A week ago I left the albergue for a stint in Chile. A vacation of sorts, but mostly a visa run exalted as vacation. The six girls were left in the care of Shiva, and I continually attempted to suppress the urges to worry and to instead relax on the beaches of Arica. An impossible endeavor. I missed the six girls terribly, and incessantly thought of what a joy it would be to bring them to the beach and have them experience the vastness of the ocean for the first time.
My arrival six days later into Ollantaytambo and to the dormitory was marked by a slew of suspiciously stoic faces and a banner commemorating my return. I experienced a certain shock upon seeing the girls. While it had been a mere week, they seemed older, taller, and I grasped a trace of what it must feel like to be a mother.
During my absence, Alex and Gabe had arrived in Ollanta, along with Aki Kaneda, an acquaintance of Alex’s from his hometown in New Jersey. For the first time, we have a majority of the board down in Peru, and it couldn’t have come at a better moment. What with Lisandro living and working in Urubamba and spending all his free time in Ollanta, and with my acting as a surrogate mother of six, there were so many to dos that were being perpetually jettisoned and postponed. Now with Gabe and Alex’s support I trust that we’ll be able to catch up on a slew of said necessities.
Mr. Aki Kaneda, or Mr. “Aji” as the girls dubbed him, had traveled both to acquaint himself with the project and with Peru at large. Last Thursday night, he invited the 6 girls, board members and families to a Pachamanca, a tradition meal of varied meats and potatoes cooked beneath a heap of stones and earth. It was a delightful meal with a rich and smoky flavor that was appreciated by all in attendance. To show their gratitude, the girls amassed an impromptu choir and sang songs in English, Spanish and Quechua. The gesture was welcomed and applauded, and the fact that the all the songs seemed to touch on the more mature subjects of love and deception went untranslated and as such, unnoticed.
This week, the dormitory is seemingly back to normal, and then some. Exams are encroaching and the next few weeks will be spent laboring over textbooks and revising notebooks. Perhaps it couldn’t be worse timing as this very Saturday also marks the commencement of a week long festival in Ollanta in commemoration of el Señor de Choquekillka. It’ll be nice to see how we manage to juggle bull runs and fireworks with cramming for math and physics.
-Bianca
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Class 101
Thirty-four kids. Some are vaguely attentive, most are blatantly not. They are taking some species of a test today, although the environment couldn’t be less conducive towards an exam. The kids speak freely; they turn around in their chairs to consult their neighbors. Some simply don’t bother with the test but instead draw, daydream or gossip about the two gringas in the classroom. The doors are wide open as are the windows, and a boisterous volleyball game resonates from the patio.
Five minutes pass and most students haven’t written a single word on their worksheets. I watch Katy and she is struggling. It seems apparent that she doesn’t know the conversion from meters to centimeters, nor the steps of the scientific process, and a large part of me feels tremendously guilty. The test constitutes information that Katy has never showed me before, and I’m struck by the realization and fact that if the girls choose not to tell us what they study in school, we remain ignorant and useless.
The test itself is both drole and worrisome. The teacher wants to feel as if his students have retained some information, so he repeats clues, gives solutions, illustrates ideas, and still the students don’t seem to capture that he’s gifting the answers. They simply stare at him blankly.
As the end of the exam nears, all the student’s sheets remain blank and they look at each other quizzically pleading for a response. We have our work cut out for us. Not just for Katy, although I am understandably most concerned about her, but for all these students.
Once the test comes to an end, the teacher reviews the information in a self-interested manner. He announces that if one student can respond correctly to a question on the dry erase board, then he will give credit to all the students. The concept of the individual and of comprehension seem utterly obsolete in this classroom, and I can’t shake the notion that 90% of the class will never comprehend the information simply because one of their classmates did.
