Cole Malerba -- Peru (Home Club: Colonie-Guilderland)

November 13, 2016

 

Rotary Club Arequipa

Health and Home 

I am doing great. As of now I have had no major health problems. I am extremely satisfied with my current host home. I love my host family. We are always spending time as a family. They make sure I always have what I need. Plus, the food is really good. 

School

I go to school Monday-Friday from 8-5. There are no school clubs or sports teams but we get to play plenty of sports during the day. The other students in the school are great. The school finishes in a few weeks. Then I will be on vacation January and February. In March, I am looking forward to starting university where I will be studying Peruvian gastronomy. 

Rotary

I try and attend my Rotary club’s meetings whenever I can. Usually we meet every other Saturday for one or two hours. We discuss fundraising projects and activities for the Interact kids. My counselor lives in a different city so it can be difficult to see her sometimes but we are always in contact. This weekend I am going to go out for coffee with my counselor and her family. I received my monthly allowance October a few days ago. It was $65. I would say I have a really good relationship with my counselor and my club. The president of my club is a great guy and we get along well. 

Activities

I haven’t had much time to write this report because I have been so busy traveling. In the last week of October I had my first big trip with Rotary. We visited Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Puno, Cusco, and Machu Picchu. It was amazing. I also got to spend time with the other 60-some exchange students who I hadn’t seen since August. In Puno, we sailed to an island in Lago Titicaca where we stayed with families whose first language is Quechua, the language of the Incans. I never had a chance to experience something like that before. All that they had was hand-made by them. Cusco was my favorite city that I have visited in Peru so far. It is surrounded by beautiful mountains on all sides and I love the architecture. Of course, seeing Machu Picchu was the highlight of the trip for me, as it has always been a dream of mine. 

Immediately after that trip, I left to go on another trip with my friend and his host dad. We went to Sicuani, the birthplace of my friend’s host dad. We spent a few days there visiting various sites in Cusco. I just recently got back to school this week. 

I still have an amazing host family and great friends. I have had many opportunities to travel. Again, I would like to thank you and all the Rotarians who made this exchange possible for me.