Things have been picking up work-wise here in Carhuamayo. Vacaciones Utiles (summer school) started a few weeks ago and I’ve been teaching English and environmental science to all the kids from pre-school through high school. It has been much more challenging than I ever expected. I thought I was a teaching dynamo after the outdoor school in Idaho. What could be tougher than taking kids over mountains and through the snow? But this is a whole different animal. The kids aren’t invested because it’s summer school and there are up to 40 in a classroom. I’ve tried all my tricks and strategies. They don’t care if I’m angry with them and don’t keep it together if I try to take them outside. The boys start punching each other and the girls flock together and don't participate. I'm completely pooped by the end of the day. I've had a good bit of staring-at-the-wall time after class to recuperate.
I think I mostly need to adjust my expectations and not let them get to me. There have been rewarding moments when they remember the vocab or the lesson seems to click. I’m still going into every class with optimism. At the very least I’ll make it through and learn for the real school year. And the little ones are adorable. Here are some shots from a body parts lesson in English class.
I’m also teaching a healthy cooking class. Nutrition is a big issue here because of poverty, tradition, and a potato-based diet. There is even the double blow of simultaneous obesity and malnutrition. I’m working through the health post and a program for new moms. For the first class, we had 19 attend and made guacamole. I think they liked it. I asked them what they want to have next and they said spinach salad! Incredible! Here we are cooking together and at the end. Can you spot the boob?
This week is Dia de los Humedades (Wetlands Day), which we should rightly celebrate because we’re at the edge of the second largest lake in Peru and an important conservation area. I have a bunch of activities planned and am roping the vacaciones utiles kids into it. Authorities have been going back and forth on promises and plans. I hope it goes well.
I took the first steps in learning how to knit the other day. I’m working on a raggedy looking scarf. I think it’ll get better as I go. My host mom was really sweet and patient with me and I think she’s looking forward to us having knitting times together. It’s been really satisfying. A good portion of my time is spent waiting for people or waiting for cars to take me places to wait for people. I’ve been taking my knitting all around and it makes me feel productive while I’m standing around. Here’s me waiting to start a recycling buy in the next town over. It turns out it was three days before.
It feels good to be working on what I was sent here to do, even if the shenanigan level is high.
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