Machu Picchu

Entonces en la escala de la tierra he subido 
entre la atroz maraña de las selvas perdidas
hasta ti, Macchu Picchu.
Alta ciudad de piedras escalares,
por fin morada del que lo terrestre
no escondió en las dormidas vestiduras.
En ti, como dos líneas paralelas,
la cuna del relámpago y del hombre
se mecían en un viento de espinas. 

...
Aquí los pies del hombre descansaron de noche
junto a los pies del águila, en las altas guaridas 
carniceras, y en la aurora 
pisaron con los pies del trueno la niebla enrarecida, 
y tocaron las tierras y las piedras 
hasta reconocerlas en la noche o la muerte. *

Pablo Neruda

Alturas de Machu Picchu

It isn't easy to travel to Machu Picchu.  You have to really want it.  Some people go by bus and train, some people make the 4 day hike up the Inca Trail, and some are coming up the backside of the mountain and biking down.  We chose perhaps the least physically strenuous way to find the Inca city, but it was still a lengthy journey, which began when the bus rolled away from our hotel at four o'clock this morning.  It was freezing cold in the van, and it felt like most of the city was still asleep.  The tops of the mountains hid behind clouds, and the only living things we saw for miles were dogs, digging through piles of garbage, looking for their breakfast.  After two hours bumping and winding our way through Peruvian highways, we arrived in the city of Ollantaytambo, a picturesque village with a river rushing through its center--the Urubamba.  It was still dark when we reached Ollantaytambo, though not as pitch black as when we left Cusco two hours before.  Then, we boarded a train, complete with skylights and a MUCH appreciated beverage service, so I sat back and sipped my café con leche (coffee and milk) as I watched the sun come up over the mountains and trees that rushed by the windows.  They played music over the train's speakers, traditional Peruvian flutes that played songs by Abba and Shakira - an oddly fitting juxtaposition as we journeyed toward the ancient city.

We met our guide Fernando at the train stop in Aguas Calientes, at the bottom of the mountain. He gave us tickets and then boarded a bus with us - our third mode of transportation, just to get to one place!  The roads up the mountain were so winding and narrow that when another bus approached, one bus had to back up until the driver could find a place to move out of the way just enough so the other bus could pass.  Finally, we could see it out of our window - Machu Picchu.  I've never seen an ancient city so large and so completely untouched by modernity.  It's almost lucky, in a way, that the city was lost for so long, for so many other precious sights around the world are lost to conquering cultures.  We were able to enjoy a large-scale view of the ruins, thanks to the bus path, and I couldn't wait to be set free to explore all around it.  The sun was completely up by now, and it illuminated not only the ruins, but also the jungle that surrounded it.  We finally got to the top of the mountain and unloaded from the bus, and then we were ushered into the massive world that is Machu Picchu.

We began by taking a tour with Fernando, who gave us some of the history of the city and brought us to some of the important sites within the city.  Then, when we were done with that, we had a few hours to explore the ruins on our own.   After doing some exploring, Hannah and I sat and took in the view of the ruins and the mountains.  It was nice to be able to spend some time relaxing after spending so many days constantly on the go!  Then, it was time to head back down the mountain for lunch.

After lunch, we hurried through the rain to catch our train.  It kept raining as we rode, the drops splashing and fogging up the windows.  We passed rural homes without windows, miles apart from one another, purple corn fields, and Inca ruins.  The train was out of milk, so there was no leche for the cafe, and they handed it to me cold.  I had a sunburn on my face and chest that deepened as we rode.  And yet, I felt privileged as we journeyed back to the hotel.  Privileged for the moments we shared in the ancient city, and for being able to see and be a part of something so amazing.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I'm so honored to have been a part of it. 

--Katie Nuss

*Then on the ladder of the earth I climbed

through the lost jungle’s tortured thicket

up to you, Macchu Picchu. 

High city of laddered stones, 

at last the dwelling of what earth 

never covered in vestments of sleep. 

In you like two lines parallel, 

the cradles of lightning and man 

rocked in a wind of thorns.

...

Here men’s feet rested at night

next to the eagles’ feet, in the ravenous 

high nests, and at dawn 

they stepped with the thunder’s feet onto the thinning mists 

and touched the soil and the stones 

till they knew them come night or death.

Machu Picchu is awesome!

