Sarah & Elena: Adventures in Peru
by Mary Ann Reese
At least one University of Idaho multicultural scholar has opened doors for another UI student, who learned even more than she’d bargained for.
Elena de la Concepcion, daughter of a Caldwell rancher and teacher, arrived at the University of Idaho on a USDA multicultural scholarship in 2001. By 2007 she had earned bachelor’s degrees in agribusiness and Spanish and spent a semester-long internship at Ecosac, a major farmed-shrimp producer in Piura, Peru. After graduating, she returned to Piura to marry Rafael Garcia Garcia and work for Ecosac’s export division.
By 2008 Elena had already arranged an internship in Peru for the UI’s Sarah Hulse, 21, Boise—now a senior studying nutrition in the School of Family and Consumer Sciences.
Sarah, who’d never traveled beyond the U.S. before and whose Spanish was “rough,” on arriving in Peru learned that an emergency forced Elena to return to Idaho. Sarah would be on her own, sharing a house with Elena’s husband and another woman—neither fluent in English.
A severe case of culture shock
“I was nearly petrified because of extreme culture shock,” admits Sarah. “In our neighborhood, most houses had bars on windows and metal spikes atop perimeter fences, which made me think it might not be the safest place.” She’d have to walk home by herself after dusk.
Ecosac didn’t exactly have a specified job for her, either.Eventually Sarah was assigned to a lab where nobody spoke English. Working the standard 48 hours a week for an intern’s pay—70-cents an hour—Sarah wondered whether to quit and go home or tough it out.
Sarah addressed all her concerns. A woman friend escorted her home at night. In the lab, “I watched what others did. examining water samples.” She learned to count and classify algae and drew all algae types in a notebook. By the end of two months she and another person ran the lab. And with her total emersion, “My Spanish skills got really good really fast.”
Would she do it again?
“Absolutely! It’s important to get out of your safety zone because when you do, you learn how to adapt, which gives you a lot of confidence.”
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