Of course not all classes follow this prototype. Some must be better, and others worse. But what becomes clear is that we need a methodology for rightly knowing what the girls are studying inside of school hours. Currently I’m working towards building a strong rapport with the school director in hopes that this liaison will help both to track our students and to build a more dynamic program in the future. A small step towards one of the many long term and daunting goals of this novel process.
ps... and completely unrelated: I apologize for the lack of photos currently on our blog. After our “photo shoot” with the girls, my camera mysteriously broke. Unfortunately, I have to travel to the big city (Cusco) to get it fixed, and at this moment I simply can’t be bothered. I’ll try harder.
-Bianca
Five minutes pass and most students haven’t written a single word on their worksheets. I watch Katy and she is struggling. It seems apparent that she doesn’t know the conversion from meters to centimeters, nor the steps of the scientific process, and a large part of me feels tremendously guilty. The test constitutes information that Katy has never showed me before, and I’m struck by the realization and fact that if the girls choose not to tell us what they study in school, we remain ignorant and useless.
The test itself is both drole and worrisome. The teacher wants to feel as if his students have retained some information, so he repeats clues, gives solutions, illustrates ideas, and still the students don’t seem to capture that he’s gifting the answers. They simply stare at him blankly.
As the end of the exam nears, all the student’s sheets remain blank and they look at each other quizzically pleading for a response. We have our work cut out for us. Not just for Katy, although I am understandably most concerned about her, but for all these students.
Once the test comes to an end, the teacher reviews the information in a self-interested manner. He announces that if one student can respond correctly to a question on the dry erase board, then he will give credit to all the students. The concept of the individual and of comprehension seem utterly obsolete in this classroom, and I can’t shake the notion that 90% of the class will never comprehend the information simply because one of their classmates did.
Of course not all classes follow this prototype. Some must be better, and others worse. But what becomes clear is that we need a methodology for rightly knowing what the girls are studying inside of school hours. Currently I’m working towards building a strong rapport with the school director in hopes that this liaison will help both to track our students and to build a more dynamic program in the future. A small step towards one of the many long term and daunting goals of this novel process.
ps... and completely unrelated: I apologize for the lack of photos currently on our blog. After our “photo shoot” with the girls, my camera mysteriously broke. Unfortunately, I have to travel to the big city (Cusco) to get it fixed, and at this moment I simply can’t be bothered. I’ll try harder.
-Bianca
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Great People
Shiva's art class
I think you can tell from the bios below, but these young women are great! Besides being sweet, they are incredibly hard working and serious about their studies. No matter how hard their math homework is, they spend as long as it takes to understand it.
Every Tuesday and Thursday is art class. The girls get out their sketchbooks and push the study tables together. Class is taught by Shiva, a South African woman who is spending a year in Peru before going to University. She is a great art teacher and has been an incredible help to the dormitory. She is there most afternoons, helping with homework or serving lunch. She has a great connection with the girls. They are starting to understand the concepts of shading and depth, and their drawings come out really cool.
We also have a volunteer named Gaby with us this week. She’s helping while she researches the rural high school education system for her study abroad program. It’s been great to have both her and Shiva. They’ve really helped in providing the support the girls need.
I can’t say enough good things about Señora Bianca. While we look for a house mom she’s been living at the dorm and taking care of the girls, and she’s doing a wonderful job. She wakes up at 5:30 to give Dina extra help with her math homework. The homework is so hard that I’ve seen Bianca spend her free time learning math so that she can teach it. The girls know they can count on her when they need her and she’ll always be there to support them. Plus, they know that she can be tough if they act out of line. But that doesn’t happen often, especially when you consider that they’re 12-14 year old girls. Every afternoon, when I get to the dorm, the group I find finishing up lunch seems happy. When they sit down to do homework, there’s a seriousness to their work. Of course they get rowdy (Marie Elena is a little jokester) but they are organized and diligent, and everything else I wasn’t when I was 12. Dina got a perfect score on her math test. I’m very proud of them.
