Santa Ana School is new! It has only been in session for a few months. The building and grounds are gorgeous. We received a very warm welcome from the staff and students as they prepared for the Monday ceremonies. Jose Luis told us that every Monday they gather as a school. The program varies each week. Today, we experienced the flag ceremony, the national anthem of Peru and performances that embraced the history of the Chiclayan people. First, was an reenactment of Lord Sipan, then a Marinera Norteña dance, and finally the customary clothing of the Incahuasi was presented. After the ceremony, we went to a secondary classroom where I presented a video from my school and shared a bit about Minnesotan culture. Next, we observed classrooms of both secondary students and elementary students. We even watched a physical education class. One highlight was teaching elementary-aged students a game. I taught them coconut, palm tree, volcano, king. It took a bit to overcome the language barrier, but with the help of Maria Eugenia, they got the gist of it. I noticed a few things while entering the classrooms. First, the class size. Because it's a new school, some elementary classes were only 6 or 8 students. Unfortunately, only one student in each of those classrooms was female. In another room, four out of twelve students were female. Thinking back to they lecture in Lima, I wondered if girls were less likely to be enrolled in private school. Students at Santa Ana take pride in their work, using rulers and carefully jotting notes into their notebooks. They were eager to interact with us and made us feel not only accepted, but admired. I look forward to spending more time with these students! Jose Luis picked us up for lunch. He had his son along too. We went to a restaurant that he chose for the pollo a la brasa. When we arrived, the chef welcomed his tio, and informed us that it was Monday so he was only serving the traditional lentil meal. Apparently, every Monday Peruvians consume lentils to secure wealth. He asked us to come back at dinner time and he would have pollo a la brasa for us.
That evening, we went to a parent teacher meeting. Over sixty families attended! Phil and I presented Jose Luis and Maria Eugenia with the certificate from IREX and friendship lapel pins that displayed both the United States and Peruvian flags. Then, an outside agency led activities to educate parents about how to encourage leadership skills in their children. It was impressive. I appreciated the involvement of the families, and also the opportunity that the adminstration at Santa Ana provided. Check out the formal uniforms that the teachers wore to this event. That was another thing that impressed me. The teachers showed up, and also had handmade thank you cards made by the students to give to their parents. We made it back to the restaurant for the sought after meal. The chef made a delectable pollo a la brasa.
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