Interim Report week 4 - 6

Interim Report weeks 4-6

1.the daily activities/ placement assignments

In week 4 I started to collect information that is useful for the destination analysis of Cusco. I consulted Violeta and she explained the many different Tourism companies to me, that are responsible for a proper development in Cusco. Some of the main bodies are DirCetur, PromPerú and INC (Instituto Nacional de Cultura). All these institutions have distinct roles within the tourism industry. Being represented on the internet, I could find a lot of information that is relevant for the analysis of Cusco. However, all the reports and data are in Spanish, and nothing is in English. Therefore, processing the information is very time consuming, since my Spanish skills are not that advanced. Nevertheless, I am able to understand most of the sentences by using a dictionary.
In week 5 I finished my Spanish classes with the professor. In order to keep on advancing, I study every day and repeat the notes of the class. Moreover, I spent hours translating from Spanish into English and catch up new vocabulary.
In week 6 I got tired translating all the reports, so that I tried to find another solution. I went to the State University San Antonio. It was very interesting to see the differences to NHTV. The facilities are less developed; i.e. no computer rooms and no library. Despite the excitement I did not find what I was looking for. Following the advice of some friends of the family, I went the next day to the library to have a look. Once again, I was surprised. It was not an open library where one can have a look at the different books. Instead, a woman could be asked to lend one book at the time. Obviously, all books were in Spanish. I spent some hours looking at the theses of the University of San Antonio. Unfortunately, it was not possible to make any copies. I was only able to take some pictures with my camera of the most useful data. Hence, I decided to face the challenge of translating everything from Spanish into English, since it seems to be the only possibility. Another friend of the family is going to organize a book of a professor about tourism in Cusco. With all these information I should be able to write the destination analysis.

2.attainment targets

I was still working on improving my Spanish skills. I have recognized now, how important it is to know the language because almost everything is in Spanish here. Moreover I tried to be creative to gather information on different levels. I understood, that research activities do not always turn out to be successful. Therefore, more time needs to be invested it obtaining the relevant data. The more time I spend here, the more insight I get into the Peruvian way of living. One day I visited a Quechua language school with Ingrid to get a better understanding of the culture. Quechua is the traditional language of the Incas, that is still spoken by people in rural areas of the Andean, but also here in Cusco. I wanted to have a look at the language and due to curiosity wanted to follow a few classes. However, no classes were available at a convenient time.

3.personal aspects

Although I am not really aware of it, I am working a lot on my weaknesses. By this week, I have completely adjusted myself to the life here. I do feel comfortable to still live under a roof with the family, although I was to receive an own room with private bathroom. I spend a lot of time with Ingrid, who helps me a lot with my Spanish, and other activities, such as shopping and getting to know the city. We became good friends and from time to time, she gives comments on my behaviour. She has notices several differences to the Peruvian culture. For example, Ingrid describes me as a cold person because sometimes I act very serious and I do not like if someone touches me. Moreover I am working on being more patient and helpful. Ingrid is studying English, so that we help each other to become better speakers. Although I find it very difficult to calmly explain unknown words, or make corrections of her sentences I am improving myself. Because I understand that she is in the same situation, when I try to speak Spanish. She does a much better job helping me and I try to learn from her.
After 6 weeks in Peru I find it easy to live here. I made improvements with the language and can understand the people. I can also express myself on a basic level. I accepted the fact, that many things are very different to Europe and managed to get along with it.

4.future action items

The following weeks I will be busy with reading and translating all the information that I collected in the last weeks. I hope I will make faster progress then in week two, so that I can finish the destination analysis sometime soon. Moreover, Violeta asked me to translate her website into German, when it will be completed. Here in Peru, you never know when this is going to be done. Moreover, I will continue to work on my Spanish skills by rewriting the notes of the Spanish classes. I am also planning to visit other cities on the weekend, i.e. Pisac, Urubamba and maybe Ollantaytambo. I am keen on discovering more of the Peruvian way of life outside Cusco.