Update

A few things to report since April the 9th.

I have begun to teach English to just the SKIP secondary kids on a Saturday morning in Indoamericano. This is a lot more stress free as these kids are a lot more co-operative and enthusiastic to learn. This is just for one hour.

There a few trainee teachers that volunteer for SKIP on a Saturday morning. In return SKIP offer support with their English. I was supposed to have a class this Thursday but it didn’t happen. Another class is scheduled for this Thursday so we'll see what happens.

I am not sure if I have mentioned that from the money I raised prior to coming to Peru, I gave SKIP a substantial amout which went ot buying shoes and school uniforms. Here are a few photos of the material being distributed:

We have taught the kids how to describe their country and other countries. Last week we taught then how to say what food they liked. They particularly enjoyed this lesson as Peruvians can be quite passionate about their food. Here is a photo of the kids taking the exam we gave them a few weeks ago:

It was my birthday last Sunday. I turned 24. Birthdays are a big deal in Peru; they are keen to acknowledge them.

Last week, I and 3 other volunteers went to Lima. I got my flight ticket reissued. It was a good trip. It was just relaxing to not be teaching for a change and to see another part of Peru. I have been in Peru over 3 and half months now. Here are a few photos from Lima.

Classes with the SKIP kids on a Friday afternoon are going good. It gives the kids an opportunity to get help with their homework. After the lesson, I take the kids for football.

My inter-cambio started back up this week with my teacher Tatiana. We had two sessions this week and i feel they make a difference. I hope to take an A-level in Spanish when I return home.
Possibly at the end of this week, I and some volunteers will be going to a place called Iquitos. It takes 3 days to get there by boat up a river. I hope we get to go as I am leaving Peru in 6 weeks and feel I haven’t saw much. It will be interesting to see the Amazon Jungle.

Not much else to report. As always, any questions send me an e-mail at m1572202@qub.ac.uk

Adios

Joseph

Update

A few things have happen since the last update.

Robert and I have given all the primary kids an English test. It was basically everything they have learnt since the start of the school year. It was a little unusual for the kids as they had never experience an exam style atmosphere. We didn’t put to much emphasis on the result but we were keen to highlight the need to practice English at home and the importance of homework. Schools in Peru do not have the same kind of discipline when it comes to homework as in the UK for example.

As for the actual results, a lot of the kids were able to recall the english but their spelling was poor. We are not too concerned about that for the moment as long as the kids can speak. Here are some of the kids of lizarzaburu in the library where Rober and I teach:

Robert and I have certainly settled into a routine with the teaching. At first it was difficult because schools are so badly organized and run that it was difficult to have classes starting on time and being able to control the classes. We have gotten the teachers staying in the classrooms and maintaining discipline while we actually teach. We will gradually involve the teacher into the lesson through time. This is the idea as it will be a lot more sustainable for the future.

We have come up with quite a few ideas to improve the lessons. We really want to instill a desire into the kids to learn English. We want them to enjoy learning English. We are going to incorporate cultural learning into the lessons. This week we taught the kids how to say where they were from. We also taught where other countries were from and told them a little bit about them. For example, we took in pictures of London, Ireland, Africa, Rio de Janeiro and the US. The kids enjoyed this. Here is a picture of 6C at Lizarzaburu, they are an excellent class:

Last Saturday I used the money raised to buy SKIP a new computer. They were using almost 10 year old laptops which were very temperamental. We got a new desktop with a printer. Hopefully now, life will be easier for the directors and workers for SKIP. Our director Bee was really happy. Having seen how much they needed the new computer, I think it was money well spent. Here is the new computer:

I also replace my camera. The money used to pay for this can be reclaimed back on my travel insurance. I will do this when I return home and then give the money to SKIP. You will notice a lot more photographs in this update!

I am going to Lima next week to renew my visa and to revalidate my plane ticket. The nearest STA Travel branch is in Lima. I will be gone for 3 days and I am really looking forward to it.

The SKIP house has really begun to fill up. We now have around 8 volunteers, from all different countries, in the house.

I am still learning Spanish. It is a little more difficult as I have a lot less time now. The inter cambio starts back up next week as my inter cambio buddy was away this week.

Well that is about it. As always, for any potential volunteers if you have any questions or queries, feel free to contact me m1572202@qub.ac.uk

Adios for now

Joseph