I have made in my life thus far. I chose SIT Peru for a number of reasons including the location, program theme, and positive feedback I heard from former students who had studied abroad. The classes were not very academically challenging, but for our seminars we did have a lot of reading which was hard in the beginning before my Spanish improved. The ISP was definitely difficult. I was pushed far outside of my comfort zone when I decided to spend my two weeks of fieldwork at bilingual schools in the rural sierra where the people were native Quechua speakers and wary of foreigners. In the end, however, I formed close relationships with both students and teachers and completing a 60-page ISP all in Spanish felt like a great accomplishment.

I was fortunate to have an AMAZING homestay experience. My mom and brother were very supportive and caring, and truly welcomed me into their family. I learned a lot about Peruvian culture from them, and they certainly helped me improve my Spanish! My mom was a great cook, so I enjoyed delicious food. The vast amount of potatoes and rice that makes up a large portion of the Peruvians diet was certainly a challenge. Not being able to eat raw vegetables, including salads, was difficult for me. That being said, I did my best to keep an open mind and loved how much fresh fruit there was. Meat is also very common, and I got to eat cuy many times during my fieldwork. It's actually really good!

Having Cusco as a home base was fabulous. It is a beautiful and culturally diverse city, and being able to walk a block from my house to a cozy café or take the combi to the Plaza de Armas to do work was a unique opportunity that I certainly took for granted. The night life was also fun, and it was great to have so many options within such a manageable distance.

Traveling around the country was one of the highlights of the program. I will never forget the time we spent with an Indigenous community in the Amazon, with our "second" host families on Lake Titicaca, and at schools in Lima sharing our culture with the children and learning about theirs. The fact that the program only had 18 students was unique, and I made many close friends. Being back in the states, I miss Perú so much. I would definitely recommend this program, and would give anything to go back!