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Peru inspires and amazes UAS group
By Evelyn Cushing
Whalesong Staff
Peru, a land of
beauty and mystique, was met by an excited 16-member UAS group this
winter break. I remember looking around at the faces as we gathered
in the airport in Seattle and seeing the familiar glow of travelers
embarking on a new mission. Most of us were not strangers to foreign
travel, though for many of us this would be our first chance to
use our Spanish skills where it really counts. It was also a new
and interesting endeavor in group travel.
We flew into Peru with no real itinerary in mind; all
of our major moves were decided by impromptu group discussions.
Starting by flying into Lima, Peru’s overpopulated, impoverished
capitol, we were planning on somehow getting to Cuzco, Peru’s
Mecca of ancient Incan and artistic culture. We stayed a few days
in Lima, then a decision was made to split the group and meet in
Puno, a small town in the Andes located on the shore of Lake Titicaca.
Five students went by bus, stopping to look at the famous Nazca
lines, giant expanses of ancient sand graffiti. The rest of us stayed
a few days in Pisco, a beach town south of Lima. Some of those students
took a day trip to Nazca, and then we all flew to the Andes.
We decided to spend Christmas in Puno and then head
to Cuzco by bus. We spent the remainder of our time in Cuzco aside
from a five-day excursion hiking the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu,
the ruins of the Incan capitol city.
As many of you know, Spanish instructor Rick Bellagh
has hosted a number of excursions of this nature, including Mexico,
Cuba and Venezuela. This trip was slightly varyied in one aspect:
anthropology teacher Dan Montieth came along as a co-teacher. With
Peru (especially Cusco) being the archeological center for ancient
Incan culture, Dan’s expertise was highly conducive to furthering
our understanding and appreciation of Incan and Pre-Incan culture.
Our Spanish skills also instantly improved as soon as we set foot
in the country. Breaking a language barrier is, of course, extremely
difficult. After one semester of Spanish, I thought I’d have
a little more to work from. However, I still remember the first
Spanish I heard in Peru as the man reviewing my passport began to
ask me questions. I could just feel the blank stare crawling across
my face to rest on my brain which at that point had reached a glazed
state of shut-down. There isn’t much that forces you to learn
more than being totally immersed in something. All of us acquired
a great deal of Spanish.
As the trip was coming to an end, I remember Rick asking what our
low points on the trip were and I couldn’t really come up with
any. I asked my fellow students Liz Gifford and Adrian Berg about
favorite experiences on the trip and it was definitely hard for
them to come up with just one. The music was one of the first things
that came to Gifford’s mind. “The people of the Andes
played music with such conviction and heart that it seemed as if
their immense talent was almost instinctual.” Gifford purchased
more CDs than any of the other travelers on this trip.
Berg, who had traveled on several of Bellagh’s
trips in the past, highlighted the experiences surrounding the new
traditions during Christmas and New Years. “The cross cultural
adventures on New Years were especially enthralling,” said
Berg. “I met so many interesting and inspiringly friendly people
that night. I even taught large groups of people how to say ‘Happy
New Year’ in French.”
We went, we observed, we learned, and our lives were truly
enriched in one form or another. Once again Bellagh has pulled off
another amazing and successful trip. So, thanks to Rick Bellagh,
Arlo Midgett and UAS, students were able to do something through
school that propelled their educational experience beyond the classroom.
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