The Machu Picchu stamp on my passport

Ms. Nuss sunbathing on the heights of Machu Picchu

A textile lesson, historical stories & Inca ruins – A day-long venture through the Sacred Valley of the Incas

On this day we had the opportunity to learn much about the rich history of Cusco and Peru. As I was not feeling 100% well I still decided it was a day I could not miss. We began our adventure traveling by bus to each of the towns we were scheduled to visit along the Sacred Valley of the Incas (a narrow valley that stretches along the Urubamba river and connects Cusco with Machu Picchu). Our first stop was the town of Chinchero, where we learned from a native woman the process for making their beautiful textile items. She explained as well as demonstrated the unique process from start to finish; starting with sheering the sheep, cleaning the wool in several hot water bathes using the yucca plant as a cleaner, creating gorgeous thread colors made from native plants and insects and soaking the thread in the hot colored water for intervals of time as well as mixture in stone minerals to allow the colors to stay permanent, and lastly spinning the thread by hand. These women make many beautiful clothes and accessory items such as sweaters, wraps (lliclla, in Quechua), ponchos, scarves, gloves, hats, as well as conventional items such as table runners. After the textile demonstration we had the opportunity to purchase hand-made textile items from the family; I bought a sweater for my father and a hat for my brother. It was extremely neat to see the full process to make all the colorful clothing items. 

Ready to choose

Beautiful handcrafted attire

During our visit in Chinchero, we also toured a beautiful chapel: the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Natividad (Our Lady of the Nativity), originally founded as Nuestra Señora de Monserrat (Our Lady of Monserrat) and built between 1570 and 1607. At this chapel many weddings take place, and I happened to witness two brides walking throughout the gorgeous outside architecture. At the chapel I became nauseated (high altitude illness) and needed to sit and rest. Dr. Aliaga was very kind to stay behind from the group to comfort me. During this time a native elder woman came to me to offer me a natural remedy to help ease my sick feeling. She was so kind to show me the plant called ruda and encouraged me to rub the leaves in my palm and smell the aroma. It surely helped with my nausea and she was so sweet to give me a bag full of the plant for the continuation of my travels throughout the remainder of the day. Sincere kindness and generosity are most definitely the character traits of many of the people I have come into acquaintance with in Peru. This elderly woman is just one of the many stories I have to share telling the sweetness of the people of Peru. To return the generosity to this native woman, I bought a hat from her collection of beautiful handmade hats. 

Throughout the rest of our Sunday journey among the towns and ruins within the Sacred Valley, we ate lunch at a gorgeous Peruvian buffet before traveling to visit the Inca ruins of Ollantaytambo and Pisac. On our bus ride to each destination our fabulous and well historically informed guide, Fernando, explained the many features regarding the area of lands we were going to see as well as the history of the Incas during the 1400’s. I have come to learn the Incas were very smart when it came to farming. They were able to navigate by foot through the Andes using the resources within the land and the mountainous region to build some pretty remarkable agricultural systems for what are today the most breath taking sights. Also, as the story goes, I learned the king was of course the highest in status; it was known that to keep the blood line pure within the king’s family, he would marry his sisters. The king had many wives, along the line of 400, and was the only person who could marry someone from another status, such as the nobles or the Qechwa natives. The king was known to only ask a woman once for marriage, giving her the complete opportunity for her and her family to advance in status or she could decline and the king would allow her to become well educated though no one within her family line would be asked by the king for marriage again. I found the history of the Incas to be extremely fascinating when realizing they were the natives to this land just as the Native Americans were in North America. The Incas were truly remarkable in that the three rules they were governed by were: do not steal, do not lie, and do not be lazy - three golden rules for humanity and death would come to those who were to break them. 

In conclusion, this Sunday venture through Peru’s history and standing to view these remarkable ruins is most certainly unforgettable and the sincere kindness of the native people is completely welcoming and homey. Three words – I love Peru!

--Amanda Cardwell

Waking up in the Andes

When you live in the suburbs, waking up in the morning is often a mundane, quiet experience. You wake up to an alarm clock, and may hear a  bird chirping right outside your bedroom window. Occasionally, the garbage truck will remind you to run outside and put the trash can on the curb. Even in a city the size of Lima, staying in a hotel located on a busy thoroughfare, the early morning sounds were muffled outside our hotel room due to the newer age of the building. Waking up in Cusco, on the other hand, is quite the noisy, cityscape experience. For someone who has only lived in the 'burbs, it was an empathy to finally understand the experience that millions of others have waking up in the middle of a busy city. Cusco has roughly 300,000 people, and the day starts early for seemingly all of them.

