Just wanted to wish anyone reading a belated happy thanksgiving day. Rest assured - we had a good feast of epic proportions with grilled chicken, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, apple pie, stuffing, a casserole of sweet potatoes and bananas (delicious), wine, beer, some milky type fruit drink (I have no idea) and good company. My stomach was so full afterwards - I honestly do not think I have eaten that much in a long time.
An interesting Thanksgiving related side note, it was sort of fun to explain the holiday to the different classes. But I did also think more than once that I could have totally lied to them and told them some bogus reason for why we celebrate it. Not that it would be particular funny or useful, but if for instance if I had told them that it celebrated the day when the first Americans expelled a ravage horde of rabinous spider monkeys from the country, I am pretty sure most of my students would believe me. I guess it just shows how much my word will probably be taken as gold as an embassador of other cultures and how careful and responsible I need to be.
Oh, and as has become par for the course, I had to teach a forty five minute lesson on tag questions without having ever seen the material yesterday when the teacher told me she had to leave the room all of a sudden to meet with a parent who showed up. I might stop mentioning these moments since they have become so common.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Jergas
A lot of what I have been experiencing has felt at times overwhelming, but one thing that I have definitely loved while being here so far is that I feel very much like I am learning so much everyday. Whether it is simply a word here or there in Spanish (like codicioso today in the 4th grade class I observed - it means greedy) or something more profound about Peruvian culture or myself, I am always playing the role of student.
One thing that I have been really picking up on is the use of slang here. On Sunday, we had a party at the house of my host mother´s sister and as we sat around and drank Herbalife (the name my host mother gives to this delicious fruit milkshake with a splash of pisco - which is a hard liquor made out of grapes), I learned from the younger kids all about the words. As I soon came to realize, everything has to do with sex. Even the word ¨cosa,¨which literally means thing, is a word used for a woman´s vagina. It is quite astounding how many basic words relate back to sex in this culture.
What might be the most interestng, however, I gleaned from a conversation I had later with my community mates about this. In general, Peruvians are very weary to talk about sex and sexually related things - as I learned during my man talk I had to spontaneously give to a class of seventh graders the other day - and sex is sort of a taboo. But in certain ways, this sexual frustration or reticence, or whatever it is, really comes out strongly. It´s sort of like the whole culture is stuck in mid-teenage adolesence when it comes to this.
I don´t want to be judgmental about it, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Also of note lately: they really really hate fruit flies here. Last week, some people from the government (including two dressed up in a big costume of a fruit fly eradicator and one as a fruit fly) visited the school to educate the kids on the dangers of fruit flys and how to eliminate them. This entire week has then been devoted to reinforcing these things. So, if you ever cared to know: la mosca de la fruta can lay 10-12 eggs in one fruit, the best ways to deal with an infected fruit are to burn it, put it in a bag and bury it, or to drown it, and the only two provinces in Peru that are currently free of la mosca de la fruta are Tacna and the neighboring one. How interesting, no?
One thing that I have been really picking up on is the use of slang here. On Sunday, we had a party at the house of my host mother´s sister and as we sat around and drank Herbalife (the name my host mother gives to this delicious fruit milkshake with a splash of pisco - which is a hard liquor made out of grapes), I learned from the younger kids all about the words. As I soon came to realize, everything has to do with sex. Even the word ¨cosa,¨which literally means thing, is a word used for a woman´s vagina. It is quite astounding how many basic words relate back to sex in this culture.
What might be the most interestng, however, I gleaned from a conversation I had later with my community mates about this. In general, Peruvians are very weary to talk about sex and sexually related things - as I learned during my man talk I had to spontaneously give to a class of seventh graders the other day - and sex is sort of a taboo. But in certain ways, this sexual frustration or reticence, or whatever it is, really comes out strongly. It´s sort of like the whole culture is stuck in mid-teenage adolesence when it comes to this.
I don´t want to be judgmental about it, but it is interesting nonetheless.
Also of note lately: they really really hate fruit flies here. Last week, some people from the government (including two dressed up in a big costume of a fruit fly eradicator and one as a fruit fly) visited the school to educate the kids on the dangers of fruit flys and how to eliminate them. This entire week has then been devoted to reinforcing these things. So, if you ever cared to know: la mosca de la fruta can lay 10-12 eggs in one fruit, the best ways to deal with an infected fruit are to burn it, put it in a bag and bury it, or to drown it, and the only two provinces in Peru that are currently free of la mosca de la fruta are Tacna and the neighboring one. How interesting, no?
