La Gringita

            I think that we have officially entered the rainy season…when it rains it is cold and dreary, but in the morning there is usually sun and warmth.  Unfortunately, this means that my clothes that usually dry in less than a day outside in the sun have been soaking wet for more than 24 hours.  On the bright side, along with the rainy season comes lots of mangos, my favorite fruit!

            Changing subjects, when the taxi pulled into San Salvador on Tuesday it didn’t stop by the bridge like it normally does - it started to go down a side street, which was the wrong direction from my school.  It turned out everyone in the taxi, except for me, are teachers at another school so they were having the taxi take them straight to their school.  As I started to move to get out, one of the women in the back of the car with me yelled to the driver to stop the car for “la gringita”.  Since being here, I have not directly been called a gringo (although I am sure that I have been called a gringo many times behind my back) and I am not sure how I feel about it. However, this was made up for because that night I was in a taxi on the way home from a meeting in Urubamba and the taxi driver asked me how long I was in Pisac for.  I think he expected me to say just a couple days, but when I said three months he said, “ahhhh peruana”.  It was fun to be called a Peruvian.  I obviously am tall and white and don’t speak great Spanish - I’m a foreigner through and through.  When I am with only Peruvians, I notice my differences very frequently…especially my height.  I am actually more aware of my height when I am standing next to my host family than my lack of Spanish now!  However, when I see tourists walking around the Pisac market, for example, I feel way more Peruvian than them.  It is a weird thing to feel both like an outsider and part of the culture at the same time. 

            Speaking of culture, there are still a lot of things that surprise me about the culture of my school.  For example, most of the kids are not dropped off or picked up by their parents, and some have to walk or take a bus long distances home.  One day, Emerson, a very mischievous boy in my class, was outside the gate of the school playing with fireworks until 10 a.m. and no one knew he was there until Vanessa was going to buy a snack during recess and then dragged him into the school.  In the classroom there is a white-board with each student’s name printed on it (except for 2 students who joined the class half way through the year) and Vanessa puts a mark next to each name at the start of the day if the student is there.  However, this board is erased at the beginning of every week, so there is no way to tell how many days a student has missed.  I think it would be helpful to keep an official attendance sheet because it might help explain why one student is struggling more than another if we could easily see how many and which days he or she has missed.  Also, parents don’t have to report absences, so the school has no way of knowing if the kid is sick or playing outside with fireworks.

            By the way, the same woman called me la gringita again today.

            Tomorrow there is going to be a big fiesta at my school for the Virgen del Rosario.  The students have been practicing their traditional dances for the past two weeks.  Today, most of the moms were at the school cleaning and practicing their dancing.  And the four teachers were helping to clean and meeting for most of the day, so it was really not a real day of school – no formal education.  I played with the kids outside or in a classroom for the whole day.  This was fun because it was the first time I was really able to play with the kids for a long period of time.  They only have half an hour of recess every day, during which they are also eating their snacks.  I taught a bunch of my students 4 hand games that I used to play, which they loved.  Some of the songs I sang in English and it was funny to hear them try to repeat what I was saying – I am sure they think it is just as funny when I speak Spanish.  Later, some of the students decided that I was the perfect jungle gym, since theirs has been taken apart because of the construction going on at the school.  It was all fun until one of the girls somehow did a somersault off of my shoulders over my head, taking my glasses with her.  Amazingly, neither Flordeli nor my glasses were at all hurt, but after that we went back to calmer games. I am looking forward to the fiesta tomorrow!

Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts

1) I forgot to write about this:  Yesterday, in Calca, Fortunata, Chaska, Judith, and I ran into two men that Fortunata knows.  First she introduced Chaska and Judith as “mis hijas” (my daughters) and then turned to me and introduced me to the two men as “tambien mi hija” (also my daughter)!  It made me feel so good because usually Fortunata introduces me as her volunteer.  I am part of the family!

2) I have been thinking about all the things I am going to miss when I leave soon (two weeks in Pisac and then one week in the Amazon jungle doing the Projects Abroad conservation project).  Most things have both a happy and sad side to them, like I will miss my host family, but I am so excited to be with my family in my house.  I will miss the school and kids, but am looking forward to going back to Wooster.  Three things that I have recognized (so far...) that I do not want to leave at all are 1) the mountains…I am so not looking forward to being in boring, flat, ugly Skokie.  2) public transportation: it has been so nice not having to drive myself anywhere.  Wherever I want to go, there is a bus, taxi, or collectivo that I can take for pretty cheap.  Even though I don’t drive when I am in Wooster, I miss it because it is hard to get places, so it has been so nice not having to rely on having a family or friend’s car.  I wish we had better public transportation in the States (especially in Wooster!).  3) The Pisac market.  I have been living in Pisac for over three months now and am still not sick of walking around the market.  I love the colors, sounds, people (locals and tourists), buying things or just looking.

