Feliz Navidad & próspero año

Hola all, hope this blog post finds you well. I'm now in Lima about to fly out to Central America for a 6 week travel stint over the festive season. Just wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks for all your support and following this blog. These last three months have absolutely flown and I'm so appreciative of all the rich and fulfilling experiences I have gained from Seeds of Hope thus far. I am really looking forward to continuing this work next year when I return in February. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Sally

Quote of the Day - 11 December

"You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice." - Bob Marley

$751...Melbourne Party for a Cause a Raging Success

Last weekend two previous volunteers and ongoing supporters of Seeds of Hope, Farah Bostock and Tanya Aston from Melbourne hosted a Peruvian inspired Christmas fiesta last weekend to raise funds for the nutrition project. It was a raging success!

They managed to raise just over $751. This will go such a long way in helping these 50 Peruvian kids fight malnutrition and get the protein rich food they need to grow healthy and happy bodies and minds. 

The girls got their thinking caps on and came up with some really creative fundraising ideas including a silent auction. This involves people writing their bids down on a piece of paper for items such as bottles of wine and homemade dulce. Apparently some of these items went for $80. Must have been some fierce competition.

Well done ladies can't thankyou enough.

We now are at 35% of our fundraising target.

Mmm dulce biscuits. I wonder how much these went for at the Silent Auction.

Quote of the weekend - 9 December

'A good exercise for the heart is to bend down and help another up' - Anon

Crafty Chico's Clever Christmas Creations

Now how is that for alteration!

Long story short. I was looking for some crafty Christmas present ideas for the kids to make for their parents and I stumbled on this gem.

http://www.kidspot.com.au/Christmas-Christmas-crafts-Christmas-lanterns+3710+117+article.htm

So between making Christmas cards and these lanterns I think we're all set for tomorrow afternoon. The thing I love about these lanterns is that I get use all the toilet rolls that have been collecting dust in my room over the past few months.

This will definitely make some more space in mi dormitorio as well as reinforce to kids creative ways they can recycle.

Courtesy of http://www.kidspot.com.au/

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We had a lot of fun with the kids making Christmas decorations last Friday. While listening to some Navidad tunes we made a Christmas tree from green cut outs of the niño's hands. Of course we then had to make come ornaments for the tree. 

We decorated the room with Christmas paper chains and afterwards the kids put their creative skills to the test by creating their very own unique snowflake design.

For more photos head to the Seeds of Hope Facebook profile page 

Quote of the Day - 7 December

'When you learn, teach. When you get, give' - Maya Angelou

Quote of the day - 5 December

'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.' - Sir Winston Churchill

A little something to say a BIG thankyou for your support

Donate here

Quote of the weekend - 24 November

'Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice saying "I will try again tomorrow'. - Unknown

DIY drink carton wallets - the video

Check out this video that I just uploaded from the 'wallet making workshop' that we ran with the little niños. 

A big thankyou to Lucy Greaves another volunteer at Seeds of Hope who showed us how easy it can be to make these groovy little examples of up-cycling.  

Breathing life in to junk

Last Friday Garance, another primary school teacher and I ran a puppet making workshop with eight of the little ninos using recyclable materials like plastic water bottles, toilet rolls, bottle lids , straws, yoghurt tubs etc.

We really wanted to give the kids a chance to use their imagination and not just copy or recreate a previously conceived idea. This practice seems to be fairly common among the kids here. For a lot of them their concept of drawing is tracing from a colouring book. 

We wanted to foster innovation and creativity, convincing the kids that anything could be a puppet and that recycling can be really fun.

To prepare for this activity we assembled all the recyclable materials on a table at the back of the room and on the white board we wrote a short introduction on what a puppet was and questions for the kids to think about, in reference to their puppet's personaility.

Shy or boisterous
Young or old
Fast or slow
Polite or rude

After a quick discussion about what a puppet was I demonstrated with a rolled up newspaper that anything could be a puppet. Folding the bottom and top ends to make the head and the tail, I illustrated  how different personailities can be conveyed through different puppet motion and voice. For example an older puppet moves more slowly and utters in a croaky hoarse voice. 

We then asked the children to slowly 'wake up their hand' and allow it to adopt its own personality. There was no prescribed way to do this, so long as each of kids invented a unique persona for their hand. We then all took turns to describe some of the key traits of our new puppets.

