All Good Things Must Come To An End

My experience in Peru was simply amazing and unforgetable.  The people at the Institute were great, the family was amazing, and most of all I was able to help out while learning a lot at the same time.  Instead of boring you with a long post on how this experience has affected me, I’ll simply list a few things that I think are most significant for me.

• I was able to combine two of my interests (technology and Spanish) into the same service-learning experience.
• I was able to help out with my technology know-how.
• I was able to learn and practice many practical, hands-on skills in the computer field.
• I was able to practice and develop my Spanish-speaking ability.
• I was able to learn about and participate in the Peruvian culture.
• I was able to become part of a Peruvian family and interact with them as such.
• I was able to make new friends in a different part of the world.
• I was able to adapt to a new culture, a new living environment, and a new way of life for 11 weeks.

The hardest thing for me now is to be able to summarize and describe this experience to other people when they ask me about how things went in Peru.  I have found that there really is no good way to summarize all of my experiences and all of my emotions in a brief and concise manner.  If you want to know what the experience was like, why not go out and try it for yourself?  I’m glad that I decided to do it, and I challenge you to do the same.  Believe me, you won’t regret it.

Thanks again for your continued support of my ETHOS trip and your willingness to read about my experiences.  I’ll leave you with a quote that I heard from one of the administrators of the ETHOS program, which I believe summarizes where I’m at in my life right now.

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

An Apology To My Readers

Dear readers of the ETHOS Peru blog,

As you may have noticed, there has been a lack of new content in the past few weeks.  Unfortunately, as my time in Peru started to come to a close, I became very busy with finishing up my projects in the Institute and spending time with my host family.  As a result, I have failed to update my blog with any new information recently.  I am deeply sorry as this was not my original intention.

I left Peru and arrived back in the United States today, thus officially ending my ETHOS internship.  In the coming week, I hope to post some final thoughts and reflections about the experience.  Again, I apologize for failing to provide new updates, and I hope that you will return soon to read my final post.

Thanks again for your interest and support of my ETHOS experience.

John