Volunteer Johanna Müller in Peru | Part II

Part II

New week – new challenge – new highlight – new experience.

My second week with Mosqoy was very different from the experiences of my first week. I spent a lot of time in Cusco because I was focused on two different student projects. On one hand my task was doing interviews with the students to talk about their educational process, about their ‘rural life’ and their ‘city-student life’ at Casa Mosqoy. The idea of these interviews is to give the students a chance to complain, to reflect and to take part in Mosqoy by giving new suggestions. They are the best inspiration for improvement and changes. For me it was a very interesting experience to see how different they are. Sometimes I was impressed by their openness, by their personal history and their detailed plans of future. I’m also trying to visit all students in their communities at their families’ houses which is not the easiest task. Most students have a lot of activities on the weekend, they have to work, they are doing sports or they have to fulfill their practical courses for university. During the last weeks I learned, that it’s always better to act directly than making plans because plans are changing every day. You will always be positively surprised what’s possible to reach if you just start doing it!

Beside this I began to plan the marketing project for Amaru, which is part of Kallpa K’oj – a Quechua word which stands for ‘exchange’, ‘giving energy’, ‘connect to your community’. I really like the concept of this project and found out about its importance. Although the students love their communities and their family life they built up kind of a “second” life in Cusco which includes new rules, new impressions, new friends, a full week of university-courses and daily tasks in Casa Mosqoy. Next to all these new responsibilities they are still adolescents who like to enjoy their limited free time. I had to find a way to act as a supervisor but at the same time I wanted them to feel responsible for the project and not just having done another task. I learned that not the result but rather the process is the main intention of this project.

Beyond Mosqoy I found a new kind of ‘sport’ I have never done before but have now really started to enjoy –Yogi Yogi Yoga :) – no place is better to start doing it than Cusco, I guess. Thank you, Leah, for making it to our two-times-weekly highlight!!!