by Sophia Marx, Owens Campus Nursing Student
Looking back has really given me the opportunity to reflect on all of the things that I learned during my experience in Peru. I absolutely can see why we go through a culture shock when we travel to places so different from the United States. I definitely went though a sort of adaptation phase when arriving in Peru and then arriving back at home. Even being someone that adapts well to change and is very independent, I still went through it.
Because of school, it has been it almost impossible to find time to do any sort of traveling, even in the summers because that is when I need to make all of my money. I had considered studying abroad in previous semesters, but never gave it serious thought because I never thought I would be able to afford it. Finally this past fall, I heard about Peru and Ms. Adams (a Delaware Tech nursing instructor) spoke to us about it in class because she was going to be one of the instructors leading and organizing the trip. I definitely was interested at that point especially after learning that it was going to be directly related to nursing! I learned more about it, and heard there were scholarships, so I went forward with applying and followed all the steps necessary to go like having an interview with Ms. Adams and also Amy Russell.
Even with scholarships, I wondered if I would be able to swing the cost. So, I thought about it, and I started a GoFundMe page and shared it on Facebook for my family and friends. I contemplated whether it was a good idea or not, because I do not like asking for things, especially money, but I decided to look at it in a different perspective. Giving my friends and family the opportunity to contribute to my trip could be wonderful, because when they see my journey they will be able to say that they helped make it possible. I raised a lot of money this way, and also did some fundraising on a NYC bus trip by doing a 50/50 raffle. I was awarded one $1000 scholarship, and still had a small balance remaining, so I got a student loan to pay the rest off which I had been avoiding, but I knew that it would be worth it!
And it was absolutely worth every penny! In Peru, I was able to see how they live their life everyday. Although it seemed that outside of the Plaza looked very much like poverty, for the most part, the people lived well and happy. This is their normal, this is their way of life. This was hard for me to grasp at first because it is so drastically different from where I come from and my way of life. But it was beautiful in its own way.
My experience with my homestay family could have been better, and I started to notice that when I was hearing about the other people in our group and their relationship with their families. Also when arriving at the airport, and seeing most of our peers with their homestay families, waiting to leave and my roommates and I were without ours.
I thought that we had built a good rapport our first day, and they seemed to follow our schedule well the first day or two, but after that, things were not consistent, and there seemed to be a lot of confusion. Luckily, my roommate Ingrid is fluent in Spanish, but it still seemed like we did not have a connection with them like some of our peers did with their families. Although I believe that we could have had a better experience with possibly a different family, this did not dampen my experience in Peru at all. We were each given our own rooms, we had a bathroom, and it was a very cozy home, but I had wished to have a better relationship with my family.
Overall, my time in Peru was certainly short but sweet. I would love to be able to get the opportunity to travel there again and spend more time in that beautiful country. I tried to soak it in as much as possible, and I am thankful that we were given journals to write in each night, because I know I never would have remembered all of the great things I did if I hadn't written it down.
In some situations, I felt very vulnerable. Vulnerable in a sense that I was in such an unfamiliar place, with so many unfamiliar people, new experiences, a completely different life style, and although I have always thought that I was good at adapting, I still realized that I felt so completely vulnerable.
But what I did that made my experience so amazing is that I embraced the vulnerability I was feeling and took in everything that I possibly could about Peru. From this trip, I have gained confidence in myself, I have gained immense knowledge that I can use in my career, I have gained endless, wonderful memories, and I have gained friends that I hope to share a special relationship with forever.