Year in Review

As one of my last posts for this year, I thought it would be a cool idea to recap over the whole year. I've learned so much this past year, and it's just incredible. Starting of course, with Spanish.


When I first got here, my Spanish was very basic. I was lucky to have taken a Spanish class in school, and I learned things to help me get by at first. Month by month, I learned new words, phrases, and typical ways of saying certain things like a Peruvian.


Learning a new language is an interesting experience, because everyone learns differently. For me, I would notice that i was hearing a word more often than I usually did. So when I noticed that, I'd either ask someone what it meant, or I would look it up by myself. And once I knew the meaning, I would add it to my vocabulary. I wouldn't have thought in my first few months that my Spanish would be at the level it is now. I'm able to have conversations with anyone, and I even get complemented on my Spanish from time to time.


Being able to understand Spanish so well, I really enjoy talking to people, and learning about their lives. Some of the most interesting things that I've learned have been from people I've met this year. Things that I wouldn't have learned if I were still at home. One thing that I think will stay with me forever was when I had a talk with my current host mom over breakfast about relationships. She told me all about how relationships shouldn't be just about sexual desire, and that you should really and truly love them. She told me that getting married is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make in your life, and after you do get married it's a lifetime commitment, and shouldn't just be thrown away. Divorce isn't very common in Peru, because of the mindset that they have about marriage, and I really wished that more people had that view on relationships.


Another interesting talk that I had was after my dad was dropped off at the airport. The family that I'm with now has a driver that takes them around when they need him to. So the night that my dad went to the airport, the driver took us there, and then took me back to my house after. On the drive from the airport back to my house, he told me about how bad the police are in Peru, and how they're corrupt. He explained that there are police that do their job of protecting the people, but there's also the ones who abuse their job and steal from people. People hear more about the latter type of police, and with that, they don't trust them.


On a different note, I want to say just how amazingly happy I am to have met all of the amazing other exchange students and people from around the globe that I got the chance to meet. Each and every one of them taught me something either about myself, or about the culture of other countries.

I hope you all have enjoyed my blogging throughout the year, and would enjoy hearing my story as a rebound when I return.
Thank you all for your support!