Before starting to construct their 'títeres' (spanish for puppet) we needed to brainstorm what different body parts the recyclable materials could be and how you could join them together. We were then all set.


Evaluation
Overall the workshop was a great success. Next week we will be repeating this workshop with some changes outlined below.

- We need to stress to the kids the importance of not wasting resources and planning ahead.

- Sometimes I think giving kids less choice enhances their creativity therefore this week we will limit their options and ask them to make some sort of animals rather than a person or animal. That way we could incorporate an environmental education theme and talk about the needs of animals such as clean water, regular food supply, space to build them home etc. By asking the children to create an animal you can also ask them to be more specific about where this animal lives i.e. in the ocean, in a forest, in a desert and so on. We found that a lot of the previous puppets like to eat chicken and rice so by having puppets living in different environments hopefully this will mean they eat a variety of diets as well.

Photos

Quote of the day - 22 November

'People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to choose carefully'. Steve Jobs

Quote of the weekend - 18 November

"If you love what you do every day you never have to work another day in your life" – Confucius

Donate here

When the wave ripples back over you

A very kind friend of mine who is particularly clever with his words commented the other day about how it is the best feeling when you start a positive wave and it then ripples back over you. 

I've felt this warm wave of generosity this week in response to my efforts to raise funds for the Seeds of Hope nutrition project. I've had some really encouraging feedback and  very charitable offers of support in order to promote the cause and collect donations. 

A big shout out to Luke Grealy, Farah Bostock, Tanya Aston and Loren Plummer. Muchas gracias chicos y chicas for all your help. It is very much appreciated by everyone here at Seeds especially the kids.

If you'd like to know more information check out this flyer. Feel free to share it with you friends. 

Quote of the day - 9 November

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, the just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while” – Steve Jobs

This festive season Party for a cause

Are you hosting a Christmas party this year? Is your workplace throwing a Christmas soiree? 

Whether it be a small or big get together, why not party for a cause and collect money to help 50 Peruvian kids, doing it tough, receive the proteins and nutrients they need to reach their full potential.

Once you have tallied all the donated funds you can then go to...

http://seedsnutritionproject.chipin.com/fighting-malnutrition-at-seeds-of-hope-peru-huaraz

Check out the Facebook event at https://www.facebook.com/events/435784236482249/


Muchas gracias & Feliz Navidad!
Sally xo

This Christmas give a child the gift of nutrition

According to UNICEF in the Ancash region of Peru where Seeds of Hope is located 1 in 4 children suffer from chronic malnutrition. 

Image courtesy Kellie O'Donnell http://tllg.net/oBrq

How can any child have a decent shot at success if they lack the basic nutrients required to develop strong healthy bodies and minds?

At Seeds, the impact of malnutrition is clear, the children suffer from stunted growth, rotting teeth, weak bones and lack concentration while studying. When I first started working at Seeds I was surprised to hear how old some of the kids were because looking at them you'd easily think they were 4-5 years younger.

The daily meals we currently provide include eggs, quinoa (a protein rich grain), oatmeal and occasionally fruit. While these daily snacks are beneficial, they are not enough to meet the dietary needs of these budding young students.    

We want to provide the children with other essential food items including red meat, yoghurt, milk, chicken and cheese. In order to achieve this for a 12 month period we need to raise $4000 (US). That's where you can help! 

This Christmas help Seeds of Hope fight malnutrition and give 50 Peruvian kids doing it tough, the proteins and vitamins they need to reach their full potential. 

You're just one small click away from making a big difference.

How will the money be spent?

Food	Quantity	Cost per month ($US)
Yoghurt (litres)	48	83.08
Cooking oil (litres)	2	6.15
Bread (buns)	384	18.46
Chicken (kgs)	28	80.77
Salt (kgs)	1	0.38
Mayonaise (kgs)	4	15.38
Beef (kgs)	19.2	73.85
Milk (cans)	48	49.85
Transport of food	-	4.62
Total for one month ($US) 332.54
Total for one year ($US) 3990.46

Quote of the day - 7 November

"Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great."- Orison Swett Marden

Quote of the day - 5 November

“Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that’s easy. What’s hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity” – Charles Mingus

Omprakash

Half the trouble in volunteering overseas is finding a suitable place to offer your help.

