Mother's Day Pageant

 Mother's Day was awhile ago. But I only just loaded these photos off of my camera and onto my laptop. The Friday before Mother's Day school ended early so that all the mothers could be invited for a Mother's Day Pageant that included dancing, acting, and adorable declamation by 4 year olds. All the mothers were also given a raffle ticket and about 30 lucky women won either a fancy shawl or a basket of useful household goods. It was everything that any school assembly bringing together students ages 3 to 17 is - funny, cool, adorable, and impressive.

  

Qoriorko Climb

I've wanted to climb Qoriorko, the tallest mountain in the area, since I arrived her at the end of 2014. After 17 months of looking up at the summit and wondering what the view was like, I finally found out on Saturday May 14 when Lauren and I spent an entire day climbing up and back down the mountain. Follow the jump for stunning views, mountaintop selfies, and llamas!

Noted With (Poor) Translation - Respects the Scans

It should say "Respect the signs"

Swearing in the Student Government

Last week we talked about ways student government looks different at FyA 44 than it did at my high school. This week the student government was sworn in and I have a few more things to add to the list.

The student government is sworn in with an oath to “God, the fatherland, and the educational institution.” This is the same way that the brigadiers (basically prefects) are sworn in.

The oath of office is administered to the student mayor by the actual mayor. The student mayor then swears in his cabinet.

The student government gets swag. Specifically rainbow sashes.* Check it out:

The student mayor getting sworn in by the real mayor.

The student mayor swearing in his cabinet.

*Remember that in Cusco, the rainbow flag is the flag of Tawantinsuyo, the Incan Empire. It has nothing to do with homosexuality.

Pilgrimage

I'm leaving Andahuayillas today to make the pilgrimage to Señor de Qollurriti. I'm not going to go into detail right now partially because we talked about it last year and partially because I'll actually be there this year so I'll have a post sometime afterwards with a full report and lots of pictures. But if you wanted to brush up on your knowledge of I'm told is the largest Catholic pilgrimage (in terms of number of people who go on a single day) in the world, here's the link to the English wikipedia page.

Belleza por Todos Lados - Bend, Don't Break

Belleza por Todos Lados - Polilla

Technical Difficulties

The computer I use at work has contracted a virus (it's a shared comptuer). Which means I can't transfer predrafter blogposts and photos from my laptop. Until we get the antivirus bought and installed, you're likely to see a decrease in the frequency of posting.

Belleza por Todos Lados: Sunset from the Plaza

Move, Teach, Get Out the Way

I've referred to Monday morning meeting a few times now in various posts. But if you don't remember, don't worry, I'll explain it right now. The first thirty minutes of the day on Mondays are devoted to Formación. I've been translating it as Monday morning meeting because in English “Formation” means cops surrendering to a black kid with moves, black panther costumes at the Superbowl, and a whole lot more awesome.

Formación is an assembly of the entire student body of each level of school. The preschool has one, Primaria has one, and so does Secundaria. For very important occasions Primaria and Secundaria will have Formación together. Students line up by classroom (two lines per class, one of boys, one of girls) and stand in straight, orderly lines. This is reinforced through some basic military commands like “Attention” and “At Ease.” There's an opening prayer,** singing of the national anthem, a reflection on an important day in that week (e.g. Mother's day, Flag day, International Water day)***, and announcements.

Formación is run by a different classroom each week. I am part of the group of teachers in charge of helping classes organize their Formación. That means that once every 4 weeks I go to the class a few days before it's their turn and tell them what topic they have to cover. Then it's up to the students to come up with ideas. My role, as it was explained to me, is facilitator, not director. Follow the jump to read about my frustrating but ultimately gratifying experience of facilitating the preparation for Formación with an eighth grade class.

April Birthdays

There were lots of Birithdays in April. Most notable were Hna. Rosario, Karla (a student teacher from Lima), Fabio (a Spanish volunteer at the parish) and my own. Here's a few images from the various celebrations.

Hermana and Karla after taking their traditional bit off the cake.

The cake I made for Karla's birthday party.

Cake for April birthdays at school

Belleza por Todos Lados: Funnel Cloud

Noted with Translation - Anarchist/Momma's Boy Edition

Against all authority...

except my Mother.

Happy Mothers' Day to...

Mary Driscoll, the woman that fought hard to give me life, and taught me to use it well. Not to mention being the one who encouraged me to join JVC and have this experience.

Nancy Hill, the "nice old lady" who keeps me sharp and inspires me to be better every day.

Lorraine Smith, the woman who taught me to cook only the most delicious party food, and who wouldn't accept anything less than my best.

Marlú Copello, my Limeña host mother who welcomed me into this country, kept me well fed, and was always willing to stay up late and help me understand her world.

Julia (whose last name I do not know), my Cusqueña host mother, whose generosity has tuaght me just how much I can improve, and who I really should visit this month.

Thank you all for your love and support from Day 1 to today. I love you all.

Putting my money where my mouth is

Remember back in February when I asked for donations to fund a young woman's college education in Lima? When I asked for your donations, I was waiting for my new credit card to arrive in the mail (because my old one had been eaten by an ATM in Lima). The credit card came about a month ago, but I had shamefully forgotten about the fundraiser. Something reminded me today, so I went to the page to make my $100 donation.

I was happy to see that Lucia registered for pre-university classes* two months ago. First goal reached!

