While students were performing service in Peru’s provinces, they worked on their final projects. The assignment required interviewing Peruvians and conducting field observation on topics of their choosing.
Peru SST Co-Director Judy Weaver takes notes on the student presentations.
Students turned in papers when they returned to Lima and then, at the final retreat, presented their findings. The presentations took most of the day on Saturday, with students taking turns to present in 15-minute blocks.
Wearing face paint and a tunic of the kind worn by the Asháninka people of the central jungle in Peru, Michael discusses the music and dance of the community where he served.
Michael took the first slot, presenting on the music of the Asháninka people of the Peruvian Amazon. He showed us how to dance, Asháninka style, played a homemade flute and sang two songs for us.
Lucas discusses the attitudes of young people about living in the jungle vs. Lima.
Lucas interviewed children and adults at the orphanage where he worked in the Peruvian Amazon, or selva. He employed playful mathematics to try to pin down predicting characteristics of who would like to move Lima and who would prefer to remain in the jungle.
Joel discusses the impact of international visitors on an orphanage in the jungle.
Joel investigated whether foreign groups who came for short volunteer visits to the orphanage where he worked were helping or hurting. His findings suggested that donations might be more useful.
Tim discusses Peruvian attitudes toward the emergency care system.
Tim looked into transportation safety in the city of San Ramón, where he was working in a clinic. After interviewing people on their use of seatbelts and motorcycle helmets, he took it a step further and surveyed how much faith they had in the local emergency medical systems.
Emma compares how math is taught in Peru and Indiana.
Emma, an education major, studied the teaching of fourth-grade mathematics in San Ramón vs. the teaching of math in Indiana. She interviewed the children she worked with at an after school program as well as teachers and tutors and discussed teaching methods.
Derek William compares agricultural production in the Asháninka community where he served and in the United States. He wears face paint and clothing worn by the indigenous people where he performed service.
Derek William talked about the agriculture of the Asháninka people. He found many differences between small-scale farming in the jungle and larger U.S. farms like the one he grew up on. Surprisingly, though, he also found many similarities.
Matt discusses music instruction in Peruvian schools.
Matt compared his own music education with what he found available to low-income children at the school where he worked in Tarma. He discovered not only different practices, but also a different mindset toward learning about music.
Derek Peter discusses folk and conventional medical remedies.
Derek Peter, a nursing major, studied attitudes toward natural or home remedies as compared to medicines available at pharmacies in the town of San Ramón.
Sierra discusses art instruction in Peruvian schools.
Sierra turned her eye for art to examining the town of Oxapampa for presence of the arts – music, dance and visual. She also asked people about their attitudes toward art as a career choice.
Brian talks about technology and social media usage.
Brian conducted interviews about communication technology in Tarma, to discover how connected people of different ages are, and how they use cell phones and social media.
Leah demonstrates how the manta is used to carry items.
Leah studied a ubiquitous Ayacucho textile, the manta. The brightly woven cloths are used for everything from carrying babies to hauling heavy loads. Recently, a resolution was passed by the Peruvian Cultural Ministry declaring the Ayacucho manta a “Patrimonio Cultural de la Nación,” or national cultural heritage item.
Stefan discusses how gender affects the goals and career aspirations of children.
Stefan interviewed children and adults in San Ramón to learn their attitudes and expectations of gender roles in careers.
Brody plays a song he composed while on service.
Brody studied the music of Oxapampa, an area with an unusual mixture of cultures. The polkas and accordions of the area’s German immigrants blend with Andean pan flutes and jungle tunes.
Edith listens to a question from another Goshen student.
Edith asked her interviewees about encounters with spirits, from ghosts and demon-possessed animals, to God.
Andrew discusses the prevalence of the Quechua language in Ayacucho.
Andrew conducted interviews to find out whether Quechua, the language of the Andean people, is still a valued tradition or whether it is becoming a cultural relic.
Alejandro talks about folk remedies.
Alejandro gathered information about three traditional cures: avoiding cold drinks, diagnosing illness using a cuy, or guinea pig, and the use of urine to cure certain illnesses.
Miranda discusses schools in Peru.
Miranda compared public and private school educations in Peru, interviewing both children and adults.
Jaime discusses how children are raised in Peru.
Jaime studied child-rearing practices in Peru, comparing them with typical practices in the United States.
Wearing face paint and a tunic of the kind worn by the Asháninka people of the central jungle in Peru, Michael discusses the music and dance of the community where he served.Michael demonstrates a dance of the Asháninka people.While Michael plays a flute he made, students try a dance of the Asháninka people.Lucas discusses the attitudes of young people about living in the jungle vs. Lima.Lucas asks two teams of students to guess the attitudes of young people about living in the jungle vs. Lima.Joel discusses the impact of international visitors on an orphanage in the jungle.Joel displays a chart showing the huge number of local workers who could be hired with the money spent on visits to the orphanage by international volunteers.Tim discusses attitudes of Peruvians toward seatbelt and motorcycle helmet usage.Tim discusses Peruvian attitudes toward the emergency care system.Emma compares how math is taught in Peru and Indiana.Lucas holds up a math problem Emma asked the students to solve.Emma discusses math instruction.Derek William compares agricultural production in the Asháninka community where he served and in the United States. He wears face paint and clothing worn by the indigenous people where he performed service.Derek shows an illustration he made of a hillside farm in the Asháninka community where he served and describes how bundles of bananas are carried by the farmers.Matt discusses music instruction in Peruvian schools.Matt talks about music instruction.Derek Peter discusses folk and conventional medical remedies.Students pay close attention to Derek’s presentation.Derek Peter shows leaves that are said to have medicinal purposes.Peru SST Co-Director Judy Weaver takes notes on the student presentations.Sierra discusses art instruction in Peruvian schools.Sierra talks about art instruction.Brian talks about technology and social media usage.Brian talks about technology and social media usage.Leah shows a traditional textile known as a manta which is used for carrying items.Leah discusses mantas, which are used for carrying items.Leah demonstrates how the manta is used to carry items.Stefan discusses how gender affects the goals and career aspirations of children.To demonstrate how instruction can influence children, Stefan asks Alejandro to wear a blindfold and then try to find an item.To illustrate his key point about how children respond to feedback, Alejandro tries to find an item but is given false information by Goshen students.Wearing a blindfold, Lucas tries to find an item, but is given confusing information by Goshen students.Despite being blindfolded, Jaime quickly finds an item because she is given accurate information. The exercise illustrated a point Stefan made about how children respond to positive information.Brody discusses music in Oxapampa, his service location.Brody plays a song he composed while on service.Edith discusses her research on Peruvian encounters with spirits, from ghosts and demon-possessed animals, to GodEdith talks about spirit encounters.Edith listens to a question from another Goshen student.Andrew discusses the prevalence of the Quechua language in Ayacucho.Andrew teaches students a few important phrases in the Quechua language.Alejandro talks about folk remedies.Alejandro demonstrates the folk practice of diagnosing illnesses by rubbing an egg over a person’s body and then cracking open the egg to examine its appearance.Miranda talks about public vs. private schools in Peru.MIranda guides students through an exercise illustrating the differences between private and public schools in Peru.Miranda discusses schools in Peru.Peru SST Co-Director Judy Weaver reviews her notes on the project presentations.Jaime talks about child-rearing practices in Peru.Jaime discusses how children are raised in Peru.Jaime applauds with other Goshen College students after learning that she has completed her presentation in exactly 15 minutes.