You want somewhere that's safe, well organised, affordable and where you can make a difference.

Of course there are placement agencies but take it from me - someone who has spent many an hour looking for a middle man that offers a reasonable deal. They exist but are rare and even if they're budget friendly and provide a quality volunteering experience they might not have projects in the locations that you want to travel to.

That's where Omprakash can help

This website does not sell volunteer “programs” instead it enables you to connect with Omprakash Partners that can benefit from your help, and then let the Partner determine if, when, and how you can serve them. This free database offers a comprehensive listing of worthwhile volunteering opportunities. As well as past volunteer reviews and journals, resources you can use while volunteering y muchas mas.

So if you're thinking about volunteering overseas make sure you check out this little gem. I highly recommend it, after all it was this website that made me decide Seeds of Hope was the place for me.

DIY drink carton wallets

We are now on the hunt for empty drink cartons. Lucy who arrived a few days ago, who had volunteered here previously has kindly offered to run a DIY wallet making workshop using recycled drink cartons for the little kids this coming Friday afternoon. She showed us her own wallet that she had made using the same technique and it looks pretty nifty. It'll be great to teach the kids, maybe they can make a Christmas gift for their family or friends or perhaps they could try and sell a few. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I'm hoping to be able to film some of the workshop so you folks at home can give it a try.

Quote of the weekend - 3 November

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try” – Dr. Seuss

Happy Halloween – the little green bug has come out to play

Lying in bed in the dark typing, trying to be semi productive in my gastro plagued state.  At the moment it’s not too bad but this morning…ay  ay  ay  I haven’t had cramps like that for a while. It’s times like these that you wish you were at home in the comfort of your own bathroom. It helps though that there is another volunteer in a similar state, actually she’s had it a lot worse than me but she was kind enough to play nurse for me this morning fetching me some hydralyte. I’m super excited that my friend Rachel from Australia is coming to visit in a few weeks’ time and even more excited that she is bringing an extra stock of hydralyte. Being the day after Halloween today it is a public holiday here. The original plan for today was to go to the cemetery which apparently is a popular destination for the locals on the 1st November.  One of the other volunteers overheard the kids at school yesterday talking about what they were going to sell at the cemetery today. Apparently some of the kids bring buckets of water to sell to people putting flowers on the grave stones of their deceased family or friends.

Quote of the day - 31 October

“You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club” – Jack London

This quote is quite appropriate today as I have little inspiration and motivation to do much after being attacked by the blessed gastro bug. But we will prevail!

Home away from home

This afternoon when greeting the friendly familiar faces at the supermarket around the corner from our apartment I felt a glowing feeling of content. This place is starting to feel like home. Of course I miss Australia and all my family and friends. Yet with modern technology such as skype Oz doesn’t seem that far away.  Should I ever feel homesick the best cure is to spend time with the little kids in the afternoon. Little Andielo made my day today when he ran up to me, singing a warm up song I always use when leading our Friday vocal workshops. As he gave me a big hug I thought there was no place I'd rather be.

Who doesn't love a good sing along

This week I've been concentrating on making a series of short Christmas videos that will be used to promote the scarves, beanies and leg warmers that Seeds will sell as Christmas gifts in order to raise much needed funds.

I was short of a soundtrack for the lastest video I was working on so with Yuri and Zach on the guitar and Garance and I as lead vocals we practiced  Feliz Navidad with the little kids. It was a great opportunity for them to become familiar with some more English words, as they belted out the lyrics 'I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas....from the bottom of my heart'.  Looking around the classroom everyone was smiling, singing along and it reminded me how unifying and uplifting music can be.

Back at the house I played through the audio we had recorded from the sing along - it was just what I needed.

Stay tuned for the first Christmas video which should be on the net in the next week or two.

Camping

This time last week I was recuperating from a weekend of walking, rock climbing, smoke inhalation, freezing temperatures and sleeping on a wooden floor. No it wasn't all that bad. Despite being physically taxing the stunning scenery and great company made it all worth while.

