One of the very best parts about travelling in the new people you meet.
And one of the very best parts about meeting new people is all the new things you learn.
Things about them, things about their countries and cultures, things they think about your culture, things that aren't common knowledge about your country, and finally, many things about yourself.
Since I've arrived here I've met too many people to count. My host Mom and sister and the three American girls who've also lived with us. My professors and the staff at Amauta. My classmates who've come and gone. And my friends. Friends from Germany, England, Australia, Switzerland, Holland, America, Brazil, France, and of course, Peru.
It's not easy to describe the influence that these people have had on my experience so far because they have shaped it completely. Without them this would have been a totally different trip.
When I think about how I met each of them, at times it seems straightforward: someone assigned me to this house, or that teacher to our level. But with others it's not so simple. I can't tell you why I happened to be in the same tour group as Nina and why we've seen each other every day since then. Or why I happened to go and talk to the two new people standing together drinking tea during our break one random day. I don't know what prompted me to go and talk to the blond girl sitting on the steps opposite me our very first day in Cusco. Or why we went to that one club instead of any of the others, and why I happened to hit if off perfectly with one of the dance instructors.
These and many more "I can't tell you why's" force me to sit back and smile. I can't help but be thankful for all those "coincidences," or where they choices? Either way, these people have challenged me, hurt me, loved me, taken care of me, fed me, held my hand while I cried, taught me; made me laugh, made me cry, made me try new things, made me grow. New friends force me to see new things and think in new ways. It's a constant challenge, and one that I readily accept.
And one of the very best parts about meeting new people is all the new things you learn.
Things about them, things about their countries and cultures, things they think about your culture, things that aren't common knowledge about your country, and finally, many things about yourself.
Since I've arrived here I've met too many people to count. My host Mom and sister and the three American girls who've also lived with us. My professors and the staff at Amauta. My classmates who've come and gone. And my friends. Friends from Germany, England, Australia, Switzerland, Holland, America, Brazil, France, and of course, Peru.
It's not easy to describe the influence that these people have had on my experience so far because they have shaped it completely. Without them this would have been a totally different trip.
When I think about how I met each of them, at times it seems straightforward: someone assigned me to this house, or that teacher to our level. But with others it's not so simple. I can't tell you why I happened to be in the same tour group as Nina and why we've seen each other every day since then. Or why I happened to go and talk to the two new people standing together drinking tea during our break one random day. I don't know what prompted me to go and talk to the blond girl sitting on the steps opposite me our very first day in Cusco. Or why we went to that one club instead of any of the others, and why I happened to hit if off perfectly with one of the dance instructors.
These and many more "I can't tell you why's" force me to sit back and smile. I can't help but be thankful for all those "coincidences," or where they choices? Either way, these people have challenged me, hurt me, loved me, taken care of me, fed me, held my hand while I cried, taught me; made me laugh, made me cry, made me try new things, made me grow. New friends force me to see new things and think in new ways. It's a constant challenge, and one that I readily accept.
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