3) I have already started having stressful dreams about how I am going to pack everything up and get it all home…hey, it’s better than having stressful dreams about finals, right?

4) Seeing improvement - I have noticed over the past couple of weeks that I am really

seeing an improvement in how the students count, color, cut, write their names, etc.  It is exciting to see this progress and I am so glad that I decided to stay in one classroom for three months so that I would get the chance to see this progress.  For example, last week a few girls were playing a game where they had to see how many times they could swing around a bar and they would all count as one girl took her turn.  In the past, the girls would do the same sort of swinging, but it had never been a game before.  Now that they know how to count they were able to create a game/contest all on their own.  Also, a couple of the girls have jacks that they play with - they used to just throw the ball and collect all of the jacks but now they are able to go in order and collect 1, then 2, and so on.

            In addition to counting, over the past month and a half I have been working with the students on writing their names.  At another volunteer’s suggestion, I found plastic sheet protectors and put a paper into each one that I had written the student’s name on in solid letters and also in dotted lines.  The students traced over their names with a white-board marker on the sheet protector.  The kids had fun (and still have fun) using these because they get to use the special white-board markers and can erase easily and whenever they want.  And the improvement is amazing: one student, Flordeli used to just draw random lines when we would ask her to write her name and was not able to even make an “F”.  Now, she can write her name in cursive in a straight line without any problem.  I am so excited by this improvement.  Especially since it was my idea to have them practice their names.  Vanessa used to just rewrite their names if she could not read what they had written.

5) Buenas Noches Luna/Good Night Moon.  One of the books that my parents brought in October and the kids love is Buenas Noches Luna.  I have read it to many children over the past couple weeks during recess and, a couple days ago, Vanessa read it aloud to the class.  It was great because for the line that reads “And a bowl full of mush” (in Spanish mush is “papilla”) Vanessa decided that the kids wouldn’t know what papilla is so she just said “comida” (food).  At this, Adriana shouted out, “No! No! Papilla!” and wouldn’t stop until Vanessa went back and read the line correctly.  Today, I watched and listened to four boys looking at and “reading” Buenas Noches Luna.  They would turn the pages and say the lines that they had memorized, sometimes repeating the same line for different pages and would try to correct each other.  This is the beginning of reading!  I am very excited.  Also, most of the students didn’t even know which way to hold a book when I first got to the class (many would hold it upside down and backwards) but they all hold the books correctly now and really enjoy using them.

Updates

Wednesday: Mariska came back to Pisac after two weeks of traveling with her boyfriend to pack up her stuff and say goodbye.  I sat and talked with her for two hours about her travels to the Amazon and doing the Inca trail - they both sound great!  Mariska said that she loved doing the Inca trail, even though it was hard (they had to walk 8 hours a day and the second day was all up hill) but was not as impressed with Machu Picchu as some of the other ruins we saw, mostly because it is so touristy.

            Wednesday night, Mariska, her boyfriend, Fortunata, Ricardo, Judith, and I gathered around the table to celebrate Mariska’s time here and say goodbye.  Fortunata had made her special hot chocolate and bought a cake that said “Feliz Viaje Mariska” (Happy Travels).  Fortunata said a prayer like she does before almost every meal, but this time it was giving thanks for Mariska’s time here, wishing her safe travels home, a nice reunion with her family, and a merry Christmas - it ended in a loud round of applause started by Fortunata.

            It was nice to celebrate Mariska’s goodbye with Ricardo and Judith, however the circumstances under which they were there were not the best - Ricardo was hit by a car in Cusco on Monday and didn’t seem to be doing too bad, just a scraped elbow and a slightly bruised leg.  However, starting Wednesday and since then his leg has been hurting more and more, so bad that he now has to walk with a cane.  Luckily Judith is a doctor so she has been visiting frequently.  Ricardo usually goes back to Cusco for the night (the family has a house there too) but since Wednesday he has been staying in Pisac because of the pain in his leg.  It’s sad and I am hoping he feels better soon!