Bright and early Saturday morning some of the older kids from school arrived one by one at our apartment where we divided up all the food and supplies in our backpacks. We then all jumped in a combi and drove about an hour and a half out of town up into the mountains. Once we stopped we realised that we had been dropped off at the wrong spot. This meant that the park rangers wanted to charge us more and we had a lot longer and harder walk in front of us. However the longer harder journey made for a greater sense of satisfaction when we finally got to our camping spot which was a bunch of old abandoned houses next to a gorgeous lake called Laguna Shallap.

Quote of the weekend - 28 October

“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people” – Leo Burnett

Priceless

Yesterday we filmed a segment of the 'nutrition video' and I ask one of the boys to say a few lines in English as a way of describing what the video was about. We practiced and practiced until he could say the script on his own with confidence. I was experimenting with ways to make practicing less repetitive, so we sang some of the lines together making silly voices, high pitch, low pitch, singing fast and singing really slowly.

It was then filming time. I threw him in the deep end a little as I don't think he realised I wanted him to say his part in front of all the rest of the students. I couldn't quite muster the words in spanish to explain this. To his credit he handled the situation brilliantly as I knew he would. He did such a great job in front of the camera. Everyone was congratulating him! He started to become overwhelmed with all the praise and attention and had tears welling up in his eyes. It was only later that I truly contemplated the significance of this moment. It is times like these that confirm why I'm here doing what I'm doing. It makes all the sweat, blood and tears in getting to South America all worth while. You can never get tired of memories like these. 

Discovery

Another new video for Seeds featuring the quote. "Seek the wisdom of the ages, but look at the world through the eyes of a child" - Ron Wild

Latest spanish blooper

So I was trying to say that I was hungry but instead I said some weird form of 'I need men' or 'I am man'. Not quite the message that I was trying to get across. Another priceless example of when you say something very similar to what you intended to but what you end up saying has an entirely different meaning. I said "Tengo hombre" when actually what I should have said is "Tengo hambre".

Another new video for Seeds

¿Que hora es? It's playtime. After working hard finishing their homework the niños from Seeds took a well deserved play break.

Spinning, jumping, chasing and laughing it makes you want to be a kid again. The great thing about these chicos is that they know how to make their own fun. No computer games or high tech gizmos necessary, just a little initiative and plenty of energy.

Dancing in rain fire

One of the craziest things I've seen in a long time. Last Saturday night we traveled to a near by village at around 10pm where we trekked up this massive hill and stumbled upon two tall towers constructed with bamboo and packed to the max with fireworks. This was in celebration of a saint's day. Sorry I can't remember the particular saint but I do remember dancing around these towers which were raining fire and sparks. It was nuts. A couple of times I got a amber or two down the back of my shirt but it was all good. So much fun dancing with the locals and getting more of a glimpse into the local culture.

3 life lessons learnt while biking down a mountain

So last Saturday we embarked on a rugged mountain biking adventure. Well not so rugged,  for most of the trip we cycled down the main road.

Our journey began with six of us jumping into a taxi fit for five people including the driver. We had our bikes strapped to the top of the car with a rope which Zach (another volunteer at Seeds) was giving the grand responsibility of holding. We were all set. Yet in hindsight there were perhaps a few things we should have checked before we began our journey arriba.

First life lesson...ensure that you have a full understanding off all the details
I think in all the excitement of gearing up for our biking bonanza we forgot to verify some fairly important details. One key piece of information we probably should of confirmed before we left was the exact track in which we were meant to cycle down to get back to Huaraz. When we got to our starting destination the taxi driver had pointed out to Zach the track he thought we were meant to go down. But we soon discovered that this track "wasn't in the brochure". It resembled more of a winding sheep trail than a cycling track. So we quickly back tracked up the mountain where we made some phone calls to see what the next step in our master plan was. After confirming that we were to travel down the main road we also learnt that the taxi that dropped us off was meant to stick around and follow us down in case anything happened. Well that part of the plan didn't quite work out. Regardless we started our decent towards Huaraz.

Second life lesson...check equipment before you depart. 
Half way down trouble struck when Carmen who was visiting from Lima discovered that her back tyre was flat. I swapped with her for a little while and tried to ride her bike to a spot where we could safely stop and attempt to repair the damage. I don't know if it was the flat tyre or just the seat but that bike was not comfortable (my bottom paid for it later, every time I went to sit down). Raff (who was visiting from Canada) came to the rescue with his bike pump and all seemed to be fine and dandy until he pull the pump off the tyre and the valve came with it. Whoooosh went all the air Raff had just worked hard to pump into the tyre. AHHHH. What were we to do?

