jojo vs Peru: December 2011

So my time in Peru is quickly coming to an end. Its only a month and a half until I leave and I´m feeling kind of nervous about it. On the one hand I know that I need to go back and make a step towards having a career. On the other hand I can´t imagine leaving because life here is so simple and easy and I´ve made a great bunch of friends amongst the staff, volunteers and kids. Plus, everything that happens here feels like an adventure.
For example; wake up and have breakfast outdoors looking out at sand dunes, go to work downstairs, teaching 3 little Peruvian boys who call you Tia Joo, have lunch which may be something delicious or chicken feet/ cow stomach soup/ mystery meat, take homework class problems, problems, more about this later, chill in the afternoon play with kids/ watch movies with mates/ run laps around the orphanage which did I mention, is in a desert! Its all very surreal.

One thing I definitely will not miss is tutoría time. This is the 2 hours of homework time in the afternoon. Since July, I've had three different groups to work with, two Iniciál kids (the Kindergarteners that go to school; Pedro and Jorge), five Year 1 kids and now the 3 highschool girls. Its never been an easy time for me or the kids. With the two younger groups my biggest challenge was getting the hyped up children motivated and interested enough to sit still and complete their homework, without just copying each other.
Now that I have the teenagers, the problem is their lack of commitment and motivation to better themselves. They show up late or don't turn up at all, forget their books, copy and paste from the internet, prioritise art over all other subjects and then sulk when I try to explain the importance of responsibility and respect.
As I write this, Roxana is very diligently doing her homework (thankfully), while Esthefany sulks in the corner. Esthefany has two exams in two days time and she can't understand why she can't leave her studying until the day before. It feels like I'm banging my head against a wall trying to explain it to her. Shes an excellent girl, very enthusiastic and kind and loving but shes struggling to cope with what she sees as limited freedom here, so she frequently rebels. Yamelit, my third student, has decided to study in her casita with her madre, which is probably for the best. This is a huge improvement from Friday last week where she decided she'd nap instead of turn up to class, then, conveniently felt rested enough to wake up for her hour of internet time. I guess I'm expecting too much of them to show some responsibility. Incredibly frustrating.
I just had to let that out...

Good news is though, in case you haven't noticed, Christmas is coming yaaaaaay! I haven´t been excited about Christmas since....childhood? Yes, that long ago. The kids here are really excited. The best thing for the kids about living here is that they get presents in a constant stream all through the month. Church groups, families and individuals from around Trujillo and from overseas come bearing gifts throughout December. Madness! But fun nonetheless.
My very generous coworkers back in Sydney have sent me money to buy the kids individual Christmas gifts! So this weekend is reserved for Christmas present shopping. The volunteers, organised by Stephanie, are all chipping in to buy all the kids new (fun) bedspreads. If anyone feels like helping me make up the last $40 of the $140 I need to raise to do my bit, feel free to email me and I'll work out how to transfer the money. Much appreciated. Plus any surplus can join the Christmas gift fund.

I leave you with pictures of my trip with Jenn to Puno, where we visited Lake Titicaca and Cusco, where we hiked the Inca Trail for four days to Macchu Pichu. Yes its a hard life.