Monday August 24 to Thursday August 27 - Peru Week 2, Part 2

This has been one of mostly working in the mornings and hanging out at a local restaurant called Antojetos where I drink coffee and use their not so good wireless service, but at least they have one that I have access to and I can drink coffee while using it.

So I have class from Monday through Thursday where I help out with the English classes and it is interesting. As I mentioned before the classes vary quite a bit with some being very good and others on the edge of going out of control. This week was better, however, as I know a bit of what to expect now and can prepare for it in advance.

Students at my school are broken into ability levels, A – D with A being the most advanced students. Each class averages around 28-30 students but I have one or two that are larger. The students also always stay in one classroom and it is the teachers that move around. This is a little odd and leads to inefficiency in running classes as there are no clocks anywhere and the classes start immediately after one another. So when my first class ends at 9:30 the next one starts immediately at the same time but it will take 5 minutes or so to get from one place to another. Also it is easy to not get out on time but 5-10 minutes late to the next class as there are no clocks or bells. As such a class often is unattended for 10-20 minutes at a time.

All and all, they seem like pretty good kids but I don’t get the impression there is a lot of discipline or structure to some of their lives. They often talk out loud to one another in class and it is not uncommon for me to see them working on something totally unrelated or just zoning out in class. But there are also some kids who clearly are interested and trying to learn more too so I guess each class can be a bit of a paradox.

I get a lot of the male students asking me if I smoke pot and what I think of it. This has been a frequent question from some of my classes and frankly I am not sure where it comes from. I have smoked when I was in college but I don’t tell them that and frankly I have not cared to smoke for about 20 years now. Perhaps I just don’t recall how much of a preoccupation thinking about pot is for a high school student. As for the girls, it is a frequent question for them to ask me if I am married. Again I am not quite sure what triggers this, other than perhaps I am older than the typical volunteer. But often I have gotten this question multiple times in the same class.

I think the school tries to instill some discipline but it does not seem all that effective. Every morning this week they stand in the courtyard and get lectured about getting their shit together, my words. But for example, during one long speech about how they need to be on time the very first class afterwards at least ten students showed up 5-15 minutes late. It is a 1:30 walk from the courtyard to the classrooms.

I have also noticed the school is run with a military type theme to it. When they line up in the courtyard they are told to look toward the principal’s office and turn 90 degrees on command, they hold their arm out to space out, they are lined up by age or rank, and when the students move around in front of the teachers and other students for something they march in a goose step type fashion. There is also this loud speaker they use to talk to the students and play the national anthem while rising the flag of Peru. But it is tinny and squawks so you can barely understand what is being said through it. Reminds me of M.A.S.H. It strikes me that the harder the school tries to discipline the kids the more they move in the opposite direction and don’t take it very seriously.

I will simply say I am not sure what I think of this system but it could use some improvement.

My ability to communicate has greatly improved and it is still difficult but I find that I can actually have some simple conversations with my host family now and when talking to the students it is easier to explain what I am trying to say. So the trial by fire is helping to improve my Spanish speaking skills.

Not much else for me to report on for the work week other than on Wednesday we had a social meeting with other volunteers at Project’s Abroad which involved learning how to make pottery. It was cool and interesting and it gave me a chance to meet some of the other volunteers in the area. Unlike Cape Town, volunteers in Peru are scattered among the towns of Cusco, Urubamba, Pisak and one other tiny town I can’t recall the name of offhand.