-Eli
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Mini Bios & Photo Shoots
I believe that it was weeks ago in which I promised all of you lovely individuals that I would post haste be sharing more information about our six delightful ladies. It would seem that I had failed in my promise and good will, but alas, I manage to pull through. Instead of my prattling on about how ingenious or stubborn or silly or hardworking these six individuals are, I’ve decided to let them speak for themselves. So, after a photo shoot, a convoluted lesson in Photoshop and seminar in the follies of the imac and it’s many programs, the girls generated the following photos and mini bios (of which I translated, attempting to stay as true to the original text as possible):
My name is Maria Elena. I live in Socma with my parents. I like to study and to draw and I love eating chicken. One day I would like to travel to Lima. I like to listen to Cucho Macano, and I like to watch El Rostro de Analia on TV.
My name is Katherine Cabrera Surco. I live in Kamicancha with my parents. I like to draw, play volleyball and to look at photos. My favorite kind of food is rotisserie chicken. One day I’d like to visit Cusco. I like learning math, I listen to Agrupocion Marilyn, and I like to watch El Rostro de Analia on TV.
My name is Yesica Mayhua Solis. I live in the community of Pallata with my mother and my siblings and I go to the Ollantay School. My favorite food is rotisserie chicken and I like all types of songs. One day I would like to go to Lima.
My name is Dina. I live in the community of Pallata and I study at the Ollantay School in Ollantaytambo. I would like to finish my secondary schooling and then go to university to be a math teacher. My favorite dish is chicken and rice and I would like to travel to Arequipa. I like all types of music.
My name is Nohemi Orihuela Aguilar. I live in Socma and study at the General Ollanta School in Urubamba. One day I would like to visit the United States. I like the music of Grupo Cinco and I like watching El Rostro de Analia on ATV. I like to play volleyball and soccer and the food I like best is causa rellena.
My name is Yanet Ortiz de Orue Ugarte. I am twelve years old, I have six siblings and I live with my parents. I study at the Agropecuario Technical School and am in my first year of secondary school, section E. My favorite class is communication and my favorite food is trout.
My name is Maria Elena. I live in Socma with my parents. I like to study and to draw and I love eating chicken. One day I would like to travel to Lima. I like to listen to Cucho Macano, and I like to watch El Rostro de Analia on TV.
My name is Katherine Cabrera Surco. I live in Kamicancha with my parents. I like to draw, play volleyball and to look at photos. My favorite kind of food is rotisserie chicken. One day I’d like to visit Cusco. I like learning math, I listen to Agrupocion Marilyn, and I like to watch El Rostro de Analia on TV.
My name is Yesica Mayhua Solis. I live in the community of Pallata with my mother and my siblings and I go to the Ollantay School. My favorite food is rotisserie chicken and I like all types of songs. One day I would like to go to Lima.
My name is Dina. I live in the community of Pallata and I study at the Ollantay School in Ollantaytambo. I would like to finish my secondary schooling and then go to university to be a math teacher. My favorite dish is chicken and rice and I would like to travel to Arequipa. I like all types of music.
My name is Nohemi Orihuela Aguilar. I live in Socma and study at the General Ollanta School in Urubamba. One day I would like to visit the United States. I like the music of Grupo Cinco and I like watching El Rostro de Analia on ATV. I like to play volleyball and soccer and the food I like best is causa rellena.
My name is Yanet Ortiz de Orue Ugarte. I am twelve years old, I have six siblings and I live with my parents. I study at the Agropecuario Technical School and am in my first year of secondary school, section E. My favorite class is communication and my favorite food is trout.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
2 weeks, 33 meals, a birthday and a death
The two weeks that have passed since our grand inauguration have felt to be mere days. Two weeks, 33 meals, 3 volleyball games, 2 English classes, one art class, one visit to the medical post, a birthday and a death.
Our second week was marked by nearly all of these events. Apart from homework and volleyball, it was our first week of supplementary English and art classes which have quickly proven to be a success. Lisandro is amazing with the girls, the girls themselves relish his English class, and I can proudly profess that thanks to Lisandro, they well know the colors in English. Similarly, I too have learned the colors in Quechua. An educational reciprocity! Art classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays are being lead by our first official volunteer, a carefree woman reigning from South Africa. So far we have touched on the subject of shading, yet out Thursday class was cancelled due to daylong power outage across the regions of Urubamba and Ollanta.
