by Shelley
This past week here in Peru was one full of next steps, familiar routines and celebration…
Saturday marked a major milestone for everyone in the programme – moving in with our host families. After a game of icebreaker bingo which allowed parents and students to learn some fun facts about each other, the pairings were announced. There were warm embraces between the new-found families in a circle of applause. Then it was officially ‘Goodbye group-living’ and ‘Hello homestay’. Sunday was a dedicated family day, which meant different things for different homes: some families headed out for picnics, others stayed in for movie days, and others held family gatherings. No matter the activity, our new rooms, siblings and pets made for a huge change from Rocafuerte for all.
At the same time, some things last week stayed exactly the same. Work at our NGOs on Mondays and Fridays continued as normal, and spending time together as a cohort remained just as important as ever. Wednesday saw some members of the group bring out their inner supermodel for the day, and on Thursday, the cohort gathered at the new group house for a movie night. While the film itself may not have been a fan favourite, it was the perfect way for us all to come together again. And as ever, book swapping continued within the group like reading was going out of fashion (Ana currently leads the reading table with a whopping SIX BOOKS read so far).
Finally, this week was one of celebration. On Sunday, the group got together for Tammy’s 19th birthday which included a surprise party, a piñata, far too much Inka Cola and just enough cake. In addition, on Saturday we celebrated another huge milestone: reaching the halfway point of our time in Peru! We met early for a short hike, during which we reflected on our takeaways and best moments of the semester so far.
But despite having fewer days left in Peru than we have already spent here (yikes!), we are nowhere near ready to leave. With our long awaited trip to Machu Picchu coming up this weekend, the group is excited for the whirlwind to continue…