El Dia del Maestro

Hello friends  - It's Ms. Nipp, recently arrived in Lima where I have found our students and teachers  doing very well and embracing life in Peru. Today was a wonderful day to be in Peru, especially as an educator, because it was Teacher Day, El Dia del Maestro, a national annual celebration of teachers.

The day was amazing. First we enjoyed a delightful talent show organized by the Santa Ursula students in honor of their teachers. Then, the students were released at noon and we teachers were honored at a beautiful faculty luncheon and party (we left after 7 hours because we were tired from dancing but the fiesta continued long after).

Here are some highlights from this special day:

Per tradition, teachers are gifted with flowers and more and then they receive a special invitation from the students to attend an assembly in their honor.

A beautiful welcome from the Middle School choir

The 1st grade dressed and dancing as little mice

A young guitarist

Second grade ducky dance

4 lovely ballet swans

Modern "red" ballet

Sophomores presented a Mary Poppins Dance

The juniors presented dances from the favorite eras of the teachers - like the 50's

Not a huge surprise, the seniors performed in a skit where they were bored in class

Then the seniors extended words of love and gratitude to their teachers as they enter their last semester of high school

Our UA students were also feeling affectionate toward their teachers today

Did we mention that girls are also visiting Santa Ursula from Germany? More global pals!

Ms. Nipp poses with the Ursuline sisters at the beautiful and delicious faculty luncheon

So, you can see, it was quite a spectacular day! Parents and friends, we'd like to remind you how much we love to receive your comments and questions on the blog - Please feel free to send us a comment and we will be sure to post it for all to read. Also, just a reminder that we are headed out of Lima tomorrow on our weekend excursion. We do not know if we will have internet access so please don't worry if we are quiet over the weekend - we'll return to Lima on Monday night and we'll keep posting as we are able. Buenas Noches from Lima!

Serviam Visit: Hogar de Madres Adolescentes

UA Delegate to Peru, Angie R., reflects on her experiences yesterday:

Today we spent time at a home for adolescent mothers. The home is for young women, some as young as thirteen or fourteen years old, that need a place to go, a refuge. The community is a secure place where the girls, who have lived in very difficult situations, are able to obtain some peace of mind. They keep their children, ranging from infant ages to three and four year olds (at least from what we saw), in the community, which gives the mothers an opportunity to look for jobs and take classes either on site or elsewhere. Our job today was to help feed the kids, to play with them, and to just make them feel as loved as possible during our visit. Despite temper tantrums (especially from Hilary's and my group of two year olds...), it was really fun to get to interact with them! It was also an eye-opening experience, which I know made us all feel really blessed to have the lives that we do.

Ms. Chinuntdet, Bailey A., and Madeline L. playing with the 7-12 month old babies

Hilary helping a two year old boy

 

Madeline L. trading funny faces with some four year olds



Of course, Mary Margaret R. and Katherine A. were with the only group who was having a party
and didn't want to be rude by refusing some cake.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more...

Our girls were given the opportunity not only to watch Henry V, but to watch Henry V  in the famous Globe Theater last night!

Here we see Courtenay C. and Courtney W. enjoying their seats at the Globe!

Our entries from some of the students today come from Caroline B. and Rachel E.

During a day long trip with my host family to the beach at Brighton, I had a lot of fun while noticing similarities and differences with Dallas. Brighton was a stone, not sandy, beach with a long, wooden pier over the sea with an arcade full of fun carnival-like games and other rides. Brighton compared to places in Dallas like the Texas State Fair, and the arcade contained similarities and differences from places like Chuck E Cheese. Among all the shops and restaurants, the famous English dish of fish and chips was offerered throughout the beach. Overall, at Brighton I was able to not only have fun with its wonderful attractions but also with my host Rachel and her family.
- Caroline B.

My host family has been great!  They have taken me to a family barbecue with my host sister’s two cousins and aunt and uncle. I enjoyed getting to see what family gatherings are like here versus my family gatherings back home. Turns out they’re just about the same and I had a great time! On Wednesday Kirsty and I went to the Wimbledon Tennis. We had standing tickets so we got to wander around and drop in to watch the smaller matches or go sit on Murray Hill to watch the big matches on the screen.  We had a lot of fun and had some delicious strawberries and cream. It was an exciting new experience and I’m so glad that I can now say I’ve been to Wimbledon Tennis! Plus, Will and Kate were there! I was within a mile radius of royalty!
-Rachel E.

Colonial Lima by Bailey A.

UA Delegate to Peru, Bailey A., shares her experience in Colonial Lima.

Happy 4th of July! In Peru, they celebrate independence day on the 28th. Today we took a tour around colonial Lima. The colonial period of Lima lasted from 1535-1841. We visited a few cathedrals and museums, bought some Peruvian goods, and ate some delicious Peruvian food! One interesting place we went to was the catacombs below the cathedral and monastery of San Francisco de Jesus de Lima. The catacombs were finished in 1652 after 10 years of building. About 21,000 Spanish people where buried in the tombs between 1652 and 1821 (when the tombs were closed). Families were not allowed to attend burial ceremonies because 5-6 people were buried in each grave, and after a few years of decay aided by a heavy dose of lye, whatever remained of the bodies would be moved to another place so the grave could be reused.

Facade of San Francisco de Jesus de Lima
(Block dots on the right are gigantic pigeons.)

Photos within the catacombs were not allowed but
this is a ventilation grate in the cathedral over some stairs that led to the catacombs.

In the museum part of the Convento Santo Domingo, we got to see where the priests' robes were kept and where they all sat to eat in the dining room. The wood used to make their chairs and dressers and used throughout the monastery was very expensive since it was very rare for South America and had to be shipped from Central America. You could tell which area the wood came from by how dark it was.
 

Biblioteca at Convento Santo Domingo
The imported wood from Central America was used for the ceiling, bookcases, chairs, tables. etc.



UA Delegation to Peru in an interior courtyard of the monastery

We also went to the Plaza de Armas of Lima which is the main plaza and is surrounded on three sides by the Government Palace (the President's residence), the Cathedral of Lima with the Archbishop's Palace, and the Municipal Palace of Lima (Lima's city hall). A really interesting thing we were able to see was the changing of the guard at the President's residence! It was really cool when the guard marched up to the gate to play music! The ceremony was way longer than I expected and it happens every day at noon! On weekends the guard circles around the plaza on horses! 

Residence of the President of Peru
Unfortunately, Angie was unable to get a hold of her new BFF so no tour.

This band of guards marched out and played 6 or 7 songs before the changing of the guards at noon.

My favorite part of the day was the Peruvian food! Before we stopped for lunch, we went to a museum of Peruvian food but I didn't enjoy it very much because I was starving. For lunch, we ate Pardo's chicken and got party hats to wear!

 

Pardo's Chicken is famous for rotisserie chicken.

Outside the Chapel of Francisco Pizarro we also got to internationally photobomb some German tourists! It was a really fun day!

Later that evening, Senoras Carmen and Betty took the UA teachers, Ms. Vargas and Ms. Chinuntdet, to the Parque de la Reserva, AKA The Water Park. Do not think Hurricane Harbour; think more the Fountains at the Bellagio Casino in Las Vegas. This was one of the city improvement projects of the previous mayor of Lima, Dr. Luis Castañeda Lossio. Though not popular while the Parque de la Reserva was renovated to become the Circuito Magica del Agua (Magic Water Tour), it has now become a must-see tourist destination as well as a point of pride for the residents of Lima. Tourism in Lima has now been firmly established as a source of commerce which was not the case 10-15 years ago. The Parque de la Reserva and other city improvement projects like the lighting of the major points of interest (plazas, cathedrals, colonial architecture, etc.) have played a large part in the tourism boom in Lima. Anyway, as you can see from the photos, really spectacular!