Our hotel, Casa Andina, sat on one of the brick streets that feed off the town square, and there was constant foot and car traffic flowing past our balcony situated almost directly over the main entrance to the hotel. Shop owners were opening up their store fronts, some rolling up metal garage doors that covered their entire shop entrance, some taking the actual large wooden doors off the hinges to make more room for customers to come in and out. Others were making deliveries to different businesses, and often yelling for admittance to the business. Cars and carts alike were rolling across the bricks making their way to their daily work. 

With the proximity to the town square, given the age of the city, Casa Andina had been renovated sometime in the last twenty years, with some interesting techniques used to satisfy the modern day traveler. The bathroom was updated with new toilets, pedestal sinks to accommodate the smaller room, and a big shower with a new shower head. The water presser was perfect, but the temperature of the water fluctuated  a bit. As a grumpy morning person, I found the shower dance to be a great way to wake up! If you were paying attention, you could hear when the hot water shut off for a few seconds, and could slide out of the way of the stream of water. After a few seconds of cold water, the hot water would return and you could continue your shower. Simple!

The keys to the rooms were actual keys on a keyring, with a big plastic card engraved with your room number. For those of us that had made several trips to and from our rooms in Lima getting key cards reactivated, the real door keys were a welcome change. The high altitude made climbing the hotel stairs difficult enough without the need to go back downstairs to reactivate a demagnetized key. The most interesting aspect of the room key was its other job - in order to turn the power on in your room, you had to slide the room key into a slot on the wall which activated the electricity to the room! Fascinating!

Despite the relaxing day we had on Friday to get acclimated to the high altitude - Cusco is roughly 11,000 feet above sea level - most of us were feeling the effects of the thinner air and struggled with the simplest tasks, like taking a shower or walking up and down stairs. We had some time built into the agenda to relax during the morning hours, and then headed to our first Cusco excursion to see some local ruins called Saqsaywaman (other spelling includes Sacsaywaman, and Sacsayhuaman). Saqsaywaman is an area of ruins overlooking Cusco that dates back to 900 A.D., originally built by the Killike culture, and expanded by the Incan empire around the 13^th century. The stones used at Saqsaywaman are some of the largest stones used in construction in the Americas, and the construction design has withstood earthquakes to the region for hundreds of years. One thing, though, is the stones had to be moved from the other side of the mountain, so the big question is--how did the do it? The Incas did not use the wheel, so, how did they move those stones from one place to another?

Sacsaywaman

View of the city of Cusco from Sacsaywaman

Once we returned from the ruins, everyone freshened up to spend some time hearing from Ingrid Guzman, the Cusco representative of Tarea, an organization dedicated to research, advocacy, and educational materials production. The group empowers educational partners to work with classroom teachers in an effort to incorporate intercultural education into the classrooms of indigenous people in Peru through four initiatives: Intercultural Bilingual Education, Rural Education, Student Participation, and Local Management of Education. In Cusco alone, there are eight different languages besides Spanish that students may speak upon entering primary school. Tarea trains and equips indigenous language speaking teachers to work with students in preparation for Spanish-speaking classes in the upper levels of primary school. The organization has seen phenomenal success in helping students achieve higher test scores when taking the national exam in fourth grade. You can learn more about Tarea at http://tarea.org.pe/. 

--Jodi Adams

Last day at Carmelitas

Four of us had the privilege of working at Carmelita's for three days while in Lima. We spent time in classrooms seeing multiple subjects and grades being taught. Everyone at Carmelita's was very welcoming, for which we are very grateful.

Becca
The last day at the school was heartwarming. Students made me drawings and origami birds, put on a dance for my class, and even read short stories and poems and allowed me to have a copy of my own. My favorite part of the experience at Carmelitas' was sitting in on a third grade math classroom. Math is my concentration and I thought it was very interesting to find out I knew almost exactly what was happening in the classroom, even with it being in Spanish, due to the teacher's approach and style in her presentation. And of course I didn't leave without getting my wonderful kiddos to throw up their L's!

Ms. Rebecca (Becca) Carroll and Carmelitas students throwing the Cards L!

Math at work

A 5th-year Primary student proudly showing her art

Ms. Carroll and her Carmelitas BFF!

Amanda
Throughout my visit at Carmelitas the students and teachers were very welcoming and I adored all their smiling faces. I had the opportunity to spend some time in a classroom where fourth grade students were working on their final stage of a project based learning. Students studied the topic of the effects of the sun on the skin. The students gathered together in a circle to discuss what information they have collected over the course of their study on this topic. After they shared their thoughts and ideas the teacher explained the expectations for group work while working on their project. It was very fascinating to visit the various groups in the class as they constructed 3D projects on foam boards and created items such as people made. 

