Last night, I received a forwarded email from Bob that confirms our reservation for hiking the Inca Trail up to one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World: Machu Picchu. I jumped up and down in the kitchen for a bit. I can't believe I'm going to be visiting one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world! Tucked away in the rocky countryside northwest of Cuzco, Machu Picchu is believed to have been a royal estate or sacred religious site for Inca leaders, whose civilization was wiped out by Spanish invaders in the 16th century (history.com).
I think one of the numerous reasons why I'm so excited about exploring Machu Picchu is that it has such influence on the culture today in Peru. Even though the Incas were virtually wiped out by the Spanish, their culture still remains. This brings me to one of the reasons why I want to travel so much, and that is to gain experience that hopefully I can bring back into the classroom. Eventually, I would love to teach World Geography in middle school, and to be able to show my students what I've experienced would be amazing. I found out last year while I was teaching that when you use your own experiences to aid in telling the stories of the past, students are more attentive as well as retain information just a smidge more. The Inca Empire had great influence on how Peruvians live. Peruvians embrace their past, and it shows in their culture today. History and culture go hand-in-hand, and I want students to understand how the world around them works the way it does. Why and how can one culture be so completely different from another? I can't wait to bring my experiences into the classroom to help better explain how the past is never truly too far away.
I think one of the numerous reasons why I'm so excited about exploring Machu Picchu is that it has such influence on the culture today in Peru. Even though the Incas were virtually wiped out by the Spanish, their culture still remains. This brings me to one of the reasons why I want to travel so much, and that is to gain experience that hopefully I can bring back into the classroom. Eventually, I would love to teach World Geography in middle school, and to be able to show my students what I've experienced would be amazing. I found out last year while I was teaching that when you use your own experiences to aid in telling the stories of the past, students are more attentive as well as retain information just a smidge more. The Inca Empire had great influence on how Peruvians live. Peruvians embrace their past, and it shows in their culture today. History and culture go hand-in-hand, and I want students to understand how the world around them works the way it does. Why and how can one culture be so completely different from another? I can't wait to bring my experiences into the classroom to help better explain how the past is never truly too far away.