5. What type of environmental issues are happening in Peru? How do you think this affects engineering practices?

     I did not notice any pressing environmental issues while in Peru. However, the people of Peru have adapted their lifestyle around the environment. Roads twist around mountains, going back and forth. Houses are built into the mountainside despite the difficulty of building on such a steep slope. You can go all of the way back to Incan times to see how they built terraces into hillsides for more farming space. The Peruvian people adapt to their landscape, rather than destroying their landscape to fit their needs. One day our bus was driving around a mountain and the winding road took at least half of an hour to travel a mile around the hill due to all of the switchbacks. I thought to myself, in America we would have drilled a hole through this tunnel and built a bridge across the neighboring valley to save travel time. Thousands of tons of dirt would have to be moved in the process, desecrating the beautiful landscape around it. It led me think about the need for sustainable engineering in the future. As a prospective civil engineer, it is very important to build for the future as the buildings and roadways I build are expected to last for decades. I am so moved by the beauty of the landscape of Peru that I cannot understate the importance on preserving the environment on any building projects I will be a part of in the future.

4. Are there issues of race and class discrimination in Peru? If so, please explain what has been reported about that and what you witnessed.

     During my stay in Peru, I did not witness any sort of racial discrimination. I cannot conclude that racism is not present in the country since my stay only lasted for two weeks, but it did not seem prevalent in Peru’s society. However, there was some evidence of social discrimination. Much of the lower class lives in the hillsides of Cusco rather than in the valley, as they cannot afford the houses there. They are then forced to build their houses on the steep and unstable hills on the outskirts of the city. Here, heavy rains could create landslides that would wipe out entire communities. Meanwhile the wealthy live far more comfortably in the valley below without much fear of losing their house to a natural disaster.

3. Explain the different cultures in Peru (Cusco region) and their social and economic situation in the country

     The most interesting part of Peruvian culture in the Cusco region to me was the mix between Spanish and Incan culture. Throughout the city, you can see the juxtaposition between the two cultures. Many of the buildings in older parts of the city are Spanish construction built upon an Incan foundation. For example, the Sun Temple Qorikancha, was a Spanish church built over an Incan Temple. After a catastrophic earthquake destroyed most of the Spanish architecture and revealed the Incan structure underneath it, the city of Cusco decided to renovate the location to display both cultures. Spanish influence is predominant in the city in everything from language to the heavy majority Roman Catholic religion, but the Incan roots to society are still present in Peru. The locals revere their traditions and make sure to maintain old customs such as Incan clothing and dancing. I loved witnessing the blend of the two cultures during my stay in Peru.

2. Please explain your host stay with your family. Tell us about their lives, their history as much as you can explain about what is like to live in Cusco. What do you feel you have in common with your host family, what differences?

For most of my stay in Peru, I lived with three other students in the house of a Peruvian host. Our host was an old woman named Carola, and she welcomed us with open arms. I knew as soon as she brought us through the door to her apartment that this place was not just going to be my room for the next two weeks, it would be my home. Carola lived in a very nice and quaint apartment along with her 97 year old mother. Her three sons are all grown and are living on their own, and unfortunately her husband has passed away. Carola’s story is quite tragic. Her husband died in a car accident more than 20 years ago, and that same accident left her in a coma for over a month. After she woke up, her memory was damaged and she faced some mental health issues. Eventually she would lose the multiple businesses that her and her husband started along with a large portion of her family’s wealth. Also, tragically, she lost favor from her husband’s extremely wealthy family and would not inherit any of the millions of dollars that her husband would have received. Despite these horrible events, Carola would recover and raise her three sons to be successful. Now she is retired and is a common host for international students. She told us how she was always interested in meeting students from other countries, and she proved to be a wonderful host.

Carola told us to call her “Mamatia”. We asked to call her “Abuela” one day, but she asked for “Mamatia” instead. It translates to “mother-aunt”, but I guess it must be a term of endearment for her. Whenever we came home from our days activities, she would be waiting for us with a huge meal prepared. Dinner was the best chance for us to talk and get to know her, and she opened up to us very quickly. It was not long before we were talking politics and swapping life stories. I was amazed at how open she was in talking about some very sad parts of her life. Many of our conversations were very interesting, and we often switched back and forth between Spanish and English. One night, the other students and I managed to explain the American Electoral College in Spanish, which we thought was fairly impressive. Interacting with Mamatia was one of the most rewarding experiences of the trip. I got the chance to practice my Spanish with a woman who spoke enough English to assist me and was able to learn so much about Peruvian culture just by talking to her. It was such a valuable experience, and I am very happy that I had the chance to stay with Mamatia rather than stay in a hotel. 

1. Tell us about your study abroad program (theme) and your country. And why you feel it was significant to come to Peru to learn about these practices.

The Engineering of the Americas program provided students with the opportunity to learn about the engineering of the Inca culture firsthand. The students spent two weeks in Peru visiting different sites that showcase examples of Incan architecture. We stayed in Cusco for the majority of the trip, living with different host families. From the ISA office where the program was organized we would travel to different locations outside of the city. Our tour guide Ricardo was an architect who could give us in-depth analysis of the different Incan structures that we studied. We had the chance to see the remnants of temples, small communities, straw bridges, and of course Machu Pichu. As a civil engineering student, I felt that this program would be a great experience for me. Incan structural engineering is extraordinary, and a civil engineer can learn valuable lessons from structures that have managed to last for hundreds of years despite the Incan Empire ending in 1533.