Last day of class

Posted on February 28, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru, Teaching ESL

The school where I teach English (ESL) is on a monthly schedule, like many of the private institutes here in Cusco. Last day of class is typically quite an experience and yesterday was no exception. This month my schedule was in the afternoon, when most students are teenagers, and here’s how it all went down:

I arrive about five minutes before class starts, when the students are feverishly copying each other’s workbooks. In true Peruvian fashion, they generally ignore my daily reminders not to wait until the last minute.
We get in the class and all the 15 year old girls pretend to really like me, tell me I’m the best teacher ever.
I go over everything that’s on the final exam. Most students ignore me entirely and instead make a feeble last-minute attempt at studying for the exam.
I hand out the exams and someone promptly asks me to explain the very same question that I was giving them the answers to about 30 seconds earlier… At that point I can’t help them because I’m busy tracking down the one student who tried to steal an extra copy of the test so he can sell it at Molino later.

C.C. Molino, a place full of pirated CDs, movies and ESL tests...

I wish I hadn’t said that…

After I snatched the exam back from the kid who tried to make a profit of extra exam copies, one girl gave me a mean look because I wouldn’t explain to her the very same thing I was talking about a few minutes earlier… and that’s when I told her exactly how I felt. In no uncertain terms I explained to her this is my “fun job”, that I get paid as much to teach the class for an entire month as I used to make in 3 hours and that she better not give me any grief because it’s not worth it to me.

Shame on me 😦

Then I went home, graded the exams and saved the grades on a diskette. You read that right, a diskette. Some fool in IT conned the “Directors” into believing diskettes are somehow safer than email.

Teacher… I have to have a really good grade or else my family will…

When some kid fails class, it’s often a huge problem in their families. I wish someone would explain to parents here that it makes no sense to send their kid to the next class – where they won’t learn a thing – if they haven’t mastered the fundamentals in the class before. The point isn’t to get some arbitrary grade, but to be able to express your ideas in a new language.

“It’s not what you know, it’s what you do with your knowledge that matters.”

My best friend, Bert, used to tell me that, and he did more to bring an end to the Cold War than Pope John Paul II. It took me years before I actually started to believe him.

Here in Cusco kids study a lot of things, but they often don’t apply what they know. Many families want their kids to bring home good grades and fancy certificates from institutes all over Cusco, but none of that matters unless you actually apply what you’ve learned.

Overall I really enjoy teaching English. Most students like me because I’m a gringo, and for that same reason I can get away with flaunting all the petty rules our “Directors” make. Instead of teaching my kids good old fashioned values like the Directors want, I play loud rock ‘n roll music in class and tell them all to be rebels, not to accept the status quo in Peru but to fight against poverty, prejudice and the injustice of “haves vs. have nots” in society.

Then I walk out, smile at the old ladies who run the place and say “hola chicas”. Bert would be proud.

21 reasons globalization as we know it is over

Posted on February 23, 2009 by wwelvaert under Business & Economy

Here they are:

21 reasons globalization as we know it is over

Front row: Glinish, Pamela, Jose Luis, … Back row: Luis, Milagros, Tania, … You get the idea. They were my students at ICPNA a few months ago.

I always ask them why they’re studying English, what their goals are.

Some examples: Pamela (the youngest one on the first row) is studying at UNSAAC to be an accountant, so is Tania (3rd. on the back row). Williams (2nd. from right on the back row) is a tour guide and Sharon (next to him) will probably be accepted in the performing arts program at the Católica in Lima. Jose Luis (front row) is studying medicine, his father is a doctor and dentist.

Not one of them ever told me they want to work a menial job in near slave-labor conditions for little money to support some fat cat CEO’s illusion of competitive advantage.

Some of the students at ICPNA may be privileged compared to the average Peruvian, but others proudly tell me they are the first generation in their families who have the opportunity to study and pursue a professional career. All of them are working hard to get a better life.

The old idea of globalization, selling natural resources to multinationals, outsourcing jobs for cheaper wages or moving factories to avoid environmental regulation is simply doomed – and that’s a good thing.

