jeinperu

The Very Last Day

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 19:21:16 GMT

Of course, the very last day was soo sad. Our day did not start until 1 pm; thus, I spent the morning finishing my english lectures. At 1 pm, we went to lunch and had a great conversation. Then, we had a meeting with most of the volunteers at La Casa de Panchita and celebrated our last day with a cake. We all put in our last words and goodbyes. Blanca, the director of La Casa de Panchita gave us gifts--really cute silver necklaces. Next, we had a smaller meeting with just Johana, Blanca, Agota, and Ignacio. They asked us about critics and preparation advice for the group that Professor Doel wants to send next year. I talked about how I would like to see the kids come during the week and participate in more activities. However, this is really difficult because it requires more volunteers and more planning because they are already so many classes and events going on during the week. However, the Sunday activities are stil great for the kids. We really did not have any critics for La Casa de Panchita becuase I think we all felt that it is a great organization that is doing a lot to help people. The workshops and classes that La Casa offers is great! I felt so honored to work with an organization that is actually changing lives. I am going to miss everyone at La Casa de Panchita tremendously, and one day I hope to come back!!!!

The Last Sunday

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:40:11 GMT

Yesterday was a very sad day for me!!!! It was my day working with the children and the volunteers in my group. Before the work day started, a domestic worker, named Carmen, gave Emma and I a pair of red and black earrings. I though that was extremely generous of her; she really felt that we were friends and people worth deserving gifts from her. I felt truly honored to know that I had touched someone. She also promises to write us just so we can keep in touch. When the work day started, I saw on the list that I was given more responsibility. I got to prepare the porta cubiertos activity, and I got to help with the lunch rounds. During those moments, I truly felt more involved because I ¨knew what I was doing.¨ During lunch, I showed the kids pictures of my family and friends. They thoroughly enjoyed the photos and kept asking questions. One interesting observation that I realized that people in Peru have a different perspective on skin color. My mother and sister are ligh-skinned, and when the kids saw a picture of them, they thought that they were white because they were not muy skin-toned. From this event, one can see that being ¨black¨ is actually having dark skin. In America, I feel like we characterize people not only by their skin color but by their features. What makes a person ¨black¨ in America is that fact that they might have big nose and full lips, even if the person is light-skinned. I find these differences extremely interesting, and it would be cool to see a research done on the different perspections of skin colors around the world (their is probably one done).

After lunch, we continued with the activities, and then, we went to the park and played a game. After the game, the volunteers annouced that Sunday was my last day with the children. The children were sad because we had gotten so close. We spent the last fifteen minutes taking pictures, talking, and hugging. I gave a few of them my e-mail address, but I do not think they actually have e-mail. When the kids got on the bus, I kept waving at them, and they smiled and waved back. I know that I will never forget these kids; they are such great people, and I will always miss them!!!

Last sunday - Emma

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 01:24:41 GMT

Today was our last sunday and I´m suprised at all the emotion the day has brought. The children were extra wonderful today. One boy, Deivid, (yes, it´s spelled that way to make the pronounciation more like the American David) age 8, came in a little late,and was very shy because, as he told me, he didn´t usually come with this group. At first, he kept his head down, not saying anything. Things went really smoothly in the morning - I tried to make sure to include Deivid as much as I could and I think that made an impression on a bunch of the boys because for the first time they (boys) reached for my hand when walking or wanted to sit with me. Generally the boys don´t look for affection in such obvious ways (having been socialized that way), but today was different.
We had a half hour for the children to write a letter to La Casa de Panchita and Deivid´s was great. I wish I could remember it word for word but basically he said this:
Dear Panchita,
Today when I came I was very shy because I did not know the kids or the professors. The new people made me red (¨"me ponen rojito" - for those who can appreciate that endearing phrase). Really I´d prefer to be in the street because in the street I can do whatever I want and play all the time. But I do like the food here and the games are fun.
with love, Deivid
There was more and it was better but that´s more or less what he wrote. In the afternoon, after lunch we went to the park as usual but everyone was feeling tired so for the last 10 minutes we all sat in the grass. I was surrounded by a few of the children: Cintia, Teodora, Deisi (Daisy), Jesús and a really sweet kid named Dario, with Deivid, not quite over his shyness, leaning against my back. They asked me to sing for them because they had heard of the workshop we did on American music so I told them that they had to sing for me first. They started and a bunch of others joined in. Later I sang just a little bit of "Yorkshire girl" (for those few who know that) for them. I wonder if I was somehow exhuding a need to be filled by them today, because this group (some of whom had accidentally come before) did just that. They filled me up with so much sweetness and cute little kid stuff that I think it will last me for a while. At the end of the day Beto made the announcement that this would be my last day and suddenly I was giving out my e-mail address to half a dozen kids who don´t use the internet. I don´t expect to hear from them, unless they take my advice and write to me via La Casa de Panchita, but maybe they´ll find the paper and remember me.
After the kids had left the people from my group, Beto, Edith, Carlos, Iris and Elena and I all sat down and had some soda and crackers while being very leisurely about our evaluation of the day. They ended up by going around and saying some really nice things to me about my work. They were all so great. I tried to let them know how much I appreciated them but couldn´t put the words together right. Soon I will write them each an e-mail to let them know.

So tomorrow is the last day and we have lots of last minute work to do. Sorry this was sappy, but the day was sappy and I´m only recording. See you all soon.
Emma

Emma

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:27:43 GMT

Thursday began much like wednesday. We had a second group of kids come to the recyling robots exibit and make their robots (or draw-bots as I discovered they are called.) Again the kids loved it. We also had a few visiters from the United States. One of them was on a world-wide trip. She´s studying poverty in twelve different countries trying to figure out what there is to do in the world and what she, and other people like her (just graduated college, international studies, ex-student activists) should be doing in the world. I´m glad she came to La Casa de Panchita. From this organization one really learns about the important of the community in change - la casa de panchita has managed to work from the ground at the root of problems and cause significant change with they people who attend.

