Vacaciones Utiles (Summer School)

Peace Corps recommends that volunteers teach a class during summer school for a couple reasons. It helps us get to know the people in the community, it helps with learning Spanish, and it gives us something to do during these sometimes slow first months. Because I didn’t feel my vocabulary was sufficient for teaching really anything other than English, an English class it was. So here I am, jumping into facilitating a class, which I’ve never done alone before, and in a foreign language no less!

It’s been a relatively good experience so far! This week I completed my third week. I’m teaching elementary school kids Monday and Tuesday mornings and high school age kids in the afternoons on those days. I take role every day and so far I’ve had a great turnout: in both age groups combined, I’ve had a total of 46 students come. Some have come to every class, others just once or twice. It’s been fun but I have to say choosing healthcare was a good choice; I don’t think I could be a teacher. I have so much respect and admiration for teachers especially at the elementary level. Kids are tough. I do understand that it’s even tougher because of my Spanish level. I can’t image I’m very intimidating when I’m reprimanding them with broken Spanish and a gringa accent. I did send a few students out of class for being disruptive and one has yet to come back, I feel kinda bad… oh well.

But despite the challenges it’s been pretty fun and rewarding. The kids are quick learners, I’m very impressed with their retention. I've been doing a lot of interactive activities instead of straight lectures, so that helps with the attention span issues. And some of those guys will just warm your heart with their questions or when they rush to show me the notes they took in their notebooks or when I get to class early and there’s already a big group of students waiting by the door. One day when I was walking back home after class, I saw a little girl showing her dad her notebook and he put his arm around her giving her a little squeeze. So cute! And yesterday they wrote “Mi maestra Mis Alexis” with chalk on the sidewalk in front of the school and decorated it with flowers for me. Those little moments make it really fun.

It’s also been really beneficial for my integration into the community. Lots of people on the street now ask me how the classes are going or if I’m on my way to my classes, etc. I still have parents asking me if their son or daughter can come. I just say yeah of course bring them Monday! The most student’s I’ve had was 25 and that was a lot for me. Hopefully it doesn’t get too much bigger! I had a meeting the other day with a group of mothers and my PC Coordinator. He asked if they knew why I was here and a few shouted out “to teach English!” So I gotta work on that a bit and make sure people know I’m there for more than that! Once my work with the Health Center takes off, I’m sure everyone will catch on that I’m here to promote and educate about healthy living as well J

Seis de Enero

Apparently the 6 of January is a huge holiday in the Catholic community here. From what I understand they celebrate the Three Kings on this day. I had started my English classes the day before, which I´ll be doing while the kids have a break from school until March. But my host sister told me I have to cancel class for the day because we´ll be dancing all day long. So the dance is pretty much the same as the once they do for Christmas. Only this time they somehow convinced me to join in. I tried to get out of it by saying it`s for the kids. But they found a teenager to do it so I wasn´t the only big kid. I was still the tallest (and oldest) by far and it was quite embarrassing. But it made my host family and everyone so happy that it was worth it. So January 6^th I put on the hat and skirt that was made for me and headed to church.

We started with a mass at 9am. Then we did some dancing and singing in Church. Afterwards we marched out of the church and up the street to the Health Post, singing the whole time. I embraced the laughs of the people we passed as we marched. After the Health Post we marched in line to the other side of town where someone had prepared a delicious lunch for us.

I was happy to get out of the outfit and even happier that we won´t have to go to church at night anymore to practice. But I´m really happy I did it. My regional coordinator, Miguel Angel came to visit yesterday and told me doing stuff like that is a key part of the Peace Corps Mission of promoting friendship between Peruvians and the United States, because it shows that we, as people from the US, are open and willing to integrate into the culture here. Because I embarrassed myself all over town, the people of Chocta now have the idea that people of the United States are open-minded and willing to try new things!

You´re welcome, Amurica.

New Years in Huanchaco

What better to cure the “Holidays Away from Home Blues” than a trip to the beach?? That´s right, nothing!

About 30 Volunteers headed down their little mountain towns to spend New Years together on the beaches of Trujillo. It was a great get-a-way, we all had an amazing time. Hauanchaco is a town famous for its surfing. It was very touristy, and more importantly-hot! We got to wear our shorts and skirts that were collecting dust in our rooms. The short two days consisted of lounging on the beaches, swimming in the ocean, eating ceviche (heavenly), and chatting/gossiping/storytelling with each other until many of us lost our voices.

We brought in 2015 inside of a beachside discoteca where Gillian and I got to yell the countdown (in Spanish thank you very much) into the DJ`s microphone, followed by lots of hugs and Champaign. A few minutes after, a group of about 15 of us jumped into the ocean for a midnight swim. It was pretty insane, and the thought of walking around in the middle of the night in sopping wet clothes gives me goose bumps now that I´m back in site. But it was just the refresher I, and many of us needed after the holidays.

The support group we have here with the other Volunteers is so great. It´s important for our experience and crucial for our sanity. I usually will call and talk to someone every other day as calls between volunteers is free, thank goodness. Love ya`ll!

Navidad in Chocta

Festivities started a week before Christmas. Every night the week of Christmas, my extended host family went to the church with all the other Catholics in Chocta (most, to be honest are my extended family as I seem to be related to everyone in Chocta). We didn´t go there to have mass but to watch the Little kids dance a dance they call Baile Pastoras. There´s a Singer and the kids repeat what she sings and then my host dad plays the violin and someone beats the drum as the Little kids do a simple dance. It was very cute! After we practiced in Chocta, some of us walked up to the neighboring town, Cruzpata, to practice some more with the kids there. Each night someone brought coffee and rolls of bread that we enjoyed after the dancing. On Christmas Eve the kids put on their skirts and hats to do the dance. Afterwards, around 11pm, we had a mass that ended with my host mom squeezing a doll to produce a crying sound: baby Jesus is born!

Christmas day I went to Luya and was able to spend some time with Austin, TJ, and Hilary who live there. It was nice to talk in English and watch a Christmas movie together. Not the festive Christmas we´re all used to, but it was a nice afternoon with good company.

So it was quite a different Christmas and, I´m not going to lie, it wasn´t easy being away from home. In my family, Christmas is about our whole big crazy family being together. It´s about traditions of watching The Grinch and getting presents from “Santa” (who was it this year guys?). It´s about eating lots of food and even more dessert. It´s about being too loud and laughing all afternoon.

This year for Christmas Eve I ate the same potatoe soup I eat every night with just my host mom and me. It went without The Grinch and without dessert. It went without my family. But if this experience of being away from family has taught me anything, it´s how freaking lucky I am to have the family I do. I honestly can feel the love from them all the time. I think about them everyday as I know they think of me. I could not imagine being here without that support. I´m so lucky to have Christmases like the ones I´ve had. And guess what? I`ll get to have plenty more. For that I´m extremely fortunate and grateful. Many people have no family to celebrate with at all. Most don´t get to enjoy Jim Carey in an obnoxious Green suit. Most people don´t have the pleasure of feeling sick from the amount of “Sheeshee cookies” they indulged in. Many are completely content with a quiet dinner, watching children dance, and celbrating the birth of Christ in mass.

Sorry if this post was depressing, and I´m really sorry if I made you cry, Mom. But I decided I wanted to be honest and true to my Peace Corps experience on this blog. And that means writing about the good and bad. Peace Corps life is not all fun and games. It´s not all easy. It´s actually often really hard and many of us go through lots of struggles all the time. But we are completely willing to do so, because all the great days, the learning, and the growth we get to experience are worth those struggles ten times over.