Today was our first day volunteering in Peruvian schools with children ranging from 3-9. We were split into two groups and sent to two different schools: one boy-girl school and one all-girl school. To get to our schools, we took the local bus which was a full immersion into the Peruvian day to day lifestyle. At the schools we were paired up and put into classrooms to assist the teachers in anyway they needed and manage the class which most of the time consisted of about 30 kids. Personally, I helped a teacher cut out handouts about the intireymi festival coming up this Sunday and I assisted students one on one who needed help with their assignments. Even after only having helped for one day, I can already feel my spanish improving from learning from the teachers lessons and talking with the kids. - Megan List
I was at the other all girl school. We started the day by learning how to use the bus, just as the other group did, and it was quite an experience. There were a variety of people including small school children around age six, as well as working professionals. However, the bus we take is quite popular, and as many people as possible crowd in, which can occasionally make standing and communicating difficult. We are learning to manage it and it should go more smoothly tomorrow, since we know what to expect. Once we got to the school we divided our group of volunteers into pairs and we each were assigned a classroom. I had a wonderful group of third graders. When we walked in they were learning about the construction of a newspaper article and how to incorporate the 5 Ws. While they were doing this Hope and I went out to get breakfast for the kids. They gave us large containers to fill with rice and tea and the girls were very excited when we brought it back, this meant it was time for recess. After the girls received and ate their rice, we played a variety of games with them such as monkey bar races and freeze tag. They then showed us to their gym class area and preformed a dance for us that they are preparing for te upcoming festival. When it came time to return to the main classroom, the teacher surprised the children with a trip to the neighboring church so that they could practice and observe what they had been learning in their religion class. The day ended for the girls at 12:30 so that the boys could have school after them. We helped a few of the girls find their parent, and then tackled the bus again. -Grace Jackson
Once our volunteering ended around one, my group went to buy some amazing churros while waiting to meet up with the other group for lunch. After lunch we took a tour of the chapel in the San Blas neighborhood. The chapel was beautiful with an altar covered in gold leading and a magnificently carved wood pulpit. The San Blas neighborhood is know for it’s shops and Peruvian goods, so after seeing the chapel we split up into small groups and wandered around before making our way back to our homestay for supper around seven. Megan List
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