Janet Simpson Career Breaker - Peru
Tue, 11 Sep 2007
“It was a real kaleidoscope of colours, sights, tastes, sounds and smells - from the guinea pig offered at the welcome ceremony, to the ever changing landscape, to the sound of the conch being blown to call the locals to work.”
Not all ‘gappers’ are your usual 18-25-year-old students looking for life experience. There is an increasing amount of older people who see gap projects as a chance to give something back. This was the case for 42-year-old Janet Simpson a local government officer from Lancashire who spent five weeks teaching and building in Peru.
Janet had already travelled to Peru on more traditional tourist-stlye holidays, but wanted a new experience of the country and a chance to do her part for the people who had shown her so much hospitality and generosity on her previous trips there.
“I'd already been to Peru twice I'd always been shown the utmost kindness and been given a warm welcome so I wanted to be able to re-pay some of that in a small way.”
Many conventional gappers take time out of studies to travel before they head out into the ‘real world’. However Janet used her time in Peru to help re-align her perceptions of the working world and re-prioritise things her life, a process which she claims has done her some good.
“What would've interested me, or what I would've thought really important at work, is no longer of any significance. I've actually been involved with something that has had a positive and lasting impact on people's lives.”
Because of work commitments Janet needed a project which was shorter than the usual and decided to travel with Madventurer as they offered the ideal project in a part of the world she knew well, over just 5 weeks.
“Most other companies asked for a minimum commitment of 3 months which I knew I couldn't get off from work. I also didn't want to have to spend a year or so saving up to be able to do that so Mad's 5 week project was ideal.”
However this doesn’t mean that 5 weeks was long enough. For Janet, like many other venturers, it was a case of leaving when she had too rather than when she wanted too.
“I could quite easily have stopped another 5 weeks and got to know everyone and the local area a little better. It's one of the things about which I'm most proud. If I never do anything else worthwhile there'll always be that.”
Janet had already travelled to Peru on more traditional tourist-stlye holidays, but wanted a new experience of the country and a chance to do her part for the people who had shown her so much hospitality and generosity on her previous trips there.
“I'd already been to Peru twice I'd always been shown the utmost kindness and been given a warm welcome so I wanted to be able to re-pay some of that in a small way.”
Many conventional gappers take time out of studies to travel before they head out into the ‘real world’. However Janet used her time in Peru to help re-align her perceptions of the working world and re-prioritise things her life, a process which she claims has done her some good.
“What would've interested me, or what I would've thought really important at work, is no longer of any significance. I've actually been involved with something that has had a positive and lasting impact on people's lives.”
Because of work commitments Janet needed a project which was shorter than the usual and decided to travel with Madventurer as they offered the ideal project in a part of the world she knew well, over just 5 weeks.
“Most other companies asked for a minimum commitment of 3 months which I knew I couldn't get off from work. I also didn't want to have to spend a year or so saving up to be able to do that so Mad's 5 week project was ideal.”
However this doesn’t mean that 5 weeks was long enough. For Janet, like many other venturers, it was a case of leaving when she had too rather than when she wanted too.
“I could quite easily have stopped another 5 weeks and got to know everyone and the local area a little better. It's one of the things about which I'm most proud. If I never do anything else worthwhile there'll always be that.”