This past summer, on July 28th at 4:01pm to be exact, I recieved this seemingly innocuous text from my best friend Teagan
I replied that I wasn’t familiar with the class, or the trip, but it seemed interesting! As cool as it would be to travel to Peru, I initially dismissed the idea due to the embarrassingly low amount of money that was in my savings account. However, a couple months and a few conversations with my parents later… It looked like a possible journey to Peru might pan out after all. (I am extremely grateful to my parents, and late grandparents, for providing me this opportunity).
With my spot already secured, on September 25th, at 3:21pm to be precise, Teagan messaged me saying she had signed up for the trip as well.
My response was straightforward:
In all honesty, I didn’t (and still don’t) know much about Peru. If you had asked me to point to it on a map, I’d manage. But other than vaguely knowing it’s the land of alpacas, ponchos, and Machu Picchu… I wouldn’t have much to say. However, on the flip side, my ignorance of Peru and Peruvian culture is actually one of the main reasons I’m looking forward to this experience! I’m going to study up on all things Peru these next few weeks, that way I’ll have a deeper appreciation of it all.
Fun fact: I’ve actually taken quite a few years of Spanish, however that may not be apparent with how I butcher what is an otherwise beautiful language (see below). Still, visiting a majority Spanish speaking country for the first time is neat!
Fun fact #2: Teagan is actually fluent in Spanish! (which will thankfully save locals from what you’ve heard above).
The Digital Storytelling component of the course is also interesting to me. I’ve never taken a computer science class before, so having to create a whole website (the very same you are on right now) was daunting at first – but it’s worked out well enough! It’s actually kind of fun. I’m graduating in a few months, so it’s beneficial having a website that can double as a professional portfolio, or whatever I want it to be.
Also, I’m a huge nerd when it comes to cameras, camcorders, and the like… So taking a course such as this sets the stage for a unqiue blending of many of my interests, which I appreciate.
Below is a minute long video of my sharing a few of my favorite cameras!
All in all, I’m grateful and stoked to have the opportunity to explore Peru (especially with one of my best friends)! I’m going to try and go in with no expectations and just see what happens. I’ll be sure to keep folks updated, stay tuned.
– Blake 🙂