Michelle
I loved my time at Carmelitas primary school. On the morning of our last day we were invited to go to a student art gallery with works submitted from every grade pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. I was very impressed by the talent of these students and the generosity we were shown as they guided us through the room. I have learned so much from these students and teachers, not just in the way that they teach, but in the kindness they have shown us in the past three days.

Ms. Heuer and a display of art work at Carmelitas

Cabrina
The Carmelita's primary school has a very dedicated administrative team as well as teachers. There is obviously a lot of collaboration among the teachers at various grade levels and specialists. This was evident by the use of project-based learning approach with a common process followed by each teacher and special performances and presentations by students. As our visit fell the week before their last week of school before their winter holiday/Independence Day, there was a lot going on. Students were rehearsing for a presentation for parents which included musical and dance performances, an art show as well as practicing for a procession to honor Our Lady of Carmen that weekend, and another performance for the following week to celebrate Peru's Independence Day. The school truly tried to find ways to allow students' talents shine. I enjoyed working with students in their conversational English classes, but I mostly appreciated the time talking with teachers and administrators with whom I found much in common. They described their school as a family, and we were accepted and made a part of it in the few days we were there.

Education decentralization, and a school with a zoo

Today started off with two guest speakers at the Universidad del Pacifico.  The first speaker, Karen Ulloa, had talked about the decentralization of the Peruvian school system and it’s major issues and barriers.  While we have learned over the past couple of days of the many challenges and issues in the Peruvian school system; today we got to know more about the levels of government that play a part in the way schools are ran.  Much like America, Peru has a national, regional, and local government that all have different contributions to the way a school is ran. 

             The second speaker, Ms. Marita Palacios, had talked about teacher education and the issues teacher’s face.  In America, we as teachers feel like we are underpaid but after finding out the salary of a public educator in Peru there is not much to complain about in comparison.  Peru bases their salary by month and starting salary for a teacher is the equivalent of $488 a month!  Many teachers are forced to work a second job to support their families.  This is just one of many issued that Peruvian teachers face and is a result in low enrollment for teacher educators in the universities and institutions here in Peru.

             After lunch, we met up with the comparative education group of students at Colegio de la Inmaculada.   This school had a GORGEOUS campus that spanned 29 hectares, which is approximately 72 acres.  On this campus they hold kindergarten up to secondary classes and teach in both English and Spanish.  But this was no ordinary school, when you drive into the school you notice a collection of endangered species and other animals that have been donated to the school.  I am not talking your typical rabbit and fish in the classroom like you may see in American schools.  There were pumas, pygmy goats, jaguars, tortoises, black bears, deer, native birds, vincuna, monkeys, and many more!

                The principal, Rev. Oscar Morelli, SJ, teachers and staff were so welcoming and open to answer all of our questions.   We were gifted with olive oil and marmalade produced by the school staff and Jesuit priests who live on the campus.  They invited us into their classrooms to see the work their students are doing as well as the work they do such as Professional Learning Communities when they collaborate on lessons.  IT was a very interesting experience to compare and contrast American schools to Peruvian schools.  I am excited to visit more schools in the days to come and make more connections.  

--Cathryn Taylor

A school with its own zoo of endangered animals!

Watching tiger

Besitos and warm reception at Carmelitas

Today was a day of meeting wonderful new people and learning new things. When the taxi pulled up to Carmelitas primary school this morning I was still sleepy and ready to go back to bed, but when we entered the school we were met with enthusiasm and open arms, and I was immediately awake and ready for the day.

When we first met the teachers and administrators we were given besitos (welcome kisses), warm smiles, and quickly shown to a fifth grade classroom to gather for morning prayer. In the room the students acted as normal students do anywhere; alive with talking and laughter the room was a typical class. One thing that amazed me was that as several of the students set up for morning prayer they took out matches and lit candles on the floor of the room. To me this shows a known responsibility on the part of the students, and a trusting relationship between them and the faculty. (The students also completely led the morning prayer, which was very impressive to me.) We gathered around in a way that reminded me much of a morning meeting back in America. Although the children also said prayers there was the feeling of community and starting the day together that is wanted in morning meeting. Towards the end, something I really liked was that the students and teachers could put in thoughts and prayers, and the class prayed for it together. This reinforced the feeling of community and I believe there could be a way to do something similar without the religious aspect so it can be done in a public school setting during morning meeting. Something along the lines of volunteers sharing what they are thankful for or concerns they may have, and the class recognizing that. I believe this would create a very open and safe environment. 

