Being the Teacher Part 2

                As soon as I stepped out of the taxi in San Salvador on Monday morning, there was a text from my teacher, Vanessa, saying that she was in the hospital and therefore would not be at school today.  So, could I “please help the children.”  I was very glad that Vanessa had let me know about her absence (even though it would have been nice to know earlier!) especially since, in the past, she has not let me know if she would be late or absent.  This meant that I felt empowered to be the teacher from the very beginning and didn’t have to wait around for when she might get there.

            When I walked into the classroom, the kids were sitting in two groups on the floor in the back of the classroom playing “Hi-Ho-Cherry-Oh” and “Go Fish” - the two games I have brought in and taught them.  I am very proud that they are now able to play these games themselves - so far they have not lost any pieces and they take the games out and put them neatly away by themselves, these are things Vanessa has never trusted them to do.  It is so nice walking into the classroom and seeing them happily playing these number games rather than watching TV!

            I let the kids continue to play while I taped together long sheets of paper.  I ended up with three “kid-sized” pieces of paper that I would later trace three students bodies on.  First, however, I led the kids through the basic morning rituals: taking attendance, writing the date on the board, and reading a book.  I read them a book with riddles and had them guess the answers.  Then I had three volunteers lay on my pieces of paper while the rest of the class gathered around as I traced them.  This involved a lot of giggling and having kids volunteer, but then be too shy to be traced.  It was fun to have this interaction with the kids.  We are learning about careers, so one group got the outline of a student and had to make this person look like a police man/woman, another group had to make the outline into a fireman, and the third group was to make a chauffer.  The kids worked together to decorate their person with crayons.  It was fun to watch them work together and there was only limited fighting from one group.

            After recess, I had each student draw, on a blank piece of paper, what they want to be when they grow up.  Some kids started drawing police, firemen, and teachers right away, while I had to talk to others about what they might want to be, one on one, before they started drawing.  It was interesting because, I think, a lot of these kids have never been asked what they want to be when they grow up before.  Whereas when I was their age I knew I wanted to be an artist.  Also, all of the kids had very practical answers - no one said astronaut or movie star like you might here in a classroom of 5 year olds in the United States.  My favorite answer and drawing (below) was Rene who wants to be a tractor driver.

This is Rene´s drawing of him as a tractor driver and "all the other vehicles he will own."  As a side note, he has been writing "Ben" on all of his papers for the past two weeks because Ben is his favorite Japanese cartoon character.

            After lunch, I had the kids do some addition, subtraction, and writing.  The substitute teacher had not been in my classroom all day because he was subbing for the 4 year old classroom whose teacher was also in the hospital.  The principal and the substitute decided to have the sub in the other classroom because that volunteer knows no Spanish.  It felt good to be recognized as competent rather than just forgotten about.  However, the sub came into my classroom 15 minutes before it was time to go and turned on the TV.  It was frustrating to have him take over like this, but truthfully I was thankful to be off duty for the last bit of class.

            Although the kids were crazy (like always), I was proud of how I handled the class.  I think I had a successful day because of my past not so good experiences when Vanessa hasn’t been there and because of how much my Spanish has improved.  Although, a couple of times, I did catch myself saying random Spanish words or saying words in English with an o or a at the end…when this happened I would have to catch my breath and make myself think about what I was trying to say and try to say it again.  Although my Spanish is not the best, I am excited that I was able to spend the 5 hour day speaking only in Spanish and I was able to get my point across - this was proved by the kids successfully completing the activities I had assigned.  Needless to say, I was exhausted at the end of the class and for the whole next day.  However, if I can lead a whole class in a foreign language, then there are endless possibilities for what I can do next!

