Five Seniors - Anastasia Kurdghelia, Anano Kirvalidze, Anita Karalashvili, Giorgi Jakobia, and Anna Partsvania - experienced an amazing two weeks in Peru through GZAAT’s first ever exchange program. Their adventure contained many exciting and unforgettable experiences. But this adventure didn't start directly in Peru…
As the five students were getting ready to start their exciting adventure, it instead started right there in the Panama airport where they went through a very stressful 13 hours. Once in Panama, the border guards took everyone’s Georgian passports, except for US citizens Anano’s and Anna’s, for some sort of profiling. Eventually, the students were asked to go to a different room where they would have a security check. The whole situation was even more difficult because no one there spoke decent english. While nobody knew what was going on and why there was a problem, at first, the guards told them that they needed a visa to go to Peru, while all of our students knew that it wasn't necessary. Then they were told that Georgians needed a transit visa to Panama, which they didn't have and didn't know they needed. This happened because their tickets were bought before the regulation for this visa was approved. Anna and Anita, who had American passports, went ahead to Peru since there wasn't a requirement for them to have the transit visa. On the other hand, Tasia, Anita, Giorgi and Gvantsa Mas had Georgian passports. They stayed behind and waited 13 hours before the situation was sorted out. In the end, the day was saved by the parents who called the Mexican, Brazilian, and Peruvian consulates and sorted the situation out. As Anastasia Kurdgelia describes it - “it was horrible, but we slept for most of it because we were extremely tired from traveling. Although we did have a little bit of fun. Some of the funny memories come from our time in the Panama holding cell.”.
When they landed in Peru, that's where the real adventure began. Our students learned a lot about the Peruvian culture and traditions with the help of the Peruvian families that they were staying with and were amazed by all of it but there were some things that each of them liked more than the others.
Starting off the list of the things that left a big impression on the students is the Peruvian School. As Giorgi Jakobia describes it - “Comparing it to the standards in Peru I didn’t expect such a great school”. The Peruvian school differed from the usual schools in our country in many ways such as the IB program, only 11 grades, school uniforms and subjects like Chinese and French. But the unusual thing about the school that left an impression on Tasia was the chapel: “They had a church, a sort of a chapel in the school, because the creator of the school is very very catholic, she's very passionate about that. When I asked the students about it they said that no one really uses it.” said Tasia. Even though the schools differ a lot, as Tasia describes it the countries themselves are alike in a fascinating way. “I think Peru is significantly more similar to Georgia than I would have imagined in some random ways. I feel like if we were the worst version of Europe they're like the worst version of South America. That's the thing we have in common. That's a really weird observation. The weird thing is that they have this really weird mall culture. They have the biggest mall in South America, I think. Also the roads are insane - driving there is impossible. Otherwise it's a great country - they have everything that they need”. The students were also amazed by the Peruvian architecture. As Anita describes it, the architecture was really different because most of the people there were poor and built their houses themselves, brick by brick. So houses often lacked proper roofs and basic things.
One of the things that students couldn’t miss while being in Peru was the traditional food. Tasia described Peruvian food as the “perfect cuisine that has the perfect balance of everything.” Peruvians mix together things that are not usually mixed. For example Ceviche which is a national dish that is a mix of fish with citrus sauce. “Even though it sounds kind of disgusting it's actually delicious, it's amazing.” said Taisa. When asking Tasia about the weirdest thing food she saw, she brought up one of the traditional Peruvian dishes: “We were at a restaurant and I found out that they eat guinea pigs and they brought us these guinea pig dumplings which I couldn't eat because it's too cruel for me. “
Along with this amazing adventure, there came many funny and unforgettable moments. The students even have a whole notes app dedicated to Peru that is filled with jokes and funny moments. Giorgi Jakobia and Tasia Kurdgelia shared some of their unforgettable and funny stories:
Giorgi Jakobia - "The funniest thing was that in South America, the flow rate of the toilet is quite high, so when I flushed, the water came up fast. I thought it was going to overflow, and I got embarrassed in front of the family. I started panicking, grabbed the plunger, and began plunging the toilet, but nothing happened. Just when it was about to overflow, it stopped. I was so scared at that moment! The scariest experience, though, was getting stuck in the Panama situation."
Tasia Kurgelia- “We created a folder of all the notable things that happened to us there, which contains a lot of interesting moments we had there. Another thing is that I was holding a baby lamb for a picture and it peed on me. I had to walk around with pee for the whole day. Another thing that we had fun with was creating equivalents of the teachers there to teachers in GZAAT. We found, for example, Latino Levan Ghambashidze, Latino Anthony, Latino Eka Tatishvili and many more. Another thing that we enjoyed was playing on the instruments. For example I played on a donkey’s jaw which is a very random instrument.
When they were talking about Peru, the students could not miss talking about the amazing experience of seeing Machu Picchu, one of the seven wonders of the world, for the very first time. As Girogi Jakobia describes it - “It was like entering heaven” and as Anita describes it - “It was really like a fairy tale scene”. But Tasia’s fascination, along with the Machu Picchu, was with the Andes mountains. “I was more fascinated by the mountains there than I expected. I didn't realize how impressive they would be. I couldn't even look at Machu Picchu properly because I was so fascinated by the mountains.”
As the students said it themselves, the trip to Peru was phenomenal. It was truly a one-of-a-kind experience that left a lasting impact on everyone involved. Exploring the rich history of Machu Picchu, experiencing the divergent culture, and eating a lot of appetizing meals. This journey gave the students not only memories but a deeper understanding of Peruvian heritage, which was something they did not know much about. The exchange program was an amazing choice to reconsider and bring back to life. Unforgettable memories were created, and new international friendships were formed! Hopefully future students in GZAAT will get to experience this one in a lifetime opportunity to build bridges across the world!
Edited by: Diba Mottaghi
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