This week completes a whole month

After a fun weekend in Huacachina, it was nice to be back to what I now call "home" in Huaycan. (A weekend re-cap will come soon, right after I upload a few pictures!) This week marks the last week of summer classes, so it's final exams all day, everyday. During the first test on Monday, this particular class was very good and quietly took their tests with little problems. The first child to finish is named "Smith" (yes odd, not what you think of when you think Peruvian), and he then got to color one of those hidden picture worksheets. I watched as he scanned the room to find inspiration from the many art projects that line the walls and hang from the ceiling. He settled on a yellow butterfly, and colored the butterfly on his page to match. I'm not sure exactly why this moment stuck out to me. I think it's because in many of my classes, especially with the younger kids, there's always so much going on that I rarely get to take notice of these creative revelations. Back home, for the rest of the morning before lunch, I prepared the fruit for another smoothie night. Last time it was mango, banana, and lucuma, this time it was pineapple, strawberry, and orange. Later this week, I'll be making mango, peach, banana, primarily because the mangos are so cheap and absolutely delicious. For the afternoon class we do one hour of outside time, and one hour of class time. However, Monday was the hottest day since I've been here, with little breeze, so we cut playtime short in order to sit and relax in the shade. Elena, one of the mothers to a couple of our young students in Zone Z, owns a little shop near the classroom, so we sat around to chat and avoid the extreme heat of the South American sun. Elena is very involved in her children's activity in the classes, but unfortunately represents a minority of parents in this area. But we are grateful to have her and truly feel welcome by her warm presence and friendly smile. She was even on our side when we announced that starting next week, we will be a full-immersion English program. With the start of the new semester, we will eliminate all Spanish spoken in English classes. Of course that does not mean on the kids' level, but as instructors we are required to speak only English. I think this will be of significant benefit to the students, allowing them to soak up more than they ever realized they could. Now we are hurting them more than helping them by communicating in both Spanish and English in class. I know it will be challenging, but I am excited to watch the progress of the students over the next few months.

Yesterday was kind of all over the place, high points, low points, and some kind of in-between. The morning class in Zone D was wild and crazy. We were attempting to give the exam while kids are talking, pushing, fighting in the bathroom, copying answers, you name it, they were doing it. I finally got to my not so nice place and had to yell in Spanish that if they do one more thing, they all get zero's. Again, not my ideal teaching strategy, but they pushed the limits and there wasn't much more to get done. After I lost it, one smart-aleck student replied, "Your face is red (in Spanish)", to which I replied, "Por supesto!" (or well of course it is!).  So not the best start to the morning. Although I did surprise myself in my ability to lose my temper in Spanish-lol! Lunch and the afternoon took a turn for the better. Dina, our lovely, talented cook, made ceviche for lunch, which was absolutely delightful. Then after lunch a few of us grabbed ice cream from one of the corner stores around the block, before I had to head to my class in Zone I. The class went well, much more organized than my morning class. However, it broke my heart because I had to remind the students that it was the last week of classes in Zone I. In the past few months there has been problems with attendance and students coming prepared to class. It is unfortunate though, because for the last month that I've been there, I keep seeing the same faces over and over. Therefore, there has been some consistency more recently, so it was really hard to tell them that classes will not be starting over next week. I am going to do my best to fit in a weekly visit to the kids though. They adore the banana song, and almost have it memorized so I just can't leave them hanging! I did have to go right away because I had to get to Zone Z for the women's literacy class. For the last few weeks, we've had no students show up, but after chatting with a few last week, were hoping for a change. When we arrived, it was a very familiar scene, no women anywhere. The story has been that they just haven't had the time, but it's just too bad because a past volunteer had come a long way with the ones that attended. When she left, the program kind of died out, as women stopped coming. But much to our surprise, two women showed up and we were able to determine their level and interest in reading and writing. They are more advanced than we had expected, but thought it be fun to make it like a book club with snacks and discussion every week. So starting next week, we will all read a chapter or two and filter through various questions about the reading. Mimosa (the other volunteer teacher for this program) and I were finally super-pumped to have students for this class. We completely understand that the women have so many things to keep them busy, but want them to know how important some time for themselves can be. They at least deserve a break from all that they do. Imagine life without washing machines, dryers, indoor plumbing, sinks, ovens….so much of the housework they do is hardcore manual labor! With that being said, it also means many of them have lived a life only within their household, never being able to learn about the world outside, even life outside of their own town. We are really hoping to offer a class where they can explore more of life through reading and discovering more about what exists beyond Huaycan. To end the day, Connie (again another volunteer, and a fellow fan of The Office) and I stayed home and watched the most recent episode and drank hot chocolate. It was actually quite perfect, especially considering the events of the day. I do enjoy spending time with the group, but it's also nice to get time to spend with just one other housemate. I'm sure our night guard, Oscar (who also serves as our house dad when he's here), was wondering why two silly gringas were laughing so hard while something on the computer. Good times =)

Today was a good day. I co-administered 3 final exams and for the most part, they all went pretty well.The two in the afternoon were for Connie and my Zone Z classes. She is the lead teacher of the 6-9 year old class, and I am the lead teacher for the 10-13 year old's. I'm growing more and more attached to those students. It's so great getting to know them more, and learning more about their personalities and learning styles. I'm sad to have to go down to only teaching them once a week with the new semester, but I might just have to go and visit more often as well. We just have so much fun when we break for outside time. The younger class goes for an hour, then it's an hour of outside time, usually with both groups, and then we wrap it up with an hour of class for the older students. I really enjoy the outside time with them because it gives me a chance to be silly me and goof off and have fun with them. It's not like I turn in to Susie-Stickler when we go into the classroom, but I have to be a bit more professional as their "profesora". It's also a wonderful thing to watch students recall information that you've taught them. I just love watching their faces light up when they know the answers, even if sometimes they yell it out when I've asked them to please raise their hand. English is such an important skill to gain, so I really want to help them develop a strong foundation that they can take further if they so desire. I also really like hearing their accents when they try to pronounce some English words. I'm just a big fan of the way Español rolls off the tounge as every syllable is pronounced; it's such a fluid, vibrant language. Today they did a worksheet with fruit, and it was fun to hear them say pineapple (peen-ah-play). As much as I plan to work with them to correctly pronounce English words, I will be secretly amused every time I hear them speak with their accents. Maybe it's just me, but I just loove Spanish =)

(PS- Yes, I know I say "just" a lot. I'm just weird I guess ;) It's probably also because I think my English is getting worse as I'm using Spanish more--lol!)