Clarification

Clarification: I love my teaching job.

It has come to my attention that my last blog post was a little negative. Though, I have come to hate the word teacher, I still love what it represents and what I am able to do for the kids I work with. Even though I have been struggling philosophically with issues related to poverty, don't get me wrong, I love every challenging minute I'm at Flora Tristan Community School!

Why I have come to hate the word teacher

One of the goals of our school, besides the promise of entering “The Magical World of English” is to teach la buena educación, good manners. All we’ve really managed to do is change, “más rápido, más rádpido, más rápido” to “teeeeeeeea-cher, teeeeeeeea-cher faster pleeeeeeease.” It is impossible to explain how irritating the word teeeeeea-cher has become to me. The usage is incessant.

We nicely respond, “thank you for asking, I will spin the rope faster.” And in response it’s, “faster, faster, faster.”

I everyday at school I find myself in a difficult position (not that I’m special, I think all the volunteers wrestle with something similar)-how to deal with extremely deprived children, starved for attention and chocolate.

I found myself in a deep conversation with a volunteer from California on the idea of a culture of dependency. Do we foster this kind of culture in impoverished communities when the biggest economic activity in foreign aid? Can this kind of dependency be established as early as 5 years-old, when well-meaning volunteers pass out candy and bracelets to children who would not have these luxuries otherwise?

As a liberal, I am quick to see the societal factors and implications of poverty and slow to blame individuals for their dire circumstances. After all, isn’t a mother on welfare only making a sound economic decision to receive government assistance, when working for minimum wage can’t pay for daycare? Still, as privileged Americans (and Europeans), do we have a responsibility to teach the missing element of hard work in the sad-face-equals-toys-equation? Or we see deprivation and know we can make a kids’ day with a few soles and chocolate?

I don’t have an answer, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about. If you feel like it leave me your thoughts.

Endless Birthday

Even though today is my birthday, it feels like we’ve been celebrating all weekend. Friday during the day, I had my first day at school (I’ve been placed at Flora Tristan Community School on the outskirts of Arequipa). It was a great experience. The kids are really eager to learn English and in my class of 8-10 year olds, we’re working on adjectives and writing short sentences, The mission of the school is to supplement public education (which some of the kids can’t been go to because they have to work) with English lessons and social interaction so they can grow up to be marketable employees. It is very rewarding work. I can’t wait to go back tomorrow! Wednesday all the volunteers are taking the kids at the orphanage to the beach. It sounds fun, but also a logistical nightmare.

Friday night, was a pizza party for the volunteers who left on Saturday, but we kind of hijacked it as a combined birthday party. Later, we went out dancing at a fantastic rooftop club that played raggaeton. The whole night was a blast. I can’t believe how much fun the other volunteers are. It’s such a diverse blonde, English-speaking group ;)

Saturday, my roommate Katie and I went on an exploring shopping extravaganza. We went out for Peruvian coffee and came back with lots of souvenirs. We also took in Arequipa’s only vegetarian restaurant (Katie and I are the high-maintenance, American vegetarian asthmatics). It was a great day getting to know this beautiful city. Later in the day a few of us went for salsa lessons and post-class dancing. Salsa, to me, is harder than it looks, but everyone was really patient.

Today, we went to the store to get ingredients for birthday pancakes. After an hour and half of flipping flapjacks for 15 people, we enjoyed them with strawberries and Peruvian nutella. We also had birthday brownies but they turned out pretty badly, we ate them anyway.

Now we are relaxing and preparing for another week of volunteering. It’s all big fun

the first leg

Disclaimer: This is the longest post I will ever publish, I promise. It was first written as an email to my parents.


Hola!

I´m beginning my first blogpost from Peru with the spanish greeting for hello, bacause i know it would just not be a proper first entry with the contrived use of the native greeting. :P Anyway, so far so good! The journey here went very smoothly. After 50 hours of travel time I finally arrived in Arequipa.

The bus ride here was very different than I expected. After leaving Lima´s thrving metropolis of a downtown (claire, they have applebee´s and chili´s) the bus reached the dessert. The kind of dessert you might excpect to find in Riyadh or maybe Mars. I´ll ba honest, it´s not that pretty, maybe that´s why you never see it in tour books. But it is very interesting and remarkable in its own right. The poverty I saw was extreme, much worse than anything I witnessed in Thailand. In the rural areas I saw, people live in small cinderblock houses carved into the giant sand dunes. With no visible agriculutre, one can only wonder how they are able to feed their families.

Arequipa is a striking contrast to the dry dessert that surrounds it, a kind of fertile valley, if you will. I arrived at the guest house and was greeted by a group of sick volunteers who didn´t make it to work today. I have some advice: if you plan to start a charity in a developing country, american and european students are an unreliable work souce. Their weak stomachs make them fairly useless upon arrival. Luckily, I have yet to get sick. The star fruit smoothie and accidently drank in Lima has yet to catch up with me.

The other volunteers, though, sickly are really nice. I cliqued especially well with my roommate Katie from Boston. Tomorrow the other two americans in the house are leaving and it will just be Katie and I. The rest of the group is from England and New Zealand. As I was sitting around the table chatting with everyone this morning an impromptu go-kart trip was proposed. So me and and a couple other of the volunteers caught a cab to try our hands at racing. It was a blast.

When I got back Katie and I went to the large market near our house and got some fresh-baked bread and fruit. It was a welcome departure from plane and bus food.

Tomorrow, I have a coffee date with Katie in the morning, then orientation, then I start with the kids! I still son´t know if I am at the orphanage or the school, but I´m fine with either.

Off to Peru

A quick update:
If you haven’t heard the detailed version of my Peruvian itinerary, and you’re interested, this is the blog post for you.

Tuesday Feb. 9th
4am Leave for the airport
6am Flight to Miami
1040pm Arrival in Lima

Tonight I will e staying at a hostel in LIMA near the airport; therefore you should give me call on skype, I will be stuck in my room.

Wednesday Feb 10th
12pm Bus ride to AREQUIPA
2am (Feb 11th) Arrival in Arequipa

When I get to Arequipa I will move into the volunteer house for Traveller not Tourist. The next day is orientation
http://www.travellernottourist.com/index.html

March 8th
10am Return by bus to LIMA
11pm Move into Apu Peru Apartments
http://www.student-houses-peru.com/apu4.htm

March 10th
8am Orientation at Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP)
http://www.pucp.edu.pe/content/index.php

July 4th
Finals Begin

July 10th
Finals End

July 15th
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