Lo que aprendí en Perú

My STEP Signature Project was a summer education abroad program based in Lima, Perú focused on global health and medical Spanish. I took two classes at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, a top medical university, and stayed in Miraflores, Lima, with my Peruvian host mom. My intention in selecting this as my project was to challenge myself to dive headfirst into the real-world intersection of an old passion, Spanish, with a more recently found one, public health. I had studied abroad two summers before, in Toledo, Spain, so I already understood firsthand the inevitably transformative nature of spending time developing one’s sense of self outside of their home culture. In fact, it was that understanding which made me so eager to see what else the world could teach me. 

Miraflores, Lima

Character in parade in historic downtown Lima

  Well, what did it teach me? During five weeks in Peru I learned about new ways to incorporate conservation and sustainability into my lifestyle. I gained a deeper understanding of the reasons why it is so important to do everything in my power to protect the Earth even if it means spending extra money or going out of my way to put in extra effort. I found a sense of spiritual connection to the Earth that I hadn’t anticipated and did not really even know was possible. I received validation of my own spiritual beliefs through learning about the spiritual beliefs of the pre-columbian societies of Peru. 

I feel more at peace with myself than I have in a very long time, perhaps ever, due to my renewed spiritual wellbeing, and to a feeling of confidence that the friends I met in Peru helped me find. I learned to be more open to strangers, who often have the ability to positively impact us as much as a friend. In summary, I learned that I am exactly who and where I need to be, and that I am capable of creating my own peace by finding it in myself and when I cannot, finding it in nature.

“No straw, please… an estimated 90 percent of seabirds have ingested plastics, like straws”

“Less plastic more life” campaign signs found in Cusco airport

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How did I come to feel this way? Of course, I learned in the classroom, on field visits to the communities surrounding Lima, in museums like the Museo Larco or the Place of Memory, Tolerance & Social Inclusion, as well as from my Peruvian friends about many aspects of Peruvian life, from their peoples’ history and modern ideologies to cuisine and public health challenges. Peru seems to be a very environmentally conscious society, as evidenced by environmental campaigns like the one above in Cusco’s airport and the “plogging” [jog-a-thon for picking up litter] event held in Miraflores on the weekend I was in Cusco. I was also lucky enough to make American friends who are also environmentally conscious, so during a few bus commutes to class I was able to pick up tips from them, like the fact that mineral sunscreens are the only ones safe for coral reefs and that other kinds, especially aerosols, can bleach them. However, I learned the most from traveling around Peru on the program’s weekend excursions to Ica(desert/oasis) and Paracas(coast), Cusco and Machu Picchu(Andes region), and Iquitos (Amazon jungle). It was in those places that everything I was learning in more academic settings seemed to be reinforced. For example, during the Cusco excursion, I was able to look at the region’s landscape, which is without question the most beautiful I have seen in all my life, and understand why nature so totally inspired the people who lived there, the people who made some of the pottery I had seen at Museo Larco. 

Museo Larco: precolumbian jars representing animal reproduction

Feild Visit: “High risk zone” sign in Chosica, Lima warning about mudslides which devastate the community in the wet season

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lugar de la memoria, la tolerancia, y la inclusión social: this museum is dedicated to how Peru is recovering from an era of terrorism in the 80s/90s

What was crazy to me was that in each of the excursion locations, I could encounter incredibly diverse natural beauty just hours from each other. It made me think about what other beauty must exist in the world that I have never even dreamed of. The first weekend, in Ica, I was able to go sand boarding on dunes like I had only ever seen in movies, then go for a boat ride less than an hour away to see the thousands of birds and sea lions that inhabit the Islas Ballestas off the coast of Paracas. The islands also provided a chance to see the way native bird species contribute to Peru’s economy… by pooping all over them, creating guano which is collected by the thousands of tons annually to make fertilizer.

Boobies en las Islas Ballestas

The following weekend, in Cusco, there were moments when I couldn’t help but feel emotional at the sight of the sheer inclines of the Andes mountains. When we toured Machu Picchu, our guide led us to a secluded area on the edge of the mountain without tourists and asked us to meditate, focusing on the magical energy of such a sacred location and the natural world around us. I pressed my hands into the dirt and grass; observed the way the mountains before me turned from a wide palette of greens and browns to icy white snowcaps; heard the sound of the river below me and the songs of the birds that soared on the wind I felt blowing against me. I thought about my own place in nature as well as how the Incas had done the same and been moved to establish Machu Picchu as a sacred cosmic center. This kind of reflection is what brought me personal spiritual validation. About four years ago, I shifted to a belief system where nature sort of takes the place of organized religion. That is more or less how pre-columbian societies viewed things as well, so I figured if it worked for them, it was okay that I felt that way too. What really drove that home was our guide stating that they “didn’t need religion because they had the Pachamama [Mother Earth].” That weekend I also skipped rocks on the clear Urubamba River that rushes through the Sacred Valley towards the Amazon River. 

Río Urubamba, taken from the train from Aguas Calientes to Ollantaytambo

Machu Picchu with new friends

The next, in Iquitos, I watched the moon rise over the Amazon’s mouth, and canoed and swam with pink dolphins in another of its tributaries, the Marañón River. I remember that the dolphins, which were about 15ft away at their closest, filled me with a sense of awe tinted with fear that was exhilarating. We also took two walks through the jungle, one during daytime and the other at night. During the night walk, we stopped, turned off all of the flashlights, and stood silently. I could only see the grey sky above me silhouetting the trees. Surrounded by darkness and the sound of insects and frogs, I was easily able to pretend that I was the only person there, as close to truly alone with the Earth as I think I’ll ever be. It honestly moved me to tears. I don’t imagine it’s possible to not be inspired to seek out opportunities to encounter nature’s beauty after feeling how those moments in Cusco and Iquitos made me feel. 

 

Solo canoeing on the Río Marañón, Iquitos

Aguaje palm climbing

Poison dart frog found during jungle walk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, what does all of this mean for me going forward? Academically, it means I am beyond excited to take “Current Issues in Environmental Health,” the second to last course for my Global Public Health minor, this semester. It also means that I learned a lot about working with Spanish speaking patients, like how to conduct patient histories in Spanish. Professionally, it means I might have job options in new line of work someday because I am now open to possibly shifting my public health interests toward conservation and sustainability. Personally, it means I am trying my best to act on the lessons I learned in Peru. I have promised myself to prioritize responsible consumerism. For example, when I came home, I identified all the product I commonly buy– like my favorite cereal 🙁 –  that contain palm oil. Palm oil farming is a source of intense physical and biopolitical violence against Amazonian communities. (I learned more about this in my Global Health class.) From now on, I will always check food and beauty product labels for palm oil so I can avoid purchasing a product that has it. In order to learn more about other ways I can take care of the planet, I followed at least ten new Instagram accounts, all related to zero waste living, conservation news, sustainability, and so forth. I have already begun making switches to more reusable or plastic free products like zipper baggies, razors, and deodorant sticks. I am also trying to prioritize ecotourism in my future travels, starting with visits to US National Parks and Forests. I plan to spend this coming fall break doing so by camping for the first time. I even plan to focus on improving my physical fitness in order to someday be able to return to Peru to hike in the mountains and visit new places– after visiting my friends in Lima, of course.

{I’m the one on the ground}

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