The global exchange I went on was partnered with our sister school in Lima, Peru, the San Silvestre school. I applied for this trip to reconnect with many of the girls who had visited my school in the summer of 2023 for the STEM Symposium (Details on another page). The trip is application-based and once I was accepted, I began planning what to research while there. Although I went with a specific focus on Peruvian food I gained so much knowledge purely from the places we visited and the people I met.  This was my first trip out of the country and I feel that this taught me alot about travel, people, knowing the area your visiting, and keeping your mind open to new experiences.

In this project you will find various pictures I took while traveling of almost all of the food I ate. From entrees to fun snacks I was able to try,  you can find all in this video! Something that caused me to pick this topic was my allergy to peanuts. I have a severe allergy and it was my biggest concern going into the trip but this project helped me to try food I would have been too scared to try. It also helped me learn spanish along the way because in any food setting I would have to advocate for my allergy.

Staying with a host family was something I was most excited about. I felt and still feel that staying with a host family tests your ability to thrive in awkward, vulnerable, and new situations which I defintely experienced. I am extremely thankful for my experience and it has shaped how I interact with people from other countries. It also taught me to accept new traditions and experience situations where I was not immediately comfortable, specifically with language. Before the trip my understanding of the Spanish language was slim to none so learning to listen and adjust to the language instead of being catered to in English was something I valued throughout my trip and especially with my host family.