There are ten short days left. Then on the eleventh, I’ll be boarding the plane that will take me to my new summer home: Peru.
As I sit here on my quiet back porch in my sleepy hometown, I think about these May days of transition - the final spring days I spent in Ann Arbor, celebrating the semester’s conclusion; fun times camping with friends at the peaceful Lake Michigan, slowing down to recenter myself; the adventures I had while visiting a friend in Chi-town. Now, with this week and a half left to go, my to-do list is filled only with Peru tasks - shopping, packing, last minute paperwork and so on.
Right on track with the “culture shock” chart, these days are ones of mixed emotions - I’m pumped for the adventure to start, dreading the packing, sad to say goodbye to friends, interested in all things Peruvian, and both nervous and excited for my travels. In this stage, it is so easy to get lost in the details of flight itineraries, what voltage converters I need, whether I correctly filled out the travel registries, etc, so here’s a little time-out to breath and reflect.
In this past year, my third at U of M, I learned plenty, although more about myself and who I am becoming, and less about the Spanish colonization of Morroco (lo siento, profesor Eric). For instance, I experienced Michigan unity as I rushed the field with my fellow Wolverines, I found joy in prepping for silly theme parties, I tried my hand at construction (and storm-chasing) with my ASB family, and I confirmed that best friend sleepovers are still fun in college. But more significantly, my passion for immigration rights became more acute, my desire to improve my Spanish intensified, and my cry for social equality grew louder (courtesy of IGR, as well as a league of feisty friends). I got a taste of advocacy by lobbying on the Hill in DC, and I practiced community organizing through my social justice internship. All of this influenced me to finally follow through on this long-time deseo of mine.
And so, here I am, about to temporarily move my life to the Empire of the Incas. As I try to slow down in these spring moments, I think about what prompted me to go in the first place.
As I sit here on my quiet back porch in my sleepy hometown, I think about these May days of transition - the final spring days I spent in Ann Arbor, celebrating the semester’s conclusion; fun times camping with friends at the peaceful Lake Michigan, slowing down to recenter myself; the adventures I had while visiting a friend in Chi-town. Now, with this week and a half left to go, my to-do list is filled only with Peru tasks - shopping, packing, last minute paperwork and so on.
Right on track with the “culture shock” chart, these days are ones of mixed emotions - I’m pumped for the adventure to start, dreading the packing, sad to say goodbye to friends, interested in all things Peruvian, and both nervous and excited for my travels. In this stage, it is so easy to get lost in the details of flight itineraries, what voltage converters I need, whether I correctly filled out the travel registries, etc, so here’s a little time-out to breath and reflect.
In this past year, my third at U of M, I learned plenty, although more about myself and who I am becoming, and less about the Spanish colonization of Morroco (lo siento, profesor Eric). For instance, I experienced Michigan unity as I rushed the field with my fellow Wolverines, I found joy in prepping for silly theme parties, I tried my hand at construction (and storm-chasing) with my ASB family, and I confirmed that best friend sleepovers are still fun in college. But more significantly, my passion for immigration rights became more acute, my desire to improve my Spanish intensified, and my cry for social equality grew louder (courtesy of IGR, as well as a league of feisty friends). I got a taste of advocacy by lobbying on the Hill in DC, and I practiced community organizing through my social justice internship. All of this influenced me to finally follow through on this long-time deseo of mine.
And so, here I am, about to temporarily move my life to the Empire of the Incas. As I try to slow down in these spring moments, I think about what prompted me to go in the first place.
Exploring the beauty of Latin America has been my dream since I began studying Spanish, and I figured the best learning experiences would come from immersing myself in a Latin American community. As my passion for social justice refused to be ignored, I decided to break out of the shell of the classroom for a bit, choosing to volunteer abroad rather than study. With the help of MIISP and the International Center, I found ELAP (Experiential Learning Abroad Programs), which set me up with an internship at a human rights organization in Cusco called APORVIDHA. With this agency I will be working towards their goals of promoting and defending human rights and of creating a more democratic culture in the region. I have a lot to learn about the agency, the issues they work to remedy and the job as a whole, but I am so enthusiastic about it! I really hope the experience will teach me new perspectives on various social problems and will give me a glimpse into the environment of social work, the field that I am avidly pursuing. The sociology student in me is interested to learn about the social dynamics of the city, and the Spanish student in me is more than ready to improve my language skills.
Another summer desire is to form close relationships with the Peruvians I meet, especially my co-workers and host family. I just found out the details about my family today: I’ll be living with a mom, her teenage son, her little girl, the kids’ grandparents and their dog and four chickens. How perfect! I cannot wait to meet them all (even the chickens).
So while I sit here on my back porch, where life is so quiet, easy, and familiar, it is bittersweet to end this collegiate-junior-year chapter of my life. With the year came laughter at the fun memories made, tears and exhaustion from the more difficult days, and definitely a plethora of lessons learned and ways in which I’ve grown. The beauty of these May days of transition is that, while reminiscing about the year gone by, I’m also enthusiastically awaiting the start of a new, very exciting chapter.
We will miss you Amy! Love, Tim, Lisa, Adam, Rachel and Emma.
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