My STEP signature project was a six-week study abroad program in Lima, Peru that focused on Public Health. I took two classes at the Universidad Cayetano Heredia, which included field visits to various parts of the city. I was also able to explore all regions of Peru through weekend excursions.

My experience abroad taught me about comparisons. Peru is a different type of lifestyle. Things are more relaxed, time is less urgent, and the people don’t take life so seriously. This isn’t for everyone though, and it can be easy to become frustrated when people show up late to meetings or don’t make patient confidentiality a priority. For me, I just accepted that some things work for a country and don’t need to be “fixed”. I acknowledged that things are different there than the U.S., but didn’t declare one way as superior.

I went on a tour of a hospital and noticed how behind healthcare is in Peru. The lack of staff, equipment, and regulations make the environment much more stressful. Wait times are outrageous. People bring their own supplies and blood donors. Patients’ records are stored on paper, prone to all types of damage. They know they should change to become more efficient, but they are focusing on doing it in their own way and on their own timeline. One of the American students I was with kept pointing out how different things are and how we do things in the U.S., and I couldn’t help but think about how unimportant and not helpful those comparisons were to everyone. We already knew that the U.S. is more advanced than most, but we have more resources and a different government that influence our healthcare. I learned to find the differences and accept them without judging a country for their different, yet efficient, ways of doing things.

One emotional part of my experience was the passing of my host mom. I didn’t really know what to expect from my homestay when I first arrived to see my 68-year-old host mom. How much should I expect her to do for me? She wasn’t married, didn’t have any kids of her own, but did have a long list of students she had hosted. She knew so much about the challenges we were facing that she could anticipate what we needed before we did. She showed us how to exchange money, call a taxi, find our school, and order at restaurants. She put on Peruvian gameshows or telenovelas during our meals together, so we could practice our listening skills. She made sure to get to know me and my two housemates by asking us questions about our lives at home. When I first got there, I realized I forgot a brush. I asked her where I could buy one, and she immediately gave me an extra one of hers. This lady was really making my experience unforgettable, but then disaster unfolded during the beginning of week 4.

Austry, my host mom, was feeling nauseous one morning, so her brother took her to the clinic. She was still there when we got home from class and exploring the city for a little, which was 12 hours later. I texted her to make sure everything was fine, and she responded right away, trying to ease our worries and apologizing for not being home to heat us up our dinner. I thought that the clinic must have just been backed up due to lack of staff and supplies, but I realize now she was probably admitted for the day because of her state. When she got home that night, I answered the door to her younger brother who kindly introduced himself. Meanwhile, Austry sat motionless in the car with a distant look in her eyes, quite the opposite of her usual greeting of “Hola chica”, said with a smile. Her brother didn’t seem worried though, so I just went to my room and figured she needed rest. The next morning, I woke up to a new housekeeper and my roommate knocking on my door. The housekeeper asked “Is this normal for Austry?” in Spanish. I immediately ran to her room to discover her motionless, speechless, and moaning in pain. I woke my other roommate up, and we tried to read her address book to find the contact of her brother or old housekeeper, whose son was kidnapped, which caused her to take a leave of absence. The next 30 minutes felt like one of the telenovelas we had watched with Austry. People coming and going and calling nonstop- neighbors, relatives, housekeepers, friends, and the neighborhood police who ended up taking her to the clinic in the back of their truck. The whole day I felt lethargic. I laid in bed, knowing Austry would be upset that we weren’t exploring the city she was so excited to share with us, but it just didn’t feel important anymore. That night we heard she was in a diabetic coma. Very few people knew she had diabetes, which shocked everyone.

That weekend, I went to the Amazon Rainforest, but on Saturday my roommates and I received a text from our program director informing us that our suitcases were moved to a different house. I think we all knew what that meant, but we pretended to be oblivious to the situation. The next day, our dread was confirmed, and we were told that Austry had a brain hemorrhage and did not survive. When we came back from our excursion, we were introduced to a new host family. They seemed nice, but it wasn’t Austry. The living, laundry, meal, and family situations were so different, and I felt defeated. It would take some time getting used to this new place, and by week 5, I didn’t want to feel like a stranger to this country I previously felt comfortable in. The next couple days, I woke up confused, wishing I could talk to Austry.

Our resident director kept saying how sorry she was this had to happen to us and how she never heard of this happening in the history of the program. I was annoyed that this had to happen to me. Then, I decided to focus on being grateful. Grateful I had an opportunity to live in the country of my dreams. Grateful to have explored destinations on my bucket list, including Machu Picchu and a desert oasis. Grateful to have formed friendships with American students from all over the United States. Grateful to have been welcomed by two different homestays. Grateful to have become a “regular” at a Peruvian café, where the baristas knew me and my order. Grateful to celebrate soccer wins and eat fresh fish with Peruvian students. Grateful to my boss in Illinois for allowing me to take off half a summer to study in a foreign country. I tried to imagine how other people would have been able to handle this situation, and I realized how adaptable I was. By week 5, I was used to things working a little differently abroad. Things didn’t always go as planned, and I could handle that, especially when I had no power to change the situation. If this happened week 1, I don’t know how long it would have taken me to get over my circumstances, but as time went on, it was much easier to put a positive spin on any situation and to focus on what I can do for the future.

My experience abroad taught me about what kind of person I want to be throughout my life. Through my experiences, I saw how different people handle stressful situations. These situations show a person’s true character, and I want mine to exude positivity, adaptability, and genuineness. The characteristics align with my values that I have always tried to carry with me, and it is important to know how I can express my values through my personality because it will make me a better friend, coworker, sister, etc. Academically, I saw how important it is to be passionate about your interests. I went to Peru wanting to become fluent in Spanish, but I didn’t realize how difficult it would be. So much concentration and active listening was required to have even a basic conversation. I wanted to not waste my time, so I took advantage of any opportunity to better my speech- talking to locals, listening to Spanish music, seeing movies in Spanish. When week 4 came, I was forced to talk to all of my host mom’s friends and family about her health, and it finally seemed to flow out of my mouth. Being able to communicate in a language that wasn’t “mine” made me feel so empowered and like I could finally start telling people that I speak Spanish. This experience confirmed my plan of continuing my Spanish education and career goal of working in a foreign country.