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Chevere
I feel like the blog might just turn into me relating a series of random moments I find interesting, but it is hard to find time online that I do not feel at least a bit rushed. Anyway, here are two more fun things from yesterday:
1) I was observing a religion teachers class and when it ended there was a 15 minute recess. As I went outside to hang out with the kids, she called me back in and proceeded to ask if I could give a talk on my experiences with finding the meaning of life (el sentido de la vida) in her next class, which was on personal development. She handed me the teacher´s edition of the textbook so I could read through it.
To say the least, I was a little bewildered. In the end, however, I was saved because she didn´t even have class thanks to two visitors from the Ministry of Agriculture who came to speak to the students on Fruit Flys and the importance to the Patria on keeping them out of Tacna and Taquenan fruit. It was a bizarre half hour of unexpected surprises, to say the least.
2) At night, I went with my host family to their friend´s place which was only a few minutes out f town in an area that has a lot of touristy restaurants. The area itself, however, is very rural and has a lot of fields with different things growing. About a two minute walk from the Panamerican Highway, we entered this farm with figs and grapes and all sorts of things growing everywhere. It felt like we were entering a different world and when we reached the house, there was a party of about ten people. Wine was passed around (serving each from the same little cup as seems to be a Latin American mainstay), gringo jokes were made (especially about dancing), some roast lamb (like the ribs of the lamb - which were delicious) was brought out, and generally a good time was had in celebration of this one guys birthday. Oh, and especially important - the wine was homemade - footpressed on premises - delicious, and apparently only brought out by this guy on special occasions.
The highlight of the night, however, came when this guy´s friend, who we had passed on the way in, came on the main radio station for Tacna (Radio Uno) and wished the guy a happy birthday. As the guy was doing this, he also put in a shout out to all the guests, and did not forget to mention the Gringo who was with them (me). He even mentioned me a second time to say how strange it was to see one and that he didn´t know where I came from.
First time I have ever been given a shout out on the radio....
1) I was observing a religion teachers class and when it ended there was a 15 minute recess. As I went outside to hang out with the kids, she called me back in and proceeded to ask if I could give a talk on my experiences with finding the meaning of life (el sentido de la vida) in her next class, which was on personal development. She handed me the teacher´s edition of the textbook so I could read through it.
To say the least, I was a little bewildered. In the end, however, I was saved because she didn´t even have class thanks to two visitors from the Ministry of Agriculture who came to speak to the students on Fruit Flys and the importance to the Patria on keeping them out of Tacna and Taquenan fruit. It was a bizarre half hour of unexpected surprises, to say the least.
2) At night, I went with my host family to their friend´s place which was only a few minutes out f town in an area that has a lot of touristy restaurants. The area itself, however, is very rural and has a lot of fields with different things growing. About a two minute walk from the Panamerican Highway, we entered this farm with figs and grapes and all sorts of things growing everywhere. It felt like we were entering a different world and when we reached the house, there was a party of about ten people. Wine was passed around (serving each from the same little cup as seems to be a Latin American mainstay), gringo jokes were made (especially about dancing), some roast lamb (like the ribs of the lamb - which were delicious) was brought out, and generally a good time was had in celebration of this one guys birthday. Oh, and especially important - the wine was homemade - footpressed on premises - delicious, and apparently only brought out by this guy on special occasions.
The highlight of the night, however, came when this guy´s friend, who we had passed on the way in, came on the main radio station for Tacna (Radio Uno) and wished the guy a happy birthday. As the guy was doing this, he also put in a shout out to all the guests, and did not forget to mention the Gringo who was with them (me). He even mentioned me a second time to say how strange it was to see one and that he didn´t know where I came from.
First time I have ever been given a shout out on the radio....
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Lo Bueno y Lo Malo
So, why not start off with the positive aspects of life these last couple of days. I have moved in with a host family who could not be nicer and more generous. The mother has gone on and on about wanting to adopt a new son (not really, but one of us volunteers) and has already in two days taken me walking all over the city. She has taken to saying that God has given her an angel (since I tend to introduce myself here with a joke about being like the Angel Gabriel) and also calls me Gabriel Light because I am not too big on the sugar and am concious about what I eat. She, in turn, is the closest thing to a Peruvian health nut that I have come across here, so I am happy as a clam.
The one sort of odd thing is that the family is definitely on the upper end of the class spectrum here. Although I will only live with them for the next month (while the friendship and visits will last the entire two years, for sure), I still feel a bit uneasy. I think the best perspective to take is really that this allows me to get a fuller perspective on life and the people here - one that will provide me with a better understanding of the way poverty shapes the life of my students and also remind me of all the blessings and true struggles that I have committed to once I return to our modest home in Habitat.
