We began Week 1 with Spanish language instruction, or Castellano as the Peruvians call it. After spending their first weekend with host families, students were excited to see each other and share stories about food, family, church and the combis (small buses) they rode to get to class that morning.

Our instructors, Leonor Marin and Oswaldo Aguirre, are beginning their sixth semester teaching Goshen College students. We meet in a seminary centrally located in the district of Lince. After class we often eat a Peruvian lunch in the seminary dining room. In the afternoons we hear a lecture or venture into Lima to visit a museum, archaeological site or other activity.

Our theme this week is history. We learned about the Inca civilization from a local teacher named Rafael Leon. Inca is the name used for the king, a man his followers believed was descended from Inti, the sun god. The Inca empire spanned most of western south America for one hundred years before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores. The Inca maintained his empire through the principles of reciprocity and redistribution, taxing wool, cotton, food and minerals from each province and distributing most of it back to the people in a way that both prevented poverty and generated loyalty. The center of the Inca empire was the city of Cusco, known as the "Navel of the World". We look forward to traveling there when we visit Machu Picchu in early June.

We learned about the periods before and after the Inca Empire on several field trips. The first was a visit to Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site dating from several hundred years after Christ. We walked to the site from Goshen Tambo, the directors' residence. The Huaca is located in the middle of an urban area in the district of Miraflores, a relic over 1,500 years old surrounded by apartments, restaurants and banks. Our guide was a knowledgeable, humorous archaeologist named Pedro Vargas, who gave us a tour of a large, flat-topped pyramid where religious leaders of the Lima culture hosted ceremonies to worship the moon, a female deity. Next to the pyramid complex was a native plant garden with a selection of flora that the ancients depended on for food and medicine. We also got our first look at alpacas and llamas, the grazing animals that Peruvians have domesticated for wool, food and transport.

On another field trip we visited the Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History and heard two experts speak on the topic of "Independence and the Republic". We learned about the significant role women played during the rebellion against the Spanish. And we were surprised to discover how the early nation profited from its greatest export, guano (bird droppings), which was shipped to the U.S. and Europe for use as a fertilizer.

On another day we visited the Castles of Callao, or Fortaleza Real Felipe, the largest military complex built by the Spaniards in the Western Hemisphere. The fortress was constructed in the mid-eighteenth century using a mixture of sand, lime and egg whites from sea birds (the same birds that produce the guano). We were stunned by the collection of armaments and weapons from various periods. But the show-stopper for our group was the visit to the King's Tower, a fortress within a fortress that consists of mazes to confuse invaders and a dungeon for holding prisoners. The dungeon is a narrow walkway that leaves no room for lying down or even stretching out your arms. In a few minutes we emerged from the maze and stood atop the tower, taking in the warm sunshine and the panoramic view of Lima's port. In an ironic twist described in the brochure we received from our guide: the fortress became independent Peru's main defense against the Spanish during their futile attempt at reconquest in 1866.

We ended our week with recent history, including a lecture by James Plunkett, an expatriot American who has lived in Peru for 45 years. Mr. Plunkett is president of the local chapter of Toastmasters International, which means he can give a very engaging speech. He spun a tale for us that combined his personal story of falling in love with Peru in the 1960s with a insightful description of each president who has led the nation since he arrived. It is interesting to note that two of Peru's presidents have held the office for two non-consecutive terms. Alan Garcia, the current president, was elected in 2005 after already serving from 1985 to 1990. Mr. Plunkett also reminded us how fortunate we are to spend three months in a nation with a wealth of biodiversity, a benign climate, an emerging cuisine, exotic fruit and friendly people.

Near the end of the week we had a chance to visit a beach near Callao, soaking up the autumn sun as we listened to waves splash against the shore. We ate a picnic lunch, threw flat stones into the water to watch them skip and did our best to get as close to the water as possible without getting (very) wet. If feels like we are making a little history of our own down here.