Wednesday marked an especially eventful day for myself as I was invited to one of the mother’s 40th birthday festivities. Right after school, Katy and I took off for her hometown in Camicancha. Our suffocating combi ride was spent listening mindlessly to the Huayno blasting on the radio, and our subsequent hike up to her home was dominated by my practicing how to say “happy birthday. I invite you to a beer and oranges” in Quechua. At our arrival, my dictation of the phrase was adequate, yet not without faults in pronunciation. Katy and I stayed for two hours of caldo eating, chicha drinking and huayno dancing. Everyone at the celebration was eager to hear about Katy’s progress in the program and insistent that she was a bright girl who could advance greatly despite her previous and inferior schooling.
And of course, with the upsides in life comes the down. On Tuesday evening, our house mother, Graciela’s mother in law passed away. Graciela was unable to work with us throughout the rest of the week, and will subsequently be leaving the position. Her mother in law passed away in Lima, and the family decided to bring her body back to her hometown of Ollantaytambo. On Friday, the coffin arrived, a procession ensued and then a daylong wake. The six girls and I went to the wake to pay our respects that very evening. It was a somber affair, but necessary for us to be in attendance.
I suppose one can never plan for such things in life. No matter how much of a perfectionist one may be, one needs to submit to the utter chaos of existence. And so, our search for a house mother starts anew, and next week I’ll be living alone with our six lovely ladies.
-Bianca
Our second week was marked by nearly all of these events. Apart from homework and volleyball, it was our first week of supplementary English and art classes which have quickly proven to be a success. Lisandro is amazing with the girls, the girls themselves relish his English class, and I can proudly profess that thanks to Lisandro, they well know the colors in English. Similarly, I too have learned the colors in Quechua. An educational reciprocity! Art classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays are being lead by our first official volunteer, a carefree woman reigning from South Africa. So far we have touched on the subject of shading, yet out Thursday class was cancelled due to daylong power outage across the regions of Urubamba and Ollanta.
Wednesday marked an especially eventful day for myself as I was invited to one of the mother’s 40th birthday festivities. Right after school, Katy and I took off for her hometown in Camicancha. Our suffocating combi ride was spent listening mindlessly to the Huayno blasting on the radio, and our subsequent hike up to her home was dominated by my practicing how to say “happy birthday. I invite you to a beer and oranges” in Quechua. At our arrival, my dictation of the phrase was adequate, yet not without faults in pronunciation. Katy and I stayed for two hours of caldo eating, chicha drinking and huayno dancing. Everyone at the celebration was eager to hear about Katy’s progress in the program and insistent that she was a bright girl who could advance greatly despite her previous and inferior schooling.
And of course, with the upsides in life comes the down. On Tuesday evening, our house mother, Graciela’s mother in law passed away. Graciela was unable to work with us throughout the rest of the week, and will subsequently be leaving the position. Her mother in law passed away in Lima, and the family decided to bring her body back to her hometown of Ollantaytambo. On Friday, the coffin arrived, a procession ensued and then a daylong wake. The six girls and I went to the wake to pay our respects that very evening. It was a somber affair, but necessary for us to be in attendance.
I suppose one can never plan for such things in life. No matter how much of a perfectionist one may be, one needs to submit to the utter chaos of existence. And so, our search for a house mother starts anew, and next week I’ll be living alone with our six lovely ladies.
