Juan AYP: Arrival & First Impressions

Arrival & First Impressions

Casa Mosqoy is full of life all day long. Music fills the rooms and halls, and the students’ constant laughter comforts the newcomer as it invites joy and love into every moment. Moving halfway around the world was no easy task, but the welcoming environment at Mosqoy made everything worth it from the very first minute. As the new Resident Advisor in Casa Mosqoy, I am humbled by the energy, intellect, and potential around me.  I am extremely excited to work for Mosqoy, and, more specifically, to share with the students and learn from them as we create a supportive and successful community within the house and with our Canadian and Peruvian partners!

Monument to Pachacutec, the Inca ruler who
began the expansion of the Inca Empire,
which eventually included most of
western South America.

During the first couple of days, Kristina showed me around the house and the city and introduced me to the students and some of our partners. It was a bit overwhelming to meet so many amazing people at once, while attempting to get used to the high altitude. After meeting the students, I was excited by the the diversity of personalities and interests in the house. I immediately bonded with some of the boys through football (soccer) talk, and with the girls through music and dancing! We have all shared some insightful and cheerful dinner conversations and have started to get to know each other better. On Thursday night, twelve of us went to play soccer—including four girls, who ended up being the starts of the game!

I am slowly taking over tasks from Kristina and hope to have the basic house systems in place next week. These systems allow the house to run smoothly, ensuring that all basic needs are met and that every student participates in the process and feels comfortable and included in our Mosqoy community.  After those systems are in place, I plan to strengthen the sense of community and social responsibility in the household through team activities designed to create trust and respect among the students. These activities will reinforce their personal development and complement our upcoming professional development workshops, which we have designed to respond directly to the needs that students express.

Path along the Urubamba river, outside of Ollantaytambo.

Finally, I am very excited to work on our Kallpa K’oj program, which allows the students to engage in service projects with partner weaving communities, contributing first hand to the communities’ development. I look forward to working with the future Kallpa K’oj coordinator, a position Mosqoy is still looking to fill, to provide our students with rewarding experiences and our partner communities with the resources they need to carry out their community-driven development projects.

All in all, my arrival in Cusco has been an absolute success. Despite the minor setbacks of illness and issues with water in the house, the first week at Casa Mosqoy has been unforgettable. I look forward to connecting with and learning from the students while contributing to Mosqoy’s overall mission, and to sharing our progress with Mosqoy’s supporters through this blog!

Plaza de Armas in Cusco during the raising of the flag on Sunday morning.