Peru. Nurse. Volunteer. Wonderful!

United Planet encourages our volunteers to tell us all about their experience living and working abroad. We love to hear these stories. Just last night, a young woman who went to Peru filled out her survey, and it just made us all so happy…

Here are her words about her time as a nurse in Cusco. Thanks!

This was one of the best experiences of my life. I was a little unsure whether or not I was making the right decision before going, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat, in fact when it was time to come home I didn’t want to leave.

I lived with a host family for the entire 3 months that I was in Peru. They were so welcoming. They had a daughter the same age as me and we became fast friends. They showed me around the city and were very friendly and were always around to talk to and hang out with. They made the trip what it was for me.

My “mom” also cooked 3 meals a day for us of traditional Peruvian food which was delicious. I am still in contact with them and am already trying to figure out when I can go back to visit.

The cultural activities were also amazing. Included in the Peru quest is a trip to Machu Picchu, which is an overnight trip. You take the train to Aguas Calientes and spend the night there and then head up to Machu Picchu in the morning where you have a guided tour and then time to explore on your own. Also included in this trip was a tour of the Sacred Valley, a Cusco City Tour, and a Quechua (The Incan Language) lesson.

I also received Spanish lessons twice a week for the entire duration of my trip. The teachers were amazing. They really knew what they were doing and were so friendly and around just to chat if you wanted to as well. The Spanish school also organized an event each week so you could meet other volunteers or travelers and hang out. Sometimes it was a movie night, or learning to make traditional drinks, salsa lessons, cooking lessons, or parties for the different holidays.

I also loved my volunteer work. I am a nurse and worked in a clinic or my entire stay. There is an inpatient part of this clinic which houses about 50 children with mental and/or physical disabilities whose parents couldn’t care for them. In this area I helped with the daily care of the children such as bathing, dressing, brushing their teeth, combing their hair, and feeding as well as played with the children. In the outpatient part of the clinic I was able to do more nursing tasks such as take blood pressure, pulse, temperature, height and weight to triage the patients and give injections. I also helped with preparing supplies and filing.

Overall this was an amazing experience. I am so happy that I did it and would love to go back someday. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone.