She showed me how to get there with the buses, but she's going again with me next Thursday, luckily. It's kind of far away, and it's not in the best neighborhood (my host mom told me to wear a hat when I go there to look less gringa) but I think it's gonna be a lot of fun.
When I got in the classroom, all 30-something kids shouted BUENOS DIAS SENORITA! in unision. Then the teacher explained to them that I would be coming every Thursday and Friday to teach them English (they broke out into applause after hearing that) and to help her in the classroom. She told them that they would need to be well-behaved and attentive for me (they all sat up straight in their chairs). Then I told them hi and that I was happy that I would be able to work with them and help them learn English and they all applauded again. It was a pretty warm welcome.
I think I arrived around recess time, but a lot of them stayed in and surrounded me, bombarding me with questions.
"How do you say Jorge in Spanish?" "How do you say Pilar in Spanish?" "Perro is dog in English, right?" "How old are you?" "Do you have kids?" "How do you say Maria in English?" "What is your perfume called?" "Where does your mom live?" "How do you say Miguel in English?" (pointing at the only pale girl in the classroom) "Look! You guys are the same color! You look like sisters!" "Were you on TV? I saw you on channel 4. Are you sure it wasn't you? Maybe it was Nichole [the other volunteer]. Was she in Cusco?"
I'm really bad at judging kids' ages, but I'm guessing it's about the 3rd grade maybe? I'll find out and get back to you.
So what I will be doing, is teaching about an hour of English each Thursday and Friday and then for the rest of the time (they have school from 8-1) I will be assisting the teacher, because 30+ kids is a handful for one person. English isn't a part of their curriculum, so they like having volunteers that can come teach it a few times a week while the teacher does other things. Plus the kids are very excited to learn.
Today I didn't do the English class, I just helped the teacher. It's definitely a different environment compared to the elementary schools in the U.S. Because of the size of the classroom it's a little bit chaotic. Everyone was talking and running around, and the teacher was telling me how the schools didn't have money to buy enough materials so it was really hard for them to provide books and stuff.
Nichole, the other volunteer, is helping out with a different class, so we're gonna get together on Tuesday and make some basic lesson plans so that our classes are going at the same pace and learning the same things. I'm excited to get started.
Afterwards we had an ELAP meeting (there's about 5 of us) on campus, and we all had lunch with Maria Elena.
After I came home we went to coffee with our mom and Ashleigh and her mom at a cute little cafe not too far off. This entailed "Lucuma Temptation," a cake made of a fruit called lucuma that's common here. We'll see if I fit in my jeans by the time I get home.
Ashleigh, Raquel, and I went to Metro, the grocery store here, to get some snacks for Cusco. It was there that I encountered avocado's the size of a baby's head. I also got some granadillas, which is a fruit that you open up and it looks like alien fetus. But it's yummy. You just crack it open and then suck out the fetus. Nutritious and delicious!
That's all for now, back on Tuesday!
I really enjoy this blog. You missed your calling. You should be an author. You are such a good writer!
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