Time to say Good-Bye! ¡Adios!

So, I'm leaving Arequipa on Monday (2 days!) and heading back home to New York City. It was my last day of teaching at Paz y Esperanza on December 4th and the Director forgot to tell the teachers and students. So, I only said good-bye to about half the kids as the other half were not even there. I also passed out some school supplies and gifts to the kids and gave them their folders back. I wish I had some pictures of the last project I undertook, but I was pretty sad my last day. I helped the kids put their hand prints with acrylic paint around the framed photos of the mural process over the mural itself (Ashley- check it out in the "library" next time you go to Horacio). It turned out pretty good, but I was crying most of my last day while doing this as I couldn't believe so many kids weren't there and that the Director forgot it was my last day. I had reminded him a handful of times, but he still forgot. The "real" Director (Director Froilan) was not able to come out to bid me farewell, but he sent me a beautiful e-mail thanking me for all the work I had done.

I'll probably miss Arequipa since I've been here for so long, but I am so ready to go home........

Good-bye readers (all 5-8 of you). Maybe on this last post you might actually have the ganas to comment:)

Dance Competition

The kids competed in a District-wide dance competition a few weeks ago among other public elementary schools in Socabaya. It was fun to watch them dance and see other schools and their dances as well. The winning school performed a more modern dance than the other schools. The boys and girls all wore the same costume (a colorful skirt and brightly colored shirt with ruffle necks and sleeves). They danced to modern-type music in a freestyle-type fashion. It was very entertaining.

Everyone said that our school was memorable for all the props we used. The kids danced to very traditional music about harvesting corn and raising alpaca. I believe this competition will become a tradition in the Socabaya School District.

Campeonatos!

The kids have been practicing for these games that lead to some sort of Championship at the end of the school year. The events are volleyball, soccer, and chess. The volleyball and soccer teams at Paz y Esperanza have not had much success; the only game won between both teams was a volleyball game against a really small public school in Socabaya (about 60 students). The game was also only won by 2 points in the third match...



Anyway, the chess team has not had any real "games" since they are "training" for a tournament in a few weeks. The boys are waaay more involved in the "training" than the girls and often opt out of recess to practice and have mini tournaments of their own. This is refreshing. And I am particularly interested in the games since they use the CDCA game board and chess pieces. The kids are trying to teach me how to improve my strategy. Some of them are actually quite good. Two of them have beaten me as well. As you can see above, their concentration is intense. They aren't very competitive, which is good, but they are mostly highly motivated and intentional.

Paz y Esperanza Playground Update

So, the kids loooove the playground. There exists a border-line obesession with it amongst all the students at the school. Kids from the community (usually friends of the students) also come to play in the playground on Saturdays when I go to the school to do games and crafts with the kids. Two Saturdays ago the kids couldn't play on the playground equipment, because Kris painted the equipment (as shown above). It looks really cool, no? Everyone went crazy over it. All the teachers told me, "Tu novio es bien Peruano....", since he painted the playground equipment in the colors and style of the Peruvian flag. No, he's American, but we both love Peru in some special way:)

Visit to Quequeña

Hi:) So, I visited the school at Quequeña (the only primary school there is out there) and was pleasantly surprised. I had been told that Quequeña was mostly farmland and that the town itself was very small (population size around 1,000). Therefore, I was not expecting much from the school itself.

The school was surprisingly spacious and the grounds somewhat modern compared to other public schools I have been to. It had a soccer and volleyball court and lots of green area as well as plants and trees. The student body is small (55 students- 1st through 6th grades), but the students seem very attentive and respectful. The teachers seemed engaging and knowledgeable about the community and the public school system.

I would have to say that Quequeña is also a contender for a future partnership with CDCA. It will be difficult to choose a school for CDCA to work with in the future. I really enjoyed my visits at all 3 schools and would love it if they could all receive help. Maybe, CDCA could somehow work with all three of the schools ;-)

School Visits continue..................... and so does the school year

First Grade classroom 1



First Grade classroom 2











View of sinks near bathrooms


View of girls' bathroom stalls at Santa Maria




Hi! So, I visited an elementary school in Paucarpata a few weeks ago (pictures above) with Director Froilan. The visit went well and the travel time was not as bad as I expected. I had heard that Paucarpata might be about an hour from my apartment, but it was about 45 minutes. Paucarpata is a one of Arequipa's poorer districts like Alto Cayma (Cayma highlands) and Ampliacion Socabaya (past the city of Socabaya). Santa Maria, the area I visited, was much like La Mansion and Horacio Zeballos such that the population is mostly comprised of immigrants from other parts of Peru and the socioeconomic status is very poor. The area seems to lack in basic public services such as a sewage system and water like Horacio and La Mansion, although the school seemed the be better equiped infrastructurally like La Mansion yet unlike Horacio.

I plan to visit a school in Quequeña this week (granted the Director doesn't have another UGEL meeting), so I shall report on that soon.

As far as the school year goes, the kids at Paz y Esperanza are mostly doing well. The 6th graders are moving from "Who? Possessive Pronouns and Family" into "Where? and Location" after having taken and revised an exam. The same 3 students did well on the last exam, but many students are understanding and pronouncing English words and phrases better and better every week. 5th grade and 4th grade are taking the "Who? Possessive Pronouns and Family" exam this week. 1st and 2nd grade are up to letter Q this week and making lots of progress on the alphabet as well as school vocabulary. 3rd grade is still very difficult to deal with and engage. When I do keep their attention they recite and sing the alphabet perfectly and sing all the vocabulary songs correctly as well as remember phrases and numbers up to 30. When I don't have their attention, things get stressful and I resort to art (usually painting), which they enjoy.