To move on to the more negative news, I will return to my work at Colegio Santa Cruz. Hopefully many of you have gotten a chance to check out my facebook photos and seen a little bit of what the poverty and situation is like. I am now there everyday helping out the current volunteer Brad, talking to other teachers, getting to know the students, and just generally showing my face to try to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Yesterday, I learned of a horrible situation, however, that has befallen the community there. A few weeks ago, one female student and four male students from the fourth year of secundaria (kind of like middle school and high school combined) were all drinking and partying. The girl passed out and then the boys video taped themselves raping her. The video eventually ended up on a computer somewhere in Vinani - the neighborhood where the school is located. By now, the news has spread to the whole school, and only yesterday, after a few weeks, were the parents even brought into the school.
I know that I need to try to keep my judgments - especially with such minimum exposure to everything so far - in check, but I can´t help but feel appalled both by what happened and by the way the school has handled it so far. And while I could go on for hours about this, I will leave it at saying that there is definitely a culture of domestic abuse and machismo outside of the school that shaped this event and there is definitely a lack of structure and discipline within the school that made the response so ill-fitting (at least so far) to the situation.
I don´t want everyone out there to think that this school is so terrible though - there are a number of teachers and the director who are very much invested in making it a stronger and wonderful school and many many of the students are good, warm-hearted and friendly kids. But as my fellow new volunteer Nate would say, I have had my ¨not in Kansas anymore¨moment.
The one sort of odd thing is that the family is definitely on the upper end of the class spectrum here. Although I will only live with them for the next month (while the friendship and visits will last the entire two years, for sure), I still feel a bit uneasy. I think the best perspective to take is really that this allows me to get a fuller perspective on life and the people here - one that will provide me with a better understanding of the way poverty shapes the life of my students and also remind me of all the blessings and true struggles that I have committed to once I return to our modest home in Habitat.
To move on to the more negative news, I will return to my work at Colegio Santa Cruz. Hopefully many of you have gotten a chance to check out my facebook photos and seen a little bit of what the poverty and situation is like. I am now there everyday helping out the current volunteer Brad, talking to other teachers, getting to know the students, and just generally showing my face to try to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Yesterday, I learned of a horrible situation, however, that has befallen the community there. A few weeks ago, one female student and four male students from the fourth year of secundaria (kind of like middle school and high school combined) were all drinking and partying. The girl passed out and then the boys video taped themselves raping her. The video eventually ended up on a computer somewhere in Vinani - the neighborhood where the school is located. By now, the news has spread to the whole school, and only yesterday, after a few weeks, were the parents even brought into the school.
I know that I need to try to keep my judgments - especially with such minimum exposure to everything so far - in check, but I can´t help but feel appalled both by what happened and by the way the school has handled it so far. And while I could go on for hours about this, I will leave it at saying that there is definitely a culture of domestic abuse and machismo outside of the school that shaped this event and there is definitely a lack of structure and discipline within the school that made the response so ill-fitting (at least so far) to the situation.
I don´t want everyone out there to think that this school is so terrible though - there are a number of teachers and the director who are very much invested in making it a stronger and wonderful school and many many of the students are good, warm-hearted and friendly kids. But as my fellow new volunteer Nate would say, I have had my ¨not in Kansas anymore¨moment.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Moments that Make You Think
So, just as a quick update while I have a few minutes online - which I am realizing may be precious, especially in the first couple weeks here as I move in with my host family today - I wanted to relate a bizarre story from last week.
The two other new volunteers and I were discussing the history of the colegio where I will teach (Santa Cruz) when our discussion was interrupted by a six-year-oldish student. The student politely asked for permission to interrupt and it was granted. The little cute kid then proceeded to ask for a whip. The head of the school - a priest of the Santa Cruz order - kinda of looked at us and smiled and then asked the student what he needed it for. The kid replied that the teacher wanted to hit a student and that sounded reasonable enough to the director that he reached into his desk and pulled it out to give it to the student.
Apparently, corporal punishment down here is illegal, but.....
On another note, I have been recieving a whole lot of information on the people down here and the levels and statistics of poverty. I will go more in depth with this later, but just an interesting stat to throw out there: 70 % of the families in the area where we are living make less than 500 soles (about 3 soles to the dollar) per month. If you use an average of a family of four for this group, it means that the higher end of this group has a per capita per day income of around $1.25. A per capita per day income of $1 is extreme poverty - so these families aren´t starving, but they are struggling definitely to get by.
P.S. For photos, please check out my facebook page - and if you cannot get access to it, just email me and I will make sure you can.
