Looking Ahead

3, 2, 1

By: Janna Lellis

As I am publishing this, I have officially spent one week in Huaraz!

What I saw once I landed at the Huaraz airport, with the most insane view of Huascaran, the tallest mountain in Peru at 22,205 feet!

To be completely transparent, I felt so unprepared and anxious before heading to Peru. This is the first time I’m in a foreign country, completely on my own. I spent the weeks following the end of the semester spending time with friends and family and relaxing to overcome the burnout I felt after this school year.

I didn’t know how I could prepare myself for this experience, primarily because this is exactly what I was working for this past school year and I felt the pressure of making it perfect. I was scared that I’d feel too homesick, that I’d struggle to make friends, or that I wouldn’t be a good teacher.

Now that I am finally here, it’s getting real. I don’t think I have those worries as much. I remind myself that although I am travelling, this is also work and community service. This is an investment to myself. This summer will be full of challenges, highs and lows, rewarding experiences, and self-growth.

I started writing the rest of this blog a week before I left, so here are some things I am looking forward to this summer.

Name 3 things you want to try/do during your summer experience. Why are these interesting or appealing to you? Are they more personal in nature, do they help you move your project forward, or both?

1. Go hiking and explore Peru’s beautiful nature!

Huaraz is the capital city of the Ancash region of Peru. It is home to Peru’s tallest mountain, Huascaran, at 22,205 feet! Huaraz sits between two mountain ranges, the Cordilla Blanca (White Mountain Range) on the east and Cordilla Negra (Black Mountain Range) on the west. It is a transportation hub for hikers in the region.

I’ve only ever climbed Mount Fuji in Japan, which is at 12,388 feet. Huaraz is already at 10,013 feet! I’ve made it my goal to try to challenge myself and hike any local trails in the region. Some include:

• Laguna 69
• Chavín de Huántar archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Laguna Paron
• Laguna Cherup
• Pastoruri Glacier

I enjoy hiking because of the views (obviously). However, completing these physically demanding hikes are challenging yet rewarding. The world is full of natural wonders, I want to push myself to see as much as I can and as much as my body is capable to. Additionally, by understanding the geography of this region, it may help me learn the culture of the people around me. I also believe that the mental strength you build from hiking pushes you to see how much you are capable of. The destination is not as special without the journey.

Laguna 69, one of the many hiking trails in the Ancash region!

2. Eat local food and navigate the grocery store

If there’s one passion I have that I bring from home whenever I travel, it’s my love for food. Peruvian cuisine is one of the most unique in the world, blending Andean, Spanish, African, and Asian influences. Some dishes you may know are:

• Lomo Saltado (Beef stir-fry)
• Aji de gallina (Peruvian chicken stew)
• Papa a la huancaína (Potatoes covered in spicy cheese sauce)
• Cuy (guinea pig)
• My personal favorite…Ceviche! (raw fish or shrimp in fresh citrus juice)

Also shoutout Chicha Morada, a sweet beverage made from dried Andean purple corn. There’s a local Peruvian restaurant in Tallahassee called Cafe de Martin which has amazing ceviche and chicha morada. I can’t wait to try more Peruvian food when I get there!

Ceviche typically has raw fresh fish or shrimp which is cured by lime juice, and also comes with onion, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cilantro.

Additionally, I love to cook and I want to bring home knowledge of Peruvian recipes that I can make once I get back to Florida. During my stay in Huaraz, I plan to buy groceries and cook meals at my apartment. By cooking at home, I can save money and cook recipes that can feel a little bit more like home. It’s definitely gonna be a challenge navigating the local food markets and grocery stores in Spanish, but I’m excited to learn.

3. Have a conversation with a local and learn about Huaraz and Peruvian history

I have so much to learn about Peru and my Spanish skill still has a long way to go. I think it is easy for travelers to stay in a bubble with other travelers because of common interests and similarities. However, since I will be in Huaraz for two months, I really want to get to know the city that is hosting me and meet some people to learn about new perspectives and backgrounds that are different from what I know in the United States.

