So I’ve come to the conclusion that I come from a pretty interesting background.
Here’s why…
North America
I was born into a 100% Peruvian family in Newport News, VA and raised in Norfolk, VA. I was exposed to a lot of different cultures very early on given that Norfolk is one of the largest naval bases in the US and families from all over the place come to stay for a few years or longer.
From elementary to grad school, I was usually the only Latina in any of my classes.
I studied in NYC at Fullstack Academy during the summer of 2015.
I interned in Redwood City, CA for Accenture during the summer of 2016.
I graduated from an HBCU (Hampton University) in May of 2016.
I graduated from an Ivy League school (Cornell University) in May of 2017.
As of 2017, I have visited Canada and 25+ US states.
Central & South America
My first international trip was to Chichen Itza, Mexico
I was only 2 at the time.
It was just my mom, dad, and I at the time so there weren’t any issues (hehe).
Being Peruvian, my family has traveled to Peru to visit family many times.
I have also visited the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras, & El Salvador.
Africa
I studied Wildlife Management Research Techniques during the summer of 2012 in the Manyara area of Tanzania. While I was there, I was able to take Swahili language classes.
I took a 1-year intro class in Arabic my senior year of high school. My teacher was from Morocco and loved to talk about his country.
I have also visited Kenya.
Europe
In elementary school, my whole family moved to France for about a year since my dad was a visiting professor. I learned how to speak French fluently while I was enrolled in school there
I studied abroad in Germany after graduating high school for my first semester of college during the fall of 2013 at Jacobs University Bremen. I took a German language class while studying there.
I have also visited Italy, England, & Greece.
Asia
I attended the Newport News Japanese Saturday School throughout my middle school years with my last class being Kanji, having already taken classes in Hiragana and Katakana.
While I don’t know Japanese anymore, I still have a great adoration for the culture and language.
I have also been to Tokyo once.
I volunteered as a high schooler in a medical mission taking place in Vietnam for Operation Smile during the summer of 2012.
I attended my first international conference in Beijing, China – also through Operation Smile – during the summer of 2011
In other words, by being exposed to so many different people over my lifetime, I’m aware now that I’ll probably always want to travel and explore new worlds unknown to me.