Live your love.

The Therapy room at Manos Unidas Asiya & I at Sacsayhuaman Out with Maite & Asiya 3 of the students in the younger autism classroom at Camino Nuevo At Wachuma reggae bar with Maite, Asiya, and Sandra Universal cuffs I made for the classroom with children with Cerebral Palsy Hola y buena tardes de Cusco. My time here has been very satisfying and interesting. Traveling alone really forces me to branch out and meet people and get to know people who are different from me. It´s been so encouraging and rewarding to meet people from all over the world with various different backgrounds, while learning the culture and getting to know many Cusquenians and Peruvians. I had to say goodbye to my volunteer buddy, Asiya last night. She is a physical therapist in Baltimore, Maryland. She taught me a new appreciation for Reggae music and was my travel buddy around Cusco. I´ve also been spending time with two girls from Spain who are doing a education psy...

My Dove dark chocolate wrapper told me this week: "you are exactly where you are supposed to be." I agree with this for right now because this experience has allowed me to share my resources and expertise while learning to speak Spanish and being out of my comfort Zone without some of the amenities I'm used to in the US. It has also forced me to have friendships and form bonds with people very different than me and often don't even speak my native language. Today I had the opportunity to run a workshop for teachers on strategiEs and activities in their classroom to help with fine motor development, sensory processing, and whole brain learning. They were very receptive and engaged and I so appreciated their time. Many of them are already doing well with the resources available. Last night at the school they held a meeting/ support group for the parents of the students. When you work with kids with disabilities, you don't just take on the kids, but you take on their...

It's hard to believe it's already been a week here in Cusco. I feel like there is still so much to learn and do during my month here! I'm really enjoying my host family. Margot is a single mom of two girls (4 & 17yrs) who is also a teacher at the school, Camino Nuevo, in which I am volunteering at. Camino Nuevo is the first private school for kids with special needs in cusco. I have spent the week observing all of the classrooms and helping out with their therapy. I've been taking notes and will be running a training for the teachers next Saturday on how to incorporate more OT strategies in their classes. It's kind of perfect because that is very similar to what I do in the US. The teachers are all really sweet and I had a chance to get to know them a little better on Thursday when we all went out for Lunch and cerveza to celebrate national teachers day. All i know is peruvians love to celebrate anything. My homestay is close to downtown where there has been mus...