Fuente de la Armonia



From left to right, Senora Betty, Ms. Chinuntdet, and Ms. Vargas



Fuente Magica
The middle spout shoots to 80 meters (do your own conversion to feet or yards).



Fuente de los Ninos
If you look really closely,
you can see a dark, blurry image (just right of center) dodging the water in quick run through the fountain.



Fuente de la Fantasia
This fountain has scheduled shows nightly that include images and lasers projected on to the water set to music.



Fuente de la Fantasia
This show was set to Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker.
Can you see the ballerina dancing?

Ma. Chinuntdet and Ms. Vargas in Fuente Tunel de las Sorpresas



Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú by Lulu M.

UA Peru Delegate, Lulu M., shares her experience at the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del Perú in Lima:

Today we went to Museo Arqueologico! It was a lot of fun! We got to learn about the different pre-Hispanic civilizations of Peru such as: the Chavin, Paracas, Moche, Inca, and Wari. We started off the day learning about the Norte Chico, or Caral, civilization, which is considered to be the oldest civilization of the Americas (approximately 9200 BCE to 1800 BCE) and was only recently discovered in the 1994! Then we learned about the Chavin civilization (approximately 1000 BCE to 200 BCE), which was the 2nd oldest major civilization in this region. Since the Chavin are very well known in Peru, we focused on them for quite a bit. We learned about their gods (the jaguar, snake, and condor) and their scripted stones.

The stone tablet behind our tour guide, Nancy, shows, from bottom to top, the snake (representation of the underworld), the jaguar (the representation of the world of the living), and the condor (representation of the heavens)

Next, we moved on to the Paracas culture (approximately 800 BCE to 100 BCE) which was known for having excellent doctors, great weavers, and artisans of beautiful textiles. We saw a display of a mummy and how it was mummified and all the tomb offerings, such as necklaces, bracelets, pottery, etc.

Later, we learned about the Moche! The Moche (approximately 100 AD to 800 AD) were very realistic and more pictoral in their art. They also had the best pottery, excellent gold and silver smiths, and were known for being the richest, oldest and farthest archeological sites in the north.

This vessel made to look like an owl is an example of the more realistic representation style of the Moche as well as their superior skill with pottery. 

After, we learned about the Wari (approximately 600 AD to 1100 AD) who are known for being very proud of their warriors. For that reason, most of their pottery were sculptures of soldiers.

Can you see the warrior face?

Last but not least, we learned about the Incas (approximately 1300 AD to 1533 AD). The Incas, as most of the preceding cultures in Peru, performed human sacrifice. We saw the beautiful jewelry they made and learned about their vast and widely connected empire.



Because gold and silver were so easily found in rivers by the Incas, this jewelry made from shells which could only be had by trading with other peoples was actually considered more valuable.

Overall, it was a great day and we learned a lot about the many Peruvian civilizations. The history of Peru and Lima will continue tomorrow!

On a side note, Angie met the President of Peru, Presidente Humala, at the Larcomar during the holiday weekend.

Making global connections--GO ANGIE!

Stars and Stripes, Harrods and Tea

What better way to celebrate American Independence from England than a visit to Harrods and a lesson on tea and scones?

  

Rachel learning how to "raise her fingers" to aerate the dough



Afternoon Cream Tea back at Ursuline Wimbledon!  We have learned that a cream tea is a tea with scones!

London is one of the best cities I've ever visited. My host family is really nice and welcoming. They are hilarious too! We've been to Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and many shops at Oxford Street. In this photo, we are outside the London Eye with a yeti. Lots of people dress up as characters and take pictures for money. It saw me take a picture of it and came over and grabbed me! We ended up taking several photos with it. I have had such an amazing time in London and hope to do and see many more sights while I am here!
- Alliana V. and Caroline A.

 

And of course, Mr. Smith is always looking into improving security measures.