When I went abroad to Cusco, Perú, my program offered a service-learning component.  The service-learning component acted as a deciding factor for me to go through the program.  The program offered several options for service-learning placements including at an alpaca farm, afterschool programs, kindergartens, medical centers, and a human rights organization.  They conducted phone interviews the winter before I left with those who signed up for service-learning. During the phone interview, they took note of my level of Spanish fluency. We had a basic conversation, asking where I was from, where I went to school, and what I enjoy doing.  This conversation mattered because some positions, like the human rights organization, required higher levels of fluency whereas the alpaca farm did not require these levels of Spanish. They also asked what I was looking for in a position. I told them that when I went abroad, my main goal was to gain Spanish fluency, and I viewed service-learning as an opportunity to speak more Spanish with the local community.  I ranked working with children and the human rights organizations as my top two choices. They gave me options on the same call, saying I could do either. They recommended that if my goal was indeed to practice Spanish, working with children would be my best bet. The other position revolved around administrative tasks and Microsoft Excel which would have also been a great opportunity, but I figured I could develop these skills just as easily with an English-speaking position in the United States.  I confirmed being placed with children.

I ended up being placed in both an afterschool program and a kindergarten.  I worked at an after school program called Colibri for three days for the first half of my trip.  For the second half, I started working three days at a kindergarten called Wawacha. I was supposed to stop going to Colibri during the second half, but I still wanted to see the children so I went one day a week.  With all this being said, I definitely found myself having less free time than other students in my program that weren’t doing service-learning. My schedule made it difficult to have free time during the day to explore Cusco or even just hanging out at a cafe with friends.  

Even still, I would make the same sacrifices again because the time I spent at those places were the most memorable and rewarding parts of my trip.  I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to take part in service-learning and for where I was specifically placed.  

Colibri and Wawacha were structured very differently.  Colibri was located in the center of town, in the Plaza de Armas.  I had to walk up very steep stairs to get there. I used to be so winded, and I couldn’t even imagine how the little children could do it every day!  Colibri was an after-school program sponsored by the police to keep children from working on the streets. Arriving in Cusco was jarring in the sense that so many children were on the street selling trinkets, bread, paintings, scarves, etc.  It was a conundrum every time a child approached me. On one hand, I clearly wanted to give the child money. On the other hand, my host family warned me not to because their profit only encourages them to stay on the streets. Colibri was a place for these children to just be children.  They ranged in age from 3-14.  

La subida a Colibri.

A dentro de Colibri.

On a typical day I would arrive and only a few children would be there.  I would usually play the card game UNO with one of the younger girls and her even younger brother.  Other children would arrive and I would be asked to help them with homework. I would help them in any subject, including penmanship, reading comprehension, math – explaining math in Spanish posed a great challenge, but I am proud to say I became pretty proficient in this.  If homework was mostly finished, I would get to play games with them again.  There was always a battle over who got the legos.  We would color together. We made paper airplanes and tested them outside.  Sometimes the children would take turns braiding my hair and each other’s. On special days we would go to the park and play different games with soccer cones.  I was also on bathroom duty, so whenever a child had to go to the bathroom I would take them. The bathroom was located in an office next door (there was drama with the office but that’s a whole other story), so I would have to take the key and bucket with me.  I yelled “No corran” many times because the stairs were so steep and I didn’t want anyone to fall. When we got back to Colibri, I would chase them down to wash their hands. As a whole, Colibri was unstructured and they trusted my judgement on what I should be doing at any given moment.  Many times it was chaotic, but I felt at peace amidst all the madness because the children accepted me right away. They openly and proudly shared aspects of their culture with me. Some of the girls taught me how to braid Incan khipus. They recommended their favorite Peruvian songs to me.  They asked me to stand with them during parades of la Semana Santa. I felt very honored and gracious during these moments. I will always remember their openness and accepting nature towards me.  

        Wawacha was also an unforgettable experience, but in a different way.  Wawacha was very structured, unlike Colibri. La profesora had a strict schedule that students followed every day.  When I would arrive, the children were in their seats in the classroom. As soon as they saw me, they would run up and hug me.  They knew me as “teacher” and I will never forget their little voices with Peruvian accents yelling “teacher” when they saw me. Once the group hug finished, I would hop into their lesson plan, which was mostly always almost finished.  Then it would be snack time. I would help one of the helper teachers, Regina, prepare the snacks, usually some sort of fruit. After snack time, it was recess! The little playground was beautiful – green grass, toys of every kind, slides, swings, etc.  I would play pretend with them or push them on the swing. They really liked to pretend to cook things and serve it. After recess, we would wash up the children. Regina would wash their hair and hands in the sink, and I would dry and brush their hair. Once they were clean, I would work with the five-year olds on some English lessons.  I taught them how to say parts of the face and parts of the body in English. I made up silly songs or did silly motions to try and help them remember. When they were learning how to say hello/goodbye in English, I played the songs “Hello” by both Lionel Ritchie and Adele to make it fun. Listening to them was so sweet and always made me proud.  After about 30 minutes to an hour, lunch would arrive. I would help Regina carry all the bowls out. It was always a challenge getting the kids to eat. Although I always ate lunch after work at home, on these days I would eat two lunches. Regina always made me a bowl and I didn’t want to reject it, and I thought maybe the children, especially the girls, would eat more if they saw me eating.  After lunch la Profesora would read a story, and then we would wait until all the children were picked up by their families. The children were absolutely adorable. I always looked forward to seeing them and hearing their stories and thoughts.  

La entrada de Wawacha.

Nuestro abrazo final

I hope I have gushed enough about this experience to encourage anyone reading this to participate in a service-learning project, especially if it involves children.  I know sometimes studying abroad for people can stimulate feelings of loneliness, but service-learning forces you to make the connections to make halfway across the world feel like home.  It was very hard to say goodbye to Cusco, mostly because I knew I was going to miss these children. They children were absolutely, hands-down the highlight of my trip. They are so special.  I hope everyone that goes abroad will have an experience that makes them feel belonging and fulfillment.