We flagged down a maxi taxi and to our surprise inside was two other guys from the same hostel where we borrowed the bikes from. They were also meant to be biking that day but both of their bikes were broken so they were making their way back home. We explained our situation and it turns out that one of them - Ashley is a mechanic and a bike enthusiast. He patched up Carmen's bike in no time and we were off again.

Third life lesson...always wear sunscreen
I had put on sunscreen before I left home but obviously not enough as I think the sun burned through several layers of skin on the back of my legs. I have some very attractive tan marks now thanks to my shorts and the knee pads I was wearing.Not to mention the lovely pealing that comes hand in hand with a bad skin burn.

All in all we had a great time, the fresh mountain air, the gorgeous snow capped peak vistas and some good stories to tell the grand kids in time to come :)

Taking a well deserved break while the boys fix Carmen's bike.

The boys fixing the bike.

Say queso

Uploading video in a developing country

I know I'm probably stating the obvious but producing videos in a developing country does come with its difficulties.

I'm sitting in Cafe Aldino trying to upload the latest video I produced for Seeds and am growing increasingly frustrated at the Internet crashing yet again. It seems to be particularly erratic today. Just part & parcel of trying to upload videos to the net in a developing country I suppose. In the meantime I type my blog posts that I'll update later or maybe practice a little Spanish.

Ah yes we're back online... fingers crossed it doesn't crash in the next 24 minutes & 53 seconds.

Quote of the weekend - 14 October

“If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.” 
- C.S. Lewis

Guinea pig mmm delicioso

Losiento amigos, I haven't posted for nearly a week now.

I'll give you the highlights of the last week one post at a time.Starting with eating guinea pig. Yes I did it. Last Saturday we sat down to a lovely decorated table at the school where Willy another Peruvian volunteer and Madie the volunteer coordinator had cooked up a delectable feast of guinea pig, potatoes and sauce.

I'll be honest with you. I wasn't particularly looking forward to this meal. It's not like us Aussies make a habit out of eating animals that we usually consider as pets. But I was willing to give it a go, which I did. When I put the idea of eating a cute furry little creature out of my head it was actually quite nice. But then some of the others started eating the head and one even tucked into the brain. It was at this point that I'd had enough.

It was a good experience but I don't know if I'd rush back to eat some cuy again anytime soon.

Didn't you're mother ever teach you not to play with your food  Jacob?

Quote of the day - 12 October

Children are one third of our population and all of our future - Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981

Quote of the day - 11 October

"Everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid" - Albert Einstein

Protests, protests and more protests

In the last few days there have been some fairly major protests. It appears that at the moment there are three separate groups that are not happy. Firstly university students because their university is being privatised and then miners and teachers, why I'm not sure. Most likely to do with pay or work conditions.

I heard that a few weeks ago that there was a death at a mine about half an hour drive away during a protest blocking its entrance.

The teachers have been on strike for the last few weeks, which means that many of the kids at Seeds don't haven't been going to school  and have no homework. Consequently it's up to us to come up with activities for them which mostly surround English or Maths as they are the easiest to explain and correct.

On Thursday I stayed home most of the day video editing and I heard a protest coming down our street. See below for a short video. You can see in the foreground a guy pulling down his jeans perhaps to show his friends where he got hit or injured by something.

When the others got home from school they said that they had to dodge through the protestors and it got a little hairy. Novaplaza a supermarket near by and many of the other shops had all closed as to prevent damage to their property.

Apparently there have been times when protestors have taken tear gas and thrown them into near by stores.

On Friday morning while on a mission to find a photocopy shop that was able to photocopy a whole book of English worksheets I walked through a massive congregation of police all in their riot gear. So I thought best to keep on walking. I notice that some of them had large rifles and I wondered if this was to fire tear gas or rubber bullets. Needless to say I didn't stick around to find out.

On the way back home from school we went the scenic tour way back to the apartment to avoid the teacher protest coming down the main street. When the cost was clear and we got close to our street we had noticed that the protestors had placed large rocks on the streets to stop traffic, another way to make their point.

Despite all these protests I still feel very safe in Huaraz. You just have to be smart about it and avoid them where you can.

