EMC is Peru? My challenge throughout this entire process was finding a way of incorporating EMC style teaching techniques with computers. This week was the first week where I really saw some similaries between what we're doing and what I did during EMC. We had the kids in Primaria create profiles of themselves. The profiles had all the standard information like name, age, where they're from... and then we had questions like what is your special talent? what super power would like and why? what would you like to do when you grow up? and if you had one wish, what would it be? After they answered those questions, we had them personalize their profiles changing colors, backgrounds, fonts, etc. The personalization in itself was interesting because their personalities really came out. We were also surprised because other than in Art class, there seems to be very little space in their curriculum to let them explore and follow their own instincts aka there are very few times when kids don't just copy and annotate. This is one way inwhich we are incorporating EMC style attitudes.
The range of answers allowed for one of the first times when we got to know the kids. There were times when kids would write their ID number as the answer to question. They were reading the questions, but not understanding. Kids would tell us that they didn't have a special talent or one wish, and we would have to coax it out of them. Once they began answering the questions we got very standard answers, like special talent- study or one wish- more wishes or to have a chocolate river or when I grow up I want to be - doctor, lawyer, nurse, etc.
Sometimes, we got funny answers with special talent like weeping or rapping. Kids made profiles superman, spider man, a ghost, christoper robin etc. But, some of the answers we truly amazing. Some kids asked for super powers to be able to help their family make more money or finishing building their house or to fly to be able to transport their family from the Sierra to the City. For some kids, their one wish was for their mother or brother to get better or to finish secundaria/university
There was one boy named Jose Jesús who really struck me this week. He is in 4th grade (9 years old) and nothing about him really struck me at first, he was very quiet and did his work well. Matt was over at a computer helping another boy when he tripped on the cord to the extension cord and killed the power to Jose Jesús' computer. He had already finished a lot of work, so I decided that I would retype his work. I filled in all the standard information and asked him his special talent he said, poetry. I asked him what his super power would be, to be like spider man. I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he said, a business man because he wanted to make something of himself. I asked him his one wish, he said, that his parents come home... why? because they leave him alone during the week to work. It was the hardest thing I had to retype all week. Of all the things, in all the world to ask for, this was the one thing at the forefront. This is where spending 2 extra minutes with each child in a group of 20-25 is valuable. You learn about kids like him. Apparently this situation is very common, the parents go away into Lima or other parts for the week to make money and then come home for a few days on the weekend. This leaves kids to take care of themselves (cook, clean, go to school, do laundry, do homework) and their little brothers & sisters, if they are the oldest. He was not the only person who said this, I saw atleast four others. I feel like these types of questions represent another way of incorporating EMC into Proyectos Conectados.
Other ways we have been incorporating EMC has been encouraging kids to come to the front to teach, having them in pairs to teach themselves, and forcing weaker kids to finish the task even if it takes more time. We have been focusing more on one-on-one time and getting to know people's names instead of student number 10 from 4B.

I was thinking about how my routine here has changed and alot of it is due to the fact that nature rules. We don't have the electricity to use a washing machine, refridgerator, lots of lights, microwave etc. We do laundry when there is a sunny day so that our clothing will actually dry after spending an hour or 2 scrubbing each piece of clothing and putting it in the soak, soap, post-wash buckets. Our food doesn't come out of a refridgerator, so if you buy something or cook something, it needs to be eaten or it spoils (about 10 hours without refridgeration seems to be the limit for most food. It also means you eat what is cooked for that day... if you have beans for breakfast, that´s what you are eating for the next 3 meals. It also means that all food you eat came from the market that day. You can't buy meat and say you'll cook it in 2 days. Whatever we eat, was either picked, dug-up or killed only a day or 2 before. The sun comes up at 6am and is down by 6pm, so to get the most out of the day, I live off those times. I'm awake by 6am everyday and I'm in bed by 9 or 10pm... partly because I'm exhausted from the talleres. It's funny how much more control ovre what time and when we do things at home. On the other hand, water is a different story; it becomes a game. The water game is a weekly betting contest about which day we will run out of water, how many days we will go without and when the lady down the street will decide to fill up our water tanks. The longest we've gone is 4 days.

My Spanish is getting better. I'm learning not to worry about the fact that 5 out of 10 kids don't understand me. Joseph explained to me that it is partly that my spanish is formal, university level and that I don't have the vocabulary to talk to a 7 year old. It's not that my spanish is bad, it's the wrong audience. I've even noticed that my English is getting worse, which is actually a good sign for my spanish! I'm interested to see how my spanish/english are in 5 weeks when I go home. I'm now flying home on August 5... home will be comfortable, but work for the project will continue. From the website, presentations and newspaper articles, I will be busy with work for the project- even as I enjoy my hot showers and comfy bed. 4 full weeks of Primaria teaching left...... time flies too quickly,

Katie