June 14, 2025
I stowed away Paddington Bear in my backpack at the
Asheville Airport, NC to bring him back to Peru.
My students told me they want to see all the places
that I bring him.
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The whole 20 Fulbright Peru Crew made it to Miami​!
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June 15, 2025
Early morning arrival to Lima Airport
View from Hotel
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Chicha Morada is a sweet drink from purple corn.
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Miraflores and the famous Malecon Cliffs
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Parque de Amor
(Love Park)
The parks highlight is
El Beso (The Kiss) surrounded by mosaic walls inscribed with love poems.
Cat apartments in the park.
You can adopt cats from the street.
Dinner at Huaca Pucllana. Huaca Pucllanna is a massive adobe pyramid that predates the Incas, about 500 AD.
The most exciting part of the day is experiencing a 5.6 earthquake close to Lima.
June 16, 2025
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Exciting day at the US Embassy in Peru today. Phones were confiscated, even had to take off my glasses to be scanned. Inside, every state had an image to represent them. NC had an image from Hendersonville! We met with specialists from the Ministry of Education for panel discussions about Peruvian educational systems.
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Afterwards, we traveled to Comisión Fulbright Perú to gain insights into Peruvian Education and culture from the Executive Director, Dr. Laura Balbuena.
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Working on our blogs at the Rooftop
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Pool and rooftop view from hotel
Pisco Sour
June 17, 2025
Our first school visit was to El Buen Pastor in Los Olivos. This is a private parochial school for primary and secondary students and is tuition based.
The evening brought us to the Larco Museum in the Pueblo Libre District. The museum is housed in an 18th century colonial mansion and offers one of the world's best collections of pre-Columbian artifacts. The museum is famous for gold jewelry, ceramics and pottery.
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A Quipu is a recording device made of knotted and colored strings, historically used by the Inca civilization and other Andean cultures for record-keeping and communication. It's essentially a system of knotted cords where different colors, knot types, and placements were used to represent numbers, categories, and potentially even narratives.
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Quipus were used for a variety of purposes, including:
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Accounting: Tracking taxes, census data, and agricultural production.
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Record-keeping: Maintaining historical accounts and narratives.
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Communication: Sending messages across distances. The knots and colors are used to encode information. Different knot types and positions can represent numbers, while colors might indicate different categories or types of data.
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A fellow teacher from my home school sent me this heart-warming photo of my students reading my blog and reviewing my pictures from my trip while in summer school in NC.
June 18, 2025
Due to a strike of transportation workers, all schools were cancelled. The operators were hoping to bring the attention of high crime and extortion that sometimes occurs with transportion companies.
So we spent the day enjoying Lima. First...cats, cats, and more cats!
​​Barranco is a district in Lima, known for its bohemian and artistic atmosphere, vibrant nightlife, and rich cultural scene. It's a popular destination for both locals and tourists, offering a unique blend of historical charm and modern attractions.
Iglesia La Ermita de Barranco loves the new Pope
June 19, 2025
This small primary school, Santa Ros Baja in Villa Maria del Triunfo, must depend on the parents of the community to help build and maintain the classrooms. There are little resources for students. The school operates in two shifts, one from 8-1 and the other from 1-5. The second shift has 70% Venezuelan students as over 1 immigrants have come to Peru.
"Qali Warma" is a Peruvian national school feeding program, translated from Quechua as "vigorous child". It provides daily meals to over 4.1 million schoolchildren in public institutions across Peru. The program aims to improve the health and nutrition of children through school lunches and promote healthy eating habits.
After lunch, we traveled to Escuela de Talentos, a public high school for students with high achievements in academics and the arts. Located in Calo, Peru.
Uniforms are not mandated in public schools; however, it is such a tradition that'll most schools do wear them.
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Both public and priate schools are mandated to teach religion.
Lunch at Cabos Restaurant del Puerto, Callo. Ceviche and Calamaris.
June 20, 2025
On the bus to the airport by 6 am. Paddington in the airport. Flight to Tarapoto. Met our driver and travelled windy road in the jungle to our community, Moyobamba. Met our host, Julio Herrera. First ride in motortaxis to dinner and walk around town.
Can you find
Paddington?
Not a bad hotel view!
Cecina, a local pork dish with plantains, at Mixto Restaurant.
June 21, 2025
A beautiful hike in Morro de Calzada.
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Later a dish of Coy, Guinea Pig, a common food for some families.
In the evening, we attended the food festival in the town square as part of the San Juan festivities.
In Peru, T'anta Wawa, also known as "baby bread," is a sweet, shaped bread It's a significant part of Andean culture.
T'anta" means bread in Quechua, and "wawa" means baby. It's typically shaped like a swaddled baby.
Food festival in the main square.
June 22, 2025
Early morning trip to the hot springs with Julio, our host teacher, and his wife.
Afternoon trip down the Mayo River.
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In the evening, we ventured back to the city square to see the activies for San Juan.
After we realized that our host teacher's wife was a seamstress that makes dresses for quincineras and festivals, we visited the shop and I was fitted for a costume.
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June 23, 2025
Paddington enjoying the hotel while I go to my first day of school.
First day of school and COAR San Martin:
COAR schools are public high schools for academically strong students. There is a point system for selecting students which may include preference for students who are first generation IB (International Bacchalareate) ostudents, those eligible for victim compensations, and students from high poverty homes. The students must be in top 10% of their class at their home schools. There is an application and interview process that includes discussions with the school psychologists. At the moment there are more boys than girls, but the trend was opposite just the year before. We are told not to take any pictures of students nor the facilities.
First day, we did some culture presentations about ourselves as well as our state, school, and country.
We had lunch with COAR administrators at the Amazon restaurant.
After lunch we had Speed Dating type interviews where students talked with us about any topic to practice conversation skills.
COAR was an experiment that has been proven effective for bringing opportunities for improving the lives of the student and also their families. There is one COAR school in every one of the 26 regions. This school has 3 grade levels (9th, 10th, 11th-there is no 12th) each grade level having 100 students.
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I was contemplating what initiatives we may have in the states that may be comparable and thought about Early College models. ​​Early College High Schools (ECHS), such as the one we have at Blue Ridge Community College, allows students to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree or substantial college credit, often up to 60 hours, while still in high school. These programs are designed to increase college readiness, particularly for students traditionally underrepresented in higher education. ECHSs provide rigorous instruction, academic and social support, and often partner with local colleges and universities to offer dual credit courses.
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Also, there are two public 11th and 12th grade residential campuses for a select, academically strong students at the NC School for Science and Mathematics.
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In addition, North Carolina also has a Governor's School. This is a four-week summer residential program for gifted and talented high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses on each of two campuses.
All three US teachers gave cultural presentations on our school, state, and country aspects.
June 24, 2025
San Juan Festival. No work or school today. Parade participants dance miles from the city center up into the mountains to the thermal baths where they perform a final dance and party.
In the afternoon, we returned to the school to participate in the school dancing and celebrations. Once again, we are not allowed to photograph the students or school. But on the return, we saw a rainbow at our hotel and you an see the traditional dress that I received.
According to Peru.info:
The Fiesta de San Juan, highlighted by the presence of Pandilla Moyobambina, holds significant importance for the communities of the Amazon. Throughout numerous days, the streets come alive with music, dance, and color, as people come together to enjoy moments of camaraderie and festivity.
During Fiesta de San Juan in Moyobamba, the Main Square transforms into the heart of the celebration. Vibrant groups of locals and neighbors flood the streets, joyfully joining in the dance and making their way to the thermal baths. It is here that the traditional Baño Bendito marks the beginning of Fiesta de San Juan.
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Throughout the festival, there are religious processions, gastronomic fairs, and handicraft contests that take place, enriching the cultural experience. It is a time of jubilation, communal spirit, and connection to the region's ancestral heritage.
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The Pandilla Moyobambina is not only an artistic manifestation but also a symbol of identity and pride for the people of Moyobamba and its surroundings. Through this dance, the ancestral traditions of the region are preserved and promoted, transmitting them from one generation to the next and strengthening the sense of community and belonging.
Click image to read story
June 25, 2025
Another day at school. We continued giving cultural presentations and participating in "speed dating" type of one on one conversation practice These 3 minute exercises allows for lower stress, short opportunities for student to practice discussing their books currently being read, "House On Mango Street" and "The Giver".
June 26, 2025
Last day at school. More one on one language and literacy practice with the students. In the afternoon, there was a whole group assembly where we gave and received gifts from the faculty and students.
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In the evening, we were invited to our host teacher's home. We played UNO and a wonderful dinner. We are so very thankful to Julio for sharing his school, his city, his culture, and his family with us. We had a full and enriching experience we will never forget.
June 27, 2025
Goodbye Moyobamba!
You will always be in my heart!
June 28, 2025
Teacher to teachers chat at the Universidad Cesar Vallejo. Cesar Vallejo was a Peruvian poet, writer, playwright, and journalist. This campus is one of 12 throughout 24 regions and has a teacher training program that we observed. The University teaches over 200,000 students and was founded 33 year ago.
Jimmy Riojas Rivera, Professor of Education and a Fulbright Teacher Exchanges Alum was our host.
The afternoon brought us to "Las Brisas del Titicaca" a cultural performance highlighting Peru's history.
June 29, 2025
Sunday afternoon we had a walking tour of Barranco, a cooking class including ceviche and a tuna/potato dish, then a pisco sour making class.
My Paddington finds his statue on the coast. He hides out in the bookshelf of the hotel lobby, and then finds a friend at a bookstore.
I heard differing stories regarding the bulls. One person stated that he protects you from envy from your friends, another insists it is an overall protection for you.
Last evening in Lima, walking around, shopping, saying goodbye to Miraflores.
​June 30, 2025
Debriefing and saying goodbye to an amazing group of educators
from around the states.
I am so grateful to be part of this wonderful cohort of Fulbright teachers!
Uku and Kuko statues are spectacled bears from the Amazon. Paddington Bear is a spectacle bear.
Click here to learn about the artist and sculptures at the Lima Airport.
Paddington gets his own poncho at the airport.
