Before I traveled to Peru, I was very nervous. Mostly because it was my first time traveling to a country where I knew absolutely nothing about the native language. I was also nervous because everybody scared me about living at 11,000 feet of elevation in Cusco, Peru. However, traveling to Peru taught me a very important lesson about how easily humans overestimate their concerns and fears. I learned Spanish very quickly because I was 100% in it mentally and after my body adjusted to the high altitude, I even played soccer! Sometimes you just have to jump in and that’s really what I did – even when we went whitewater rafting. The hospital experience was fantastic once I found a way to ask the questions I had and push past the language weakness. Another important lesson I took away from Peru was how much people love a person’s curiosity and effort to become one of them – by pushing yourself to speak the language, eat the food, and respect their values. Will I do a United Planet Quest to volunteer abroad again? Absolutely!