UNIFE Day 4

     The fourth day of classes at UNIFE concluded with special celebrations of our time there. After our classes at El Sol, we headed to UNIFE for our usual English lunch, which was followed by some time simply chatting and playing games out in the grass. Next, we had an intensive language activity where we had to speak Spanish for half an hour of conversation, and then in English for half an hour. Although we were given an outline of recommended subjects to talk about, the conversations often took an informal turn about all kinds of things. Overall, the English of the UNIFE students was better than our Spanish, a thing I can't help but find indicative of their drive to become better off.

     Next, we went to our daily class on Peruvian history and culture. The focus was on the governance of Peru after the conquest, and how the Spanish imposed their culture on the natives. It turns out that the Spanish were forced to incorporate local Incan lords into their governance structure to have peace. Although the Spanish Viceroy and his underlings had the final say in most matters, the Spanish had to use the local noble families to implement the law and collect taxes. Victory and defeat in war are seldom as complete as we like to believe.

     Finally, we concluded with Samba dancing after our classes. The instructors were both enthusiastic and well practiced, and quickly had us organized in lines following their moves. As the UNIFE students laughed uproariously and cheered us on, we gradually became more in sync with the dance teachers and each other. We concluded with a boys vs girls dance off, with the different instructors guiding us through comically sensual moves.

     Today will be an interesting contrast from yesterday, since we will be going to an elementary school rather than a college. Humboldt elementary also caters to poorer students in Lima rather than to the often middle class ones at UNIFE.