Art lessons are coming along quite nicely with 6th and 4th grades as well 5th grade, sometimes. They are learning shading techniques and will move into self-portraits after recreations soon. There are a few students who I believe are definitely artistically inclined and could become very good at drawing as well as painting.

I have to start planning the kids' end-of-the-year English and Art presentation/show since December is quickly approaching. I can't believe that I'm leaving Arequipa in two and a half months....

Please comment your thoughts:)

Pictures from my visit to the school in La Mansion, Arequipa

Children in formation for Dia de Arequipa celebrations in the courtyard at La Mansion





Hygiene Center in a classroom at La Mansion














Inicial classroom at La Mansion














6th grade classroom at La Mansion














Student doing classwork at La Mansion













View of a classroom at La Mansion














Another view of a classroom at La Mansion














Some kids during class at La Mansion













Classroom at La Mansion

More Changes

American friends of mine, Alan and John Michael, along with my boyfriend, Kris, were able to install all the playground equipment just in time for classes on August 10th


So, school resumed a few weeks ago and I was able to visit the school in La Mansion where Director Froilan is currently working. Classes at Paz y Esperanza started off very well the first full week I returned to teach, but things are kinda slowing down. I do think that its because the children, namely the 4th through 6th graders, are not being challenged enough by the work I'm giving them. By the way, my 6th graders can read simple English phrases with almost perfect pronunciation.....kind of amazing.....


So, I'm trying to find all new teaching material/review worksheets online and in the volunteer teaching materials to reinforce what the older kids have learned about family and possessive pronouns. I'm also trying to get the curriculum done by some time in September, adjusting lessons that I've already done and adding specific information on which worksheet correspond with which lessons. Big task, but I really wanna have it done already.


The school in La Mansion is quite charming for a public school in Peru. The grounds are spacious and the children are surprisingly well-behaved and polite (most of them, anyway). I enjoyed my visit, and I hope to visit some schools in Paucarpata this week. However, I don't know how taken I will be with those schools....I overheard the 3rd grade teacher at Paz y Esperanza describe her experience teaching there as "horrible". She said that the children were violent.........I guess I should prepare for the worst and hope for the best.


I'm getting along well with the new Director. He's asked me about the history of CDCA and the relationship between the NGOs. He is very interested in CDCA's efforts and has shown his support for the organization in APAFA (similar to PTA- in a more "developing nation" kind of way) meetings. I shall update on what transpires from his involvement in the situation at Paz y Esperanza.



APAFA meeting held in the kitchen once used as a classroom











APAFA wokring on a wall (to protect the garden area, I think?)

AND more vacation time......

Hi:) So I went to Colca Canyon this past weekend with some friends (hence the photo above). It was fun, but really cold at night and in the early morning. Definitely gorgeous scenery on the way there and at the canyon (lots of condors flying really close-by).

After this trip I was excited to get back to school to see all the kids and review all the material from before break. I missed them so much....BUT when I got to school yesterday, there was no one around. I saw one of my students, Benjamin, on his bike and asked why they weren't in school. He told me that classes resume on the 10th not the 3rd. In spanish these dates are very similar ("el tres" "el diez"). Guess I heard wrong.

So, its another week of vacation. I've already planned all of the lessons for the rest of the year for 1st and 2nd grades. I think I'll have time to do every single grade for the rest of the year.......actually, that's really ambitious, so let's say at least 3rd and 4th grade this week.

The good news is that I spoke with the "real" Director today and made an appointment to visit him at his new school next week. CDCA is looking into other schools to build relationships with as the situation at Paz y Esperanza has proven to be an extremely difficult working environment. The Director is a great professional contact for CDCA and has welcomed us to evaluate the potential of working at the school he is currently serving in or perhaps other schools in the area. I'm especially excited to see what other schools are like. I haven't been exposed to another public school environment in Arequipa. Something tells me that this search will be promising.......

Vacation Time.......

Hi! So, I've been off from school for two weeks now. Last week, classes were canceled because 3 cases of AH1N1 were found in 3 schools in Socabaya (the district where Paz y Esperanza is). The following article explains (in Spanish, of course) the decision of the local Board of Education and the Municipality government to cancel classes last week to flow into the two-week vacation time this week and next week:
http://www.larepublica.pe/regionales/10/07/2009/suspenden-clases-en-colegios-de-arequipa-por-gripe-ah1n1

So, I have another week off....kinda mixed feelings about that. As I wrote in a previous post, the kids have not had a structured school schedule since all the drama surrounding the Director (he will always be "the" Director to me) and finding a new Director. Therefore, when classes resume on August 3rd, I will have to review as best I can what the children learned before the break and move quickly into new topics. Hopefully, the class schedule will be somewhat respected and the children will be motivated.

So, during this vacation I was able to take a day trip with the Girls Group. We went horseback riding yesterday and everyone had a great time. The girls had never ridden a horse before or probably ever been upclose with one, so they were afraid and nervous in the beginning. None of them even wanted to get on. I had to mount and dismount all of their horses to show them that it wasn't difficult at all. Our guides were really nice and helped the girls learn how to stop, turn, go faster, and slower...I especially had a great time, because I hadn't ridden in years, since I was a teenager. I definitely wanna go again:)