Study Abroad in Cusco, Peru

During the spring Semester of 2024 I got the chance to study abroad with ISA in Cusco Peru. During my time there I stayed with a host family in their apartment. My host family only knew Spanish so I was lucky enough to get to practice my Spanish speaking skills with them. I also met my best friend in Cusco and became close with their host family also. Because I got to get to know all these people and me and my friend were both heritage speakers we got to have a very authentic experience. Despite Latin America being known as dangerous I never felt or faced any danger when in Cusco. The program was structured very well every day (except the weekend) we got to go to two classes and then during the afternoons we got to be independent and roam around the city to explore stuff on our own. In addition there were also days where our ISA professors would take us on field trips. For example one of our professors (professor alberto) took us to many different places such as saquesaywaman and San Pedro market. In addition the program also took us to Machu Picchu and Madre de Dios (a section of the amazon rainforest) For spring break me and my friend also got to travel independently to Lima and Paracas.

When I decided to study abroad in Cusco, Peru, I was nervous. It was my first time away from home, and I didn’t know what to expect. Being met at the airport by my advisors helped me settle in quickly. Soon after, I met my host mom and roommates, and I could already tell leaving would be hard. Cusco was a beautiful city, and people were open about sharing their culture. I took weaving and dance classes, visited Inca sites, and attended Inti Raymi. I also got altitude sickness hiking Rainbow Mountain, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying the trip. I had a caring host family, helpful staff, and professors who knew their field. I built strong friendships and made lasting connections. Machu Picchu was incredible, but the real highlight was feeling comfortable and at home in a place so different from where I’m from.

