Senior Julie Ross sits on the carpeted floor of her Parisian hotel room overlooking Boulevard Saint Michelle. She unzips her bag and puts away her stilettos, skirts, jewelry and makeup. Eight months later, she unpacks again. This time, however, the contents of her bag have been drastically altered: three shirts, two pairs of pants, sandals, a sweatshirt and a first-aid kit. She opens the door to her tent, steps outside and breathes in the fresh, natural air of the Andes. Her brand of traveling has definitely changed.
At first glance, one would not expect Ross to be much of the adventurous type. Upon meeting her on the Tisch Library roof in her J. Crew polo, she doesn't project the image of a wilderness fanatic. But everyone has an alternate persona: after spending her junior year abroad through the Tufts-in-London program, Ross spent five weeks of this past summer in South America.
A friend she met in London suggested the trip, and Ross jumped at the opportunity. While enrolled at University College London, she had traveled extensively across Europe, visiting Paris, Madrid, Vienna and other cities. At the end of the school year, she did not want her journey to end. "I was on a roll," Ross said. "I just wanted to keep going."
The pair bought two South America guide books and spent the last few weeks of Ross' time in London researching their destination. Although they originally wanted to travel across the continent to Brazil, they ended up concentrating on Peru. Once she was back in the States, Ross and her friend set up their trip via e-mail, booking flights and loosely devising an itinerary.
"We never set anything in stone except the trek to Machu Piccu, since it fills up so fast," Ross said. "We didn't want to feel restricted."
Ross reunited with her friend in Lima, Peru on the evening of July 19. From Lima, the couple went to Nasca, then Cusco, where they began their trek to Machu Piccu, the ancient Incan city located high in the Andes Mountains. Having never trekked before, Ross was nervous about the five-day Salkantay trek, where she climbed with a small group to altitudes 5,000 meters above sea level. "I never thought I could do it," Ross said. "But I did."
The first day, the group experienced snow and dry air at drastically high elevations. By the second day, however, the scenery changed and Ross began hiking through a jungle. "All of a sudden there was so much wildlife, vegetation and green," Ross said.
On the third day, Ross' favorite, she wandered from the group and walked solely with the guide. She received a private tour of the orchids, passion fruit and exotic plants of the jungle. "It was so cool to be able to see everything the way [the guide] sees it," she said.
After rejoining the rest of the group, Ross tried to get a good night's sleep to prepare for the hardest day of the trek, during which she climbed directly uphill in the intense heat and finally got her first glance of Machu Piccu. "I thought I was going to die," Ross said, her expressive hands flying through the air. "It was so difficult, but so beautiful. I would love to convey how unbelievable it was."
After traveling through more of Peru, visiting Puno and seeing Lake Titicaca, Ross and her companion went to Bolivia, to Copacabana. But wanting to get the full experience of Peru, they returned to Arequipa and went on another trek - this one three days long - through Colca Canyon. Along the trek, some fellow travelers recommended that Ross go sandboarding in Huacachina, so a few days later, she did just that.
Having never even snowboarded, Ross was again faced with fear as she signed her name on the release to go sandboarding. A guide took her and seven others in a dune buggy on a rollercoaster-like ride to the top of the sand dunes. The guide, who spoke no English except the words "fun" and "photo," handed out boards and pointed in the direction of the steep downward slope.
Although she was nervous, Ross headed down second and survived with no injuries besides some minor aches from the falls. "The sand was so fine it didn't hurt that badly," Ross said. "But it got everywhere. I still find it in my ears!"
Peru is an impoverished country: according to the World Resources Institute (earthtrends.wri.org), 41.4 percent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. "It's eye-opening," Ross said. "You see these kids begging you to let them shine your shoes. We have never seen poverty like that. It's every street, every corner, every person."
The paucity Ross encountered made her realize that she does not want to directly dive into corporate America. Though she has yet to make a definite decision about her post-graduation plans, her experience in South America has greatly heightened her interest in helping the less fortunate. Although Ross, an English major and Communications and Mass Media minor, eventually aims to enter publishing and write a novel of her own, after graduation she wants "to do something for the world, if not forever, at least at first."
According to senior Caroline Glickler, Ross' close friend, this experience in Peru has caused a notable change in Ross. "As long as I've known Julie, she's always been an incredibly caring person and a dedicated friend," Glickler said. "But seeing her now after her trip, I can really see a change in her level of self-confidence."
