Acknowledging where I started and how far I’ve come

After my beautiful time in Moyobamba, we headed back to Lima to wrap up the last few days of the program. Just as our plane touched down in Lima, I immediately was missing the warmth of Moyobamba. Although it was technically winter in the Amazon too, there was never a cloud in the sky and each day I was joyfully greeted with 70-80 degree weather. Unfortunately, my sandals that I had worn daily in Moyobamba, quickly collected dust as I enveloped myself with a wool sweater and pulled on thick socks to fight the 50 degree cloudy skies of Lima.

Our first full day back, we sat in the noisy Lima traffic and eventually found ourselves at UCV, a university in Lima that specializes in education. After an initial very exuberant ceremony filled with dancers, flowers, and glass plaques with our names on them we headed to some university classrooms. Just like most of the other places and schools in Peru, all of the classrooms were outdoor where as you passed through a hallways you could stick your hand out to the side and feel the rainfall. When we reached the top floor, I automatically knew I was in an elementary teacher program classroom where I was graciously greeted with balloons and flags. Each of us individually received our own poster that was handmade with bright colors, flags, and everything teaching. They even put the New Jersey flag on my poster. It was truly the warmest welcome.

After that, we sat in desks and watched some new teachers demonstrate some lessons. The first group did a puppet theater for animals. The second group talked about ocean pollution and created a hands-on textile center. Another group played phonics bingo and the list went on. As I sat in the desk I had an immediate wave of nostalgia as I remembered exactly what it was like to be in their shoes only a mere 8 years ago. I remember piecing together classroom materials in my college dorm room for my presentation the following day and running to Staples trying to figure out how to laminate papers for my sample lessons. It was so fun to watch them teach full of energy, passion, light and love and it served as a good reminder to me, to never lose my why.

Aside from appreciating their hardwork, I also recognized that I am slowly becoming a more seasoned teacher because I had conducive feedback to give. Things that I could easily predict in a lesson like how a student might get confused with certain wording or how another student might react to this concept or how that visual would actual be extremely confusing when associated with a different sound I found myself wanting to correct. One point of feedback that I felt was a big takeaway for these new teachers was phonics. Of course, as a native English speaker phonics instruction does not come easily, but there were a few sounds or concepts that were taught that to a beginning English learner would have caused confusion. All of the future teachers, were ecstatic to receive any and all feedback and were very grateful for our presence. I was laughing as I had a group of five following me out to my bus asking me questions along the way and voice recorded my answers. It was truly a blast!

Following that, we headed to a Peruvian cultural dinner and dance performance and I was happy to get on the dance floor a few times. I noticed that a lot of the dresses and dances were very similar to dances I had seen in Spain and Bolivia as well. One reoccurring motif I will never tire of as I travel, is truly how similar we all are.

As my time with Fulbright Peru, comes to an end I truly don’t know how to describe how I feel other utter and complete joy and gratitude. What a gift it is to learn and bear witness to the joy of another culture and what an honor it has been to be a participant of Fulbright for Teachers for Global Classrooms. As I move into this upcoming school year, I want to continue to bridge fellowship between the wonderful educators and students I met in Peru and I aspire to continue to create a classroom culture inspired by the people I met in Peru. A space built on warmth, community, and a vibrance for life and learning.