Hi everyone!

My name is Anja, I am a fourth year student so I am almost done with school since I do not plan on doing a masters or PhD. A diploma and a bachelors degree are enough school for me. This is my first time doing a Global Seminar and I am super excited to check out all the amazing sites and cities and markets. This is also my first time in Peru so I am ready to do lots of exploring and site seeing. However this is not my first time traveling. I have been to several other countries including Costa Rica, France, Germany, England and Italy. My family loves traveling so this is not my first rodeo.

I grew up in East Vancouver and have spent my whole life in the same area and neighbourhood but my family is fairly new to Canada. My dad is Australian and my maternal grandparents are German so we have not been here very long. I have two sisters and I am the youngest and I also have two cats and a dog who are all very cute but they can get quite loud and will fight with each other.

This trip does not really feel real yet but I am sure that will all change once I land in Lima. I am so excited to get to know everyone and get this trip started. I am not the biggest fan of flying because I get antsy waiting and I do not like sitting still for so long. But it will all be worth it once I arrive in Peru. I am curious about what we will be learning. Since it is such big topic it could be almost anything. One thing that I am very excited for is the outdoor markets. I love going to these kinds of markets and exploring everything in the booths. I will definitely be looking for things to bring back for my friends and family.

While I have stayed in Costa Rica for three months and have taken Spanish in school my Spanish is not very good so I am hoping that I can get a bit better on this trip if I am surrounded by Spanish speakers and trying to practise. Hopefully I do not butcher the language too badly in my attempts. But I also plan to use duolingo as well to help me keep learning. The plan is to do some everyday but who knows if that will be possible. Fingers crossed!