Study Abroad with UNA
Dallas Moore
Temporary Change of Address
If you want to get the full benefit of a culture when studying abroad, then host families are definitely the way to go! I promise there is no better environment in which to get fully immersed in the many interesting aspects of a foreign country. My Cusqueña host family went above and beyond to make me feel at home. They used their best dishes, served generous portions, and provided an extra blanket. They tried their best to cater to my every need; I was even given a key to the house with no curfew. My host family gave me tips … // Read more
Sharing the Experience
Well here we are just a few days from our return to the good ole U.S. of A.! While we have been getting our ‘español’ on here at the Amauta school of, well you guessed it… Español, we have gained some great friendships with our Professors from Amauta. Nury, Paula, Giovanna, Erik, and Jacqeline have been fantastic. They have welcomed us to their home of Cusco and carried us all over their ‘ciudad’. Taking us to museums, cafés, markets, and even playing soccer with us have just been a few things they have done. We even had a great tour … // Read more
The Golden Courtyard
Studying abroad in Peru is without a doubt one of the coolest experiences in my life. I visited many places including the cities of Lima, Cusco, Puno, and Pisac, but one of the landmarks that really stood out to me in these cities was the sacred site of the temple at Koricancha and the baroque cathedral of Santo Domingo in Cusco. It was a breathtaking sight to see the combined architectural styles of Andean culture and Spanish colonial design. The magnificent Temple of the Sun at Koricancha was the most prominent and extravagant temples in the Incan empire. Not only … // Read more
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu…. All I can say is wow. The journey began at 3:30 this morning. My alarm clock sounded as I rolled out of bed and into my clothes. I brushed my hair and teeth, and I was out the door. To say that my host family is the most amazing would be a complete and total understatement. Jorgito and Monica, my Peruvian parents, woke up with my roommates and me to see us off. The bus pulled away from Basilica Café at 4:00, and we embarked on a journey that we’ll never forget. We rode the bus to a … // Read more
Shaman Healing
Riding through the Peruvian countryside on horseback is an awesome experience. The view is one that I will not soon forget. The mountains in the distance and the beautiful forest surrounding me were quite stunning. After riding for a while our guide took us to these really awesome caverns. He told us a great story about an Incan myth, then we got to climb through the caverns. I wasn’t feeling well, however, so I wasn’t able to fully enjoy it. Our guide took us to two more caverns but I was feeling so bad that I sat out while the … // Read more
Sacsayhuaman – Ancient Ruins with a Twist
A natural Incan-made slide, and you can slide down it? Yeah, I’m definitely going to do that. Saqsayhuamán, is an Incan Archaeological site that the most famous Incan Patchaqutec built out of respect for the sun for “assisting” them in a battle that they won. The site overlooks the city of Cusco and you can see for miles around at the top of it. Our group went to Saqsayhuamán on a weekend excursion. We learned a lot about the Incan’s and about how they built a lot of their architecture. They had to bring the stones that they used to … // Read more
Let’s Salsa!
Salsa class was so much fun! I am so grateful to be able to have this experience. We all met at 6:30 on the roof of the school to begin our class. The teacher introduced himself and his partner, and told us to organize into lines. We started off by learning simple salsa steps. There were four steps, and they were all pretty easy. After learning the steps, it was time to dance with a partner. Of course, I get Kayla because she is the tallest girl in our group. After dancing for a little while, the girls went around … // Read more
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titikaka is so unbelievably beautiful. The boat ride there is so peaceful it could put you to sleep in seconds. As our tour guide was giving us facts about our future destination, all I could do was stare out the window of the boat and imagine what was next. It only took about 30 minutes to make it to the amazing man-made floating Uros Islands. And they were exactly that – amazing! When we stepped off the boat onto the island, we were welcomed with open arms. One by one we got off the boat to the Uros people … // Read more
Futbol in the Heart of the Andes
Nick Posey is a sophomore pre-med student. He is a soccer fan and was thrilled to experience the World Cup in South America this year. Here he shares some of that experience. 2014 is the year of the 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup. Peru has only qualified three times in their history: 1970, 1978, and 1982. Though Peru did not qualify for this year’s tournament, the so-called World Cup fever was apparent throughout the country. For the vast majority of their soccer history, Peru has been a nation of bystanders who shamelessly enjoy the tournaments from afar. The … // Read more
‘Resurrecting’ an Ancient Culture
After an early morning of visiting the Uros islands of Lake Titicaca we drove up to the Peruvian ruins of Sillustani. The ruins were incredible and carry a lot of history, but what really amazed me about this place were the views. Sillustani is actually situated on a peninsula and I’m pretty sure that we had just as much fun running around looking for the perfect spot for our next set of pictures. Many of the chullpas, or the tower-like tombs at Sillustani, have been destroyed due to centuries of lightning and normal wear and tear; however, in normal Peruvian … // Read more
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