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"During this summer, I was able to travel to Peru for two weeks in June on the Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy Summer Language Grant. My goal was to advance my understanding of Spanish, and to become more fluent in the language. Apart from language, I was also curious of the history of Peru; especially it’s complicated past with Spain and Europe. During my trip, I travelled through Lima, the capital, and to Cusco, the city considered to be the capital of the Incan empire. I had a travel partner for the first week of my journey while I was in Lima, and later for the first few days I was in Cusco.  In Lima, we were able to try many of the foods native to the country and culture and saw the differences in wealth from the slum areas to the affluent downtown areas where most tourists stayed. I was also able to see many monasteries with Morisco (Moorish) influences which the Spanish had brought when they occupied the region. I found the mix of Incan spirituality and Catholicism and interesting dynamic which still exists today, although one would expect it to converge to either one or the other.

I unfortunately had contracted Salmonella poisoning from some less-than-sanitary poultry sold by a street vendor in Lima. Although the sickness slowed me down quite a bit, we were still able to go to Machu Picchu and explore important parts of Cusco on the second leg of the trip. Machu Picchu was amazing for multiple reasons, one was that it has incredible civil engineering integrity. Whereas anything built by the Spanish after 1533 would crumple under many of the local earth quakes, Machu Picchu was in still almost pristine condition. Another is its historical background; when the Spanish came, instead of fighting, the Incan people surrendered non-violently. However, since arms were let down, the city of Machu Picchu was left unknown to Spanish conquistadors and was not (re)discovered until the late 1800’s. It very much reflected a character of modesty and privacy shared by the general culture.

During the second week of my journey, I stayed at a local hostel. It happened to also be over Inti Rami, the festival and celebration of the Incan Sun God, one of the largest holidays of the year in the region. The festival lasted for 5 days (all of which I was there for). During these days, countless groups of local children and teenagers would parade through the streets with bands and perform street dances. As the days drew closer to the Winter Solstice (June 21) The Groups would put on colorful costumes made specially for the celebrations. During this week alone, I was able to take 8 hours of private Spanish lessons offered by the Hostel at an extremely affordable price. Many of the tour guides, local people, and shopkeepers knew only a little English, so it was extremely helpful for my language to be immersed in a community with very little use of English. I was amazed at how much easier speaking Spanish was at the end of my trip compared to the beginning. I was grateful to be given the opportunity to go to a place where everyone and thing I interacted with was educational and beneficial for my knowing.

I want to thank the Center for Western Civilization, Thought and Policy for giving me a way to further my own education outside of the University, and to do so in such a way which was meaningful and extremely efficient. I believe I would have needed to take many more semesters of Spanish courses to be at the same level of speaking I was at the end of my trip."

-Laura Murray, CWCTP Undergraduate Fellow