Krisa Duff

My favorite thing about my trip so far, besides the food, is meeting new people. From the Vive peru staff, my host family, friends I meet on the bus or the kids who live at the hogars; the people of Peru are the friendliest. Working at the hogars I have the chance to meet the kids and learn their stories. Someone always has something exciting or new to tell me and each day I leave with assurance of yet another successful day with the kids. My experience in Peru this far has been a great adventure and I can not wait to see how this next month will unfold.

Nineteen years old and traveling to Peru alone; I was nervous and anxious but mostly excited.  I had been looking for an international program to volunteer with for the Spring semester and Vive peru fulfilled my interest perfectly.  Before arriving, I feared that my basic Spanish background would be my biggest challenge and that this great big city would overwhelm me. But instead,  for the past two months, I have been living in Trujillo, Peru as a social work volunteer and I love it.

I am so busy learning new things from all kids I work with and meeting new friends that I do not have time to be nervous or anxious anymore. Each week, I teach English and play soccer with the boys at Hogar de San Jose and make arts and crafts while hanging out with the girls at Hogar de la Nina. Each morning when I walk through the doors of the hogars, the word spreads quickly that I have arrived and the kids greet me with welcoming smiles and hugs.

My mornings are filled with miscommunications, laughter, and I almost always come home with a funny story to share with my family. Many past volunteers have had the opportunity to share their experience with other social work volunteers, but for Spring 2014, I was the only one able to come to Peru. Although, I do believe my experience would be different if I was accompanied by other volunteers, I still very much enjoy my time at the hogars. It has helped me become more independent as I learn to adapt to a different lifestyle. Working alone also gives me motivation to make new Peruvian friends and practice my Spanish. While I sometimes wish I had another social work volunteer to bounce around ideas, I am very thankful for the opportunity to venture out on my own.

As well as working in the hogars, I also teach english in the community. This is another new experience for me as I have no background in teaching. The kids arrive eagerly for class each week and are excited to learn. I love to see the progress they are making and the confidence they gain in their ability to speak English. The kids always get involved in the activities in class and it is a lot of fun.

My favorite thing about my trip so far, besides the food, is meeting new people. From the Vive peru staff, my host family, friends I meet on the bus or the kids who live at the hogars; the people of Peru are the friendliest. Working at the hogars I have the chance to meet the kids and learn their stories. Someone always has something exciting or new to tell me and each day I leave with assurance of yet another successful day with the kids. My experience in Peru this far has been a great adventure and I can not wait to see how this next month will unfold.

Krisa Duff, Spring 2014 Volunteer