Seven months ago I had the incredible
opportunity of traveling to Peru for winter and spring quarters.
This
was one of those life-changing experiences that few people can relate
to. My whole life I have wanted to travel to different countries
and
immerse myself in a new culture; the Patience Program gave me that
opportunity. The program allowed me to learn about the Peruvian
culture in a way that enabled me to explore my long time passions and
dreams for the future.
I
started my trip with a few goals in mind. My main goal
was to learn Spanish to an extent where I would be able to communicate
without difficulty. This was a constant struggle throughout the
trip.
At first I could hardly say more then a few words in Spanish, however
everyday I learned new words and phrases. Nearing the end of my
journey, my Spanish vocabulary increased dramatically. In fact I
have
been told on several occasions that I speak perfect Spanish. I
must
admit my Spanish is far from perfect (I still struggle with
tenses).
Naturally, I am constantly forgetting a word here or there.
Overall my
Spanish is better then I expected it to be, although I still have room
for improvement. Since returning to the states I still use my
Spanish
on a daily basis.
Another main goal of mine was to join a volunteer program
and make a difference. I ended up volunteering at an orphanage,
called
Casa De Milagros (House of Miracles) for a few weeks. The
orphanage is
run by an American woman who visited Peru and wanted to do something
about the homeless children living on the streets of Cuzco. So
she
started an orphanage and now she has over 27 children living with
her.
I learned a lot from working with these children. These children
are
very resilient, they have all survived some of the cruelest treatments
that humans can endure, and when I worked with them I would have never
guessed their past struggles. They are all smiles, as if there
was
never a time when they didn't live at Casa De Milagros.
While I was staying at the orphanage there was a big
rainstorm the day before Christmas that caused a mountain to slide onto
a small village nearby. The people at the orphanage were the
first and
only help to come to this village's aid. We brought them water,
food,
warm clothes and bedding. The orphanage also emptied their bank
account in order to buy tools for digging out the people trapped in the
mud. Luckily only two people died, but the whole village was
homeless. I volunteered alongside the people from the orphanage
on
these trips to deliver supplies, and I contributed what I could.
It
made me realize just how lucky we are in the United States. If
that
would have happened here, the government would have stepped in to help,
but in South America there is no such security. If your crop
fails,
you lose your home; if someone in your family is injured or dies, then
there is no one who will help you.
Every year, my friend, Randy travels to a different
village, in need of aid in the mountains of Peru. This year I got
to
accompany Randy on a visit. We took a big bag of children’s
clothes
and toys to a tiny village isolated in the mountains, that the Peruvian
government had forgotten about. Only one person in the whole
village
spoke Spanish, everyone else spoke the native language of
Quechua. We
discovered that we were the first white people to ever come to their
village. Incidentally, they wanted to make Randy a God Father of
the
village, he kindly declined the offer. Never the less we were
invited
as honored guests into a small thatch roofed hut for some
lunch. Even
though I am a vegetarian, I decided to take the opportunity to try the
Peruvian delicacy, Guinea Pig. Going to such a remote village
gave me
a different perspective on Peru; I was able to envision how the
indigenous Peruvians previously lived before outside influence.
I
have always dreamed of working with Shamans and learning
about some of the healing qualities of the plants in Peru, but I never
really expected to get the chance. By pure chance I, ended up
making
friends with an American woman, Victoria, who is studying to become a
Shaman. Victoria had a big house and offered me a bedroom to stay
in.
So, I was able to learn a lot from her about energy, spirits and any
other questions I had on the matter. I was also able to work with
her
plant medicine, San Pedro, which is a cactus that you make into a
liquid substance and drink it. It is used throughout Peru as a
healing
agent.
By living with Victoria I was also able to meet all
of her friends, and most of them were Shamans in one way or
another.
My favorite was a guy from Chili who was more of a natural
healer. He
worked with the cactus, San Pedro, which connected him strongly to the
earth’s energy and vibrations, and he used this energy to heal people
of all kinds of aliments. He also knew about all the plants in
the
region and their healing properties. So I was able to learn a lot
from
him every time we went into the country. He also knew of some
really
sacred ruins that very few people knew of, giving me the chance to
check out some really incredible places that few people get to see.
In
the past, at Evergreen I have been focusing on
Environmental issues, mostly in the US, but touching on world
problems. I was hoping to use this knowledge in some way that
would
make a positive impact. By pure luck I met a very knowledgeable
local,
named Hernan, who was working on a reforestation project close to
town. Hernan was trying to get funding to start replanting native
trees in the area and looking for people interested in doing some
volunteer work. I jumped on the opportunity, it wasn't exactly
what I
was looking for, but at least I would be doing something.
I had noticed the lack of trees in the area, but had no
idea that most of the trees standing were invasive species.
Nearly all
of the native trees had been cut down and used for firewood, or
tools.
Hernan was working on making a piece of land into a botanical garden,
where you could walk through and learn about the native species.
I was
only there for the very beginning of his project, and we mostly worked
on the native trees that were already on the property. We spent
time
making the trees look alive and well cared for so the locals wouldn't
cut them down. We trimmed them, cut away all of the bushes that
were
too close and made circles of rocks around them. The main bonus
of
working with Hernan was that he knew about all the plants and what they
were used for. It was good for me to be able to learn about the
plants
from someone who knew of their healing properties, and someone who knew
how the locals used the plants. They were both very different
perspectives.
The
few goals above are just a small portion of what I
learned and experienced in Peru. Being on my own in a foreign
country
gave me the chance to discover who I am and what I hold dearest in
life. I discovered so much about myself, things that I can't
possibly
explain. I am now a different person then the timid country girl
who
left for Peru seven months ago.
http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/reconciliation/messagesfromperu.htm
Possible questions for
the class experience (in Peru)...
What is it like being an American in South America?
What is it like being an woman or a man in South America?
What expectations did we have before we left, what
happened to those expectations once in Peru?
In what ways are we still feeling the effects of our
time abroad?
Who did we meet while we were in Peru, how would we
describe those people, and why would we describe them that way...
How did we effect the people we met while abroad, did we
really communicate, did we create lasting connections?
Oh and I forget who this idea comes from but one
question a teacher friend had for me last year had to do with people
travelling...
He asked what it meant to be a lover of a place and a
people as opposed to what it means to just visit or tour a place. At
what point are you committed to the people and the lands when you
visit, do you have to be born there or live there for a long time to
become a lover or can you have that kind of intimacy in a short visit?
Chalen