Day 15~ FTGC Last Day!! 🔴

 

Trinkets at Indian Market in Lima

[Sunday, July 2, 2o23]

The last day in Lima consisted of:

• Debriefing our International Field Experience

During my exchange I learned a lot about education in Peru and about the COAR school system. I loved the exchanges and connections made with my host teacher Elizabeth, and the other English teachers at COAR Pasco: Katia and Ana. I hope to be able to continue these connections with COAR, with the English teachers, and with the COAR students with my school, students, and community in Seattle or with other educators in Seattle who I know.

Day 14~ FTGC 🚙

Travel day back to Lima !! 

Goodbyes~ 🌿

Our host teacher Miss Elizabeth came to our hospedaje to have breakfast together, and then see us off. 

We were so lucky to have her as our host in Chontabamba!! 🍏

We left around 8:30AM and arrived to the airport at 1:30PM.  Our driver was speedy, and would pass several vehicles on the road. We stopped in La Merced and in Tarma for restroom breaks, and we still arrived super early!!  There were plenty of windy roads going up the hills and back down the hills and you can see how the lush green landscape changes from Chontabamba to the drier landscape of Jauja.

We had plenty of time to spare before our flight at 4:55PM, so I walked around the outside lot a few times until it was time to check-in around 3:10PM. 

The other group of Fulbrighters coming in from Haucavelica arrived around 3:00PM and it was nice to reunite with others and hear about their experiences. They all had altitude sickness for the first two days upon arrival. 😣 BUT were able to adjust and have a great time the rest of the week.

Airport in Jauja ✈️

Eventually we all made it back to cloudy Lima. 

Traffic wasn't too bad, and we arrived at the hotel around 7:15PM!!

Day 13~ FTGC 🧡

 Last Full Day in Chontabamba!! 

COAR Pasco Band Competition 🎵

The school band participated in a music competition Friday morning, and they ended up placing 2nd. They were sad since they did not get 1st Place. 😕

We had the afternoon free, and returned to the school around 4:00PM to see the library and then say "See you later!~"

Library Entrance... waiting for a new librarian. 📚

They added photos from our visits throughout the week. 💕

Thank You Miss Elizabeth & Fulbright for this opportunity!! 🌐

We said some words to the whole school, and then we went to each classroom in the school to say farewell. It was a long process because each class said some kind words thanking us for our visit, then we took a class photo, and then students wanted signatures and selfies too!! 💛

It was a bittersweet goodbye~ 🌞✨

Day 12~ FTGC 🎆

 

COAR Pasco 

It was the anniversary day for Chontabamba on Thursday, June 29th. 🎉 

The morning started off with a parade from various schools in Chontabamba and Oxapampa. Then there was a Bingo Game and Cowboy Competition!!

Bingoooo!!

Cowboys 🐎

Day 11~ FTGC 🌞

Small Group Discussions with 5° English Class

 

These students were in 3 groups and each group had a theme for their questions. 

• Group 1: Cultural Background and Education Systems
• Group 2: Opportunities and Scholarships
• Group 3: Teaching Strategies and Classroom Management

They had so many great questions and it was wonderful to get to chat with them all about these three topics!! ❤☺

Teacher Miss Ana looking through English books.

Later in the afternoon we met with Miss Ana and she had some questions about any tips or strategies with having an English Week at their school in October. We shared with her some ideas 💡 and hopefully they will have a fun + successful English Week event!! 🎉  They also asked us about challenges with teaching and how teachers are evaluated at our schools. #ExchangeOurWorld

Day 10~ FTGC ✏️

 More classroom visits!! 🤓

*Side Note: So I found out that student in 3° do not have their uniforms yet from the Ministry of Education, but students in 4° and 5° have their uniforms.

4° Math Class

Today I had the opportunity to visit a math class for grade 4°. They were studying Exponential Functions. I do NOT remember how to do these! I tried asking the teacher if this was Algebra I, but I think it seemed like something that would be taught in Algebra II (usually 11th Grade in the U.S.), and these students are learning this in "10th Grade". Which makes sense since they would graduate the next year in "11th Grade." I am not familiar with the IB program, and I found out that the students that are in 3° Grade are not in the IB program until 4° and 5° Grade. Students seemed to be trying to solve the problems, and the teacher would walk around the classroom checking to see if students understood the problems.