Everyone is an Artist

I'm listening to John Mayer, "Why Georgia" and a certain line of the chorus jumps out at me. "Am I living it right". It's something I think we all ask ourselves from time to time. Am I making the right choices? Am I making the most of what I have? This leads me to consider my career trajectory and where I want it to lead. Considering it's arts programs for disadvantaged kids that I want to facilitate I start to second guess my choices. Should I have studied to be a Music, Drama or Visual Arts teacher instead of my initial Bachelor of Science Dip Ed.

But I quickly squash this heckling doubt with the knowledge that I am living proof that anybody can use the arts to help benefit others. I am an educator that uses the arts to help convey key information or to gather important stories from participants. I honestly believe that you don't have to be the next Picasso to incorporate drawing into your education program, the next pop sensation to break out into song mid session or a theatre graduate to infuse drama into your next lesson. We need to teach kids and ourselves that the arts are accessible and enriching for everyone. We should all  feel more than capable and welcome to have a go.

Don't get me wrong to bring more credibility to your next big art project it would be great to host a type of artist in residence program where you could invite a relevant artist/s along to help guide the kids in their work. However who's to say you should wait around for the next big art project to use the arts as a teaching tool. Why not get the kids to make a sound orchestra where groups of 3-4 come up with their own sound and then elect a conductor to stand out the front to start, stop, soften and increase the volume of the relevant noises each group created. These noises might surround a certain theme like transport e.g. 'choo choo' for a train or 'honk honk' for a car. Maybe it's animals you're looking at. There are a whole host of sounds the kids could come up with, when considering animals. A simple drawing activity like 'Mr Squiggle' might tickle your fancy. If students are learning new numbers or letters you can ask them to create a drawing out of a particular number or letter they've been learning. See what happens when you give them a chance to get creative whilst familiarising themselves with the new script.

On Friday when I arrived at school in the afternoon the little kids were asking to do the vocal warm up I ran with them last week before we sang the nutrition song that I have been blogging about. Now I've participated in one or two music education professional development seminars, I've worked as a performing arts specialist primary teacher and used music while working as a museum education officer however I never studied music at university. Truth be told I can't even read music or play a musical instrument. This didn't stop me a week ago from making up a vocal warm up of nonsensical sounds that could transverse language barriers and engage a room full of kids .

So my advice take a note from Albert Einstein's book when he said "Imagination is more important than knowledge"

Whether you work in a school, library, museum, zoo wherever - don't be afraid to be an artist and in turn inspire your students to be artists.

Quote of the long weekend - 7 October

"Imagination is more important than knowledge"- Albert Einstein

So apparently I am either salt or I should leave

It came to my attention recently that my name is the past tense version of the verb 'to leave'. I was already aware that 'Sal' meant salt in spanish, but 'to leave' me no gusta. Apparently the kids have been giggling to themselves saying Professora Sal which makes me smile.

What does your name mean in Spanish or another language?

First video is online

Check out the first video I've recorded and edited for Seeds , a short trailer promoting an upcoming nutrition video that promotes the importance of eating a varied diet.

72% and counting

72% of my first video for Seeds has been uploaded. It's a slow process but while I wait I take the opportunity to do some more blogging and have some lunch at Andino's which has free wifi. The first video is a promotional trailer for an upcoming nutrition video that is based on a song we taught the kids - promoting the importance of eating a variety of foods.

It's a full house

It's a full house at the volunteer apartment at the moment, which is great. We have two visitors who are here just for a few days one from Lima one from Montreal, Canada. An American couple arrived a couple of days ago, after taking two overnight buses from Ecuador. They must have been knackered, not to mention a little dizzy from the altitude here. There is also a primary teaching graduate from Belgium who arrived about a week ago another american guy, the founder of Seeds Yuri (Peruvian), Madie the volunteer coordinator (Canadian) and me.

The last couple of nights have been great fun, cooking dinner together, eating, drinking and meeting other mutual friends. It's interesting to listen to the chorus of different languages - french, english and spanish. Me I've taken to speaking Spanglish while my Spanish gets a little better bit by bit (poco, poco).