Thursday: The whole group from the night before plus Chaska joined for breakfast of more hot chocolate and cake and, this time, popcorn.  After breakfast, it was really time to say goodbye to Mariska.  Even though she has been gone for the past two weeks, at least her stuff has been here.  It is very weird that she is not in Peru anymore!

Friday: I had a good day at school, but as soon as I got home I started feeling really sick and felt progressively worse throughout the afternoon and evening.  I told Fortunata I was too sick to eat dinner.  She tried to convince me that it was a really delicious dinner and I should eat something, but when I started to cry she told me to go and rest and that Judith was coming to the house later to see Ricardo so she would check on me too.

            Around 8:30, Judith and Fortunata knocked on my door.  Judith kneaded my stomach, asked me various questions (which I hope I answered correctly but I am not sure that I did because it was especially hard to speak in Spanish when I felt that miserable), and looked at what medicine I had.  She said she would go out and buy me some medicine (or would I rather have an injection? NO, I said) and be back soon.  20 minutes later she came back with a mystery white tablet that I took with some tea that was overly sugary and tasted disgusting.  Fortunata came in too and she and Judith decided that I had too much hot chocolate on Wednesday and Thursday, who knows if that’s right because I have had it a bunch of other times and have been fine but I can’t think of anything else that would make me sick.  Fortunata said she would be back at 10:00 with more medicine for me.  I figured that would mean 10:00 Peruvian time, so I went to sleep.  I was right and Fortunata knocked on my door at 11:30 with Chaska.  Fortunata gave me more medicine and Chaska put a carpet on my floor.  It was great to have all of these people look after me.

Saturday: In the morning Fortunata brought me another mystery pill and Norma brought me tea.  I felt sick all day, but started feeling better around lunch time so Fortunata made me some chicken noodle soup and tea.  I spent all day, except for lunch and dinner, in bed.  I slept a lot and luckily I have a good book.

Sunday:  I felt like a new person today.  During breakfast Fortunata invited me to come with her and Chaska to Calca to see more traditional dances.  An hour after breakfast, the three of us went to get a bus, taxi, or collectivo to Calca.  First Fortunata asked a taxi to take us and he even offered us a good price, until he realized that his keys were locked in his car.  Then we tried to get on a bus, but it was so full that not even one more person could get on.  Next a collectivo pulled up, which we were able to squeeze into.  I was able to sit on the very edge of a seat.  It was fine until we got to Lamay, a town ten minutes from Calca and no one got out, but they squeezed at least 10 more people into the van.  I couldn’t even turn my head it was so crowded.  As people piled in, Fortunata said, “Nosotros somos personas no somos animales” (we are people not animals).  This was a perfect way to describe it, it felt like (and smelled like) it was a crowded van full of animals.

            I was very thankful when the collectivo pulled up in Calca and we were able to get out.  All of a sudden, I realized that the three of us were marching in the parade with others from Pisac holding the Virgin del Carmen float (the Virgen del Carmen is specific to Pisac - each town has their own Saint).  We walked throughout the streets of Calca with other people holding small saints or candles and people in traditional costumes dancing in front of us and behind us.  Only once did I notice someone point me out to her friend and whisper something about the “Gringo.“  I can’t blame them, though.  I was the only white person in the parade and at least a head taller than most people.

            After an hour and a half of walking, we got to the plaza and found seats on benches that had been brought outside from the church.  Then a lengthy traditional Catholic service began.  It was very cool.  I liked being able to pick out words that I now know in Spanish and connect them to my religious studies knowledge (I am so glad that I am a religious studies major!) so that I could get an idea of what was being said and done.  There was a lot of singing, especially about the body and blood of Christ when communion was passed out.  One line that was repeated frequently in Spanish was something like “Jesus is our blood, Jesus is our body, Jesus is our life, Jesus is our love.”  It was so interesting to be in the midst of this big outdoor service - there must have been more than 1,000 people there.  The celebration was for Calca’s 475^th anniversary!

            After the service, we met Judith and the four of us went to a typical Peruvian restaurant for lunch.  Restaurants that Peruvians tend to eat at have a two sided menu - the choices are chicken, trout, carne, pork, or a mixed plate and whatever sides they have (usually potatoes, rice, and noodles).  The other side of the menu has your choice of drinks - coca cola, inca cola, beer, or tea.

            After lunch we got on a crowded bus back to Pisac and now I am relaxing and preparing activities for my class tomorrow.

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.