Hello everybody:
About eight years ago I went on a four
day hike to Machu Picchu with my family and seeing the spectacular
sights I decided I needed to share this experience with my Spanish
students. I teach high school Spanish in NJ and had created a
curriculum based on Peruvian history from the Incas, to the conquest,
the independence movement to present day Peru. We also studied the
Peruvian geographical regions, the ecoregions and their ecosystems. I
wanted my students to see in real life everything they had studied in
the classroom.
I looked into the student travel programs and
after consulting with several of them I found out that I could not
create my own custom tour and that I probably would have to travel
along side another group. This did not appeal to me since I am from
Peru and wanted my students to have a "real" Peruvian experience. I decided to plan my own trip the way I wanted it and I have been doing it for the past eight years. I
added a homestay program and a volunteer program. This year we had an
incredible experience volunteering at a sustainable school in Cusco and
had workshops on dried bathrooms, built solar showers and solar ovens,
worked with the children in the school, learned about the cosmo vision
of the Incas and helped build a playground for the school that was
devastated by the floods and a mudslide. It was an amazing experience
for the students and I definetely think this could be extended to
college students.
If I can help you in any way please let me know.
Marty Hayden