4° English Class

The second class I went to was 4° Grade English. I shared about myself. Then I asked the students to talk about "Why learn English?" and "Why learn another language?".  They mentioned opportunities to talk to people from different countries, to be able to study in the U.S., to learn about different cultures, etc. Then they asked me some questions about the differences in Peruvian culture and my culture, what's good about living in the U.S., what my favorite Peruvian food is, etc. It was a nice exchange! Then some students performed a dialogue they created about their favorite piece of technology. We had some extra time so I taught them to fold an origami heart, which I think they enjoyed! They asked me to sign the hearts they made, and some students wrote a message to me and gave me the heart they made!! ❤

It was a lovely exchange and I hope we can continue these connections when I have my classes start up in September!!

〰🔆

Day 9~ FTGC 📓

 Monday Morning~

I saw how students arrive to school by 7:20AM, and line up for the pledge and announcements. Our host teacher had us say a few words to the whole school. The first class starts at 7:30AM.

Later we returned around 9:30AM to observe 2 classes. The first class I observed was a mathematics class for 3°. Students were learning about proportions and solving for the variable x in linear and quadratic equations. Teacher lectured and had students take notes and solve problems. They were using a science lab room since it was bigger to fit the whole class.

Grade 3° Math Class 

They have a daily break from 10:30 - 10:50AM and the next class starts at 11:00AM.

The second class I observed was an English class for Grade 4°. The teacher spoke English the whole time, and the students worked in groups of 4 or 5. They used an IB curriculum, and were just starting a new unit, which connected to one of the five themes in IB: human ingenuity. The unit will take 4 weeks and students will produce a written product and an oral product. 

Grade 4° English Class

It was nice to be able to observe two classes this morning before lunch and then have the afternoon off to rest and reflect. I've been able to keep up on reflecting on each day, but I've been exhausted with the long days... tonight we have the option to join students for mass at the local church in Chontabamba, but I am going to take time to rest. Tomorrow we have a fuller day with plans in the morning and afternoon.

Day 8~ FTGC 🪶

On Sunday we started the morning learning about the Yanesha indigenous community here in Oxapampa. We went on a walk to learn about dance, songs, plants, and about wakon in the Yanesha traditions and culture.

El Wakon Yanesha Walk

The Yanesha created patterns from animals and natures. The photos above show the geometric patterns/ designs and its connection to an animal or natural thing.

These designs are on clothes, bags, and straps on headbands. We stopped by an artisan store owned by Claro who is known for her designs using natural materials in the Yanesha tradition.

For lunch we went to Picaflor, which serves Yanesha traditional foods. Picaflo means hummingbird in Spanish, and in Yanesha it is Chomoth.

Otarech

I tried the Otarech dish, which is a fish dish served with yuca and two different local potatoes, red onions, and tomatoes. It was very delicious!!! 😋 

It was an honor to be able to learn about the Yanesha community. We next went to a viewpoint which also highlighted the Yánesha and Asháninka communities. 

The Yánesha were broken into 48 communities across different regions.

Entrance to the stairs to walk up to the Oxapampa viewpoint.

Day 7~ FTGC 🌿

Today we got to visit the COAR Pasco school!! ☺

If you're interested in learning more about COAR schools in Peru, here's the website: https://www.minedu.gob.pe/colegios-de-alto-rendimiento/.

COAR Pasco school has about 250 students in grades 3° - 5° Secondary (Ages 15 - 17). They can enroll up to 300 students, but since this location is quite remote many students prefer Lima or some have left the school.

They have 48 teachers because half teach the1st half of the day, and the other half teach the 2nd half of the day. Students go to school Monday to Friday from 7:20AM to 7:20PM, and on Saturday from 7:20AM to 12:20PM. 

This COAR is an IB school, which is interesting because when we talked to some of the people who gave presentations about education in Peru said IB is only taught at private schools? Maybe I heard wrong??

We visited the school on Saturday morning and received a tour of the school and went to see all the classes for each grade level!!  Our host teacher Miss Elizabeth is currently interim principal!! The new principal will arrive July.🌞

Books donated from Seattle World School Library!! 🗺

Grade 3° Classrooms

Grades 4° and 5° Classrooms

After visiting the classes, we went to see where the students live when they aren't at school. The student housing was about a 5 minute walk down the road from school. The dormitory is separated by gender. There is a dining hall, nurse's office, laundry washing area, and one study building.

