I have two points. First, my next solo trip will be about fully experiencing and embracing a culture. When I was in Peru, I walked to and from San Pedro Market in Cusco. This experience was where I felt most fulfilled on my trip. It was a different feeling than going on the tours. Seeing the schoolchildren, overloaded buses, and, overall, the local people made me want to experience and live among them. Tourism and orchestrated excursions are great, but you’re only looking at the culture. You’re not living it.

Second, making friends or talking to someone made me feel more aware and anxious that I was alone. For example, a Peruvian lady that I met was worried about me going up to the Ollantaytambo Fortress alone. I doubted myself for a second, but then I thought about how I made it this far into my trip — the fear that others bring about certainly makes you doubt yourself. Again, in Ollantaytambo, a Frenchman kindly tried to help me find my accommodation. I’m still unsure if I was too confident in myself and my surroundings or if he was overly protective, but he let me know to steer left because I was too close to the passing cars. Maybe he would’ve also told me not to take that local colectivo back to Cusco, but I am glad I did. Because then I wouldn’t have experienced sitting tightly beside a teenager blasting music through his headphones, a pair of tired men snoring behind me, and a young girl in the passenger seat heading back to attend class in Cusco the next morning.

—Two points that I gained while on my trip to Peru.