New Dialogues

     Today's conversations with our students took on several interesting subjects. Although the primary topic was culture (such as festivities and food), we quickly went on to talk about larger aspects of American and Peruvian culture. Afterwards, the NEU students went to the library and spoke in Spanish with some of the students. My group's guide was Juan, who had lived for a time in Maryland with his father as part of Peru's diplomatic mission in the US. Together, we participated in a group activity over the history of Lima and practiced our Spanish.

      Several things stood out to me in the English practice session: First, the students had traveled more than I thought; several had been to the USA, and one had been to all of the countries in South America. Second, they had many of the same concerns as we Americans did right before graduating high school. Many of them were studying for college entrance exams and preparing for life after school. Third, they helped us understand how they perceived English as a language; they found it to be difficult as we did Spanish, and commented on our pronunciation of different Spanish words.

      After our group session, we moved to the library and practiced Spanish with the students as part of an activity in which we retraced the routes of Simon Bolivar across South America. Later, we had an impromptu dance, and walked about by the soccer field. There, we alternated between English and Spanish as we waited for the bus. It was interesting to hear how Juan perceived American culture, and differences in the regions within the US (e.g. New England, the West Coast, the South).
      Today's class reminded me of the importance of having a nuanced picture of a country. Peru is no more a uniform place than the US, for it has several regions and peoples in its borders. It also helped me understand how people build their perceptions of the US, and how it impacts their adoption or rejection of our culture.