Escuela

Wednesday was definitely one of my favorite days since we arrived. All the students and teachers from the institute went on a trip to a public secondary school 45 minutes outside the city. It was a very rural area with beautiful surroundings, but an area of great poverty. After meeting the teachers, we divided into groups of 4-5 and each visited a couple classrooms. Everyone had prepared a short explanation of their home country and discussed the similarities and differences in the schools, customs, climate, and pastimes there. We also tried to give these precious 12-15 year-olds a little pep talk about studying and the value of education, as the director of the school had specifically asked for that. For the most part, these students have very little support or encouragement, and don't see much hope for a better life. What could we offer them in half an hour? Still, they welcomed us with such warm smiles and were very interested in what we had to say. Music yet again became a wonderful bridge - in the first class, when we were answering questions about languages we had learned, one brave girl asked if I could sing something in Latin (of course I told them I was a music teacher). I obliged and sang the first thing that came to mind - Libera Me from Faure's Requiem. In the second class, another student asked if I could sing the U.S. national anthem, so I did my best. Naturally they wanted to hear our German friend Wolfgang sing the German anthem, which he did with great gusto and pride. Of course then it was their turn, so they all stood up and sang the himno nacional de Peru, and everyone cheered. After answering more questions, we all went out to the "courtyard" and enjoyed a snack that we had brought for them, as we talked and mingled. Some, especially the boys, were shy and aloof, but many were very friendly and eager to talk. They were patient with our imperfect language skills, and they (the students, not the teachers) even invited us to a picnic on an upcoming weekend.

The whole experience was so refreshing and motivating, probably in part because I was back in a classroom with students again. But more, it felt so much more real, more connected to everyday life. In the city center, that is real too, but most of the people there have means, and the schools are very nice. It's not reality for most Peruvians. We brought world maps into each class to show where we came from, and then left them there. When I think how we fret about the number of new computers in each classroom back home, and this school is incredibly grateful for a world map...it's just staggering. The place was practically barren, yet the students and teachers were making the most of it. I want to go back, I want to know their stories, I want to help however I can, yet there are schools like this all around Arequipa, and hundreds more in Lima. I don't know what I will be able to do in the schools there, but I'm thankful for the chance this week to get a taste of reality for so many young Peruvians.