After lunch we went to visit Beatriz, an ex-domestic worker who was fired without pension when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She´s now living in a nursing home on the charity of the workers and volunteers in La Casa de Panchita. Beatriz herself does not look like a cancer patient - she´s healthy and relatively active, walking around the grounds with her friends and going to church regularly. She took us around to meet several of her friends. The first one we met was 96 years old and shockingly lively. She sat on the bed during our visit but cracked several witty jokes and was generally healthy. After visiting a second friend, who we left to take a nap, I was stopped by a woman in the hall. We had been saying "buenas tardes" to everyone we met because it is clear that so many of the people in the home have stopped receiving visiters and as we left the room of the second friend I said it to an old woman passing by. She stopped me, pointing at her door and I opened it for her. She took the opportunity to tell me that people were talking about her and it was making her sicker. She seemed so genuinely upset that I didn´t know what to do. She started listing her ailments, even having me feel her back where there was pain. She was blind in one eye and couldn´t hear very well at all. She said she didn´t know why she was still here. There was nothing I could say to her and nothing I could give, but I just listened for a few minutes. When she stopped talking I told her I needed to go, but that I was really sorry. I had nothing better to say, but it seems like she appreciated the chance to talk.
The rest of our trip was relatively uneventful. We met a third friend of Beatriz´s who, at 84, seems incredibly healthy in body and mind with the exception of her arthritic hands. She had already been there 11 years. We then walked with Beatriz in the park right outside the complex. She and I talked a bit - she wanted to know if I was going to get married soon but then agreeing that I should wait until I had finished my studies. She talked only a little bit about her life, telling me she hadn´t had the time to have a family. According to one of the women at La Casa Beatriz had worked for the family that fired her for a long time, devoting herself to them. She seems to healthy now and I hope she keeps it up. I think it´s amazing what La Casa de Panchita is doing for her. They visit her weekly at least and provide her with as much as they can, all on the money given freely by those who work there, because as an organization they can´t legally give her money. She´s living comfortably and seems content enough, though she said she´s not used to living at that complex and would leave if her health would allow it. With cancer I think sickness can happen quickly, but she seems healthy enough now and I hope she lasts a while longer.

Exhibit and More

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 00:21:24 GMT

Hello again! Sorrry for such a late posting; I have been extremely busy. I have to finish typing up all the English lessons by Monday. This past Wednesday and Thursday, Emma, Emily, and I took kids from Pamplonas to an exhibit called BLIP! Robótica de Reciclaje. It was a very cool exhibit. The guides discussed the amazing things that people can create just by simply recylcing. We talked about robots and scensory sytem. I was actually pretty impressed with all the inventions. Then after the tour, the kids got to create their own mini-drawing robots. They used two paper cups and used markers for legs. In order for the ¨robot¨ to move, the had to use this small battery required motor system. The kids go to take the robots home with them.

On Thursday, Emma, Emily, and I went to visit Beatriz. As I stated earlier in one of my entries, Beatrix was once a domestic workers who went to La Casa de Panchita. She now has terminal cancer and has now way of efficiently obtaining money and buying all of her neccesities. La Casa de Panchita has a box where people can donate food and money for Beatriz. When we visited Beatriz, she appeared in good shape for a person who had terminal cancer. One could not tell that she was sick at all. She was sok pleased to have visitors; she also introduced us to more of her friends. They were all really funny and young at heart. One lady we met was 96, and she had the greatest sense of humor!!!!

More background on Beatriz:

Beatriz is around her sixities and is on medication for her illness. The doctors really do not provide her with enough care and attention. Also, she does her food in the dinning hall because people shout at her, and she feels disrespected. She usually eats in her room. On Sunday, Emma and I are going to donate milk to give to her. Emma actually spent a lot of time talk to Beatriz so she will definitely have more to share with you in her journal. Since I have met Beatriz, I have been constantly contemplating about life. Beatriz has terminal cancer, and yet, she is enjoying every moment of life. She has made me realize how valuable life is and how fast time flies. Not too long ago, I landed in Lima, Peru, not knowing what to expect. And now I am getting ready to leave in four days, and I have gained a better appreciation of life and the people around me. I have met soo many wonderful people in Peru, especially at La Casa de Panchita. I am definitely not ready to leave!!! However, I am going to take what I have learned here and treasure it always. I have two more days left at La Casa de Panchita. Sunday, I will be working with the children all day. On Monday, I will meet with Agota and Saija to disscuss all of my Englsih lectures. Then, I am going to have a meeting with Johana, Blanca, Agota, and Ignacio to discuss what I have learned and accomplished at La Casa de Panchita. I promise to give an update soon!

¡Hasta Luego!

