Students get to experience Peru 

Yamhill Carlton high school Spanish teacher partnered up with EF (Educational Tours) to take a couple of students in Spanish class to go to Peru. There were 5 students and two chaperones including Erin Sunday. It was Sunday’s first time chaperoning kids somewhere. 

Sunday said, “It was a blast! I was nervous at first, but everyone was great. I was so proud of the way they were open to new experiences, supported each other, and were so respectful to and curious about Peruvian culture. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of travel companions.” 

It was a good learning experience to help the students learn more Spanish and get to experience the culture. Seniors Sam Dixon and Colby Stehr can agree that the best part was experiencing a new culture. Stehr said, “I learned many different things on this trip and got to meet many different people.” 

Junior Gigi Andrus’s favorite part was going to Machu Picchu. Andrus also like trying new drinks. She said, “My favorite drink that I tried was lemongrass tea and also something called Chicha Morada which is purple corn juice and when I say it it sounds gross but it was actually really good.”

They got to try new foods and drinks. Dixon said, “I tried a new food or drink at least every day.” They all had the option to try Guinea pig and llama if they wanted too. Stehr said, “I tried many different types of food and drinks. We had a llama , cuy which is Guinea pig, and a lot of different potatoes. There were many different drinks we had, one of them was chica morada.”

Sunday said, “So many new things! I ate Guinea pig (I didn’t love it), drank a frog smoothie, and fell in love with chicha Morada, which is a sweet corn drink. We also went to a weaving demonstration and several YC students learned to weave like traditional Peruvians (and we dyed our hair with the dye for the yarn!).”

Sunday said, “I think the biggest impact for me was realizing how meaningful these experiences can be for students, and how much I enjoy traveling as a teacher. I can’t wait for the next trip.” Instead of doing another Peru trip they will be going to Italy in March 2021.