This summer, 23 PHS students visited cultural sites in Peru as part of the annual PHS Spanish language department trip. Organised by Sra. Idania Rodriguez and Sra. Martha Hayden, these trips to Peru are part of a long-standing tradition in the Spanish Department.

The trip consisted of two groups: one tour group and a homestay group. The tour group left Peru after nine days, while the homestay group stayed behind for another 12 days. Students in the homestay group attended a private school in Lima alongside their “exchange siblings,” who were paired with them based on shared interests and self-evaluations.

“It was really fun because they really treated you like their own,” said Mila Trkov ’27, a student part of the homestay program. “Anything that you [wished] to do, they would try and make it happen regardless of if it was inconvenient for them.”

Beyond being provided an opportunity to practice their Spanish every day, participants in the homestay program were also able to experience complete immersion into Peruvian culture — eating breakfast, watching the news with their host families, and going on guided tours of famous sites — an experience near impossible to come by in the United States. “I think [students] learned more than they even [expected]. Our tour guides [were] people who live and love their culture, and they love to share. So educationally, the history of it and seeing it, eating the food, it’s something that’s not really measurable. [They learned] life lessons a lot, I think, more than anything,” Rodriguez said.

Apart from Peru being Hayden’s native country, Peru was selected due to its diversity and variety of cultural sites for students to visit. In Lima, students toured La Plaza de Armas, a quintessential feature of Latin American city centers.

“In every Latin American country, you’re going to find plazas. It’s like [a] park ... And around the plaza, there are churches. There are historical places that people can visit, museums and things like that,” Rodriguez said.

In Cusco, students spent days in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, where they hiked the iconic Machu Picchu and toured the town of Ollantaytambo, a historical fortress of the Incas. They rode motorcycles 16,000 feet up Vinicunca, the Rainbow Mountain.

“You go there and you feel like you are in a different world. It was a very spiritual experience. And we all just started singing and dancing,” Rodriguez said.

This year, for the first time in the history of the trip, the students also visited the San José de Monterrico school in Lima, where they were welcomed with activities and celebrations. PHS students experienced life as a private school student in Peru, visiting classes and playing games alongside their Peruvian peers.

“When we left, they were all crying because they got so attached to the people that they stayed with,” said Hayden. “[It] was funny because the kids were chasing our bus as we were going to the airport.” Reflecting on her decades of organizing these trips, Hayden emphasized the personal investment she puts into making the experience more memorable for her students.

“To me, it’s a labor of love,” said Hayden. “It always has been, and that’s why I put so much love and passion into my trips every year.”