Kelly Geoghegan
"8 weeks ago, I gave up my career as a licensee after 8 years and I had no idea what I was going to do with myself. 7 weeks ago I discovered Madventurer on the internet and booked a last minute place on a 5 week development project to Peru. It was all done so quickly I didn't have time to worry about it, I was just so excited. 6 weeks ago I flew to Lima and some of the best weeks of my life began!
Our project was based in the small rural village of Llupa, near the town of Huaraz in the Ancash region of Peru. The altitude was over 3300m!! Something you were reminded of every time you tried to do something mildly energetic and immediately ran out of breath!!! This at the same time a 70 year old local walked up the steepest hill with no difficulty carrying the biggest bag you have ever seen!!
We were living in the village school and helping the local population finish a much needed drinking water pipe and teaching the children English! Weekdays started with a wash in the coldest water imaginable, a quick breakfast and then 3 and a half hours of digging trenches for the pipe, working alongside the villagers. It was hard work but mostly good fun and made us an integral part of the community, as well as giving us every opportunity to practice our Spanish! Afternoons were for lessons and the kids were so eager to learn any English we decided to teach them and the end of lessons were always reserved for games of some sort! Evenings were spent talking to new friends, both other volunteers and local people, sometimes round a huge campfire and bed was always early to be ready for the next day!
Weekends were for getting to know the country. I went trekking at every opportunity. Mostly two day treks but we managed to squeeze in two three day ones, including the famous Santa Cruz loop. It was tough going but the breathtaking scenery and the atmosphere in camp at night made you forget your sore feet and aching muscles!!!
Yesterday I returned home and am already thinking about planning my next trip to Peru.
I had the best time imaginable, a thousand times better than I expected. The project with Madventurer really helped me realise than I want to do more in this field. It was so much more than a holiday. We really got a feel for the real Peruvian way of life and became accepted into their community. It was the best experience of my life and learning enough Spanish to hold hours of conversation with the locals was the real highlight for me. I even learnt some Quechua, their local language!! The worst part about coming home was leaving all my new friends, English and Peruvian, but hopefully on my next adventure I will meet many more.
I would certainly recommend a career break experience to anyone who feels they want a break from their career, as long as they have a sense of humour and a spirit of adventure!!"
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