Last night was great fun. We started out at our place then went out for Chuchuguasi or Chuchuasi there's a few different ways to spell it. This is the "medicinal" drink that is very popular in Peru. I say medicinal loosely because it's just a cheap drink that has a lot of alcohol in it. While standing around chatting Willy one of the other volunteers who went to Seeds himself offered to cook me some guniea pig. I graciously declined. Afterwards we had dinner and then kept kicking on at the discoteca where we carved up the dance floor. Must admit I'm a little on the tired side today but it was well worth it.

Quote of the day - 5 October

"I failed my way to success" - Thomas Edison

Can you learn through the arts quietly?

My 'think tank' was running a little dry today when I was working with one of the older boys in the morning session at school. I was trying to teach him the verb "to be" in English which is called "ser" and "estar" in Spanish. The operative word being trying cause he just wasn't interested. How do I know cause he said, "estoy aburrido" aka I am bored. I tried to make it interesting - choosing sports as a topic cause he looked like a pretty sporty kid to me. I also got up and starting doing actions, asking him to describe what I was doing e.g. you are walking, you are running blah blah blah. This worked for a little while.

Then we played hangman with the various new words that we  had learnt, which again was okay for a while but by then I couldn't think of anymore fresh ideas and he couldn't find the motivation to learn anything else.

Obviously I felt a little disheartened by this but two good things happened afterwards that lifted my spirits.

- Kellio one of the other boys then sat down next to me and was keen to learn estar in English. Consequently we had a great time creating different sentences using I am, he is, she is, we are etc.

- I then went to spanish class where my professora (teacher) Carol, gave me a really good idea. I had been going about this all the wrong way. Art is my thing why don't I use it more? Before, I thought anything art wise would be too loud or chaotic for the work sessions at school. It's important that during these sessions that we don't disturb the other students. However - suppose I was to use some song lyrics from a popular song in Peru that is sung in English. We could quietly sing this together and translate the words. 

This lead me to the question - art type activities are often thought as being too dynamic for "quiet" work but surely there are some such activities that can be completed in a tranquil working environment. 

So this is my new quest, to bring in the art but not the chaos/noise into my teaching strategies. I'll let you know how I go.

Top 10 hits in Latin America

I can speak in the past

You don't know how excited I am to be able to talk about the past in Spanish. Up until now I've really only been able to talk in the present or a little bit in the future. I felt like I made a big leap forward in my quest to become fluent in what is a beautiful but at times challenging language.

Quote of the day - 2 October

“If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced” – Vincent Van Gogh

It's 2am & there are still fireworks going off

It's 2am & there are still fireworks going off, they're so loud but I don't really mind. You tend to get accustomed to such noises after a while & besides I had a 4 hr sleep this afternoon so I've still got some more juice in the tank.

So I'm going to take this opportunity to talk more about the movies and bbq with the kids today.

I really like the point system that Seeds uses. Every day the kids are given a number of points out of 5 depending on if they have done things such as say the magic word ie please & thankyou, concentrate on their work, respect each other & the teachers etc. The top 30 point winners get to go on excursions. This week instead of travelling somewhere it was decided to stay at school and watch videos and have a bbq. The videos included educational films & the latest 'Spider Man'. This was very interesting to watch in Spanish. I really enjoyed the environmental education video that was based on the Midnight Oil song 'Beds are burning' - it was all sung in Spanish of course but it made me a little patriotic. I think there was a similar environmental campaign back home a few years back.

My favorite moment of the day was sitting watching 'Spider Man' with little Emanuel sitting on my knee playing with my fingers and Elvis behind me leaning on my shoulder. The kids are so affectionate here & it's so nice to think that by giving them a hug or sitting them on your knee that you may be making them feel as special as they make you feel. 

After the movie was over we had a bbq out the back. It was a great day for it and was a good opportunity to sit, eat and spend time together. There really is a wonderful family atmosphere here.

Cheer cheer the red and the white

Apologies chicos y chicas for the lack of blogging yesterday, it turned out to be a particularly busy.

Here's the wrap up
- the morning was same as usual helping the kids with their homework. I worked with Lucy who wanted some help with her English so I took to one of my favorite teaching methods - cutting out words and getting the student/s to rearrange them into a grammatically correct sentence. I focused on the sentence structure I am, you are, they are, we are, you all are...etc, cause it's very similar to the verb estar in spanish so therefore easy to compare the two languages. Lucy lapped it up which was rewarding to see.

