If one had to pick a town in which to spend the night en route to Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo would be among the best places anywhere in the highlands. More than 500 years ago, Ollantaytambo served as an important rest stop and administrative and religious center for the Incas.
The morning after thanking our Lima host families and saying goodbye at the despedida, we left for Cusco, the capital of the Incan empire and gateway to the Sacred Valley, a valley that we would soon follow en route to Machu Picchu. Bryan, Max, Armando and Trevor…
For one night anyway, Goshen students did the serving. At the end of five weeks of living and studying in Lima, and on the eve of leaving for a week in Cusco and the Sacred Valley, and then moving on to service assignments, students welcomed their host families to the…
Mariah shares a journal essay: I have never really seen the world in color. I have never wanted to distinguish between black people, brown people, white people. I view people as equals. Race, class and culture don’t affect the way I see people. Or so I thought. I have never…
During the first half of the SST semester in Peru, students participated in a series of interactive workshops related to dance, music, herbs and jewelry-making. Alicia poses with Frances before starting her herb presentation. Frances served as translator. Alicia Taipe Tello, a longtime cook and cultural guide…
During the first six weeks of our SST semester in Peru, more than a dozen people provided presentations (often with PowerPoint slides), on subjects like the War of the Pacific, food and the Peruvian trademark, health care, the Catholic Church, the Shining Path, poetry and more. La…
Bryan with his host sister, Elizabeth, and Rafael Cardozo. Bryan shares a journal entry: My final weekend here in Lima was as it should’ve been, eventful. This past Saturday, after an afternoon spent traveling, I found myself traveling some more, to Puente Piedra. It was just a…
Señora Gregoria Flores leads the way past rows of lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, beets, cilantro, parsley, potatoes and more. We’re following her trail, surrounded by lush terraces of green, in a place where a garden has no business growing: Villa María del Triunfo. Señora Gregoria shows us…
Armando and Celia Luz Flores Flores, a poet and guest presenter. While I was preparing for SST during the summer, I was thrilled to see that the American dollar was worth 2.8 times more than the nuevo sol, Peru’s currency. In my mind, I pictured being able…
Victor Delfin’s home doubles as a gallery. We traveled to the home of Victor Delfín, one of Peru’s most celebrated artists, expecting that our visit would end the streak of interviews he has granted SST groups over the years. We planned to tour the house but not…
