Claire Zarakas - Bridge Year Peru
I have lived in Byfield, Massachusetts for my whole life, and am very excited about experiencing a different way of living next year in Peru. Over the past four years as a day student at Phillips Exeter Academy, I have discovered a love for math, science, and environmental studies, though I am also looking to explore new fields at Princeton. Beyond academics, I have used much of my time in high school to engage in my school’s environmental action efforts and volunteer in the community, serving as president of the Exeter Social Service Organization. I also love Spanish and have been passionate about it since reading my now favorite book, Cien Anos de Soledad by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in a Spanish class last year. In my free time, I can be found hiking, running, crosscountry skiing, kayaking, reading the newspaper, collecting music, playing flamenco guitar, and experimenting with new recipes. I cannot wait to improve my Spanish, learn some Quechua, try Peruvian cooking, and hike in the Andes during this next year.
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Posted Apr 26, 2012
6:00 p.m. In a town full of references to the “hora Peruana,” and a generally laidback attitude towards time, I am regularly shocked by Tatiana’s sudden concern for punctuality around the start of Combate, a popular reality TV show in Peru. Tatiana, nine years old, is the youngest daughter in my host family of five mujeres. She color codes her homework, has a disarmingly sweet smile, and is a fierce card player. Perhaps tapping into that competitive spirit, she is an absolute Combate fanatic.
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Posted Dec 29, 2011
Saturday night, shortly after arriving in Peru: the five of us were an English-speaking bubble in a small, listless restaurant in Urubamba, so I could not help but notice when a group of spirited Peruvians with ganas de bailar entered the nearly empty room. With a simple shift in music, salsa seemed to erupt from every corner. There was hardly any space, the woman-man ratio was not quite right...