NMT 2025 · № 19

Lessons from My Students in Peru
One of the most life-changing trips I’ve ever been on was a volunteering experience of
teaching languages in the stunning city of Cuzco in Peru. I spent a month there teaching
English and Italian to a group of local adults. And even though my time there was short,
the travel experience was so humbling (17) __________.
My lessons took the form of active conversations, (18) __________ between me and my
students. Realising just how different their lives were from mine (19) _________ – made
me look at my own life with a fresh new perspective.
One person spoke about the three years he spent living in a jungle with his dad, where
they fed off of animals they hunted in order to survive. Another student told me about
her ultimate dream of mastering English to become a tour guide, and have a more stable
future. For me, these stories were a reminder of just (20) _________, and how much we
can get consumed by the small bubbles we live in.
It was impossible not to feel inspired in Cuzco because my students always had the
biggest smiles on their faces, and the locals showed me again and again (21) ________.
I went to Peru to teach, but ended up learning more from my students and the locals
there than they did from me.
Ever since I got back from that trip, I made it a goal to slow down and not take the
simple things in life for granted. Every time I get upset about something, I think about
the Peruvians in Cuzco parading their streets in song and pure joy, (22) _______.