In 1970, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck of Peru and affected the regions of Ancash and La Libertad. It also resulted in a landslide that completed buried the cities of Yungay and Ranrahirca. The entire city of Huaraz and its surrounding areas were destroyed. It caused an estimated 66,794–70,000 fatalities, making it the most catastrophic natural disaster in Peru and the deadliest avalanche in the world.

The remains of Yungay after the avalanche in 1970.

Some questions I consider when visiting a new country and its culture are:

• What are they most proud about their home country?
• What are the politics currently like?
• How has their history shaped their national identity and values?
• How do they perceive other countries?

Name 2 skills you will work on during your summer experience. Why do you feel these are important or worth pursuing? Are these personal skills or professional skills? What specific opportunities will you have to practice these skills this summer? How do you see yourself applying them later on down the road?

1. Improve my Spanish!

I find that the best language learning technique for me is immersion. In addition to my volunteering at Seeds of Hope, I will be taking Spanish classes everyday. I’ll be able to practice in the classroom when I work with students and when I run errands around town.

It’s been my goal for a while to commit to learning a new language and actually getting confident and proficient at it. I think this will be a great investment for the future, both in my personal and professional life. My biggest inspiration by far has been my partner, whose native language is Spanish. Spanish is also such a useful language to know, with over 636 million speakers around the world. I hope to travel across all over Latin America and Spain. Also, being able to be a language learner rather than a student might give me perspective on how it is to be a student studying a foreign language, and that information may help me improve as an ESL teacher.

2. Become more confident in teaching and learn more about education policy

I started working on my TESOL certification last year and I’ll be wrapping it up in the fall. I was paired with a tutee this past year and I realized that I enjoy teaching because you slowly watch the impact you make on your students throughout time. I also know what it is like to be in their shoes, whether it is being in a difficult class or making mistakes practicing a new language.

A good teacher not only teaches a lesson successfully, but seeks to understand the needs and challenges that their students face. I will be assisting a local English teacher at a public secondary school and running my own English classes with Seeds of Hope, so I hope to use the experience I learn from this summer and from TESOL to grow into a better teacher.

A topic I’d like to explore more as I start my journey as an ESL teacher and volunteer is considering the connection between English teaching and its colonial history. While English is becoming the lingua franca of the world, this stems from the linguistic imperialism that has been imposed on Indigenous and minority communities as a way to erase cultures and assimilate into a Western, White-dominated society. As an English teacher, I feel that English learning has changed to something more of interest rather than force, with a wide dominance of English media used in pop culture and business today.

However, there are still inherent problems with English teaching that I acknowledge as I gain more experiences with TESOL. This is where I think reflexivity is extremely important – I am a student from the United States of America who is writing about my experiences teaching and volunteering with an organization who works with low-income students. These students are motivated to learn English, but they also come from culturally rich and interesting backgrounds that should be embraced rather than erased. It is my job as a teacher to adjust to their needs.

Share 1 quote, song, piece of art, meme, etc. that encapsulates how you’re feeling going into or going through your experience. What significance does it hold for you?

A year ago, I had just finished my freshman year and spent my summer in Singapore. I felt like I hadn’t accomplished anything – I didn’t have an internship, there were no open job opportunities, and I was across the world away from my friends. Yet, that ended up being the most transformative year of my life. I started volunteering at the naval base’s post office and made so many connections with the community there. I decided to be brave and started going out to local events and made some friends, and I even got to meet some American study abroad students. I went on my first solo trip to North Vietnam, and it completely boosted my self-confidence and helped me realize what I am capable of. It truly felt like a summer break to help me understand what experiences and interests drive me everyday.

A year later, I couldn’t have predicted I am going to be teaching English and working with a local nonprofit in Peru. And honestly, I can’t predict what it’s going to be like a week from now once I arrive, or who I’ll become once I’m on my flight back to the United States. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, but I know that I’m capable of doing anything I put my mind to. We wouldn’t grow if we didn’t do things scared.

A year from now, I will graduate from Florida State, and who knows where I’ll end up. I still look back at my summer in Singapore, the summer after high school, my summers in Japan, and the hot summer days growing up in Florida. You don’t realize you’re growing until you actually sit down and reflect on how much you’ve done.