A few brief days - Emma style

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:46:15 GMT

So I´m taking my title from Jessica. These last few days have been full of typing lesson plans and reports and not too much else.
This morning, though, we did have a nice change of scene. We went with a group of children from Las Pamplonas to a exibit on robots. It was an interesting exibit, though at first it sounded a little strange - the idea was the show children how recycled items were used to make robots. We went through the small exibit looking at various ¨robots¨made from various recyled things (old CD players, cell phone vibrators) and then we went to make our own robots. With two styrofome cups, a small motor, a lot of tape and three markers we made robots that drew circles all by themselves.
The children loved it. It was great for them to be working hands on with something so cool. Even the most jaded adolescent boy couldn´t help but love it. The best part about it is that they got to bring their creations home. Making something and being able to claim it and remember it is very empowering for anyone but they need the empowering. This past week I´ve been finishing up the two books given to us by Johana and writing the required reports. These books are about the program we are involved in with the children and by reading them and writing about them I´ve really been getting a better idea about the lives of the children we work with. So many of them are working almost full time (especially since they don´t have school right now). It´s hard to put the image of a child worker together with the faces I saw today, full of excitement. With the adolescents, however, I am able to see it more. I got to spend time today with some girls in Jessica´s sunday group and I see a reserved shyness in too many of them to be a part of their natures. But that´s what La Casa de Panchita is about, reminding these girls (and boys) and women (and even men) that they are not actually subservient but are people with rights to opinions and voices.

So now we´re finishing up the week (sunday- thursday is our schedual) but I want to hold on to time and slow it down. I´m not yet ready to leave La Casa de Panchita or Peru.

Two Brief Days by Jessica

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:56:37 GMT

As you can already predict by the title, this journal entry is going to be very short. Yesterday, when I went to visit the school, it took 2 hours. We only meet with the principal for five minutes to confirm a couples of birthdates of domestic workers that attend the school. The prinicipal was in a¨"hurry,¨ and made it seem like we were wasting his time. After our short meeting with the principal, it was already 2:30 pm, and we decided to call it a day becuase we had a two-hour drive back to Lima.

Today, I helped my group prepare portacubiertos, which consisted three cones glued together so you can put your silverware in them. I also helped organize the files of the children that come on Sunday. Right now, I am typing up my reports on the two books that I have to read. I just finished doing an ïnforme¨ on this previous Sunday group. I had to type up my observations and reactions and send them to my Sunday leader, Johana Reyes. Also, tomorrow, Emma, Emily, and I are going to an exhibition with 30 kids on Wednesday and Thursday; the exhibition will discuss the importance of recycling.

Well, this is all I have for now. I know it is a bit boring, but hopefully tomorrow I will have something more interesting to say!!!

¡Hasta Luego!

Emma

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:41:38 GMT

Three domingos (sundays) down and we only have one more to go! It´s making me pretty sad actually. I´m really enjoying living in Lima and for a short time being a part of this enormous city. (For those of you who don´t know, Lima has 9 million people. That´s 1 million more people than New York City. Unlike New York, however, very few housing buildings are more than two stories high, so you can imagine the difference, Lima has an incredible spread.)
Yesterday the children were a whole lot easier than the week before (I think that was inevitable). Children will be children though and it was a tiring day. One really nice thing that´s happening though is that I´m starting to get to the point of comfort with my coworkers that we can really have a good time together. We can joke together and have a good time, but I also spent about 15 minutes explaining to Carlos the difference between Republicans and Democrats. They´ll be good people to keep in touch with after I leave.

Sorry this is short, but we have a meeting in a few minutes. I´ve been working on trying to get some pictures up. I have them in my livejournal gallery, but I don´t know how to get them onto the livejournal itself, so I´m just going to give you all a link to the gallery.
http://pics.livejournal.com/jeinperu/gallery/00001ac6

Let me know if it doesn´t work.
Hasta luego

A Great Sunday by Jessica

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:29:08 GMT

Yesterday was a great day with the children. They had a lot of energy, but they were really focused and respectful. I noticed that in some of the activities the boys were timid about interacting with the girls in some of the activities. Ine activity, called Reloj (Clock), the boys and girls had to take a paper made clock and beside the hour write a person´s name. When the facilitator called 2 o´clock, the child had to find the name of the person that he/she wrote by the number two. Then, they would ask the partner the following: What is your name, How old are you, what is you favorite dish, and what is you favorite sport? The boys did not really enjoy this activity, but they did get to know new people. However, after the activity, the boys clumped back together and only interacted with the girls if the activity required them to do so. I think that this a natural and usual social habit for boys around the ages of 11 to 14 years old, and I hope the Sunday activities will help them to interact with girls more. After we finished all of outr activities, we went to a theatre called the Centro Cultural de España (Cultural Center of Spain). They play was called ¡Verde, que te quiero verde! (Green, I want you green). The play was basically about how nature is being destroyed, and all the trees are being chopped down. They talked the important of conserving nature and letting the trees grow. The play allowed the children to interact and answer questions. It kind of remind me of Dora the Explorer. It was a very good play for children.

After the play. Emma, Emily, and I had to make a presentation about the United States. We talked the differences from the North and South, specifically New York and Tennessee. Then, we talked about the different genres of music. I talked about hip-hop, Emma talked about folk, and Emily talked about country. We also played a bit of each genre and explained what each song was talking abou; everyone really enjoyed it. We also did a bit of dancing for them too!!!

Today, I am going to finish reading the two required books that I have been talking about and begin writing my paper. I also have some translation to do for Blanca. We are also visting a high school today, so I will post an entry about experience and observations there. I am so excited, and I can not wait to meet the students!

¡Hasta Luego!

Sickness and Health by Jessica

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:43:29 GMT

I know that I have been absent for a while but just let me explain! I have been sick, and I did not go to La Casa on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Peruvian food upset my stomach, and I have been drinking too much Inca Kola..at least twice a day. However, now I am better. Even thought I was sick, I managed to complete my three English lecture topics, which were the conditional, school, and the use of ¨did.¨ Emma, Emily, and I also made pancakes for all the volunteers at La Casa de Panchita, and they said the really enjoyed them. Also, I help my Sunday group with the some of the activities that they are planning for this upcoming Sunday. We are going to do a lesson on lungs and respiration. I think that this is a very stimulating and vital topic, especially for my group since the age rane is from 11 to 14.

