By Sebastian Abril
New Information: Although I’ve only been in Peru for a few days now, I have already learned so much about this community and the cultural significance that I’ve observed here. Cusco is a very crowded town and people often spend a lot more time around each other like you would typically see in big cities. Local Peruvians are super kind and always excited to share information about their community such as important history, city events, and regional locations to explore. Cusco locals also love to preserve the massive cultural heritage they have as its for important for them to stay in touch with traditional Incan practices. The Incan language of Quechua is the second most popular language here and people are very proud to represent that generational traditions. The month of of June is also very important to their cultural significance, so locals often spend a lot of days celebrating Cusco’s history and displaying the beautiful art that the community has worked so hard to preserve. I really came at a perfect time.
Environmental Influences: Although my homestay is not typically considered very homey by American standards because of the outdated appliances and small living space, I’m still very grateful to be living here because it is a much more authentic representation of Peruvian lifestyle. Other than that, people here are not much different than from America and its very funny to see similarities between American trends like “going on two-mans”. Also my homestay family loves watching K-dramas. It’s very nice to talk to some of the workers at the psychology clinic and they often love to ask questions about how America is like because most of them have sadly never been able to leave the country or town even. But despite that they are still very cheerful and eager to talk and compare lifestyles between here and there. These relationships are really helping my Capstone by helping me understand differences in lifestyle and how it might affect mental health compared to America.
Self Reflection and Evaluation: At first I was pretty nervous about going on this program and I ran into some difficulties on the first day that didn’t help, but after meeting the people who I’ll be around for the summer and getting used to the new environment I definitely felt very grateful for the opportunity to engage with this project. The people here treat me so well that is has really been helping build my confidence and communication skills that I’m sure I’ll be able to apply it somehow when I get back to Florida. Also despite a noticeable different in wages in Cusco compared to America, I’m still able to see the kindness and happiness in people’s hearts which has helped me feel a lot more gratitude for my life back home. This is probably the most I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone and I truly think it will leave a big impact throughout my career.
Where Do I Go From Here: Getting to know the local Peruvians on a personal level has really helped me to grasp a good image of what life is like here and many of the beliefs that the community might hold. Although I haven’t been here for that long, I still have a lot more stuff to learn and I’m excited to continue developing those ideas in my capstone. I definitely want to explore some of the more culturally significant zones in Peru and how it related back to their community. Luckily my host family has a very good sense of the city and knows a lot about the important areas to explore around the town. I also want to continue interacting with the patients and workers at the psychology clinic in order to get a better understanding of the differences between American and South American practices.
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