Sunday 7 October 2012

Happy Birthday Didache

For those of you who do not know a month ago I started teaching English to children aged 2-5 years old in Didache, the nursery/kindergarten attached to my church in Peru. It has been challenging so far and interesting, especially since in my third week of teaching I had to prepare an exam for them. Do not think I did my first exam until I was 10. 

Anyway Didache have just celebrated their 9th birthday and yesterday (Saturday) there was a celebration which saw the kids sing and dance for their parents. It was a fun morning and great to see these wee kids on the stage doing their thing. 

4-5 year olds singing
The 2-3 year olds sin

Not only do the kids learn English, but they are also learning Portuguese as well from a Brazilian who also goes to the church. So as well as having the kids sing in Spanish yesterday, they also sang in Portuguese and English. The 2-3 year olds sang Deep and Wide in Portuguese while the 4-5 year olds sang Happy Birthday in Portuguese. And then all ages together sang Happy Birthday in English - it was a struggle getting Didache in there during the practices but on the day we did it. 

Everyone Singing
Then after the demonstration of their singing and dancing skills to the parents, it was time for Chicken, potatoes and corn which was lovingly prepared by members of the church including the pastors wife who also works at Didache.  










Friday 5 October 2012

Culture Project 4: The Battle of Angamos

It has been a while since I have done a culture project so decided I would do one now on the Battle of Angamos.

The 8th October is a national holiday in Peru and is because of the Battle of Angamos. I wanted to find out more about this day, so thought would do my fourth culture project on this day.

So what is the Battle of Angamos? Well it was a naval battle which was fought on 8th October 1879 during the War of the Pacific - with the two opponents being the Chilean Navy and the Peruvian Navy.  And despite the battle being won by Chile, Peru still remember it each year as 8th October is a national holiday in Peru.  Am not sure why they celebrate a battle they lost, but then I come from a country where they celebrate a ship that sank.

Well it’s not really a day of celebration as much as a day of honouring someone special - Miguel Grau Seminario who was killed during the battle and is held as one of Peru's heroes from the War of the Pacific or as it is known here the Guerra del Pacifico. 

Why is this guy so special? Well his military accomplishments as well as his distinguished and courageous disposition earned him the title of Knight of the Seas (“Caballero de los mares”).  He was also named the Peruvian of the Millennium at the end of the 20th Century which to me is quite an achievement as there have been a lot of Peruvians born during that Century so many to chose from.

Miguel Grau was in charge of ‘Huascar’ one of the ships in the Peruvian fleet of 1879. It was known as the best ship of the fleet, having sunk the Chilean battleship ‘Esmeralda’ in another battle, the bale of Iquique. The ‘Huascar’ had excellent speed and enabled Grua to to cruise along the coast creating havoc in enemy lands, but despite this the ship was captured during the battle by Chilean ship ‘El Almirante Cochrane’ which shot cannons towards the ‘Huascar’ killing Miguel Grau. The capture of this ship was the final step in clearing the Peruvian seas and allowed the Chileans to invade Peru by land.

So now I know why the 8th October is a national holiday, it is a holiday to remember the battle with admiration and honour Grand Admiral Miguel GruaAnd now you know, so if you ever get asked this question in a quiz you will be able to wow everyone with the answer. 

Admiral Miguel Grua







Wednesday 3 October 2012

Freddie

So most of you know I do not like dogs especially small yappie  ones because a) I am scared of them and b) I am allergic to them. When I moved into my house in Peru and found out there was a small yappie dog I was not very happy - but 8 months on and I actually quite like the wee dog and will miss him when I leave in February.


Here are a few wee stories about my wee Freddie!

1) One night I was sitting beside Fred watching TV when he suddenly starts hiccuping (or as they say in Peru, he gets the hippos) - I have never seen a dog with the hiccups before, it was so cute.

2) In September Rut Maria, my Peruvian Mum went away on holiday for 15 days to Lima leaving me in charge of the house and the dog. On the second night of Rut Maria being away Fred sat outside the front door for 20 minutes waiting for her to come home - it was sweet but also heart breaking as I knew she would not be back for another 13 days. When I told him his mummy would not be back for a wee while he looked up at me with a sad face then ran straight to me. 

3) This week I have been sick with the stomach flu and one day was lying on my bed feeling bit miserable when Fred came and jumped on my bed to see if I was ok. I was cold so put my hood of my jumper up and the next moment Fred started attacking my head. He obviously does not like hoodies! 

4) Every time I go to bed or leave house Fred starts barking like crazy and tries to stop me from going to bed or leaving the house - at first it was very annoying but now its quite endearing

5) If anyone goes near me to hug me or even touch me sometimes Fred starts barking at them to back away, which is really strange as like three months ago he did not like me

I think that the two weeks we spent together when Rut Maria was away helped us bond, aww how sweet. He had to depend on me for food then and ended up quite liking me now we are buds - would not go as far as saying best buds, but we are buds.