SIT Study Abroad: Peru: Indigenous Peoples & Globalization

I studied abroad in Cusco, Peru, in Fall 2025 through SIT Peru: Indigenous Peoples and Globalization. I absolutely loved this program! The immersive learning was the best aspect. We visited Indigenous communities, including Huilloc, Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon, and Taquile Island. There is no substitute for actually visiting these places. These experiences helped me understand the course material and develop empathy in a way that classroom learning alone could not. The independent research process was conducted in Spanish, including interviews, the final paper, and presentation. I became close with the family I stayed with during research, and I still have the contact information of Indigenous women textile weavers I met, and have spoken with some of them since returning home. I had an amazing experience with my host family in Cusco. I am still very close with them, and they are like a second family to me! They introduced me to their extended family, took me on day trips, to different restaurants, and really helped me get to know Cusco. I still carry a pendant with their family crest on my keychain. Cusco itself was also a major part of why I loved the program. The city has many museums, Inca archaeological sites, restaurants, and opportunities for hiking and day trips, including Humantay Lake. Living there gave me time to explore both the historic center and everyday life outside the main tourist areas. My neighborhood felt very safe, and the program classes were a ten-minute walk away. Our Spanish classes were held at a local school. Our small class became close with our professor, and my Spanish improved. For the program classes, different lecturers came in, and the material is very interesting, focusing on Peruvian and Indigenous history. Prospective students should know that this is different from a typical university exchange. You are not enrolled at a local university, and classes are only with your SIT cohort. Cultural immersion comes through your host family, excursions, research, and your effort to explore Cusco and meet people. There is less unstructured time for hobbies or travel. However, this structure allows for community visits and direct learning about Indigenous cultures that would be difficult through a standard exchange. Students should prepare for basic living conditions during some community stays. On Taquile Island, accommodations had limited running water, no hot water, and early mornings. These stays were difficult, but also among the program’s greatest benefits. We worked on chacras, participated in local activities, and even attended a wedding! I strongly recommend the program, but students should be ready for unfamiliar environments and moments of loneliness or doubt. Those feelings are normal and should not be taken as a sign not to do the program. For me, it was life-changing. I met incredible people, broadened my understanding of Peru and Indigenous communities, and formed relationships I expect to maintain for the rest of my life. I would without hesitation make the same decision again.

The SIT program in Cusco offers an extraordinary immersion into the Andes—an experience that is at once academically rigorous, intellectually generative, and deeply human. Over the course of just a few days, we moved from high-level institutional briefings to intimate conversations with rural cooperatives, from formal lectures on extractivism and globalization to storytelling sessions with weavers and community leaders in Huilloc. The pacing is demanding, but the richness of the experience more than rewards the effort. One of the most powerful moments for me was the rural homestay in Huilloc. It was not simply about staying in an Indigenous community; it was about encountering knowledge systems embodied in daily life. Our group was welcomed with such grace and generosity, and the conversations about weaving, land use, and autonomy gave texture to broader themes of Indigenous resistance and adaptation. I came away with a renewed sense of what field-based learning can be. SIT’s team in Peru is extraordinary. Their ability to move between Spanish and Quechua, and between academic and community settings, models what it means to be an engaged scholar-practitioner. The program doesn’t shy away from complexity—in fact, it leans into it. The conversations on extractivism, mining conflicts, and intercultural health (especially the visit to the Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco’s ethnobotany program) were thoughtful and challenging. Students are invited not to consume knowledge but to co-create it with those they meet. Also worth noting: the logistics are handled with care, which allows participants to be fully present. The group sessions back at the hotel—many of them debriefs or structured reflections—are where so much of the integration happens. And in a city like Cusco, that holds its own tensions between tourism and tradition, the chance to reflect collectively is crucial. In sum, SIT’s Spring 2025 Cusco itinerary offers more than a study abroad experience—it cultivates relational, embodied, place-based learning. I’d recommend it to any student ready to engage Peru not as a destination, but as a dialogue

Through this program, I improved my Spanish language skills a lot, saw many beautiful parts of Peru, ate delicious food, and had the unique opportunity to learn about relevant social issues from indigenous leaders and communities throughout the country. These experiences broadened my worldview and shaped my future interests. I had a great time living with my host family and acquainting myself with Cusco during my free time. My experience abroad was safe, well-run, and interesting, and I made friends with everyone in the program. It was incredibly special!