At Colegio de la Inmaculada

Our morning in the classrooms of Colegio de la Inmaculada had an interesting development:  the staff, teachers, as well as the students were all celebrating Teacher Appreciation Day. According to my third grade teacher, Teacher Appreciation Day is pretty much celebrated as a holiday in Peru. When I arrived in Profesora Melissa’s classroom I immediately noticed the abundance of presents the students gave her. The next thing I noticed was how her classroom had beautifully transformed, decorated with balloons and pictures of all the students along with a ‘thank you’ message on the chalk board from her students.

The Teacher Appreciation Day festivities began with an assembly for the entire student body. During the assembly students sang a song they dedicated to their teachers (which I heard my third grade students practicing in music class yesterday). After the song, all the teachers, (as well as Kayla, Taylor, Caitlyn and myself) were invited to sit in our own section separate from students; while the high schoolers supervised the elementary students for the remainder of the celebration. The teachers smiled from ear to ear as they watched and hysterically laughed during the mock game shows and dance off between some of the teachers.

After the assembly all the students walked back to their classroom as their teachers were excused to get breakfast the school provided for them. While my teacher was out of the room eating her breakfast, the P.E teacher came in to supervise. I quickly began to realize that not only was this day a break for teachers, but also for students as well. The students took a break from their regular, rigorous schedule and played games and watched movies for the remainder of the school day. I am certain Teacher Appreciation Day was a treat for everyone, especially since the students had an early dismissal, not to mention that the teachers have a day off tomorrow.

After a short morning in school, our group decided to go to an amazing Peruvian restaurant, “Pescados Capitales”. The meal I had was by far one of the best meals I have had in Peru thus far! Not only was the food delicious, but the restaurant itself was so beautiful. We then decided to go to the Indian Market to begin to shop for souvenirs. I was immediately mesmerized by the colorful scarves, alpaca blankets, and the llama figurines. We ended our fun-filled day with a tasty meal at “Tanta” for dinner.

~Alyssa Jones

A thank you message on the board

Ms. Jones and her classroom at the Inmaculada