Working on coloring the outlines

Final Projects

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am definitely missing being with family and cooking today.  I wish that I could cook my host family a Thanksgiving dinner but, unfortunately, they do not have a working oven, which means no turkey, no apricot bread or pies, or any of my other favorites that need an oven to prepare.  Also, I have not been able to find sour cream or thick yogurt anywhere (Peruvians eat really runny yogurt) so even though Jello is a Peruvian favorite – I am not able to make Jello mold.  And there are no cranberries.  So, I am planning on making a big Thanksgiving dinner in December when I get home.  In the meantime, I am feeling thankful for the experience I am having here and decided to make a list of things I am thankful for.

-This Peruvian experience, in general

-My family

-That my Mom, Dad, and Matthew were able to come and visit me

-My wonderful host family

-Getting to learn Spanish (so much better than in a classroom!)

-Taking a break from school, but also looking forward to going back in January

-That I still have a month here (but it is going by WAY too fast)

-The support of my family and friends (in so many ways, including all of the wonderful emails I have received and for reading my blog)

And so much more!  I am having a great time continuing to explore Peru and work in my classroom.  I am extremely happy (and thankful) because my teacher has started to use the books that my family brought to my school every day.  After watching me read to the kids during recess for a couple weeks and seeing how much they enjoy the books, she has started reading to the kids one book every morning and then asking them reading comprehension questions.  Yes!!!!  The kids love it.  And, the best part is, the TV has not been turned on for almost three weeks, whereas in the past it was used almost every day.

I´ll write more soon, but in the meantime, happy Thanksgiving!!  I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Lots of Celebrating

    On Thursday, after dinner, Fortunata and I went to the big church on the plaza, which is under construction, to hear an orchestra play.  I had no idea what to expect -  during dinner, Fortunata only invited me to go to the church, and I didn’t ask why.  So, I was pleasantly surprised to see and hear the orchestra.  It was a big orchestra and the church was packed, probably 500 people in the audience.  It was fun to listen to the orchestra and it made me miss my clarinet!
    Friday, there was a parade of kids holding homemade lanterns on long bamboo sticks with candles inside and a marching band.  I enjoyed watching the lanterns, that varied in shapes, sizes, and designs (everything from a tiny Mickey Mouse to a huge ear of corn).  After the parade, Fortunata and I listened to a raffle - unfortunately she did not win anything.
    Saturday, there was a festival in Pisac.  After breakfast, I watched some of the parade, which was going down our street, from Chaska’s upstairs bedroom window.  After a couple marching bands went by, in addition to Fortunata, dressed in a business suit, helping to carry a huge Peruvian flag, Chaska and I headed to the plaza.  The plaza is usually filled with the busy market, but this Saturday the market was moved to the side streets and the plaza was filled with people watching the parade.  We watched the parade for about two hours and then there was a break in the parade and we gathered around the center of the plaza to watch some traditional dances.  Then there was more parading.  Marching bands, Fortunata again, and kids starting at age 2 and going to age 18, dressed in school uniforms marching with high kicks.  After Fortunata paraded past, she ran back to ask Chaska for the keys to the house - she had to run home and change into her traditional clothes so that she could be in the parade again, this time with here artisan group from the market.  This second parade lasted for more than three hours.  It was great being with Chaska during this celebration because she knew exactly where to move before the crowds did, so we always had a good spot to view the parade or dancing from.
    At 2:00, we went out to lunch at a vacant lot turned temporary restaurant for stuffed peppers, boiled potatoes, and some sort of salty, brown mystery meat - I decided I rather not know what kind of meat it was.  After lunch, we bought tickets for the traditional dances that would be happening at a stadium two blocks from my house.  Chaska, Norma, Ronald, and I went and claimed our seats on the bleachers and Norma held our spots for the next hour, while the rest of us went back to the house and hung out and Fortunata and Chaska went to buy Coke and cake to take with us to the dances.  Around 3:30, Judith came over and then we all headed to the stadium.  The dances started at 4 (two hours later than the tickets said they would…classic Peruvian style) and lasted until 9:30.  It was really fun to see all of the intricate costumes and masks, but most of the dances were pretty repetitive, so after two hours it got a little boring.  It felt almost like a baseball game because people showed up with picnics and blankets and there were people selling food in the aisles, but instead of hot dogs there was anticucho (beef heart on a stick).

