Welcome To Peru

COUNTRY: Peru
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching
WRITTEN BY: Luke Sheepway

So we’re finally here, Cusco Peru. After months of planning and coordinating the day finally came when we had to say goodbye to family, to friends and venture off on this incredible and humble experience. Although there was a minor hick-up which was a 5 hour flight delay, everyone arrived
in Cusco as planned safe and definitely tired from nearly 20 hours of travelling.

This first week has been an eye-opener with the group starting to click and getting to know the surroundings of the city
we’ll call home for the next 2 months. The altitude has also played it’s hand on our bodies, a simple walk up a gentle hill can leave us short of breathe. Settling in has been quite easy with Nico, our in-country
partner, showing us around and even offering us some local delicacies. He truly is a great person, no doubt we’ll be best friends by the end. The cobble stone streets are filled with markets, food stands and locals offering anything from sunglasses to hand drawn paintings. The language barrier here is less than what was predicted and with our 2 hours of Spanish each day, some of us now are able to hold their own in a conversation. Thursday was an experience I personally will never forget; horse riding on the mountain tops to old Incan Ruins and Temples including Sacsay Woman. Venturing down into Incan tunnels forged millions of years ago was mesmerizing as the glimpses of light traveled through the rocks to reveal something quite special. Cusco itself is special, it’s a beautiful city filled with even more beautiful people. The locals are friendly, polite and welcoming, never shy to share a smile or “Hola” in the streets. Today we met the family’s we’ll be living with throughout our stay and the feedback from all is that they are “very kind”, “really nice” and “welcoming”. All of us are excited to start school on Monday and start to settle into the routine of getting up every morning at the crack of dawn. Week 1 has been the benchmark of the trip and I have no doubt the weeks ahead will be incredible too.! ! Lastly from all of us over here, we’d just like to wish all our gorgeous mothers a wonderful Mother’s Day, we miss you already!