A Serendipitous Lunch

So I was invited to go to a lunch with representatives from SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) because LaGrange College is going through their accreditation process (which every school goes through every few of years to make sure they retain their accreditation). LaGrange College is implementing a new QEP (Quality Enhancement Program) focused on Global Engagement, which I'm really excited about. The college is putting a lot of time and effort to get it's students more engaged in things happening around the world. Something that I've always loved about LaGrange College is that they offer a Study Abroad Program during the month of January (during our Jan Term). I took advantage of this twice: my Freshman year I went to Paris for two weeks and then my Senior year I went to Greece for two weeks. They were both fantastic experiences! However, the college is now offering a voucher program that all students receive their Junior or Senior year (if they began at the college as a Freshman) which will cover $2,500 of the Study Abroad trip! I wish they had that when I was there! Those trips were pretty expensive, they range from around $1,000 for domestic trips, to $4,000 for international trips... but they are worth it. They are also about to start implementing study abroads that last for an entire semester or more which is really exciting. They are increasing the amount of time spent in classes here that focuses on global matters and we have a new program called 3-D Journeys (whose primary audience is the community around LaGrange College but is open to students as well) where professors at the college lecture about different aspects of a certain country and a group of people end up going to that country after all of the lectures are over. Brazil is the focus of this year's 3-D Journeys and it has had quite a turn out! So basically it's all very exciting and really resonates with me since I'm planning on going to Peru!

So the most exciting part of this story is that I sat next to Ana Maria Wiseman from Wofford College. She's the Dean of International Programs there. When she told us about her background, she mentioned that she grew up in Latin America so later during the lunch when the conversation had lulled I asked her where she grew up in Latin America. She was born in Argentina and grew up in PERU! I'm pretty sure my entire face flushed with excitment when she said that! So I told her my interest to move to and teach in Peru and we started talking about Peru and some of her experiences there. She even mentioned that she has sent 2 students from Wofford College to Lima to study abroad and is sending a third soon. She gave me her business card and told me that I can contact her with any questions that I might have about Peru! I just couldn't believe my good fortune!

By the way, we got a fantastic review from the SACS representatives! We impressed them so much that we are now their QEP model school.

Mate de Coca

Mate de Coca is a tea that many locals claim help with altitude sickness (but it hasn't really been proven) and it is used pretty often to do just that. What makes this drink interesting is that the leaves that are used to make the tea can also be used to make cocaine. Now, this drink is not the same as cocaine. Cocaine has about 20 and 30 miligrams of the alkaloid that is found in these leaves whereas the tea has about 4 miligrams. So it's not going to get you high but it can be a stimulant (like caffeine found in soda). However it is illegal in the United States unless it is decocainized (just like you can decaffinate a soda!).

Altitude

I mentioned in my post about Machu Picchu that you have to be aware of the altitude while in Cusco. I figured I would talk a little about this because it's something that you don't really think about. LaGrange, Georgia has an elevation of 238 m or 781 ft above sea level. While Cusco's elevation is 3,400 m or 11,200 ft above sea level. That's a huge difference! Everywhere you look there are warnings about when you get to Cusco it will take you some time to adjust. The air is thinner and that can really mess with your body. The usual symptoms include headaches and shortness of breath sometimes even nausea. It takes a few days to get acclimatized so it's suggested that you take it slow the first few days in the city. It is also suggested that you stay hydrated and avoid heavy meals. Some hotels even have ocygen tanks that guests can use for awhile for assisted breathing! There is medicine that you can take that may relieve some of the symptoms but if the symptoms persist you might have to leave the city for one with a lower elevation. One other thing that can be done (that the locals use) is drink mate de coca which helps you adjust to the thin air. I'll talk more about this drink later.

I kind of had to make this picture really big so that you could read it... sorry it looks awkward.