The most memorable experience this week was going to Las Pampolonas with volunteer leader, Johana. This was a very eye-opening experience,and the level of poverty remind me of Jamaica. The majority of the children who go to La Casa are from Las Pampolonas, one of the most poorest towns in Peru. The roads are not paved, and the houses are constructed out of various materials like wood and metal scrapes. Basically, whatever the people can find to build a merely sustainable home has to work. Las Pampolonas sits on a massive hill with thousands of houses and people living inside them. The level of poverty is clearly visible and not easy to forget. Despite the level of poverty, there still exists a community--a community that welcomes its arms to outsiders. When we went with Johana, we got to visit some of the children from Las Pampolonas that come to La Casa. The teenaged'girls we very nice and open. On our first visit, the girl let us in and talked. She was very sweet and talked to everyone. On our second visit, we met a girl around 14 years old. She has four brothers and sisters, and her mother does not know how to read and write. Her farther does not live with them, and thus, she is one of the main financial supporters. However, she does attend school, which is great. When we came to visit, she seemed a bit nervous. I did not it if was because she was a little embrassed about her lifestyle, or maybe she did not expect so many visitors. She remind at the door while she talked to us and made sure that her brothers and sisters stayed inside. She mentioned that she was having family problems but did not want to go into further detail. We visited another girl, who I think was 16 years old. Johana asked her about what was good and bad about her neigheborhood. For the good part, her initial response was nothing. Johana tried to remind her of the people here and how nice everyone is .

After that visit, we went to another side of Las Pampolonas and visited another family. We ran into two little girls who were soo sweet. They told Johana that they could not come to La Casa on Sundays becuase they had to work. They had to help their mother and their older sister. They would help their mother make this little patches toput on clothes and jackets. One took them a whole day, and they only sold them for 2 soles. 14 soles a weekk is rarely enough for a mother who has three kids. Many of the kids have to work everyday to help support their family even though that aren´t getting paid enoughj for their work. Just seeing their lifestyle and condition of their town really upset me because right on the other side is a very well-off city with big tennis courts and paved streets. The kids clearly recognize this and see the unjustness in their lifestyle. Hopefully, the children will continue go to school, attend college, and have a healthier and safer life.

Las Pamplonas - Emma

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:21:04 GMT

Yesterday we went to Las Pamplonas with Johana. Las Pamplonas is a very impoverished neighborhood started by people trying to eek out a place to live on the outskirts of Lima. Certain parts have managed to get Water and Lights in the streets (though not in the houses) but other parts have not Johana goes there at least once a week because many of the children in the sunday groups are from there. I even saw one of the girls I´d worked with, Deisi (Daisy).
I wasn´t exactly shocked by what I saw, since we´d passed similar neighborhoods and we´d been given a lot of preperation for what we were going to see, but the trip really made an impression on me. As we we walked we knocked on a few of the doors of the families Johana knows. almost all the children we encountered were part time or full time workers. The first door we knocked on was answered by a 15-year-old who had been charged with the task of watching 5 children while her mother and older sister worked. She answered the door with an infant in her hands and within a few minutes a little boy came tumbling out, followed by his little sister. We spoke to her a little while, but when her sister came back for lunch we left them. We stopped to talk to a woman selling Chicha morada on the side of the road and even though she offered us something to drink we could not take it because it was her livelyhood she was offering. A few of the children we saw on the way knew Johana and came up to kiss her hello. She introduced everyone by name. It really made an impression on me how much people there love Johana. Many of the mother´s we spoke to had a lot to say and all the children gave her big hugs; even the one´s she said were the most difficult on sundays.
The second part we visited in the day was a lot more sparsely populated than the first. The houses were made of scraps of everything. We only saw the inside of one house, a house that I think was one of the biggest we´d been to with three rooms. There are lots of dogs running around, usually owned by someone but not confined to any space. Children play in packs where ever they can (though it´s difficult to find good places because Las Pamplonas is all one huge hill). Although we´d been warned against the dangers of the neighborhood and the cat-calls we might receive, we heard a lot fewer than in the neighborhood in the middle of Lima where La Casa de Panchita is. Some people remembered seeing professor Doel, though they weren´t inclined to comment, for most of the teenagers and adults we met were a little shy to talk to us. Also in the second area we visited was Deisi, the girl I mentioned before, and her sister Flor (flower). Her third sister, Rosa, wasn´t at home. I learned then that Deisi and Flor sew shapes onto sweaters in order to earn money. Each sweater takes about 1 day and they earn 2 soles (less than a dollar) for each sweater. Rosa, at 13, just recently started working 6 days a week for a family in Lima. I was appalled, thinking of my own sister about that age and what I would feel having her work for another family and how I would feel about a family who would hire a 13 year old. I´ve had people tell me that you can´t compare a 13 year old here in Lima with a 13 year old in an upper-middle class neighborhood in the United States, but shouldn´t you be able to? Shouldn´t it be appalling for all thirteen year olds to have full time jobs? That´s what La Casa de Panchita really works for.

After visiting Las Pamplonas I understand more about the children who I work with. I think I won´t be so quick to get frustrated with the children this sunday. I cannot pretend to understand them, because the one´s I work with are not yet old enough to explain themselves really well, but I can be more patient.

