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This article is a personal story about the author's trip to Peru. It especially focuses on the deeper culture that most tourists may not notice, but this author especially sought out. It traces her journey from Lima, to Cusco, to Machu Picchu. I chose to read this article because I am applying to study abroad in Peru next year, and I wanted to know more about the culture. I liked this source because it gave a varied view of many components of Peruvian culture from food, to architecture, to what the people were like. It is definitely biased, however. The author seems to be in love with Peru and doesn't get into the challenges of immersing herself in the culture. I think I should read a few more reviews before hopping on the plane, but this article was definitely a good starting point. This source helped my learning by giving me a broad overview that I can now choose specific details from to research more thoroughly. Reading this article made me more eager to study abroad and did a great job "selling" the culture of Peru. However, it was written more from a traveler's perspective and didn't really show me what it would be like to live in Peru for an extended period of time.

This AFS site gives in-depth cultural information about all of the countries that AFS sends students to. I used it to learn about family life, entertainment, and the customs of Peru, where I will be studying abroad next year. I know that this site is reliable, since it is published by AFS, and I know this organization is very well-established and an expert in the field of cultural study. The information is also pretty non-biased, since even though they are trying to convince you, as a student, to study abroad in this country, they also talk honestly about what might be difficult for foreigners. This site was more helpful to me than the other sites I'd used to learn about what life in Peru might be like next year, since it was written with long-term living in mind, instead of tourism or short volunteer trips. And because this site included small details you might not get from reading a guidebook, such as what dating is like and how to greet people, it made me feel as if I was already in the culture, and I could start to imagine, for the first time, what it would be like to actually live there.