Housing Entrance

I've never visited a boarding school school, but this reminded me like living on campus in college but with security. There are some adults who live on campus with the students who are like residential assistants. We also learned that students have like a "big brother" or "big sister" grouping made up of one student from each grade level to help with adjusting living away from home.

We did see some parents waiting to pick up kids to go home because on Saturday students can go home for one night, but must return by Sunday evening. Majority of the students stay in town, and only a few go home. When we visited the COAR Lima, almost ALL the students went home since it's located closer to the city.

All the housing and food is paid for by the Ministry of Education of Perú. Our host teacher said they are supposed to have a new building being built for the school, but they've been told that since the school opened in 2015. They are currently using part of another school's buildings.  Also, the students were supposed to be given uniforms and they have not received those as well. 👀

It's interesting to be able to have this insight!! There are challenges in educational systems everywhere, and I think it's illuminating to see how education is viewed, valued, and implemented in any school! It's even more interesting to see it in another country. Even the "same" school (COAR) is different from Lima to the one in Pasco. Just like the schools in Seattle vary within the same district.

Day 6~ FTGC ✈️

Travel day to our host communities!! ✈️  🚌 

8 of us flew to Jauja, Perú (https://goo.gl/maps/WVfEN2mU93Cgft34A).
2 of us flew to Moquegua, Perú (https://goo.gl/maps/DJujMyMV66vQ8jMNA)
6 of us stayed in Lima. 

Myself and 2 other educators (Peggy from Virginia, Kristin from Florida) had a 50 minute flight from Lima to Jauja, and then we had a 5 hour drive to the town of Chontabamba (https://goo.gl/maps/XiDsoAXn2wFJ68b27).

We arrived around 3:30PM and checked in our cabin hotel!

Elfen Hospedaje

There's a bigger town about 15 minutes from Chontabamba called Oxapampa. The difference with these towns to other places in Perú is that there was a large German/ Austrian population here back in the mid 1800s. It is said that they came to settle here because they were not allowed to marry in their home countries, so they came to Perú. The climate here is an "eternal spring." The lowest temperatures in the 50s and the highest temperatures in the 70s. It is beautiful here!!

Plaza Chontabamba

Luckily our host teacher is very flexible!! She gave us some time to rest and get settled before coming to meet us and take us to a welcome ceremony. I tried to make a short video collage of their wonderful performances. The students performed various songs and dances for us. 🧡

I feel so lucky to be here!!

☺❤

Day 5~ FTGC 🥔

 

Today we got to enjoy different cultural activities around Lima!!

First, we had a Downtown Lima tour. We went to a popular park called Parque del Amor in Miraflores. The artist was inspired by Guadi Park in Barcelona, Spain. 

Parque del Amor 🧡 

Next, we went to the main downtown area of Lima. We started at Plaza San Martín and walked to Plaza de Armas de Lima. This is where the Government Palace is, where the President is located. We also saw the Lima Cathedral.

Palacio de Gobierno del Perú

Day 4~ FTGC 🌐

 

On Thursday morning we heard from folx from Enseña Perú (NGO), Ministry of Education, Peace Corps. Peru, and Funglish Education Specialist.

We heard about the new perspectives on teaching and learning in Peru, and its challenges

I think there are various organizations that are wanting to create opportunities to better support education throughout Peru. I appreciate how there are different structures of Basic Education, Special Education, Alternative Basic Education (Adult Education), and Bilingual Intercultural Education are in the public school system. 

There are many similarities that the U.S. have with the struggles of education in Peru. One panelist mentioned one difference of how individualistic views in the U.S. is higher than in Peru, therefore students still have respect for their teachers. Peru is more collectivist and they think about their community needs more than their individual needs. 

Panel on Education Policy, Practice, and Innovation 🇵🇪

Day 3~ FTGC 🌞

 

JER School Visit #3

JER = Jornada Escolar Regular
Double Shift School
7 hours per day

This school we visited was located in Pachacamac. It was about an 1.5 - 2 hours drive from our hotel. The name of the school is Roxanita Castro Witting. They had a very warm welcome for us, and decorated the school with flags and balloons everywhere! This school has a teacher who is a Fulbright Alumni, and she was super excited to have us visit their school.

Decorations in 1 of their classes!

Students wrote in their agendas that we were visiting!!

I got to visit a 1° grade secondary Social Sciences class with about 28 students.

I also got to see a 2° grade secondary Health Class with about 39 students.

