Dear All,
as some of you might know I’m writing to you from Germany this time. No, I did not quit but my grandmother’s funeral will be held this week. Of course it is sad to loose a family member but for her death meant relief. Although it is hard, we should not only feel grief but also contentment. We should be happy that we had such a wonderful, caring and joyful woman in our lives. Let us hold her in the light!
On my long trip back from Piura to Osnabrück I had a lot of time to reflect on my experience in Peru. Now that some kind of routine has settled in I can focus on more detail concerning my role in Piura/Altos. I have to say that I feel very comfortable and happy in my new setting. I found my „niche“ at work and the 3rd and 5th graders seem to accept me both as their teacher and their friend which is great! Even the children who I do not teach do not call me „Gringo“ or „Ingles“ any longer when I walk over the school grounds but „Benjamin“. This acceptance is a good thing but can also be tiring because now one seems to have a magnetic effect on the children in Altos. As soon as we enter the play ground up to 20 children come running up to us and hold on to our arms, want us to play soccer with them in the burning sand or just want to know if we are going to be there for „biblioteca“. Of course it is fun to play with the children but I have to admit that I have not yet adjusted to the insanely hot climate of Peru. Over the last days the temperature has shot up the thermometer and I regret bragging to my friends having a year-long summer....
One week before I went home I also found a woman who is willing teach me some Spanish. Her name is Hildegard and she really is a nice woman who also speaks German because her mother immigrated to Peru before she was born. However, she is not a real teacher and therefore has a hard time giving me proper lessons. I notice that I make some progress but it is neither fast nor good enough to properly teach the pupils. Especially as some have learning deficits and therefore are in need of more intensive teaching. In some cases these deficits are to such an extent that there are 14 year olds in third grade! Because of my limited ability of teaching I made up my mind and decided to change the project. This decision wasn’t of a light heart because the children have grown on me and I really get a long great with the other volunteers. On the 14th I will move to Cuzco, located in the south of Peru. Luckily I will fly and not have to take the bus as I did when I had to travel from Piura to Lima last week. As I am much taller than the average Peruvian the space to the seat in front of me was rather limited during the 17 hour ride. Also I won’t have to endure the blaring and badly synchronized movies and the mandatory bingo-game. In Cuzco I will have an intensive language course and later, again, engage in teaching and microfinance. But I will update you as soon as I know more about that! See you soon,
Shannon
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| Election campaign in Peru |
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| Food market in Piura |
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| Eddison and me finishing a puzzle |
Shannon, I can imagine how popular you are with the children. It will be hard to leave them but know that you can return and see their progress that you have contributed to. I think you are making the right decision by changing to Cuzco because one of the main points of your year abroad is to become fluent in Spanish (or almost.) I know you will do a fantastic job wherever you are, your beautiful personality touches the children and the other locals, even if you can't speak the language! :)
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