School, Hot Springs, and Manicures

What a good week!  I am back in the swing of things at my school after my vacation and taking more initiative over creating projects for the kids.  My two successes this week were teaching the kids Go Fish and doing a puzzle art project.  It was difficult to teach the kids Go Fish because of my Spanish and because I don’t think they would have understood the rules even if we had the same native language, however the kids loved the game and were constantly asking me everyday, multiple times a day, when we could next play.  Even though only one kid understood the rules completely, the game got them all counting and having fun with numbers, which was its purpose!  And it was a great Spanish lesson for me.
    This week we were learning about various modes of transportation, so Vanessa asked me if I had any ideas for an art project to teach the kids about bicycles, motorcycles, and moto-taxis (taxis built on motorcycles).  I decided to make big puzzles that the kids would have to decorate and put together.  I drew each of the three vehicles on their own poster board and then cut them into puzzle pieces.  I gave each kid a puzzle piece and they decorated them and then we worked together to put the puzzle pieces together and then I taped the back of the puzzle.  The kids were a little frustrated while decorating their piece because they didn’t know exactly what the whole picture was, even though we had put the puzzle together once, before taking it apart to decorate, just so they could have a basic sense of what the final project was (I was thrilled that every kid knew exactly what the vehicles were that I had drawn!).  However, even though there was some frustration, the kids painted and pasted happily and were extremely excited by the final product.  Although Vanessa was skeptical throughout the entire 2 hour project, she was also very happy by the final product and told me how good the puzzles looked.

    Today, Saturday, was a great day.  Yesterday, I told Fortunata that Mariska and I wanted to find the hot springs in Calca, a city 20 minutes from Pisac, and I asked her where they were.  Instead of telling us where the Machacancha hot springs were, she said that Ricardo and Chaska would come with us!  This morning, after a very strange breakfast of fried chicken, fried potatoes, mint and onion salad, and coffee, Ricardo, Chaska, Mariska, and I headed off for Calca.  After getting off the bus in Calca, Mariska and Chaska stopped to use the internet and Ricardo and I watched a parade of school children who were celebrating “Dia del Libro” (the day of the book).  Then, we all took a crowded taxi that should have fit five people, but had 13 squeezed in, to Machacancha.  The hot springs were not what I expected, it was kind of like bathing in dirty bath water, but it was fun because I was able to talk to Ricardo and Chaska and it was really nice to be somewhere that was not touristy at all - Mariska and I were the only people there that spoke English.
    After the hot springs, we went out to lunch at a typical Peruvian restaurant where we had quinoa soup and chicken and rice and were joined by Chaska’s mother, Judith.  My favorite part of lunch was our lively conversation about cell phones.  Judith was complaining that Chaska keeps asking for new cell phones or losing them and then needing a new one.  I told her that I have a friend that had 12 phones in 12 months, which made everyone laugh and made Judith and Chaska agree that Chaska wasn’t doing so bad.  Then Chaska and I talked about how we both wanted iPhones.  It wasn’t a very complex discussion, but it was one of the first times that I have been able to join in a conversation so successfully and completely understand what was going on.
    During lunch, we also talked about how Mariska, Chaska, and I wanted to get manicures after admiring Judith’s nails.  Mariska and I thought we were going back to Pisac after lunch but, to our surprise, we all went to Judith’s house where she gave us ice cream and gave us manicures herself!  It was great to spend such a long day with the family (we were together from about 8 to 5) and to see parts of Peru we would not have found on our own.  I hope I will get to spend more days like this with my host family.

Obama!

 I was not able to watch the election results come in last night on Peruvian TV, however I was quite excited to hear on the Peruvian news this morning at 7:30 that Obama has been reelected!  It was fun to share the excitement with Fortunata and Chaska and they were especially excited to learn that Obama and I come from the same city.

Yay Obama!  I told my kids about the election (don´t know if they understood...) and made a sign that Flordeli took a picture with.