So that´s all for today. We´ll be back to work on sunday in La Casa. Jess and I will put some pictures up soon, we promise! We need to get them off the cameras though. As soon as we do we´ll put up some good one´s.
Have a great weekend,
Emma

Emma

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:01:30 GMT

Today is another day of work on the computers. I´m working on my third of a document Blanca wanted us to translate. It´s basically a summary of the achievements of La Casa de Panchita in the last year - a report they have to turn in every year. It will be up on the AGTR site in English as soon as we finish it. For now, anyone who wants to look at the website (which includes pictures and a blog) should go to www.gruporedes.org. I´m starting to brainstorm about a fundraiser to do for La Casa de Panchita during this next semester. I´d like to keep in contact with them and perhaps come and spend more time with them in the future if they´ll have me.

Last night we went out for Emily´s birthday. We first went to a really nice dinner at Blanca´s house. Her friend, also named Blanca Rosa, did most of the cooking I think and it was delicious. We even had a few things whose origin is in the rainforest of Peru. Afterwards we went to a bar where a jazz band was playing. It was enjoyable, but we had to head back early because we had work today. I mention this night out because I had my first encounter with a Peruvian transvestite. We were in Barranco, a neighborhood near the edge of the cliff that is Lima and we had walked down to the edge of the cliff to look out over the water. He (I will refer to him as a male since the English language lacks a way to refer to people of neither or both genders) had used balloons to give himself breasts and a larger backside and had a dirty, blond and almost unrecognizable wig on his head. He was selling candy and offered it to us but we all looked away uncomfortably. It was unclear as to whether this wo/man was sane or not. He walked away from us but in the direction that we then had to go and as he heard us following him he looked back. I looked at his face and saw him looking at us, afraid. That facial expression really affected me. Why was he afraid?Thinking about it, it seems obvious has he has suffered violence for his lifestyle. It makes me really sad to think of someone like him - uncomfortable or unhappy with the body he is born into and punished by society for attempting to align his body with this soul.
This, of course, is not something unique to Peru, but there are places in the United States where people know they can go to find other´s like them, to find at least minimal acceptence. I´m not sure there´s anything like that in Peru.

That´s it for today - back to translating.
Adios

Emma

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:24:50 GMT

Yesterday was my most difficult day so far at La Casa de Panchita. It was a sunday, meaning a day with the children. I think there are four different groups that come to La Casa on sundays and they rotate each week. This week´s group was very difficult. First off it was a group of 22, which is bigger than normal, and of these twenty two we had 4 real problems and a bunch of children who were sweet but misbehaving. Four may not seem like a lot, but it´s hard to keep everything together when you have to make sure that four little people aren´t running away or hitting someone else or another equally unacceptable thing.
Two of the problem children were actually brother and sister. The brother, Edwin, was the most difficult of them all. Carlos, one of my covolunteers, actually had to chase him around the park and drag him back to La Casa, arriving about 20 minutes later than the rest of us. His sister, Pamela, was not quite as difficult but would refuse to do activities and leave the spaces we were in. Both of them, however, would look for affection in little moments but quickly withdraw if it wasn´t given immediately. For example, I arrived late to the park because I had to do some stapling, and Edwin held out his hand for me to sit with him. I couldn´t at that moment since I had to help the other volunteers and by the time I went back the opportunity was over. Similar things happened with Pamela. At then end of the day when we were discussing the two of them it seemed clear that their behavior was in some way a result of something going on at home. The woman who runs the program, Joanna decided that she would ask the promoter from their district to do a home visit.
We also talked about the general problems with discipline with the children. Even the very sweet ones would wander away as soon as a volunteer´s back was turned. the problem could come from the manner of discipline we use. In La Casa de panchita we would clearly never hit a child but it is probable that discipline at home comes in the form of violence. Since we don´t follow that line of discipline the difference makes us seem less authoratative to the children. I was struggling all day, though I kept myself pretty well composed. The last activitity, however, was the most difficult. We were sewing little purses with the children and I had two of the difficult children at my table, one wanderer and one well-behaved. After insisting for the hundreth time that everyone sit down, no one touch the scizzors or glue and no one take things from the other table I needed a change of tactics. I started speaking very directly to each child who misbehavied, asking them why they misbehaved. I also expressed my feelings to them calmly, letting them know that their behavior had a personal affect on me. None of the children are really bad and this way of speaking to them affected their behavior differently. Even though it didn´t solve all of the problems completely, I think it reached them in a new way. The important thing was to remember that I was dealing with people, not just misbehaving children. Appealing to them in a different , more adult way worked.
By the end of the day, however, I was exhausted and by the time Jessica and I got home we fell into bed.

Today we´re going to be working on our english lessons and writing up the reports for yesterday, mostly paperwork. We had originally planned to visit a school, but that fell through. It´s a good thing though because this way we can catch up on some things we´ve fallen behind on.
So that´s it for now - Jessica and I really enjoy it when we get comments on our livejournal. Anyone can comment, whether or not they have a journal, so please do!

Emma

The Longest Sunday by Jessica

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:23:45 GMT

Yesterday was a very exhausting day for me. I had to work with a new group yesterday; the kids had so much energy and were very curious about the United States. They wanted to know if the United States was pretty and advanced in technology.They also wanted to know about the capital. So, I decied to give them a mini geography lesson. I showed them were the capital of the United States was, I showed them where Tennessee was (my home state), and Maine. They were really amazed and very intelligent. We had a conversation about tornados, and they damage that they caused. We talked about Disney World and family members. I am also going to bring my photo album next time so that they can see my family and what the United States looks like. Also, the students were still suprised that I was from the United States. They assumed, like the other group, that I was from Africa.

I also noticed that in this group, some of the children just did not want to participate in any of the activitie. One girl, Kaili, was very quiet and rarely talked at all. However, I tried my hardest to make her feel welcomed and loved. She would just smile back at me and continue to not participate. Her unwilligness to particpate clearly illuminates the fact the she is having family problems at home. She refused to talk to others in her group. She probably does not receive enough or any attention at all at her home. I also think she is a TID ( trabajores infantiles domesticos/infant domestic workers). Thus, she probably does not have time just to be a kid and interact with other children. The mere thought that some of the children are isolated or come from a bad background truly saddens me. I know that by playing with them and being with them on Sundays helps, but I want to do more. Some of these kids remind me of my community service work in Jamaica this past summer. Some of the kids that I worked with did not have such, maybe two outfits, and live in cardboard house. Of course, many of these were effected drastically by their improverished lifestyle; however, others still managed to keep a smile on their faces. Many of the children that I work with at La Casa de Panchita maanage to keep a smile on their faces even though they know they are going to back to places that they might hate calling home.
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Today was a very relaxing day. We meet with Agota to discuss furture events at La Casa de Panchita. Emma and I are going to make pancakes and blueberry muffins for the people at La Casa. Also, Emma, Emily, and I have to an American culture performance on January 20th. I am kind of nervous, but I know that it will be great. I think we are going to do a step performance and sing a song. Also, today, we had to create more English lesson. I just finished two topics that covered the conditional and school. I need to complete one more topic for this week. I am also still reading the two required books. I am learning about TID and the purpose of the activities on Sunday. For example, one of the overall goals of the Sunday group activities is to make the children feel welcome, provide them with real word concepts and educational topics.

Much To Do in Peru!!!!

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:30:00 GMT

¡Hola gente! Yesterday, Emma and I had a Blanca, the director of La Casa de Panchita. We discussed what we will doing for the next three weeks. We are going to visit a school, an ex-domestic worker who has terminal cancer (her name is Beatriz), create more English lectures, visit SJM (San Juan de Miraflores), and create a min-show for the people at La Casa de Panchita that represents something we are interested in or just simply American culture. We also visited a class for domestic workers. They learned things like how to conserve water, how to take care of babies, and what to do in certain accidents.The class was very interesting, and Emma, Emily, and I got to participate and make suggestions. I got to know some of the domestic workers well. Their ages very; some are 16 years old, and some are 40 years old. Regardless of what some people think. the domestic workers that I met were very intelligent, honest. and generous. They were so willing share their advice on topics and provide solutions for other people´s problem. Also, one domestic worker told me that is very dangerous for women to go out at night; thus, some domestic workers will group together at night and walk home together. They also mention how there is soo much discrimination towards women in Peru. They are rarely treated as equally as men. However, regardless of these problems, they are still willing to remain hopeful of a brighter future and continue to smile. I find this truly amazing.

Today, Emma and I really did nothing (Yikes!!). Johana, the director of my Sunday group, had us organize all the materials for the Sunday activities. Then, we put together useful packets that included information such as how to eat healthy for a class today. Next, we met with Agota and Saija to talk about what we need to include in our English lectures. They want to see more dialogues and fill in the blank sections in our lectures. Also, Emma, Emily, and I are still reading the two books that we have to do a report on, which is due on the 26th of January. For each book, we have to write a descriptive summary about the whole book and a critical analysis on one chapter. So far, everything os going well, and everyday is a new adventure!!!

¡Hasta Luego!

Jessica

Emma

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:13:12 GMT

We weren´t able to make it to an internet cafe yesterday so this update will be about both days.

Yesterday was the more interesting of the two - we really got to experience another aspect of La Casa de Panchita. First, however, we had a meeting with Blanca, Agata and some of the promoters of La Casa de Panchita (women who spend their weeks in the poor districts of Lima recruiting women and children, building relationships with them and involving them in programs in La Casa de Panchita.) We planned out our month and we were wrong to be worried that we were going to be doing mostly paperwork. We are going to be visiting San Juan de Miraflores, one of the principle neighborhoods mentioned before, amoung others and going with Agata to a school (or something, I didn´t understand completely). Next week we are also going to be visiting a woman named Beatriz. Beatriz was one of the women who benefited from La Casa de Panchita. She was a long-time domestic worker for a family but when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer they fired her without a pension, leaving her with no money and no place to stay, as she has no family in Lima. So la casa took her under their wing and set her up with a place to live. They also take donations of food and supplies to keep her sustained and visit her regularly. I´m excited to meet her.

So after this meeting we went to one of the workshops they hold for women who work in homes. A lot of these women find themselves lost when they start working in the homes of others. For example, the families may have appliances they´ve never used before or need them to do things they´ve never done. These workshops are basically to teach them things they may need to know. Jessica, Emily and I all sat in on the class talking with them women and doing our best to help`when they had questions.
I spent the rest of the day with my sunday group planning next sunday´s activities, which will be more or less the same. They taught me how to sew since I need to actually help the children do that next week instead of telling them to ask Beto.

Today was mostly organizing all the materials in La Casa that have become disorganized over time. It took all day and wasn´t too interesting, but we got to chat and listen to music and we were doing work that needed to be done. We also met with Agata and Saija (another foreign volunteer from Finland) about the English Lesson Plans and they had a few helpful suggestions.
Now it´s the weekend and we may not be able to update for a few days because we might be a little too busy sunning ourselves on the beach.

chau!

More about Peru

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:18:00 GMT

I forgot to mention in my recent blog that I am working with children from the ages of 11 to 14 years old. So far, I love my group, but I recently discovered that next Sunday, I am going to working with a different group (same age). We will teach them how to make a volcanic eruption and a periscope. We also play games that will increase their critical thinking skills; it is a game called Pienso Rapido (Think Fast). I am also going to save all of the handouts and information that they give more, which describes in further detail the activities y objectives for every Sunday. Thus far, I love the volunteers that I am working with; they are a group of dedicated and supportive women who strive to make a difference in the children's lives. We had a meeting today and discovered what we need to do for Sunday. I have to play close attention to the children, observing their attiude and actions. Also, I need to write down testimonies (quotes from the children) that illuminate the conflicts and problems that the children have to confront. I am very interested in this task because I will be able to delve deeper into the lives of these kids and understand their situation better. I REALLY want to help them.

Also, I know that I did not post anything yesterday, but Emma and I just had a tour of the central part of Lima. Ignacio, a volunteer at La Casa de Panchita, was our tour guide. He is a very intelligent and humble person who knows a lot about Lima´s culture and history. Emma and I went to two parks and three museums. We went to the Museo de Arte Religios, Mueso de la Inquisicion, y Museo San Francisco. I most say that I learned a lot. I also took lots of pictures, which will be posted up soon; I promise!!!! A funny side note: In Peru, especially central Lima, the cars never stop for pedestrians, which I find very funny.

Now, for today, Emma, Emily, and I received a small lecture from Johanna about AGTR (Asociación Grupo de Trabajo Redes). I discovered that La Casa de Panchita is a project of AGTR that helps to make domestic workers aware of their rights as citizens of Peru. La Casa de Panchita provides them with a very loving atmosphere and provides English classes and classes on reproduction, human rights, and technology. La Casa also wants the women to realize the advantage of having a higher education (i.e graduating from an university). This is very important because more than 55% of Peruvians live in poverty and 10% live in extreme poverty. Therefore, many Peruvians do not have the opportunity to graduate from college, let alone high shool (sometimes even elementary or middle schoo). I discovered the percentages on poverty from a book that I am reading for La Casa. La Casa wants Emma, Emily, and I to write a report on two books that discuss the purpose of La Casa, the lives of the domestic workers, and the issues regarding sexual, verbal, and physical abuse. So far, the books are very interesting, and I am learning more and more everyday about La Casa de Panchita, and its central purpose. Hopefully, later on in the month, Emma and I will be able to talk with the domestic workers (the older women) because we would love to know more about the adversities that they have to confront EVERYDAY.

Also, for today, Emma, Emily , and I had to create lessons for the English classes on Sunday. I just finished two lessons on Dinner and Telling A Story. If anyone wants to see what the lesson look like, I will be glad to post it. Well, that all is for now. I will post more tomorrow.

¡Hasta Luego!

Jessica

Emma

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:11:20 GMT

So it´s our third day as official volunteers for Panchita.
Yesterday we didn´t work in La Casa but actually took a tour of the center of Lima with Ignacio. Ignacio does the marketing for AGTR or Associacion grupo de trabajo redes aka, the NGO that gives money to the project that is La Casa de Panchita. Ignacio was great - he took us to Lima´s cathedral which was enormous and had a big museum and a small catacomb where we saw not only the bones of people buried there but the caskets of babies who had died and whose parents did not have the money to give them a proper burial. We then went to the monastery where we saw much larger catacombs that held the bones of thousands of people. At one point we looked into holes filled with the bones of people´s legs and the guide told us that they went about four meters (12ish feet) down.
Ignacio was almost as knowledgeable as the guides and told us everything they had missed during the tours.

Today in La Casa we got our big assignment for the time we are here: to write up 24 lesson plans for the English classes taught on sundays, though we aren´t actually going to be teaching the lessons because we work with the children during this time. It´s a difficult task because we really don´t know very much about english grammar. With the assistance of books and a guide, however, we´re doing alright and it´s helping us not only with spanish but understand more the difficulties of learning English. (Does anyone know how to explain exactly what adding "est" to the end of an adjective does? Ex. Biggest and Smallest. We all understand, but how to explain? Calling all teachers!) Today we finished five lessons between the three of us. (When I refer to the three of us I am also including Emily, another student from Colby.) Our goal is to finish as early as possible because we really want to be doing more work with people, though I know they need a lot of help with things like this. We were given two books about La Casa de Panchita and their work with children and families to read. Later we´ll be writing some sort of report on them, but we don´t have the topic of the report yet. It sounds a little crazy coming from me but it´s nice to be writing and doing school-like work .... in small quantities.

Today we also learned a little more about La Casa de Panchita and the project (which is technically separate then la Casa but still a AGTR project) with the children. The main goal of this project for the older children is to not only help them further their education but help them understand that they are allowed to have opinions and that they should express them. Their voices are silenced by the nature of their job as domestic workers and have to re-learn that it is okay to express themselves. For all the children the goal is to give a loving and warm enviornment. They are encouraged to hug us and hold hands and seek any affection that might be lacking, not by fault of their parents themselves but of their situation in life. This affection is begun at the very beginning of the day when the children line up outside the door and all of the volunteers go and kiss each one hello (that´s close to 60 kisses - we definitely feel the love). I really like the goals of La Casa. They care very genuinely about the physical, mental and intellectual wellbeing of the people who go to them for help.

Lastly, I found this article online about La Casa de Panchita and some of the work they do. If you read spanish go ahead and click this link. Sorry it´s not in English! http://www.aprodeh.org.pe/reflexiones/anterior/rf41.htm

So that´s all for today - tomorrow I have a meeting with my sunday group to talk about next week´s work with the children, but the more work on the books and the lesson plans.
Goodnight all,
Emma

My First Day at La Casa de Panchita

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:58:36 GMT

Of course, I was nervous at first, but the children and volunteers welcomed me with open arms. A couple of the children assumed that I was from Africa, which I thought was very funny. However, this shows what the Peruvian children think of blacks or African-Americans. They assumed that becuase I was black, I must be from Africa. I think that this was an interesting stereotype. The children were also very eager to know about my family and America. Next Sunday, I plan on bring my photo album and go into more detail about my family and American customs. So far, I am fascinated by how eager the children are to learn. They are very smart and motivated kids, especially since they have so little. This truly amazes me!!!! Tomorrow, Emma and I are going on a tour of Lima. I hope to discover more about the culture and people of Peru. I have already tried many of the traditional dishes like ceviche, which is really good. But now, more on La Casa de Panchita.