AND I got to visit a 1° grade secondary Math class with about 29 students.

Day 2~ FTGC 🇵🇪

 

JEC School Visit #1

JEC = Jornada Escolar Completa

9 hours per day

Blended Learning

Urban Areas

The first school we visited was located in Chosica. The name of the school was Josefa Carrillo y Albornoz. It was about an hour and a half ride from our hotel to the school. We got to visit a 4° grade secondary science class (15 years old), science labs (biology, chemistry, physics), and a 2° grade primary class (6-7 years old). 

The secondary students were shy to speak English or say hi, but the primary school students immediately greeted us and showed us 2 coordinated dances!! 😂

4° de Secundaria

2° de Primaria

Day 1~ Fulbright TGC in Perú!!

 

Peru Cohort in Huaca Pucllana Ruins in Lima 🇵🇪

Where do I even begin??!! 👀

15 American teachers across the US flew into Houston or Miami before flying to Lima on Saturday, June 17!!! We have teachers from Hawai'i, Oregon, Washington (ME!), Colorado, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, D.C, and Florida. 

I was running on adrenaline the night I arrived. 7 of us flew from Houston, and arrived around 10:30PM in Lima's Airport... we arrived to the hotel around 1AM, and had to meet at 8:30AM.

This trip is totally different from my previous trips abroad. It will be full days of learning and representing Fulbright. If you're interested, you should check out their programs!! They have so many!! https://fulbrightscholars.org/

Day 1 |  Sunday, June 18th

We started the morning with a Welcome & Agenda Overview, which got me super excited!! We were originally supposed to go on our International Field Experience sometime fall of 2022, so just being here makes it all so real~

Next we had an Introduction to the Peruvian History & Culture, which was very informative!! A few takeaways:

• 48 official original languages: Quechua is the most spoken
• Inca = sacred
• In the past 6 years there has been 6 different presidents. The current president is the 1st female president

After that session we had another very informative session on Foundations of the Peruvian Education System. We had so many questions, our presenter almost did not get through all the slides! 🤣 This was very fascinating to learn about. A few takeaways:

• Ministry of Education provides nationwide curriculum, and is supported by the National Council of Education called Proyector Educativo Nacional
• The minimum percentage that the nation must invest in education is 6% of their GDP
• There are three types of basic education
1. Regular Basic Education (EBR)
2. Special Basic Education (EBE)
3. Alternative Basic Education (EBA)
• Regular Basic Education includes:
1. Preschool | Ages 3-5 years old (*no curriculum, just be kids!) 
2. Primary School | 1° grade through 6°, Ages 6 - 12
3. Secondary School | 1° grade through 5°, Ages 12 - 17

We had such an informative morning session, it was nice to have the afternoon to enjoy lunch and see the ruins.

*I am still curious to learn and hear about how average Peruvians view education.

PORT.u.gal w/ JESS 👯‍♀️🇵🇹

 

Douro River in Pinhão 

Lisboa | 16 - 2o may [4 nights]

• Time Out Market Lisbon https://www.timeoutmarket.com/lisboa/en/
• Pink Street Lisbon
• Santa Justa Lift (Elevador de Santa Justa)
• Belém Tower
• Pasteis de Belém https://pasteisdebelem.pt/en/ 
• Cascais https://www.lonelyplanet.com/portugal/lisbon/cascais
• Sintra Pena Palace https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/plan-your-visit/tickets-palace-of-pena/

Pena Palace in Sintra 🌿

Porto | 2o - 23 may [3 nights]

• Chapel of Souls (Capela das Almas) 
• Train to Pinhão in the Douro Valley - Port Wine Tasting
• Flight to Faro in the Algarve - Southern Portugal

Porto River Front on Ponte Luís I Bridge

Lagos | 23 - 27 may [4 nights]

• Praia do Camilo (Camilo Beach)
• Kayaking in Benagil Cave
• Eating cataplana 

Benagil Cave

BEST Cataplana 🦐

Lisboa | 27 - 28 may [1 night]

• Last meal together at Minibar https://www.minibar.pt/en/

hidden door!! 🚪 

This is our 4th trip together!!

1. Puerto Rico 2o19
2. Belize 2o21
3. Turks & Caicos 2o22
4. Portugal 2o23

We've known each other since we were 5 years young in 1st grade, and grew up together through middle school and high school days. Looking forward to our next trip together!! ✈ ❤ ☺