The two other new volunteers and I were discussing the history of the colegio where I will teach (Santa Cruz) when our discussion was interrupted by a six-year-oldish student. The student politely asked for permission to interrupt and it was granted. The little cute kid then proceeded to ask for a whip. The head of the school - a priest of the Santa Cruz order - kinda of looked at us and smiled and then asked the student what he needed it for. The kid replied that the teacher wanted to hit a student and that sounded reasonable enough to the director that he reached into his desk and pulled it out to give it to the student.
Apparently, corporal punishment down here is illegal, but.....
On another note, I have been recieving a whole lot of information on the people down here and the levels and statistics of poverty. I will go more in depth with this later, but just an interesting stat to throw out there: 70 % of the families in the area where we are living make less than 500 soles (about 3 soles to the dollar) per month. If you use an average of a family of four for this group, it means that the higher end of this group has a per capita per day income of around $1.25. A per capita per day income of $1 is extreme poverty - so these families aren´t starving, but they are struggling definitely to get by.
P.S. For photos, please check out my facebook page - and if you cannot get access to it, just email me and I will make sure you can.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
First Impressions
So, while I have my first minute online, I figure I will knock off a quick update.
It is really deserty down here, and I have no idea why that surprised me as much as it did. It is super hot and sunny during the day and chilly at night. The terrain - and I promise I will get some photos up soon - is very flat, big sand dunes in the not to distant landscape, lots of rocks and sand and garbage everywhere. Our community house is in this little bizarre suburb that is about five minutes from downtown Tacna. It is a bit of a strange place - maybe five blocks by six blocks in area, and then around it is just the sand, rocks, and garbage, with a few of these invasiones - or impromptue huts of brick and straw that people build on government land and take over as essentially squatters.
The area where I will be teaching is a whole neighborhood of these invasiones and the school itself is actually half real buildings and about half of these huts made of estera (as it is called en espanol). They have a plan to make all the classrooms real buildings by next year (when they will also have their first graduating class) and generally seem like they are well on their way to making the school more established and official.
The politics are super interesting as well down here and we are right now in a cease-fire between the government and these strikers in the city who actually burned out the national government building in the middle of the city last week. The whole back story is complicated and I will detail more as I learn it, but basically apparently we are waiting right now to see what happens today to know whether or not it will start up tomorrow. If it does, school will be canceled probably and each day canceled has to be made up at the end of the year in late December. So much exciting drama.
The area where I will be teaching is a whole neighborhood of these invasiones and the school itself is actually half real buildings and about half of these huts made of estera (as it is called en espanol). They have a plan to make all the classrooms real buildings by next year (when they will also have their first graduating class) and generally seem like they are well on their way to making the school more established and official.
The politics are super interesting as well down here and we are right now in a cease-fire between the government and these strikers in the city who actually burned out the national government building in the middle of the city last week. The whole back story is complicated and I will detail more as I learn it, but basically apparently we are waiting right now to see what happens today to know whether or not it will start up tomorrow. If it does, school will be canceled probably and each day canceled has to be made up at the end of the year in late December. So much exciting drama.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
The Beginning
Just two days ago, I left Jupiter, Florida after a whirlwind week of knocking on doors, coordinating rides to polls, being inspired by Barack Obama and the people he in turn inspires, and sleeping very little. I now look forward to my trip today down to Tacna, Peru. It's suitably long and includes an overnight stay at the Lima airport - all of which I feel is a legitimate and needed passage that will really force me to realize that this is finally happening as well as give me a mental transition from life as it has been to the upcoming future.
I will especially try to keep this updated and with my many new experiences and adventures in the early-going, as it will be an exciting and hectic time. But for the general time frame for the next few weeks, it will work like this: get there early in the morning (if the state of emergency declared in the province doesn't shut down the airport: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7712257.stm), have some chocolate chip pancakes with the volunteers already down there, get some real sleep, eventually move into a homestay for the rest of the school year (which goes until mid-December) , visit my school and the other schools, do some practice teaching, and enjoy the December holidays.
For now though, wish me good luck on my flights - and my next post will be from Tacna, Peru: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacna.
I will especially try to keep this updated and with my many new experiences and adventures in the early-going, as it will be an exciting and hectic time. But for the general time frame for the next few weeks, it will work like this: get there early in the morning (if the state of emergency declared in the province doesn't shut down the airport: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7712257.stm), have some chocolate chip pancakes with the volunteers already down there, get some real sleep, eventually move into a homestay for the rest of the school year (which goes until mid-December) , visit my school and the other schools, do some practice teaching, and enjoy the December holidays.
For now though, wish me good luck on my flights - and my next post will be from Tacna, Peru: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacna.
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