Family picture at Machu Picchu.

Family picture at Moray

Family Vacation

I had a wonderful vacation with my family.  I am so thankful that they were able to come.  It was great to show them where I live and my school.  And, of course, I loved going to all the ruins (we went to 11 ruins in 9 days!).

            Unfortunately, the plane that was supposed to get my family to Cusco on Friday October 26^th was canceled, so they had to spend a day in Lima, but thankfully they were able to (relatively) easily get here on Saturday morning.  Almost immediately after they arrived, I took my family to my host family’s house where Fortunata had bought a cake and made her special buttery hot chocolate.  Ricardo, Fortunata, Chaska, Mariska, my mom, dad, Matthew, and I all sat around the table and they sang happy birthday to Matthew and me.  I was excited that Matthew was able to experience a Peruvian birthday - complete with taking a bite out of the whole cake.  He was only slightly mortified given that he was so tired.  I was thrilled that my dad was able to easily converse with my host family and ask them questions (and understand the answers) that I haven’t been able to ask because of my limited vocabulary.  After cake and hot chocolate, I showed everyone my room and my parents marveled at the view of the mountains from the patio.  Then, my dad and I walked around the market while my mom and Matthew took naps.

            I am not going to go through all of the minute details of our trip, but I will highlight some of my favorite parts.

            On Sunday, we went to Moray, which is an Incan ruin consisting of circular terraces used as an agricultural laboratory by the Incas.  It was beautiful, even though I was terrified by the “flying staircases” which were just rocks protruding from the terraces - only connected at one side and very narrow - so that you could walk from terrace to terrace.  We also went to Salineras, which is a salt mine that has been working and being used for hundreds of years.

            On Monday, we went to my school where we were able to watch my teacher teach for about half an hour and then read to the kids during their recess for half an hour.  We brought lots of books to the school and it was fun to see how excited the kids were to look at the books.  Thanks to everyone that helped my parents buy these books and games to give to my school.  What a wonderful gift for the kids and me!  My parents brought an entire suitcase full of books, puzzles, games, and lined paper of which I am going to bring in a little of each day to my school.  After visiting my school, we went back to my house thinking we would just pick up my suitcase, but Fortunata served us papaya juice and, after my dad gave her a couple of flashlights as a gift, she brought down from her room several gifts for my family.  I was shocked by this kind action.  We spent the next hour talking with her and Ricardo - it was so nice to be with my family and my host family.

            Tuesday was Matthew’s birthday and we climbed the beautiful ruins at Ollantaytambo.  Then we were of on the Peru Rail train to Aguas Calientes, which is an awful, ugly, overpriced town.  Matthew said it was the Wisconsin Dells of Peru, while my dad compared it to Las Vegas.  It’s only redeeming value is that it is the entry point to Machu Picchu.  And that definitely made up for it.  We spent the day Wednesday hiking around the beautiful Machu Picchu, which my Mom described in her blog post.

            Something that always strikes me about the ruins we visit is that they are even better than the pictures.  Other places that I have visited, I have seen beautiful pictures before going and then been disappointed when I got there - that has not yet happened in Peru.  And there are some beautiful pictures of these ruins, especially Machu Picchu, but they do not live up to what you see in real life!

            Thursday, we walked around Ollantaytambo, an Incan city, and then headed for Cusco.  Friday was a big ruin day - we went to six!  We got a taxi that took us to each ruin (Tambomachay, Puca Pucara, Q’enqo, Sacsaywuaman, Pikillakta, and Tipon) and waited for us while we hiked around.  It was a long day - 9:30 am to 5:30 pm - but it was definitely worth it!  It was cool to see the differences between the ruins.  Especially because we went to a pre-Incan ruin, Pikillakta, dating between 500 and 900 A.D. and the rest were from between about 1300 and 1500 A.D. and from the Incan empire.

