A world of learning: Peru

The course: INDS 208 | Exploring Peru’s Indigenous Populations in the Modern Day

The experience: El Valle Sagrado de los Incas and Cusco were the temporary homes of 24 students who, alongside Chelsea Morrese, executive director for community engagement and director of Landis Center, and Jorge Torres, associate professor and department head of music, spent three weeks exploring the modern lives of Indigenous groups in Peru. 

After a week in El Valle hearing about the evolution of Indigenous populations from Pre-Columbian cultures until now, the group spent the final two weeks building a kindergarten classroom in Cusco. 

“One unique highlight was spending time with my host family,” Zoe Gelber ’24 says. “They were absolutely lovely and had a 4-year-old boy who kept myself and my roommate laughing and smiling. He was such a light, as well as our host mother and father.

“I truly did love the Peru experience and wish I could go back,” Gelber continues. “Peru is such a unique country, and everybody is so kind and welcoming. You truly learn a lot about yourself in an environment that is so unfamiliar, and I picked up on my people skills and language skills.”

“The students’ enthusiasm for the experience, their immersion in the learning, and the relationships they built with each other and the new friends we made in Peru were truly inspiring,” Morrese and Torres add. “Whether they were debating complex ideas, listening to local musicians, or engaged in conversation with our guides, their excitement and depth of learning was inspiring.”