Peru Travel Dos Manos

Placement organization

Name of organization: Peru Travel Dos Manos
Town/city: Cuzco
Country: Peru
Website: https://www.dosmanosperu.com/en/

Student

Name of student: Goan Booij

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2018-2019

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Travel Agency
Organization’s activities: Selling tours to Western European cliënts. Dos Manos works together with many partners that offer a package of Spanish Classes, Volunteer work and a few tours with Dos Manos.

In addition, Dos Manos is very present online. Online advertisements on the ‘news site’ or the blog are also a source of income
Target group of the organization: Western European market, students of Spanish School
Company culture: The company culture at Dos Manos is rather informal, as you only work in a small team. It is not really expected that you work serious for your whole working time.

Formal clothing also isn’t expected.
Number of employees: 5
Dress code: casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

I am working all-round.

Brief description of your daily activities: Blogging, writing news articles, Social Media, translating things, helping by making reservations for Machu Picchu/trains, picking up receipts, local poblicity
Brief description of your company assignment: A Destination Analysis and Product Plan of Cusco
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: I have contact with Jose, who is located in the Netherlands daily and she is the one giving me tasks. In the office itself it is mostly the Belgian Indie who explains me things

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Teamplayer, flexible, sociable, independent
Additional company requirements for this placement? Basic MS Office
English: Advanced
Spanish: Basic
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane. For some reason flying via Canada was cheaper for me (and spending a day in Toronto and Montreal is cool)

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? The company offered a big discount at the residence of the Spanish school. This was more or less in the same building as the travel agency
How did you go to work every day? By foot, as it was basically on the same place

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? No, but you need to go to Bolivia halfway though your stay to renew your visa.
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents:
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents?
Did you need certain vaccinations? Yes
How long in advance? The month before I went. Please note that if you take the Rabbies shots as well you need to get them at least 3 weeks beforehand

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? Yes
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? The first weeks of your stay the company offers free Spanish courses, which really help you to boost your Spanish. However, it is always smart to know some Spanish before coming already

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 750
Accommodation (monthly): € 200, including breakfast and big lunch every day
Local transport (monthly): € 0
General costs of living (monthly): € 450
Costs of visa: € 0
Costs of work permit: € 0
What did the company pay for/to you? Dos Manos offered a big discount on a stay in the student residence of AMAUTA school, which is located in the same building. The rooms are basic, but food is included and you get the possibility to attend the Salsa classes, cooking classes and other activities for free. This is also nice to get to know new people from all around the world and in this way you are never alone.

Furthermore, 4 weeks of Spanish classes were provided for me for free, which equals 80 hours. Additional Spanish classes (after work) could be purchased at cost-price, which is around 5 dollars for one hour of private class

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
I’ve read several books about the Incas and I have watched a Netflix documentary about the country in general (which wasn’t that good). Besides that, I did not do that much.

If you are into reading, I could definetly recommend reading ‘Last Days of the Incas’ before you go here. It is a non-fiction book, but it reads like a novel and it really gives you a better insight of the country itself.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: g.booij@outlook.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Make sure to enjoy yourself with the students of AMAUTA, they will be your ‘friends and family’ for the next few months. It is always cool to meet people in an international environment.

Another tip is that you should not stuff all your trips to the beginning of your stay in Cusco. There is a LOT to do here, but if you do everything in the first two months then you do not have anything to look forward to for the rest of your stay. And of course: ENJOY
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: You’ll learn about the basic ones during your first weeks here. There are the ‘regular’ trips like the Sacred Valley. Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountains etc. of course. I think you’ll find your way by talking to your fellow students at AMAUTA (who are all travelers), teachers and colleagues.

Cusco is quite big itself too, so you’ll have enough oppotunity to go to bars, clubs, restaurants etc.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link