Week Three in Lima
On Monday and Tuesday, we focused on education in Perú. Many of our students will work in schools for their service placements, so this was a good chance for them to start building a framework for understanding the system of which they will be a part. On Monday, Celia Vásquez presented an overview of the educational system in Perú, highlighting the similarities and differences between the way schools work in Perú and the United States. Students worked together to read and find answers to questions such as “What are teachers paid in Perú?” “What training does someone need to become a teacher?” and “What are some of the main challenges facing teachers?” Later in the morning, we had a first-person account of growing up deaf in Perú from Frank Chávez Mejía, one of our Peruvian Sign Language instructors. He talked about his education and his journey to becoming a pastor and teacher.
On Tuesday, we visited Colegio Inmaculada Concepción, a bilingual (Spanish and PSL) school for deaf students. The school’s principal, Lucy Malca, talked about founding the school and the difficulties her students face. Our students were able to spend time observing in several classes at Inmaculada Concepción, including math and literature.
On Wednesday morning, we took a break from the traditional lecture format and had a whole-body educational experience – a dance workshop on La Marinera Norteña. The Marinera Norteña is considered the national dance of Perú. It involves a partner, fast footwork, a handkerchief and lots of figure 8s! The workshop was led by Marcio Vera, a Peruvian Marinera champion. As you will see in the gallery photos, the students all put their best dancing foot forward for this complicated and dramatic dance.
We also heard two informative speeches from students this week: one from Vianey about private schools in Perú, with a case study about the private school her host sister attends, and another from Elise, who talked about street art in Lima. She focused on the muralist Jade Rivera, who has several murals in Barranco, the district of Lima where Elise lives.
Students continued their language study in the afternoons. They ended the week with a karaoke competition. Congratulations to Profesora Irene’s class for their winning rendition of “Quizás, Quizás, Quizás” and the PSL class for their stellar interpretation!
