{"id":5558,"date":"2018-03-12T08:54:28","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T15:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?p=5558"},"modified":"2018-03-12T17:31:04","modified_gmt":"2018-03-13T00:31:04","slug":"rainy-season-and-summer-school-a-u-s-peace-corps-volunteer-in-huaricolca-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/rainy-season-and-summer-school-a-u-s-peace-corps-volunteer-in-huaricolca-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Rainy Season and Summer School: A U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Huaricolca, Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"the
A few students and I from my weekly English workshop at the local municipality<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A week before Christmas, the school year here ended, along with it some youth volunteers\u2019 hopes of having consistent work for a few months. Thankfully, vacaciones \u00fatiles<\/em> is notorious for keeping both volunteers and students busy.<\/p>\n

The near equivalent of summer classes in the U.S., vacaciones \u00fatiles<\/strong><\/em> are classes normally sponsored by the local school and government which can include sports, art, math, culture, communication, or science.<\/strong> Because of the size of my town and a few complications, I was told there would be no classes this year. Thankfully the directora <\/em>of the school is very motivated and offered to come two mornings a week without pay.<\/p>\n

So when she asked me to teach a class on leadership and public speaking, I of course responded \u201cS\u00ed.\u201d<\/em> After all, she\u2019s the director and knows best what the students need. But I\u2019m sure my face betrayed my hesitancy. Something about teaching public speaking in your second language to students from a different culture seems almost comical \u2014 and of course intimidating.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"students
For a lesson on leadership and teamwork, the student\u2019s tried the \u201cmarshmallow challenge,\u201d to build the tallest tower which supported a marshmallow with a limited amount of time, spaghetti, tape, and string.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The results \u2014 mixed. I\u2019d love to report that my classes have been a massive success, but that would be far from the truth.<\/strong> Having classes has helped me build trust with parents, relationships with students, and reputability among local organizations, all of which is an essential part of any volunteer\u2019s job. Yet as expected, ten class sessions haven\u2019t produced formidable leaders or public speakers. Even small progress is hard to see.<\/p>\n

Classroom management has definitely been my greatest challenge. For both practical and sustainability reasons, we volunteers are not supposed to work alone. Despite my efforts trying to convince the two teachers who live in the community to spend their summer vacation with me and a bunch of teenagers, I found myself alone in the classroom.<\/strong> I\u2019m very thankful for what we learned about classroom management in pre-service training, and I scoured my brain for any and every tactic that could help me. I did my best despite having no real authority, and I definitely learned through the process.<\/p>\n

\"Huaricolca
Learning English numbers is always more fun with balloons and competition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I also had the opportunity to teach English which is what many people of the community had been asking for.<\/strong> As the school year was coming to a close, one of the teachers who lives in Huaricolca showed interest in learning English. I told him I don\u2019t offer personal lessons, but we could create a class for youth in the community, turning the table on his request. With his help, we started sign-ups, advertised with posters and a radio spot, and coordinated with the local municipality to use their auditorium. With 10-15 students, we had a great time playing Simon Says and singing the Beatles while learning basic, basic ingl\u00e9s. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Huaricolca<\/p>\n

\"Huaricolca<\/p>\n

\"planting
My family planted potatoes early so I learned to harvest and sort papas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aside from classes, the rainy season is in full swing here.<\/strong>\u00a0 Farmers have planted oats. Potato plants are waist high. The hills have turned a dark green. While I still spend a great deal of time helping my host family or walking around town, I have also enjoyed spending my increased free time alone \u2014 going for a run or tucked away in my room reading a book or watching a TV show.<\/p>\n

You lose a lot of independence as a Peace Corps Volunteer. For many of us who were living independently before the Peace Corps \u2014 renting apartments, owning cars, and cooking our own meals \u2014 living with host families in small communities is a whole new world and can feel restrictive. <\/strong>Control becomes limited in some aspects. Rice, potatoes, and\/or white bread might be breakfast (and dinner). You might have to wait an hour for your taxi to fill up on your way home. Or your 7 year old host brother, who they call loro <\/em>(parrot) for good reason, might mistake your nap time for play time.<\/p>\n

Yet I think independence lost can also be viewed more positively as community gained. In Peru, community, family, and interdependence are central to the culture.<\/strong> Family members share rooms. Young adults live with their parents; grandparents live with their children. In my community, everyone older than you is a tia o tio. <\/em>\u00a0When someone you know knocks on the door, you invite them in for food. People ask \u2014\u00a0\u00bfMe acompa\u00f1as? <\/em>(Will you accompany me?) \u2014 not only because being together is more fun, but also because it seems odd to work or play alone. I\u2019ve seen many abuelos y abuelas <\/em>get teary eyed as they share about their children and grandchildren who live in Lima, just outside their reach.<\/p>\n

While community seems optional in the U.S. and dependence a sign of weakness, in Peru they are a way of life.<\/strong> People bind their lives, hopes, families, and dreams to those of others. I find this interdependence and vulnerability beautiful. To be human is to be vulnerable and dependent on others. Individual autonomy is a lie we buy too easily in North American culture, that somehow we can truly live independently and can define ourselves apart from others.<\/p>\n

Of course community has its downsides. Chisme <\/em>(small-town gossip) is real. Vulnerability is risky. Broken trust is painful. But every day I\u2019m learning from my Peruvian family and friends that community is worth it.<\/p>\n

\"author
My extended family and I on a hike<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What surprises me, and that for which I\u2019m most grateful, is that <\/span>little by little I\u2019ve been welcomed into this culture of communality.<\/span><\/b> While the people from<\/span> La<\/span><\/i> Sierra<\/span><\/i> region are known to be socially more reserved than those from<\/span> la Costa o Selva <\/span><\/i>, I\u2019ve also seen another side of them \u2014 their affection, hospitality, and openness. I\u2019ve danced in a stranger\u2019s wedding, laughed with an <\/span>abuela <\/span><\/i>trying to learn<\/span> Quechua, <\/span><\/i>been invited in for soup<\/span>,<\/span><\/i> and been called <\/span>gringito <\/span><\/i>by countless grandmas. As the new school year begins on Monday, I\u2019m excited to begin investing more of my time into this community, one that I\u2019m slowly becoming a part of.<\/span><\/p>\n

****Disclaimer: \u201cThe content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Peruvian Government.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A week before Christmas, the school year here ended, along with it some youth volunteers\u2019 hopes of having consistent work for a few months. Thankfully, vacaciones \u00fatiles is notorious for keeping both volunteers and students busy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":5561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[959,722,721,720,958],"class_list":["post-5558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-travel","tag-community","tag-huaricolca","tag-peace-corps","tag-peru","tag-teaching-english"],"yoast_head":"\nRainy Season and Summer School: A U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Huaricolca, Part 3 - Traveling Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alex teaches i summer school at Huaricolca, Peru and learns the value of community as he spends more time with his Peruvian friends.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/rainy-season-and-summer-school-a-u-s-peace-corps-volunteer-in-huaricolca-part-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rainy Season and Summer School: A U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer in Huaricolca, Part 3 - 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