Students can gain a worldly perspective by immersing themselves in engaging experiences beyond the classroom. That’s what a group of 11 UA students did this summer as they hiked the 500-year-old Inca Trail in Peru.
Led by Drs. Margaret Peacock and Juanjo Ponce Vázquez, students hiked with pack mules through the Andes Mountains to sites such as Choquequirao, Machu Picchu and areas rarely seen by visitors, exploring the history of the Inca Empire.
The UA associate history professors are seasoned hikers who have guided UA students on multiple national and international trails.
“This was an expedition that the company that runs it only books two or three times a year because of the length and difficulty. We managed to go to pretty remote places,” said Ponce Vázquez.
A transformative learning experience
“I remember specifically my best friend Julia and I were discussing how we wanted an experience that really challenged us, physically and mentally,” recalled Lila Chamberlain, a sophomore neuroscience major. “It was just after that moment that we walked by Dr. Peacock and Dr. Ponce Vázquez at the study abroad fair with a huge map laid out across their booth. We immediately knew this was meant to be.”
“We chatted with them for a while and realized this was the perfect opportunity to learn about a new culture and history while also pushing ourselves to become the strongest versions of ourselves.”
Freshman anthropology major Zachary McMenis from Baton Rouge thought he would get hands-on experience as an archeologist. He got that and more.
“I wanted to visit several archaeological sites and see what it could be like to live as an archaeologist in that part of the world,” he said. “Before coming to UA, I never thought I would ever be able to do something like this. Not just the experience hiking in the Andes, or walking the same streets that the Incas did, but also, I could never have imagined that I would grow so close with this new UA family.”
Disconnecting to connect
Being in such remote settings, the group was often without cellular service. They didn’t mind, though, as the ability to take selfies in the lush terrain gave way to the ability to soak it all in.
“One memorable moment for me was after a long hike (we had woken up at 4:30 a.m. and hiked until 11 a.m. at a steep incline), we arrived at our campsite for the rest of the day. We overlooked the Andes mountains and met a local family who was hosting us in such a remote area. Some of the group and I sat in the grass with nothing to do besides being present and grateful in the moment,” said Chamberlain.
“We joked it was like an utopia. There were butterflies landing on our skin, kittens running around and we could rest our tired legs. It was one of the prettiest views I’ve seen in my life.”
Ponce Vázquez agreed, “One of the places we visited was Choquequirao, an Inca settlement that is only accessible after three days of pretty challenging hiking in the Andes. Students overwhelmingly enjoyed the experience despite the difficulty of the terrain and felt that getting to the site was earned. Precisely because of the difficulty to reach Choquequirao, the site was not overrun by tourists. We were there by ourselves, and that allowed us to experience the site in much more personal ways.”
Unplugging led to profound moments for McMenis as well. “There were countless memorable moments, but by far one of my favorites was when we sat at the dinner table for almost five hours,” he said. “(We started) eating lunch, then sitting and talking for three hours all the way up to dinner that evening. It was really an experience people rarely get in our modern digital world.”
Hands-on global learning
“I had no idea an experience like this was possible as a UA student. Additionally, I am not a conventional history major; I am a neuroscience pre-med student,” said Chamberlain. “So, in addition to learning the Inca history, I was able to tailor the experience to my interests by researching and presenting on how the Incas used agriculture to support their healthcare system.”
Ponce Vázquez added, “We believe that experiencing history at a human pace, going through the challenges of movement and travel in different geographies across historical routes opens the door for students to explore the past in new ways.”
“As an out-of-state student looking back, I hardly thought it was possible,” added McMenis. “This trip is not only a valuable scholastic educational experience. It is priceless in the way that it builds a family. The ‘modern world’ is really missing out on something that we managed to build as a team.”
Visit the Capstone International Center website to learn more about other immersive study abroad opportunities.