15 Photos from Rural Peru

A Truly Intercultural Experience

For the last 10 days, I have been back in the Cusco region of Peru to present the preliminary results of the research I participated in with UNICEF on Intercultural Bilingual Education. We have been back to the five schools in remote communities that were the focus of the study, and have had meetings with local and regional governments. The five schools are known as some of the “best” intercultural bilingual schools, ensuring that students learn to speak both Quechua and Spanish, understand and value the local Andean culture, know how to take care of their lands and the environment, and at the same time develop the skills necessary for success in Peruvian cities or wherever else their lives takes them.

It has been a very rewarding experience for me; I have learned from extremely dedicated teachers, students, and parents, and I hope to share their stories so that others can appreciate and learn from them. Soon, I will write in more detail about that. For now, I want to share some of the beautiful and quirky sites I have seen along the way. Intercultural education isn’t just about language and traditions, it’s also about appreciating other contexts and realities, and I have certainly appreciated rural Peru! Here are some of the highlights from the last ten days:

Having to traverse this recently constructed bridge by foot because the rains had created a river too strong for the car we were in:

This face:

Being back here:

This sitting dog:

This proud father who insisted on having his picture taken with his daughter in front of the Tupac Amaru II statue:

The fact that in rural Cusco, all of the political parties have a local product or symbol as their emblem (potato, bread, coca, etc) – here’s the potato party:

This sleeping baby:

The sky over Cusco city:

This exit sign:

These skirts:

This (intercultural education at its finest?):

This gift basket: potatoes, corn, beans, wheat, barley, olluco, and chuño:

This baby cow born a few hours before we arrived:

These children dancing:

Feeling like I’m on top of the world: