COUNTRY: Peru
PROGRAM: UniBreak Groups
PROJECT: Education
WRITTEN BY: Anna Henwood, Adelaide University
Where is the time going?! Our third week has passed by so quickly, yet when we stop to think of all the things packed into seven days, it’s no wonder that time is moving on.
The week began with more exciting classes at Pumamarca School. We usually travel to Pumamarca in what has been called the ‘Golden Gizmo’ in the past, but we reverently refer to as the ‘Dustbus’ – for good reason! The roads up and around the mountains are very dusty because they are continuously under construction. Wednesday morning this week our Maths teacher was due to start at 9am and the Dustbus hadn’t arrived on time; Tom had a ride on the back of Nico’s motorbike up to Pumamarca, so he could start classes in time. It has been said that there was less dust on a motorbike!
Speaking of dust, there was a lot of extra movement on Monday at Pumamarca school, when a tractor was brought in the remove dirt and level the playground area. This means that PE classes, games at recess and general use of the area has improved because of the levelled ground.
The afternoon English classes at both Pumamarca and Quilla Huata have continued on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons this week; they are both well-attended, and it’s encouraging to see a good turn out from the community who are keen to learn. On Thursday, the teaching team had an interesting experience returning from the afternoon English classes, when an extra 3 adults from the community were piled into the already filled taxi for most of the ride back into town. It was a taste of travelling Peruvian-style!
Flute lessons have also started this week at Pumamarca, offered to the students in Grade 2. The class of seven are incredibly keen, and some of them are already naturals at making a sound. A flute and piccolo were kindly donated by the music department of a school in Adelaide, and are greatly appreciated here!
Spanish lessons are going well, and we appreciate the opportunity to use the new language we are learning in the classrooms and as we move about Cusco. New words and phrases are added daily, as we need to order taxis, give directions, make purchases and communicate with the locals.
The absolute highlight of the week was our weekend trip to Machu Picchu! This is the official site for the Inca rulers, which was only recently discovered and is now known to the world beyond Peru. It was incredible to see the history of the area and to climb the nearby mountain of Huayna Picchu, towering above the ruins of Machu Picchu. The view was wonderful from the peak of the mountain, and an unforgettable experience. We stayed in Aguas Calientes, the town near Machu Picchu, known for the hot springs in the area.
The only downside to the weekend was the extremely short tour of the ruins, due to the early onset of rain, which continued while we waited for the buses to take us back to the hotel. Hopefully it was the last of rain for a while!
No comments:
Post a Comment