What did I learn?

• The cultural background of Peru: Peru has a diverse cultural background, including the indigenous civilizations and Spanish colonial history. By visiting Canal, which is an ancient archaeological site, not only did I explore the remarkable scenery, but also learnt about the civilization.
• The social background: After listening to the inspirational talk and sharing by the guest speakers, I knew more about the social problems and systems in Peru. The most unforgettable sharing was about mental health in Peru. The guest speaker did an amazing job in promoting and protecting the mental health of Peruvians, who do not usually have access to mental health care services and sufficient knowledge about mental health. I also learnt about poverty, food insecurity (food waste meanwhile), sexual harassment and anemia issues in Peru.
• Intersectionality: the factors making a person more privileged or oppressed respectively. The most interesting one is anglophones, that we did not expect that this would make a person more privileged because of language bias.
• Positionality: Before trying to tackle or solve a problem, we must use sufficient time and also the majority of the time to understand the problem in order to work on a solution which really works on the specific problem. Moreover, we should prevent making assumptios. It could be easy for us to assume something due to our own priviledge, experience, cultual background, nationality, etc. However, it may hinder our objectivity and openness to solve an issue. We should try our best to understand the issue in multiple perspectives and to see the reality.
• Pillars of volunteering: social conscience, which is to be sensitive to and aware of the social problems and conditions; leadership, instead of ordering others, a true leader actively listens, understands and coordinates with other people; empathy, which is to empathize others' difficulties and situations which may be completely different from yours; assertiveness, which is to express own thoughts and feelings at the right time without denying others.
• Self-understanding: Personal values and priorities for my lifestyle.

Difficulties and challenges

• Adapting to the time zone, lifestyle, social and cultural differences in Peru. The first week was quite packed and busy while I was still adapting myself to the new environment, daily routine, and jet lag.
• Communicating with people who speak a different language from me, have a completely different culture and lifestyle. Collaborating and interacting with new people were quite challenging as I do not know Spanish, especially when I work on a project about the indigenous language in Peru.