This program was great. I have recommended it to other students considering Spanish Language study abroad programs. However, I am black, so I did have some unique and unfortunate situations that I was put in that other students in our group really didn't have to deal with. I had some problems with my initial host mom, so me and my friend had to switch host parents 3 weeks into the program. Our first host mom basically tried to scam money out of us to repair her broken shower system. She accused my friend and I of “burning” her shower after we told her that the water was very cold. She argued with us and told us that it shouldn’t be cold because she claims that she tested out the shower the day before we arrived and that the water was so hot that it almost burned her. Well, if that was true, the water had somehow miraculously turned ice cold when we arrived. I am pretty sure there was an issue with the system that heats up the water. Anyways, when she went and checked the shower, she claims that we “burned” her shower. One, I don’t even know how that is a possible thing for us to do. She called a technician and had him “fix” the shower. Even after he came, sometimes when we would be showering, there would be smoke coming from the exposed wire. I thought that was normal because things were just different in Peru, but maybe it wasn’t (I am still not for sure). Maybe a week after the technician came, I was in the shower for maybe a minute, and it started to smell actually burnt, and then the shower head started sparking. I got so scared and turned everything off and flipped off the heat switch, then just had to wash off using the sink water. After I told her at the lunch what happened, she was getting agitated at me (she did not even care really about the safety hazard that was), and she called Andy. She then said we burnt the shower again (this time it was actually burnt, but again, I had no control over that). We followed her directions of how to use the shower; it was not rocket science. You have to flip the heat switch on, take a quick shower, then flip it off, then get out of the shower. This is what we did, so these incidents were neither at the fault of me or my friend. We had a meeting with Andy later that day before our class, a member of the on-site staff, and he was trying to make us pay for this shower that was already messed up since before our arrival. This was crazy, and I let him know that. He was not really listening to me or my friend at all when we explained the story. We had told him (and our host hom) that we could even warm up water and use a bucket to shower just so that we could have some warm water instead of it being ice cold, but they both refused that idea and said it was unpractical. He kept on saying that we needed to pay for the shower, and I was about to tell him off. I told him that I was not paying for that, because I am not about to be scammed into paying for a shower that obviously had problems before we even arrived. I said I was not gonna be using the shower again anyways from then on since we were being blamed for its heating problems- simply because we were showering. The only thing he helped us with was moving host parents. We had no problems after moving. Their shower was the same way- we had to flip a switch and even adjust the heating levels- but had no problems with their shower doing the same exact thing- which proves that my friend and I did not manually burn our hosts mom’s shower somehow. Honestly, dealing with that within the first 3 weeks was insane and pretty inconvenient. Sorry that this was long, but that whole situation was handled wrongly- besides us moving to better host parents. 8. Did you experience any situations that threatened your safety or negatively affected your health? Yes No If yes, please briefly describe the situation. Did you speak with a staff member? How helpful were they in handling the situation? I had some problems with my initial host mom, so me and my friend had to switch host parents 3 weeks into the program. Our 1st host mom accused my friend and I of “burning” her shower after we told her that the water was very cold. She argued with us and told us that it shouldn’t be cold because she claims that she tested out the shower the day before we arrived and that the water was so hot that it almost burned her. Well, if that was true, the water had somehow miraculously turned ice cold when we arrived. I am pretty sure there was an issue with the system that heats up the water. Anyways, when she went and checked the shower, she claims that we “burned” her shower. One, I don’t even know how that is a possible thing for us to do. She called a technician and had him “fix” the shower. Even after he came, sometimes when we would be showering, there would be smoke coming from the exposed wire. I thought that was normal because things were just different in Peru, but maybe it wasn’t (I am still not for sure). Maybe a week after the technician came, I was in the shower for maybe a minute, and it started to smell actually burnt, and then the shower head started sparking. I got so scared and turned everything off and flipped off the heat switch, then just had to wash off using the sink water. After I told her at the lunch what happened, she was getting agitated at me (she did not even care really about the safety hazard that was), and she called Andy. She then said we burnt the shower again (this time it was actually burnt, but again, I had no control over that). We followed her directions of how to use the shower; it was not rocket science. You have to flip the heat switch on, take a quick shower, then flip it off, then get out of the shower. This is what we did, so these incidents were neither at the fault of me or my friend. We had a meeting with Andy later that day before our class, a member of the on-site staff, and he was trying to make us pay for this shower that was already messed up since before our arrival. This was crazy, and I let him know that. He was not really listening to me or my friend at all when we explained the story. We had told him (and our host hom) that we could even warm up water and use a bucket to shower just so that we could have some warm water instead of it being ice cold, but they both refused that idea and said it was unpractical. He kept on saying that we needed to pay for the shower, and I was about to tell him off. I told him that I was not paying for that, because I am not about to be scammed into paying for a shower that obviously had problems before we even arrived. I said I was not gonna be using the shower again anyways from then on since we were being blamed for its heating problems- simply because we were showering. The only thing he helped us with was moving host parents. We had no problems after moving. Their shower was the same way- we had to flip a switch and even adjust the heating levels- but had no problems with their shower doing the same exact thing- which proves that my friend and I did not manually burn our hosts mom’s shower somehow. Honestly, dealing with that within the first 3 weeks was insane and pretty inconvenient. Sorry that this was long, but that whole situation was handled wrongly- besides us moving to better host parents. I would NOT ever recommend my first host mom to anyone, especially black students. But our new host mom, Carmen, was amazing and really made me feel comfortable for the rest of the 8 weeks we were there. I am so thankful that she agreed to take my friend and I because she saved us. At that point, we were both starting to regret choosing to do the summer II program a little bit because of our last host mom. We were a little bit fed up dealing with that stuff, but Carmen made us feel better and gave us no complications about anything the rest of the time we were there. I put a 5 because I do not recommend my 1st host mom at all (0), but Carmen is a 10 :) Both of my classes taught by Professor Alberto Chara- The History of the Inca Civilization Civilization, and People and Cultures of Peru, were my favorite classes. These were great because we went on many field trips and did more hands-on work. We got to visit archaeology sites around Cusco with our tourists tickets, which was so so cool. We completed a capstone and service-learning project for People and Cultures of Peru by aiding a local Indigenous Community in Peru. I just wish I knew about the capstone for that class beforehand, for the service learning component to the class could possibly open up a student's eligibility for more study abroad grants. I could have been eligible for a noncompetitive service learning grant so that I could have had more funds for the program. Anyways, I loved those classes. I do believe that because of the field trips and service-learning, both of Professor Chara's classes really were 60 credit hours instead of 45. My Spanish class, which was 45 credit hours too, did not take up nearly as much time and work as Professor Chara's class did. The cultural activities included in the program that had the greatest impact on me was Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley. I know that the excursions during the Summer is different than during the semester, but I do recommend more sun excursions! My friend and I went on many trips outside of the program, such as going to Arequipa one weekend where we visited the Colca Canyon, watched Condors, went ziplining, river rafting, ATV driving, and more. That was so much fun. We also went to Lake Titicaca for a 1-day excursion, went to the sand dunes in Ica, went Pisco tasting, and more. We also separately went to Puerto Maldonado, which unfortunately was not included during the summer. I understand that there are time constraints, so this does make sense. But, I do feel that a note needs to be made on the website that Puerto Maldonado is not included for the summer because that is a little bit misleading. In general, I never really felt unsafe for myself during the program. I was worried about my things getting stolen. I unfortunately had my wallet stolen while on the public transportation (thankfully, it only had cash and coins). My brand new phone was stolen while I was asleep on an overnight bus, so I did have to go without a phone for the remaining 6 weeks of the program. The classes and professors at ISA were pretty good. For my Spanish class, the professor could have been more communicative about grades and receiving feedback. I have no idea what my grades were for Intermediate Spanish I; not all the grades were entered on Schoology for me to see. I have no idea what I made on the final exam for Summer I or Summer II. I at least asked to get our final back for Intermediate Spanish I, and she said she would give us our exams, but she never did. The non-Spanish classes could have been organized a bit better. Much of the time, the deadlines in Schoology were off (deadlines for certain assignments would say they were passed due over 1000 days ago, or something like that). I did enjoy the classes though. I would say that the History Class could arguable be archaeology too, because our exams were mainly centered around the name of certain artifacts in Quechua instead of actually testing us on the history and events that we learned about in class. I will never forget going river rafting! It was me and my friend's first time ever doing white water rafting, and it is one of the funnest (??) things I have ever done! I could not stop laughing the whole time, and the guide was very sweet. That definitely was an unforgettable moment. This whole trip made me feel so adventurous, and I am very thankful for that. The excursions had a way of drowning out some of the negative experiences we had and ultimately made everything worth it! I enjoyed studying abroad and making lifelong travel buddies so much this past summer.