- At lunch time we went to the markets in preparation for the BBQ we had today at the school. When waiting at the butcher for some burger mince I couldn't help but feel a little sad for the Guinea pigs sitting quietly in a great big woven bag ready to meet their maker. I'm yet to try this Peruvian delicacy.

-  In the afternoon we started filming our Nutrition video, recording the kids singing a specially crafted song that emphasises the importance of eating a variety of food. They sounded FANTASTIC. This footage along with pictures of the kids holding various signs should be enough for me to put it all together.

- Last night after Spanish Class we went for a Chuchuhuasi a famous alcoholic drink in Peru that is meant to have many medicinal benefits but I'm thinking it's the alcohol content and the fact that it's reasonably cheap that makes it so popular. It kind of reminded me of mulled wine but with a lot more lime and herbs.

- After our Chuchuhuasi we felt in the mood to keep kicking on and went to a bar in 'Gringo square' ie a whole bunch of bars, restaurants that Gringos tend to hang out in. I was keen to see how my Swannies were going in the AFL grand final so while salsa dancing and chatting to the locals at the bar about AFL, I kept checking the score. To my delight we won!!!!!! Woohoo. Cheer cheer the red and the white.

Ciao

Quote of the weekend - 30 September

“Have no fear of perfection, you’ll never reach it” – Salvador Dali

Quote of the day - 26 September

“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” – Pablo Picasso

My ideal lunch spot

I am sitting upstairs at Cafe Andino, it's sunny out, I have a beautiful view of the snow capped Andes in the distance, great internet connection, a pot of English Breakfast tea with milk and sugar as well as lunch on the way - I'm all set. Life is good.

Although this is a bit of a Gringo (foreigner) hang out I have decided that this will be my lunch spot where I can blog, study Spanish and help out Seeds with some internet research.

Today I'm looking for organisations that can help charities like Seeds raise money to support the great work that they do.

I was looking at websites like Everyday Hero but they charge a 6.5% administration fee plus a payment processing fee depending on how the donor pays. Entonces (so) I'm really looking for a similar organisation without all the fees. I did find this link which looked okay but it was written back in February 2011 so I'm sure there is a more recent list. - Top ten crowdsourced funding platforms
If you have any ideas please give us a shout!

Other points of interest
-  last night my house mate Jacob had a bout of serious gastro  -the poor guy. So I am being extra careful to steer clear of the dreaded tummy bug.
- another protest this morning in our street, mind you it didn't last for long. According to my spanish teacher there was a protest in one of the mines about 15 minutes out of town and one person was killed. Needless to say I'm very wary of protests.
- I feel like I'm getting into a bit of a routine now which is great considering I've only been here for a few days.
- During the day there is continually loud bangs in the distance. I have a feeling that these are some kind of fireworks used to celebrate the start of spring. The other day I saw a class of children and their teachers in a street parade. Pamela one of the other volunteers explained that this is common to celebrate La fiesta de Primavera (the festival of Spring, I think that's what it is called).
- The kids are loving the English worksheets that I bought from home that include things like food, family, about oneself, clothes and muchos mas (much more). The only thing is, I can't copy enough to keep up with the demand.
- There are still a few kids who aren't going to school at the moment because their teachers are on strike. This stirke has lasted for about two weeks and I think they went on strike before this as well. Consequently it's up to us to make sure that they have at least some homework to do. I usually give them either English or Maths tarea (homework) hence these are really the only two subjects that I can explain to the kids with my limited spanish.


Ah my lunch has just arrived. Mmmm delicioso! Chicken and veggie stirfry with sesame seeds yum.

Hasta mañana

Quote of the day - 25 September

”Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” - Albert Einstein 

A sneak peek...

Hola chicos y chicas. ¿Qué tal?
It's hard to believe that I have been here for only a few days, it feels like I've been here for a lot longer than that. A good sign I'm sure.
Everyday I feel like I can communicate better with the kids, even though I am speaking the equivalent of pigeon English.
So today apart from helping the kids with their homework we continued taking photos of them holding signs with words such as necesito (necessary), me gusta (I like) and quiero (I want). This is all  in preparation for our new video promoting the importance of eating a variety of foods from different food groups.
Here's a sneak peek.