Emma and I going to help create English lectures for the English classes and create activities for the children on Sunday. I also want to be more involved with talking and helping some the citizens and domestic workers of Peru, which I hope to do when Emma and I discover more about Lima with some of the volunteers. Also, before Emma and I leave La Casa at the end of January, we plan on putting on a mini performance that previews some of our culture. I think that this is a great idea, and I know that the children will be thrilled. Well, this is all that I have to say for know. I can not wait to write more tomorrow!!!!

!Hola de Peru! - Emma

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:35:44 GMT

So we´ve arrived safely in Peru, and though we´ve had a few minor mishaps, we´re okay thus far.

Today was our first day in La Casa de Panchita and it was great. On sunday´s both of us (And Emily) are working with the kids project. Basically La Casa imports about 60 kids from the inner city and we do activities and projects with them for the entire day. A lot of the other volunteers are university students studying psycology. For many of them this is similar to an internship.
I was working with the youngest group, ages 8 to 10. They were the sweetest, though also very difficult sometimes. Children, I have gathered, all have the same basic qualities. The first thing we did was illustrate the rules of La Casa on a big poster. Each child needed participate in the drawing and it was interesting to see who felt comfortable and who didn´t. One of the boys I was working with on this was named Max but his name tag said Marx. He was pretty put out for a while until we realized the mistake and changed it. After we changed his name on the tag he became a lot more cooperative in the activities.
The other activities had to do with reading, writing, spelling and sewing! Everyone, even the boys, sewed themselves a little wallet. I thought at first that the activities that stimulate learning in different ways - listening, doing, watching etc - was to watch the children and observe how each child learns, but when I asked the guy in charge of my group -Beto- it seemed that either I was off the mark or he just couldn´t understand.
One thing I noticed was the difference in education that these children, all of the same age, had. Some of them were reading and writing at or above their age-level but there were also some who were obviously below and one little girl who couldn´t write and could hardly read. She was new that day and I think I saw the moment when she realized that she couldn´t do something that the rest of the children were doing. It was heartbreaking.

For the most part, however, the day was great. The children took to me quickly, perhaps because I was new, and I was bombarded with questions about the United States. (One of the children pointed out that I spoke a ´Different´ spanish then they do and that led to where I was from) I was also asked some funny questions about my eyes... ranging from why they are blue to where did I get them. I answered as best I could, but I felt like they were kind of charged questions that I wasn´t sure how to answer.

Every sunday we are going to be working with children, though there are two groups and they come every other week, but during the week we´ll have different work. They´ve told us that they want us )Me, Jess and Emily) to write up 24 lesson plans for English classes. I´m not sure we have the means to do that, but we have a few books that might help us and between the three of us we should be able to throw something together.

So that´s all for tonight - I´ll write again tomorrow!
Emma

Last days!

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 02:25:32 GMT

A week until we're off!
Pancake Batter and Maple Syrup for the sunday almuerzos are being packed and last minute preparations are going on: does everybody have their passports?
So excited!

Teaching English - Emma

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:24:32 GMT

So Jessica and I will be required to teach some English while we're working with La Casa de Panchita. We weren't sure what this entailed so when we asked we were told that we would mostly be helping people with homework given to them by (??) someone else. We can do that, since we've been doing it all week with Tarea Tuesdays in the Spanish House. Then we are also to come up with games to help them learn. Jessica suggested Simon Says, which is a great idea. That way everyone will get a chance to speak (basic vocabulary is all that's needed) and to practice listening skills. Finally, we thought we'd bring some songs to teach with - a song can often be very helpful because it's a catchy and fun way to start learning grammatical structures. I must have listened to La Camisa Negra by Juanes 4 or 5 times in spanish classes in highschool. It can be really effective if students read the lyrics as they are listening to the song.
Any ideas for songs to use? We want them to be clean, light on slang and full of one or two different grammatical structures. Songs with choruses are especially good.

Jessica and Emma together! First post

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:31:36 GMT

So we've made the livejournal! Everyone who is interested in our adventures in Peru can follow them here.
We're off in a little more than a month, but it seems so much closer. January 4th we arrive in Lima, Peru and we'll be there until the 31st.
Jessica is nervous but she hopes that everyone is very welcoming in the Peru. She knows it will be a worthwhile experience. She can't wait to learn about the culture and people.
Emma has been to Peru before, but has spent little time in Lima and did mostly tourist-y things. She's excited to finally be able to do some hands-on work in human rights. She realizes that she'll come across some really shocking things and hopes she'll be prepared.

We've been told by some of the women we're corresponding with in La Casa de Panchita that we may be able to go to some sleuthing - we would go to job agencies and ask for domestic jobs (nannies, maids etc) and see how much information about our rights we're given. Since one of the goals of La Casa de Panchita is to help these women get all the rights promised to them by the law, we have to see where the problems begin: in the agencies.
When the two of us started talking about this possibility we realized that race may play a big role in how we are treated at these agencies. We've decided to keep tabs on this and see if we can come up with some sort of conclusions about race and racism in Peru based on our experience. We have no idea how this is going to go, so I guess we'll see!