-Bianca
Friday, March 26, 2010
Well be right back after this brief commercial break
While Bianca and Eli are still down in Peru doing everything, I escaped back to the States for a wedding and to try and keep our fundraising efforts alive. As you can see from our pictures, the dorm looks great and is becoming more like a home with each passing day. While the space is ample and will accommodate next years' incoming class, that will be it. As you may know, the goal of this project is to support the girls through their 5 years of secondary school. If we expect 6 students every year for the next 4 years that would bring our total enrollment to 30 eager young students. In order for us to accommodate such growth, we will have to begin build our own place by the end of this year. This building will be a major step to increase the solidity of the project and to take us in the direction of self-sustainability. To do this we need to make a huge fundraising push. This means searching out large private funders while at the same time continuing the push for small scale contributions through alpaca sales, student groups and individual donors. We are also looking for students interested is setting up a sister school program at their high school. If anyone is interested in helping us keep the dream of education alive for these girls please contact us as sacredvalleydormitory@gmail.com.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
and like that a week has passed
People keep telling me that it must feel great to have the dormitory up and running. Sometimes it does feel great. Like on Tuesday when I went with the girls to play volleyball. Watching the girls become a team, I got that gushy feeling of “I’m doing something great!” that all volunteers are ultimately selfishly working for. It quickly passed.
I really feel like our work is just getting started and I have little yet to be proud of. The goal is not to take girls away from their homes but to provide them with a nurturing environment where they can excel in their studies. I know that is a process that takes some time, but I am increasingly confident that we are moving towards our goal. That is thanks in a large part to the incredibly hard work of Bianca. She’s been living at the dorm and dedicating 24 hours a day to its improvement and upkeep, from buying food at the market to organizing community building activities for the evenings when the girls have finished their homework. Graciela, the woman we’ve hired, has been living at the dorm as well. She cooks and has been hard working and supportive, though I should let Bianca talk more about her. Bianca has been living at the dorm to get it started and make sure Graciela works out.
A sign now hangs in the common area listing dorm rules. The girls made it themselves during an evening activity. The girls, though, are incredibly well behaved and hard working. They get back from school around 2pm, have lunch, and then immediately clean up and begin their homework. Some stay home and some go to the town library for help and materials. If they’re done by five (a lot of their homework is painstakingly tedious), we have an event planned for them. I’ll be teaching English Mondays and Wednesdays, with the other days reserved for something a little more fun. At around 6:30 is dinner, then its chores, and then the girls hang out until nine when it’s time for bed.
Of course, I’m always out of the dorm around dinner time. I’ve been living in Urubamba (about 25 mins away) and teaching English at an elementary school in the mornings. That distance, plus the fact that I’m a man, delegates me a peripheral role in the dorm. I’ve been working more on the administrative aspects of the dormitory, and spending at least an hour with the girls every afternoon. There is still a lot to do, a lot to buy, and a lot to figure it out. But it feels good to be working to run a dorm rather than working to open it.
I really feel like our work is just getting started and I have little yet to be proud of. The goal is not to take girls away from their homes but to provide them with a nurturing environment where they can excel in their studies. I know that is a process that takes some time, but I am increasingly confident that we are moving towards our goal. That is thanks in a large part to the incredibly hard work of Bianca. She’s been living at the dorm and dedicating 24 hours a day to its improvement and upkeep, from buying food at the market to organizing community building activities for the evenings when the girls have finished their homework. Graciela, the woman we’ve hired, has been living at the dorm as well. She cooks and has been hard working and supportive, though I should let Bianca talk more about her. Bianca has been living at the dorm to get it started and make sure Graciela works out.
A sign now hangs in the common area listing dorm rules. The girls made it themselves during an evening activity. The girls, though, are incredibly well behaved and hard working. They get back from school around 2pm, have lunch, and then immediately clean up and begin their homework. Some stay home and some go to the town library for help and materials. If they’re done by five (a lot of their homework is painstakingly tedious), we have an event planned for them. I’ll be teaching English Mondays and Wednesdays, with the other days reserved for something a little more fun. At around 6:30 is dinner, then its chores, and then the girls hang out until nine when it’s time for bed.
Of course, I’m always out of the dorm around dinner time. I’ve been living in Urubamba (about 25 mins away) and teaching English at an elementary school in the mornings. That distance, plus the fact that I’m a man, delegates me a peripheral role in the dorm. I’ve been working more on the administrative aspects of the dormitory, and spending at least an hour with the girls every afternoon. There is still a lot to do, a lot to buy, and a lot to figure it out. But it feels good to be working to run a dorm rather than working to open it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)