ArtAndes Blog

On Jan 15, 2014, at 2:24 PM, Christy Maxfield wrote:
I think it's been about 10 years since my Peru trip, which hardly seems possible!  You do fantastic work and open up a world that not many people would otherwise get to see.  Even though I've been many places since then, Peru is one of the greatest trips!
 
Christy

Wow, Christy, that's really great to hear, 10 years later and it's still a highlight after many more trips! I need to put that on my website if you don't mind?
Abrazos,
Melanie

Sure!  You can definitely put that on your website!
 
Peru was my second trip abroad, with the first being to London (I'm not counting Canada and Mexico).  You made the trip feel so personal and what I walked away with is:
1.  It does not take much in material possessions to live a happy and fufilled life.  I really,really try to keep that in mind in our consumer-driven society 
2.  we are all universally the same and that, as a general rule, human beings are universally good. 
3.  The trip certainly is about seeing a beautiful part of the world and learning about the Quechua culture and that through the darkness of the Shining Path, a beautiful art form thrives because of you.  I never felt like we were bussed from destination to destination just to check it off the list, but had time to absorb the beauty and actually be a part of it.
4.  Some of the friendships I made on that trip endure to this day.  Next to your niece, I was the youngest person on the trip by several decades, but Chris and Jack Jaglo are still my Minneapolis Mom and Dad and Charlie and Margie Ostrov have been very sweet and wonderful through the years.
 
since that time, I've been to Ecuador, South Africa, Trinidad/Tobago, the Lesser Antilles, Greece, Croatia, Italy, France, SE Asia and while those trips have been wonderful trips, I often think of Peru and it makes me smile.  Thank you.  Christy