Emilia’s Hostel Experience in Cusco

“Living in a hostel was really something new for me at first, but after a short time I loved it more than anything. All of us volunteers from all over the world got along great with each other and went out together almost every night.”

Our former participant Emilia spent two months traveling in Peru. She spent her first month with volunteers from all over the world in our partner hostel in Cusco. There she experienced a great and exciting time and made many new friends. The second month she used to travel alone through the breathtaking country and learned a lot about herself. With this report she wants to give courage and self-confidence to all future participants, because it is a unique experience to throw yourself into the adventure alone!

My first trip – all alone! I couldn’t wait to finally pack my bags and head to the airport. A few weeks before my departure, I received all the information about my trip and where I would be working. I was to arrive in Lima with another participant and begin my orientation program there. I was really happy to have someone by my side and to know her a little bit in advance.

I can still remember very well when I arrived from cold Germany in the middle of the night in tropical Lima. Fortunately, I immediately met the other participant there.

We spent the next two days with our contact person Carlos, who showed us Lima and introduced us to Peruvian culture with ceviche and pisco sour. Then it was on to Cusco. As soon as I landed in the city I knew I would feel right at home here. As I drove from the airport through the Andean city to the hostel, I was incredibly happy to have arrived here. And I could hardly wait to live here for a month.

In my hostel I was immediately welcomed super nice. Besides two other participants from WanderWorld Travel, there were many volunteers from Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela staying there, which really helped my Spanish skills.

My work consisted of helping at the front desk and showing guests to their rooms. At first I was really shy about speaking Spanish, but my co-workers really taught me everything so that after just a few days there I could give a perfect tour in Spanish.

Living in a hostel was really something new for me in the beginning, but after a short time I loved it more than anything. All of us volunteers got along great and went out together almost every night. I also made friends very quickly with other guests, some of whom I still keep in touch with today.

Especially in memory of Cusco, I have the street dogs that run around everywhere in the city and have greeted us every day when we left the hostel. They were very trusting and well-groomed and were also popular with the local people.

During my hostel experience, I worked 5 hours, 6 days a week. However, if I wanted to go on a longer trip, I could just change my shift.

Otherwise, I got up in the morning, had a Spanish lesson with a private instructor from WanderWorld, went to the market, and worked at the hostel. In the evening, we all met at the bar to end the day together.

I also came into contact with the Peruvian culture many times. I will never forget the friendliness and warmth of the people. I had very enriching conversations, made great contacts and simply got to know cool people.

Don’t be afraid of your trip and don’t be afraid to go away alone either!
WanderWorld took very good care of me and I received a very nice welcome at each program location. Even when I was traveling alone during my travel time, I could always turn to my contacts. In addition, I did not have any bad experiences. You can also travel super alone through Peru as a girl.

Be open to new people and new situations!
I can well understand that you are a bit shy at first and that it is hard to approach foreign people in a foreign language, but especially in the hostels everyone is happy to meet new people. I made a lot of new friends with people who live a completely different life than I do. Discovering new things is the best part of traveling for me.

Ask for help if you need it!
Even if you don’t speak perfect Spanish – which was definitely the case for me – the vast majority of people have been incredibly helpful. There is no need to be afraid.