Old style globalization often did not add any tangible value, or improve the lives of the average Peruvian (or middle class America). Globalization 2.0 will be about real value, exchanging goods, ideas and services based on differences in geography, culture, infrastructure, economies of scale, etc.

I have ideas…

Even in the current downturn I’m very optimistic about the opportunities here in Peru, where the median age is 26 and the per capita GDP is $8,500. I have a ton of ideas: a floatplane business to visit Lake Titicaca, a web development company in Cusco, an export business of typical Andean products, … We’ll save the details for another day 🙂

Cusco in rainseason

Posted on February 17, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

The weather in Cusco is generally mild, although it is not like anything I’ve experienced in the US or Europe. There are no Florida hot summers or Wisconsin frozen-car-battery winters. In Cusco you only have 2 seasons: dry season from April-November and rainseason the rest of the year.

During rainseason in Cusco it rains for a few hours every other day or so, but typically the rains aren’t heavy downpours. Since it is summer in the Southern hemisphere, temperatures are mild except during and right after the rains.

Traffic on Av. Cultura during rainseason in Cusco

Green areas look nicer during rainseason

The mountainous terrain and generally lousy building codes / civil engineering here make for a wet and dirty city during rainseason:

The Incas were great architects, but that was long ago.

Worship the sun

Visit Cusco and you’ll understand why the Incas worshipped the sun: since the city is at an elevation of 3,400 meters (11,000 feet) there is little protection from the sun. During periods of sunshine the temperatures are mild but us gringos need hats, sunglasses and sunscreen to keep from getting a severe sunburn.

As soon as the sun goes down, it gets colder than the proverbial witch’s boob – or wizzard’s balls for the emancipated crowd. The coldest months are May – June, when the days are shortest here in the Southern hemisphere. Since there is no heat in most houses, when it is cold outside it’s also cold inside. It’s not unusual to wear a scarf inside the house, as I am right now.

What to bring:

If you’re planning to visit Cusco, bring some light clothes to wear when it’s sunny and a warm jacket for nighttime. Hundreds of vendors will try to sell you chalinas (alpaca scarfs), chullos (typical Peruvian hats) and sweaters, so you can get those here instead of bringing them in your luggage.

: Green areas look nicer during rainseason

: Traffic on Av. Cultura during rainseason in Cusco

: The Incas were great architects, but that was long ago.

: Rain is about to start

: Traffic on Av. Cultura

: Everyone gets wet and dirty

Looking for names of Inca princesses

Posted on February 12, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

In an instant I’m no longer the guy who tells tall tales of flying old airplanes or traveling the world. I’m now the guy who shows baby pictures:

5 months - Thank goodness she looks just like her mommy!!!

2 big tummies

We found out yesterday that everything is going well with nuestra calatita and it’s going to be a girl !!!. Suggestions for girl names are welcome, since everyone told Patricia up to now it was going to be a boy, she was looking mostly for boy names…

Due date is June 14, so we’ll keep up the news on what it’s like to have a baby in Cusco, Peru 🙂

Help us out. Patricia speaks Spanish and English. I speak Dutch, English and some Spanglish. My parents speak Dutch but Mama Vicky prefers Quechua… Please vote:

Google speaks Quechua

Posted on February 10, 2009 by wwelvaert under Business & Economy

A lot can be said about the success of Google, how the company largely took over the lucrative internet search business from one-time internet darling Yahoo!, and many of Google’s other success stories are the stuff college case studies are made of.

Here in Peru I noticed one more reason why Google became so successful: Google speaks Quechua.

Quechua is a native Indian language spoken here in the Andes region, it is believed to date back well before the Incas’ time. Today Quechua is an official language in Peru, it is spoken by the native Indian, typically rural, population in both Peru and Bolivia.

Of course lots of websites are available in different languages, that in itself is not the point. But think about this quote from Umair Haque’s Smart Growth Manifesto:

“Outcomes, not income. Dumb growth is about incomes – are we richer today than we were yesterday? Smart growth is about people, and how much better or worse off they are – not merely how much junk an economy can churn out.”