            Saturday, we went to Chinchero - a city close to Cusco - where we were able to go to an award celebration for weavers from more than 10 different communities at the Center for Traditional Textiles.  We met Nilda who started the organization, which helps promote and teach traditional weaving so that the local art can continue.  We had a big lunch with the artisans of lamb soup, chicken, potatoes, and a beat salad and did lots of shopping.  Then we went to the Chinchero ruins where we were able to go into a Spanish church that had been built on top of Incan terraces.

            Sunday was our shopping day!  My mom and I did so much shopping at various markets in Cusco we felt like our feet were going to fall off by the end of the day and our heads were going to explode from all the bargaining, but it was really fun!  We also went to the Koricancha, which is the sun temple of the Incas that the Spanish built the Santo Domingo church over.  The Inca walls were revealed after a 1950 earth quake when some of the Spanish walls crumbled.

            Monday morning we got up early, had breakfast, and said goodbye.  My family had an easy flight to Lima and I had an easy bus trip back to Pisac.  It is nice to be back in Pisac and I was given a very warm welcome with big hugs from Fortunata and Ricardo.  Both Fortunata and Ricardo made sure to remind me that the election is Tuesday and ask if I had voted - I assured them that I had sent in my ballot for Obama and they were relieved, but still nervous - as am I.  Fingers crossed for Tuesday!  I rested this morning and had Spanish classes in the afternoon.  It poured all afternoon and night on Monday, which is very lucky given that there were only two days that it lightly rained for a couple hours while my family was here - we had beautiful weather!

            And Tuesday morning I went back to my normal schedule.  I am so glad my family was able to come and visit and I can’t believe that I have now passed my halfway point of being in Peru.  I only have seven weeks left - and I still have so much to do!
           Now go vote if you have not yet!  I am hoping my ballot actually gets to the U.S.

Guest Post from my Mom

I haven´t posted for a while because I have been having a great time exploring Peru with my family!  Here is an update from my mom:

I´m writing from El Albergue Hotel in Ollantaytambo, one of the most beautiful towns in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.  Two days ago we had the opportunity to climb the impressive terraced ruins here and recall the accounts of one of the last major battles between the Inca and the Spanish.  The massive stonework and beautiful mountain views are hard to describe but I don´t have the technology to upload pictures at themoment.

But my two day old memory of Ollantaytambo is now dwarfed by spending  yesterday immersed in Machu Picchu.

The experience of the ruins surpassed even my expectations.  Following the advice of many friends we spent the night before going to Machu Picchu in the tourist trap town of Aguas Calientes so that we could get on the 5:30 a.m. bus up to the ruins, avoiding the massive crowd of tourists that descend on the site daily from 10 to 2.  We had an incredible day there, hiking and stopping to marvel at the views - all told we probably hiked for 9 hours with a one hour break for lunch.  We each took about a million pictures of the incredible stone work that varies from huge boulders to intricate stone courses to sculptural forms, and the spectacular mountain views.  Our constant companions were the Moon Guide on Abbys kindle (we didn`t feel too bad about the clash of technology with history because everyone there was talking on their cell phone or using their iPad for photos) and Ed Ranney´s and John Hemmings´ excellent Monuments of the Incas which combined the best map of the site we saw, with great explanation and far better photos than we could ever take.  Ed´s and Martin Chambi´s historic photos helped us to see the real site in new ways. Thank you Ed!

There are too many more adventures to recount in a short post - from our unexpected overnight in Lima due to a flight cancellation, to the warm welcome from Abby´s host family, to the beautiful Pisac market right outside the front door of our hotel.  We had the opportunity to bring a few of the books we and our friends and family are donating to Abby´s school (thanks all!) and were delighted to see how eagerly the kids clung to the books and mobbed Jim while he read to them.  More stories come when we are home.  Now we are off for more exploration of Ollantaytambo, and headed to Cusco where we will spend the next four days with a side trip to the weaving village of Chinchero.  Thank you Abby for giving us this opportunity for the vacation of a lifetime.  I´m sad that we´ve already passed the half way point!