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I want to start off by saying that I couldn´t find any words to describe all of the ´awe´some events that have occured this week. So Monday morning was the first day of our week long training in cooperation with members of the Peruvian Ministry of Education that is supporting the OLPC effort in Peru. Going into it our group (which consists of 22 of us) knew very little about what we would set out to accomplish during our week of meetings in Lima. That morning we met in the lobby of the Hotel Bolivar, which resides in the center of Lima, and after introducing ourselves to each other made our way to the meeting spot for the duration of the week. The meeting spot is the home of a small startup called Escuelab. They are a center for learning, using, and creating with technology. The head of the organization, Kiko, is a really cool Peruvian guy that also speaks english and german fluently. He has a very intriguing vision for Escuelab and has some good financial backing from some Spanish, Danish, and Peruvian municipal organizations. We are meeting in this location because they have all of the appropriate technology that we need to be able to facilitate the meetings.

Upon arriving to the Escuelab we were introduced to the members of the Ministry that are heading up the OLPC Peru Program. They spoke to us about their reason for this program and the progress they are acheiving. Right now Peru has very big problem to tackle with regards to education. They do not currently have the necessary resources to produce the desired amount of well educated children from their educational system. Most of the schools here are ¨multigrado¨ meaning that there are children from all grade levels in the same classroom being taught by one teacher. We were afforded the opportunity yesterday to see first hand what this situation is like in a school on the outskirts of Lima. Our entire group was bused to the school to give assistance to the teachers in the school which had recently been given the XO laptops to implement into their curriculum. Some of the other interns and myself were able to work with the younger kids (grades 1st and 2nd). These kids were absolutely incredible. Here are some pictures to explain:







We found out earlier in the day that some of these kids walk for miles just to arrive at school, some even without having eaten breakfast. (Just as an aside: Peru unfortunately has some very impoverished regions and children often begin working to help their familes make money at very early ages. So because of this poverty, the breakfast that each of us is fortunate enough to eat every morning for these children can be a rare ocurrence.) The teacher really did an amazing job of keeping these kids focused which was assisted by the programs offered on the XO laptops. The eight or so of us that were in this classroom worked with the kids to use various programs to do educational yet entertaining activities to help them to benefit from the day´s lesson. One program in particular allows the kids to take a word from the teacher, type it into the program and after clicking hear the large cartoony face repeat the word allowed. This experience allowed us to not only see the XO in action but also see the issues that this little laptop can begin to help address. It was a great preview of the situations in which we will be immersed beginning on Sunday when we head to our various deployment locations. I will actually be going to Huancavelica which is located in the Andes just southeast of Lima. (Map of this location: http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=es&q=Huancavelica,+Huancavelica,+Per%C3%BA&sll=37.509726,-95.712891&sspn=30.931016,53.261719&ie=UTF8&cd=3&geocode=FWHsPP8dMQSI-w&split=0&ll=-12.618897,-73.894043&spn=9.55256,13.31543&z=6 ).

Going back to our training sessions. Throughout the week I have gotten to know some really incredible people who have like myself wanted very much to take part in this internship. Most of the interns are either current students in different Universities across the country or recent graduates like myself. There is also a gentleman named Man Bui, who is friends with one of the members of the Ministry from their previous work at IBM, who along with his son has taken time off from his consulting work in the USA to help the Ministry improve this Program. He may be the most genuine and friendly individual I have ever had the chance to meet. His son, who is high school age, has been given a really great opportunity to expand his horizons before pursuing a college education.

All of our meetings take place in Spanish which has really helped me to improve my Spanish language skills. This aspect alone has made me extremely glad to have decided to come down and take part in this program.

I have to go because we are all going to happy hour at one of the Ministry Director´s homes. I will be sure to finish this entry. I wish everyone the best!

Ok I´m back to finish my thoughts. (the shift key on this computer doesn´t work real well so i´m sorry about no capital letters) But as I mentioned before i have really seen an improvement in my speaking abilities in only a week of being in Lima. this makes me look forward to the next six weeks when i forsee spanish being my only means of communication. We found out our assignments yesterday. we haven´t been given many details but we know we are catching a bus tomorrow at noon to go to Ayacucho which is in the Huancavelica region. From there we will go to the first school where we will be helping out for the first three weeks. these schools will be fairly modest and located in the andes. after three weeks we will move closer to ayacucho to help at another school for the remaining three weeks. essentially we will be helping the teachers to develop lesson plans that implement using the xo for learning purposes. as i mentioned before we don´t have many details because of the unforseen change of plans that occured because of the protests in the jungles. So wish us luck and safe travels!