The significance of Google’s Quechua site is that I can’t imagine Google sees any substantial revenue from it.

I don’t say this to put down the Quechua language, but simply because most of the native population who speak Quechua also speak Spanish, and they revert from one language to the other seamlessly, with Spanish typically spoken in the cities and used in business.

Cost/benefit is an entirely different concept from revenue/cost. Even though Google may not see much revenue from its Quechua site, thanks to Google lots of schoolkids in little towns all over Peru can read and search information in their native language.

I believe it’s well past time to stop managing companies like we did during the era of supply-side economics in the 20th century. In the 21st century, businesses will find opportunity when they do things because it’s the right thing to do, when the outcome is something you would be proud of.

Kids in rural Peru whose native language is Quechua learn Spanish in school.

Mining concessions in Peru

Posted on February 5, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

CORRECTION – see comments: Due to my mediocre Spanish I earlier stated mistakenly that the mayor of Acomayo granted mining concessions, it was in fact the government, and local authorities are protesting the developments. My apologies to the mayor of Acomayo.

Original post, corrected:

I just read here that the Peruvian government has granted significant concessions in the Acomayo area to the mining industry without proper consultations with the people of Acomayo.

Allow me to be perfectly selfish here: Acomayo is not too far from Accha, and if you mess with Accha, you’re messing with me. If this causes any trouble for Mama Vicky in Accha, I might just have to get involved in the opposition movement…

Sarcasm aside, I once read a column in “El Comercio” that said “Peru is a poor country because Peruvians act like poor people.” Peruvian authorities are typically eager to sell the country’s natural resources out for what they believe is a big sum of money. However, if the financial crisis proves anything, it’s that money is just funny printed paper. You can’t eat it, dance with it or teach it to sit and wag its tail.

Now mining is a necessary and honorable industry. Without it we would not have roads, infrastructure, hospitals, etc. But if Peru wants to improve its economy beyond the business districts of Lima, business and political leaders need to focus on applying the country’s fantastic human and natural resources to improve the quality of life for all Peruvians, instead of just looking for big payments of foreign cash.

I'll have my river without lead, please.

NB: a good site for news about the impact of mining on Peruvian communities is Conacami Perú: Confederación Nacional de Comunidades del Perú Afectadas por la Minería

NB: I didn’t keep the column I referred to above, it was printed in El Comercio around the signing of the Hunt Oil project. If anyone happens to come across it, please let me know.

Nectar de Sabila

Posted on February 3, 2009 by wwelvaert under Life in Peru

This weekend I spent 4 Neuvo Soles on a bottle of “Nectar de Sabila” at the local market here in Wanchaq. This concoction is some type of cactus juice that, according to its producers, has both nutritional and healing properties. The label states:

“Nectar de Sabila presenta caracteristicas nutricionales ademas se puede recomendar con propositos curativos: ejerce una funcion analgesica antiinflamatoria cicatrizante y antibiotica.”

The part I find most interesting is the claimed anti-biotic properties. The nectar is produced here in Cusco “por la asociacion de productores y transformadores agro industriales Kay Pachapi Llank’ay“. Anyone who speaks Quechua please tell us in the comments if that name has any meaning.

Nectar de Sabila by Natunec, Productos Ecologicos

The recommended use is a half a glass before or after breakfast, so I’ve been faithfully sipping my cactus juice every morning. It doesn’t taste quite like fruit juice, but not medicinal either, it actually tastes pretty good.

Natural medicine is popular in Peru. Hotels and chamans offer ayahuasca sessions and many typical Andean or Amazon plants are believed to have healing powers, the most famous of these is, of course, the coca leaf.

I’m honestly not a huge fan of the so-called natural medicine here in Cusco, because it is very commercialized for the tourists, just like anything else here in the city. Once you leave the main tourist area in Cusco behind, I do find it fascinating to learn about the healing powers believed to exist in the culture and nature of the Andes.

Nectar de Sabila