After this the U of L students and several teachers from each grade gathered in the library to discuss education in America. The Carmelitas teachers were most interested in how we handle reading and foreign language instruction as they teach completely in English for half of the day. 

I then went on to a second grade class for part of my time, then a first grade class for the rest of the day. The students were wonderful and even though they didn't speak much English (as they were so young) and I don't speak much Spanish, it was great to get to interact with them and see that kids are just kids anywhere you go. The teachers were also very interactive and enthusiastic, which makes the students be as well. Singing, Simon says, and gestures to go along with poems, chants, and songs were my favorite part of the day. The kids learn a lot and are engaged in times like these. 

At the end of the day we spoke a bit more with the faculty about the American and Peruvian school systems and then were able to watch some of the students practice for an upcoming dance performance, which was absolutely amazing. They are so talented and it makes me so happy to have had the opportunity to learn from them and experience this beautiful culture. 

On the walk back to the hotel after our long day we stopped at a fruit stand and tried granadilla, which is kind of gooey with lots of seeds on the inside,  but is so delicious. 

From this day overall I've learned that I'm excited to bring this culture with me into my future class and celebrate our diversity. 

--Michelle Heuer

Poor schools, rich schools and a puppet show

We had another wonderful day in Lima!  The groups split for the first time today, so unfortunately I can only give the perspective from one group, but I'm sure the other group had just as good of a time.  While the others headed to Colegio Nuestra Senora del Carmen (Carmelitas) to work with students, we went to la Universidad de Antonio Ruiz de Montoya to hear a lecture from Martin Vegas, the former Vice Minister of Pedagogical Affairs in the Ministry of Education.

The morning was beautiful, and the classroom we went to had doors flung open wide, so we could feel the breeze and hear the noise from outside during the lecture.  It was wonderful to be able to attend class in the fresh air, and I was reminded of how often my own high school students in the United States want to go outside or open all of the windows.  The classroom has similar technology to what we might see in a typical American classroom - a white board, a projection screen, a mounted projector, desks, etc.  The most notable difference was connection with nature.

We learned an amazing amount from Dr. Vegas.  We discussed compulsary education ages in Peru, and the great disparities in various Peruvian schools and regions.  Dr. Vegas says that in some schools, it's like attending class in a developing country, while in others, it's like attending class in the richest nation in the world.  Rural schools, for example, only have 1 or 2 teachers, and may not meet 5 days a week.  In urban schools, students frequently attend in one of two five-hour shifts, a morning shift and an afternoon shift.  This allows Peru to educate more students with fewer teachers, but does cut short the amount instructional time the students receive.  Though Peruvian parents invest the highest amount of money into the educational system in all of Latin America, students in Peru continue to score near the bottom of standardized exams when compared to other nations within Latin America.

After lunch, we headed to join the group at Carmelitas, and we were able to meet with some of the school's administrators.  The women at Carmelitas were extremely knowledgeable and eager to collaborate.  We shared some ideas regarding language and literacy, and learned about both attending and teaching at Carmelitas, where they currently have their first female principal in the school's history.  The faculty and staff we were able to meet have hearts for education, and for exapanding their student population so they can include students with varying physical, mental, or emotional needs.  At one point, I was pulled out of the meeting and was able to step into a classroom where some very young students were rehearsing a puppet show.  As a theatre teacher, my heart swelled!  It is wonderful to see the arts thriving in any culture or country.  The kids were having a ton of fun, and it was wonderful for me to be able to experience that.  Afterwards, I was able to learn about some of the other theatrical productions they've put on at the school.  They've done some great shows at Carmelitas!

Speaking of the arts, our last stop was to watch a dance rehearsal.  The students were working on a traditional dance for a celebration that will occur in a few weeks at the school.  We saw some remarkable talent!  I took a few pictures, but I don't think they accurately portray how well the kids did.  I loved watching their facial expressions and intricate dance moves, and the costumes were beautiful!  I wish we could be here to see the final product!  Unfortunately, after dinner, it was time to go because we were out of time.  I hope we get to go back soon!

After Carmelitas, we headed to dinner, where I ordered anticuchos, a Peruvian meat dish made from beef heart.  It was really good!  In short, we're having an amazing time here in Peru.  They're going to have a hard time getting me on the airplane when it's time to go home!

--Katie Nuss