But that's only the first fundraising goal. We're not there yet. Donations have seriously slowed down. Before I donated today, the last donation was made a month ago. As of today, Lucia has $1165 of the $5000 she needs.

At least 3 regular readers donated after my February post. Thank you to Luke (the artist more commonly known as "Dad"), my wonderful Godmother Mary Ann, and my good friend of 15 years Muhan.

This is a chance to make a big differenc ein one person's life. If Red Sox fans can raise 10k to dedicate a bench in Central Park to Big Papi,** then we can raise half that to get a girl through college. Take a minute and go to: https://www.gofundme.com/mep9e2uc

My friend Lali thanks you. I thank you. And most importantly, Lucia thanks you.

*Which she needs "to compensate the lack of quality of the education she received at the shelter"

**I considered donating to that cause too, but the fundraiser was closed because the goal had been reached.

Picking Potatoes

 “Say yes, whatever it is, say yes. And simple as it sounds, that's all the excuse Life needs to grab you by the hands and start to dance.”
-quotation on a bracelet I received for college graduation

“Benjamín, we're going up to the chakra* this Sunday to pick potatoes. Want to come?”

When Kevin was visiting in January, we went to help a neighbor put some fence posts in around his chakra. Kevin pushed me to get more involved in the farming culture here. “See if you can go with people on the weekends or something, take advantage of the harvest season to get involved and build community outside of the Jesuit circle.”

He was right – my main social circle here is the volunteers, nun, and priests who are in Quispicanchi to support the Jesuit mission. But I didn't come here to build community with people who aren't from here, I came to build community with the locals. Building community outside my house is something I've done a lot of, but one can always do a bit more.

I had my friend's advice ringing in my ears, and a pretty clear directive wrapped around my wrist. So I did the obvious thing. I said “Yes.”

Labor Day

Did you know that May 1st was International Workers' Day aka Labor Day in lots of countries? Do you know why it's on May 1st?

Chances are, if you were educated in the US public education system you don't know why Labor Day is celebrated in early May in so many countries. Which is a shame, because the reason is rooted in US history. From wikipedia:

The Haymarket affair (also known as the Haymarket massacre or Haymarket riot) was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on Tuesday May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square^[2] inChicago. It began as a peaceful rally in support of workers striking for an eight-hour day and in reaction to the killing of several workers the previous day by the police. An unknown person threw a dynamite bomb atpolice as they acted to disperse the public meeting. The bomb blast and ensuing gunfire resulted in the deaths of seven police officers and at least four civilians; scores of others were wounded.

In the internationally publicized legal proceedings that followed, eight anarchists were convicted of conspiracy. The evidence was that one of the defendants may have built the bomb, but none of those on trial had thrown it.^[3][4][5][6] Seven were sentenced to death and one to a term of 15 years in prison. The death sentences of two of the defendants were commuted by Illinois governor Richard J. Oglesby to terms of life in prison, and another committed suicide in jail rather than face the gallows. The other four were hanged on November 11, 1887. In 1893, Illinois' new governor John Peter Altgeld pardoned the remaining defendants and criticized the trial.

The Haymarket affair is generally considered significant as the origin of international May Day observances for workers.^[7][8] The site of the incident was designated a Chicago Landmark in 1992,^[9] and a public sculpture was dedicated there in 2004. In addition, the Haymarket Martyrs' Monument at the defendants' burial site in nearby Forest Park was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1997.^[10]

"No single event has influenced the history of labor in Illinois, the United States, and even the world, more than the Chicago Haymarket Affair. It began with a rally on May 4, 1886, but the consequences are still being felt today. Although the rally is included in American history textbooks, very few present the event accurately or point out its significance," according to labor studies professor William J. Adelman.

It's ironic that my students in Peru were commemorating the Haymarket affair during Monday morning meeting when I had never heard of it at their age. It's concerning to think that these students, who hadn't heard of the Holocaust when I mentioned it last week, know more about the history of the US labor movement than most US high school students. My education, while lacking in specifics on the labor movement, taught me to think carefully and critically. I would guess it's not an accident that the Haymarket affair isn't commemorated in the US.

Student Government Elections

The party that wen on to win the election presents their platform.

Student government is a common practice in the United States. It's also a common practice in Peru. But, as with everything, there's a different way to do things. The election process for the student government of FyA 44 was much more involved and interesting than the process we had at Boston Latin. Here's a list of the differences:

Belleza por Todos Lados: Rain at the Ocongate Parish

The First Youth Group Meeting

You see the lack of quotation marks around the work Meeting in the title of this post? That's because I have good news: We had a real youth group meeting last Friday!

On Thursday night my big prayer was basically this

Listen God, you called me here to some work, which includes starting this youth group. I spent the last 2 weeks making announcements in classrooms, working on students during one on ones, and catching some student leaders after school. I done all I can up to this point. When kids come, I've got activities and ideas and I'm good. But this part is up to you. Either the kids come or they don't. So help a brother out and send me some kids so we can get the ball rolling. This is on you.

Fr. James Martin, SJ says that God likes honesty in our prayers. I guess Fr. Martin was right because four students showed up on Friday. None of them were the 6 that showed up last week but they were there. We got to know each other a bit and talked abou tideas for what to do throughout the year. It was good.

God came through, the way God does.