This morning I was a little less stressed knowing I was not really teaching today, plus I also got to sleep in a little later :) We went to our first school, since we had been invited to see their 30th anniversary celebrations. The kids had been practicing their marching the week we were there so they were super excited to show us their skills. But not just show us, but also a judge who had come and would be evaluating their performance. For, the school that had the best march would get to perform on Peru's independence day in front of the president! What an honor. Some of our leaders sat at the judging booth, while the rest of us were given chairs (no one else had them but, though it is so weird to say, we were celebrities) at a prime location. Yet, before this happened we were brought to the backyard and watched as the grade twos danced for us :)
Afterward, we inaugurated the English classroom (previous students from Brock had donated money toward the construction of this building). A champagne bottle had been tied at the entrance and was used in this special ceremony: Nicole was to smash it and as the bottle spun in the bag, champagne would shower down and if you were sprayed with it it is considered good luck! What deeply moved me was that during the introductions to the marching, we had stood for the national anthem of Peru, but afterward, we were all surprised to hear the Canadian anthem as well (it brought tears to my eyes).
All the parents were standing as we sang our anthem with pride. Then the marching commenced (after a few speeches), starting with the youngest classes. Though most were dressed in their school uniform, some kids were dressed as soldiers and nurses and others were part of the band. They were very good! Though we wanted to stay to watch all the grades we had to go to the second school to say goodbye as well and did not have enough time to watch them all. So, we waved goodbye and snuck out as best as we could. On the bus ride to the second school Ashley was teaching us how to sing a toothbrushing/dental hygiene song for our skit. When we arrived we all snuck into a classroom so we could practice our dance moves that coordinated with the song and change into our white t-shirts (the good teeth) and grey t-shirts (for those with cavities). We then made our way outside to the primary kids (where I saw little Alexis once more and gave him a hug). We had toothbrushes and toothpaste handy to donate after the performance.
The kids loved our singing and dancing so much we had an encore performance! Afterward, the second school had a whole goodbye show planned for us which involved singing and traditional dancing (with costumes) and then we heard the story of a young girl who was deaf in one ear and she described that before her father could purchase a hearing aid for her he passed away. She asked if we could help her buy a hearing aid and we were all touched by this story :( We got many hugs and kisses and gave out a ton of high fives and then the kids were off to go home since classes had finished. After this, we were all invited to an upstairs classroom where we shared a meal the teachers had prepared for us (corn and potatoes with a special sauce). After speeches, videos, and gift giving we said our final goodbyes and made a spiral hug and many of us left teary eyed for the bus. We had free time to do some laundry, buy some snacks and facebook/email friends and family before dinner. We were all starting to become super excited about our trip to Cuzco the next morning ... yet that also meant we had to start packing .... unfortunately. After dinner, I had to unpack all of my school supplies we would be donating so I could use the suitcase to check in toiletries for the group. During this time I had one of the best experiences of the trip oddly enough. I needed to get back to put the supplies in, so I made my way over to the kitchen and attempted to ask the ladies in broken Spanish if I could have a bag. They gave me a few garbage bags and I was soon on my way back to the suitcase. Well, as I was placing supplies in the bag I noticed the women had followed me and were peaking around the door frame to see what I was up to. As I lifted the bag, because of the shape of the supplies, it ripped. So I found some canvas bag and to my surprise the ladies all joined in helping me pack the bags with my supplies. I thanked them so much for their help! :) it filled me with a sense of pride in humanity. After unpacking the supplies, I heard Raoul calling us to have our Spanish Lessons. Today, we learned how to barter ;) One line I used frequently was "lo siento solo tengo ..." I only have ... for example 15 soles ($). After our lessons we said goodbye to our amazing teacher and were feeling a lot better about tackling the markets. Then, we met up with Francisco and Viktor who taught us how to Salsa Dance. We were sweating it up for over an hour of dance and having a great time! What great exercise. Then, many of us jumped in the shower and continued packing our backpack (only!) for our three day trip to Cuzco (sweaters and sweatpants were a must Nicole said so that did not make for light packing ...) but I managed to fit everything in. Charissa and I finally got to bed around 12, and wake up time was 1:30. Oh boy! Onward to adventure!
Afterward, we inaugurated the English classroom (previous students from Brock had donated money toward the construction of this building). A champagne bottle had been tied at the entrance and was used in this special ceremony: Nicole was to smash it and as the bottle spun in the bag, champagne would shower down and if you were sprayed with it it is considered good luck! What deeply moved me was that during the introductions to the marching, we had stood for the national anthem of Peru, but afterward, we were all surprised to hear the Canadian anthem as well (it brought tears to my eyes). 
The kids loved our singing and dancing so much we had an encore performance! Afterward, the second school had a whole goodbye show planned for us which involved singing and traditional dancing (with costumes) and then we heard the story of a young girl who was deaf in one ear and she described that before her father could purchase a hearing aid for her he passed away. She asked if we could help her buy a hearing aid and we were all touched by this story :( We got many hugs and kisses and gave out a ton of high fives and then the kids were off to go home since classes had finished. After this, we were all invited to an upstairs classroom where we shared a meal the teachers had prepared for us (corn and potatoes with a special sauce). After speeches, videos, and gift giving we said our final goodbyes and made a spiral hug and many of us left teary eyed for the bus. We had free time to do some laundry, buy some snacks and facebook/email friends and family before dinner. We were all starting to become super excited about our trip to Cuzco the next morning ... yet that also meant we had to start packing .... unfortunately. After dinner, I had to unpack all of my school supplies we would be donating so I could use the suitcase to check in toiletries for the group. During this time I had one of the best experiences of the trip oddly enough. I needed to get back to put the supplies in, so I made my way over to the kitchen and attempted to ask the ladies in broken Spanish if I could have a bag. They gave me a few garbage bags and I was soon on my way back to the suitcase. Well, as I was placing supplies in the bag I noticed the women had followed me and were peaking around the door frame to see what I was up to. As I lifted the bag, because of the shape of the supplies, it ripped. So I found some canvas bag and to my surprise the ladies all joined in helping me pack the bags with my supplies. I thanked them so much for their help! :) it filled me with a sense of pride in humanity. After unpacking the supplies, I heard Raoul calling us to have our Spanish Lessons. Today, we learned how to barter ;) One line I used frequently was "lo siento solo tengo ..." I only have ... for example 15 soles ($). After our lessons we said goodbye to our amazing teacher and were feeling a lot better about tackling the markets. Then, we met up with Francisco and Viktor who taught us how to Salsa Dance. We were sweating it up for over an hour of dance and having a great time! What great exercise. Then, many of us jumped in the shower and continued packing our backpack (only!) for our three day trip to Cuzco (sweaters and sweatpants were a must Nicole said so that did not make for light packing ...) but I managed to fit everything in. Charissa and I finally got to bed around 12, and wake up time was 1:30. Oh boy! Onward to adventure!
