Those that can, do; and those that can't teach; and those that can¡t teach, teach gym.

Hi,







I know that i am still a really rubbish person for not being up to date in terms of blog entrys but here goes the next Mahoosive update so that you can all hear about the amazing things that I have been up to.



The first thing to mention is my project, as it is the main reason for me to stil be here in the Sacred Valley. I am/was(I have now finished) teaching at the main school in Pisac which has some 500 students in the secondary part. I taught on my own with a little bit of help from my peruvian partner teacher, Martha and a lot of help from all the other volunteers. The first week that i went there there weren't any classes becase they hadn't got around to being all organised. I helped them with all their organising and stuff.

Then the next week the classes began. It was an interesting experience and I am very glad that i had bothered to make really good and detailed lesson plans because i needed them. So the first day first lesson. We walk in. The students jump to their feet as if they have been electrocuted. They then do this weird hello thing.
"good morning my dear estudents", says the teacher.
"good morning teacher", chant back the students.
"how are you?" ask Marhta
"fine sank you. and you?" ask the students, probably not knowing why they are saying it.
"I am fine. sit down", says the teacher

That is where the disipline for the lesson ends. The students just flop down on their seatsand start talking like the were doing before the teacher entered the room. So the lesson begins. I tought all the classes pretty much by myself. The level of english of the partner teacher meant that it was best like that and I didn't mind it really it was quite fun.
Tought in the school for two weeks and if i learnt anything from my time their it was this. I do NOT want to be a teacher when i finally have to get a job. I really enjoyedmy time in the school but it would drive me absolutely crazy to teach the same things year after year to kids who don't want to be there and who are bored and playing with their Tazos and Pogs at the back of the classroom.
Yup so that was the next two weeks of my life. I was teaching nearly 500 students all of the time so that really didn't leave me any time to have a life. It also meant that i got quite behind with my journal.
"Naughty Henry. That was the one thing you promised yourself mot to do"
"Be quiet conscience, i already feel guilty enough about the matter."
So what did i do with the very little leisure time that remained to me whilst teaching? I went abroad. Yup, I went to have a weekend hoiday in Bolivia. It was cool fun. Sara, Casely and I went to "Copa, Copacabana" for the weekend. We left straight after Casely finished teaching on the friday and we got back at some ungodly hour on the Monday morning. Teaching that day was painful. On the way back we stopped to change buses for 5 hours in Puno. We went to a Bar and sat and played cards and ate and made a goodbye card for Ashley. It was like a comic book, detailing all "The Death Defying Adventures Of Peru Ashley" and her sidekicks. It was really fun.
Ashley didn't come with us to Bolivia because the government there has decided to hate the Americans by giving them a $130 entry fee. Probably the Americans do the same thing but hey ho.

Yup during the time when I was teaching the worst thing of my trip so far happened: Ashley went home. It was really bad. We all went to the airport togetherand said goodbye and were very sad indeed. Many many tears were shed. Afterwards we decided to drown our sorrows in mountains and mountains of Ceviche (The raw fish thing that is really good) We ate lots and lots of the stuff and drank buckets full of Inca Kola and it seems to have done the trick.
Then i had another week's teaching to do and then it was the end of my time at the Institución Educativa Mixta Bernardo Tambohuasco. (Try saying that with a mouth full of marshmallows)
They were very sweet to me at the end; the eldest kids are split into three classes. They got me loas of presents and things and one class even made me a cake and chicha morada and we had alittle party and talked about England and our princesses. Lots of them now know that they are going to marry a princess and be princes. Look out royal family, here comes the population of Pisac. and they've got marriage on the brain.
So yeah that was a quick summary of what i did in my teaching project.
Next time, the follow up and my free time in the Sacred Valley.