Life in Peru » ESL teacher

My first earthquake

wwelvaert — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:25:51 +0000

A few days ago we had a tiny earthquake (temblor) here in Cusco. To be honest I didn’t believe it was an earthquake until I heard mention of it on the radio the next day.

Peru is prone to earthquakes. The last major earthquake in Cusco was in 1950, I found some great photos of the 1950 Cusco earthquake on Amazilia Alba’s blog.

One of my favorite lines of the Led Zeppelin song “Going to California”:

“The mountains and the canyons start to tremble and shake
The children of the sun begin to wake”

I use this song often when I teach ESL at ICPNA. I ask the students to figure out which part of the lyrics could be about Peru. The reference to earthquakes is obvious, and the Incas used to worship the sun. Typically my students do pick up on the idea that “children of the sun” could refer to Peruvians.

Of course, you can interpret most Led Zeppelin songs any way you like, that’s part of the beauty of it. On the ICPNA teacher’s blog I wrote about how I use the song in teaching.

IPCNA Cusco ESL teachers blog

wwelvaert — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:49:14 +0000

I finally got around to putting some content on the new ICPNA teachers’ blog. Since I’ve had good luck using this blog in my classes our academic director and I decided to start a blog for use by the ICPNA teachers as a group. Here are the links:

ICPNA Cusco teachers’ blog home page.
My ideas on how to use a blog in ESL teaching.
Some classroom teaching games.

ESL teaching is my “fun job” here in Peru, I’m by no means an expert in the field. So please, visit the blog and contribute your ideas!

Ward

My ESL students at ICPNA in front of the Qoricancha in Cusco, Peru

Stories and traditions in Cusco – ICPNA AV2 writing exercise.

wwelvaert — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:17:15 +0000

This is the writing exercise for AV2 9:05 at Icpna Cusco.

The Cusco area has a rich history with many great traditions, myths and legends. In the comments to this post, write a story about any of the legends or traditions in our area or Peru in general. This can be a well known story (e.g. origin of Cusco, Señor de Huanca, etc) or a story only you know (e.g. someone in your family who believes they saw a ghost). I especially like the less well known stories, the kind that a typical tourist would not hear about.

Make it interesting and entertaining. Above all, use your own words!!! Everyone in the class writes one story, but you get extra points for commenting on your classmates entries (or any other entries on this blog).

Ward

Starting a business in Cusco, Peru (ICPNA I-12)

wwelvaert — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:27:53 +0000

Since I’m teaching about business in my current class at ICPNA, I decided to start a class project to open a coffee shop on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco. We already have a McDonalds in Cusco and will soon have a Starbucks, so let’s give them some competition.

Our fictional business will be a fancy coffee shop with yummie breakfast, snacks, etc. We will have wireless internet, friendly service and a hip atmosphere.

Here’s what I need from my team, that is, the class:

Ideas for names.
Ideas on how to set the place up (decorations, themes, uniforms, ….)
What kind of things we will sell.
Legal stuff: how to set up a legal entity (EIRL, SA).
Financial plan and accounting policies. Let’s not get in trouble with SUNAT or my uncle Alan Garcia.
Marketing plan.
A good location in anywhere in beautiful downtown Cusco Peru.
Employees, employee manuals, policies, procedures, …
Ideas on how to reward our employees.
Policies / ideas to prevent theft from customers and employees.
Suppliers: where to get good food, coffee, drinks, ice cream,…. Also furnishings and furniture to open our place.
Lobbyist to have lunch with the mayor and governor of Cusco once a month.
Business plan.
Exit strategy, meaning, what to do if our business doesn’t work out.
Any other advice or items I’ve overlooked.

Write at least 2 or 3 comments before the end of our class next Friday 9/26!!!! Any thoughts and ideas are welcome, explain/justify your ideas.

Ward