After two days of orientation the students moved out of the Miraflores House and prepared themselves to meet their new host families. Members of the families appeared in rapid succession to pick up the students. We shared a cup of tea and a cookie or two, took a photo of…
Lima is a different world, a growing metropolis that straddles the narrow desert plain between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The area receives only a centimeter (less than half an inch) of rain each year. Rivers like the Rimac, which originate high in the glacier-laden Andes, provide…
They are here, at last! After a four-hour delay in Miami, eighteen weary but patient Goshen College students passed through the immigration and customs area at Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport and got their first glimpse of Peru’s bustling capital city. We made the short trip to our hostel,…
This semester makes history: For the first time, students coming to Peru to study Spanish will be joined by those studying Sign Language. We will all be together for lectures, workshops and field trips — learning about life in this diverse and dynamic South American nation. Then each afternoon…
As directors of the Peru Study Service Term, we are halfway through our two-year assignment. The month of August provided an opportunity to renew our spirits as well as our visas. In early August we joined members of RETO International Mennonite Brethren Community Church on a mission trip to…
Several hours after returning from the retreat in Kauai, the students boarded a bus for the airport — their first leg of a long journey home. We will miss you!…
The students gathered for several days after returning from their service locations to present their research projects, reflect on their time in the provinces, spend time in worship and prepare for their return to the United States. Our retreat center, Kauai, lies along the coast a short distance south…
Tarma, the “Pearl of Andes,” is a city 60,000 people located in a valley between Lima and the central rain forest. Only an hour and a half from San Ramon, the city is a principal access point to the eastern flanks of the Andes Mountains. At 3,053 meters (10,016…
Chanchamayo is a beautiful province nestled on the wet, green side of the Amazon Mountains. San Ramon is located here; so too is its sister city, La Merced. The area was home to Ashaninka natives before the arrival of Europeans, called colonos (colonials) by the natives. The majority of…
San Ramon, a city of 30,000 inhabitants, is the gateway to Peru’s Selva Central (Central Rain Forest). Nestled in the foothills of the Andes Mountains at 770 meters (2,526 feet) above sea level, the days are warm, the nights are cool and surrounding hills are lush with vegetation. San…
