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| My driveway and Honda Fit |
It is seventy-three degrees outside my house in Monterey Park--the quintessential Southern California summer day. Sitting on my coffee table is my summer school report card. The "A" on it is the culmination of the hard work I put into my Economics class. This class consumed almost all of my energy--the rest being dedicated to my varsity baseball and basketball teams. But all of my obligations have now been fulfilled (except for one last basketball game tonight), and it is time to embark on the biggest trip of my life. Tomorrow, I leave for Cuzco, Peru to volunteer abroad for two weeks with United Planet--an international non-profit organization that offers "quests" to forty countries around the world. I will be working with children in an after school program on weekday afternoons, and I am free to explore Cuzco when my shifts are over. I will also be staying with a host family, the Alvarez's, whom I know nothing about other than their names and ages. Dina (53), Siccaya (24), Alfredo (19), and another male volunteer my age will be my roommates. I can only imagine the experiences I will have in Peru, the incredible people I will meet, and self understanding I will gain of myself. The Andes Mountains will watch over me as I cross paths with the indigenous people of Cuzco. I, a seventeen-year-old Nicaraguan-Jew, will try and find acceptance from one of the most ancient cultures in the world. Peru, here I come.
