Are you ready to be challenged?
A reflection from the land of the Inka's
By Annie-Jane Finch-Johnson (views are author’s own)
I have to be honest.
Peru was never really on my list for teaching internationally. As a place to visit on travels, a quick in and out to see Machu Picchu, sure.
But to live?
For teaching internationally, all I had ever really heard was Asia, the UAE and Europe, so naturally this is where I started my search.
Then, up came a job in Lima, Peru!
I was intrigued, shocked and took the opportunity to look into Peru as a place to work, which to my surprise it was looking much more attractive than at first thought. After much discussion, I took the leap and here I am, writing this in Lima, Peru.
Teaching in Peru
It is hard for me to generalise what teaching in Peru is like, it is incredibly diverse.
I work in an International school, of which there are many here in Lima, and some across other cities in Peru. Following this, you have Faith schools and then local and rural state schools. The difference in resources, staffing and facilities are vast and my experiences of what it is like to teach in Peru are solely based on Independent schooling.
One thing I have loved about working in an International school here in Peru is that there is freedom.
Yes, schools have to work alongside and report on areas of the Peruvian National Curriculum, but for the most part, the curriculum you can run to meet this, can be school choice. Working in England meant restrictions, guidelines, tick boxes, and OFSTED expectations, often created with no real understanding on how learning takes place, or about students themselves. Here I have freedom to implement things, create lessons that meet the needs of the students without all the unnecessary bureaucracy - and I can enjoy the science of teaching.
Of course, there is still pressure for the students to get their IGCSE and IB grades, but on the whole, you feel trusted to do this.
The school year in Peru follows a more Southern Hemisphere style academic calendar; we start in March and end in December. At first, I thought I was going to struggle with this, four long 8-10 week terms with the odd week or three to break it up, how was I going to deal with that after being used to normally a seven-week term maximum and then a minimum week off? Surprisingly well, I have to admit! I am still on the fence a little, but for the time being at least, I would say that I am enjoying the academic calendar here!
Firstly, the school year runs in the same calendar year so there is no confusion with a 20/21 cohort - it is a 21 cohort. The terms are long but there is so much going on, before you can even blink its week 6 of 9 and you are near the end of the bimester.
Nevertheless, amid the COVID-19 pandemic many schools have suffered. We have been fortunate to move pretty seamlessly from in-person to online teaching and learning, but the state run schools have suffered hugely. The students have received 1 hour a day on TV to try to maintain their learning, however, many families do not have access to internet or TV and therefore have lacked in any education for what is now over a year…
In Peru, we still have no information on when schools will return full time face-to-face.
The Challenges
After living in a small town in the Kent countryside before moving to Lima, Peru, it was incredibly rare you would be woken up at 2 am from a beeping horn.
However, In Lima, this is a common occurrence.
They love to beep a horn!
The driving is crazy (like many cities across the world) and any inconvenience that may stop a driver continuing on their journey will be met with an aggressive horn, often lasting longer than one beep, instead a holding of the horn for around 30 seconds!!
And service!
This challenge probably comes more from my built in English ways. The normality of please and thank you’s, the customer is always right and English politeness.
If you head to a “posher” or “tourist” focused restaurant here you will get all of this (for the most part), but in general it is lacking and initially it is frustrating. Nevertheless, the longer I am here the more I am becoming accustomed to this ‘style’ of service, and have even noticed myself (from what I initially was shocked by) waving my hand to call over a member of staff.
The Amazements
What a BEAUTIFUL country!
Peru is so diverse, the beach, Amazon, cities, mountains - it has it all!
You could easily spend 2 years living here as an expat just travelling to see every crevice of Peru.
One minute you can be in Cusco visiting Machu Picchu, traditional festivals, mountain ranges and the Sacred Valley, travel a few hours by car and you are in the Amazon - how is that possible? The country will never disappoint in terms of instagrammable opportunities.
Weather!
On the whole, across Peru you have very set ‘seasons’ depending on where you want to go. It is one thing I have definitely appreciated here; I know what to wear the majority of the time. In Lima from December - April you are in summer months and May - November winter months - you NEVER have to worry about rain. By this I mean rain as we know it if you come from the UK or similar climates. You can be outside all year round and not worry about getting soaked!
These are of course only a couple of examples, but even in just the 2 years I have been living internationally, I have noticed the changes within myself. I have recognised things about home that I do not particularly like and would prefer to change, yet realised the things that were so small yet so important now they are not always readily available (decent tea bags being one of these).
It sounds cliché, but I appreciate these changes; they are making me a more rounded person and I enjoy (for the most part) being challenged in my thoughts and ingrained ways.
I am learning to value what is important for me in my life and the future I want to live.
If anyone is on the fence about moving and working internationally, my advice to you is to reflect on my favourite quote from Lewis Carroll:
“In the end…. We only regret the chances we didn’t take, the relationships we were afraid to have, and the decisions we waited too long to make”.
By Annie-Jane Finch-Johnson (views are author’s own)
BIOGRAPHY
Annie is a Head of Year and Teacher of PE at an International School in Lima, Peru. She has a particular interest in pastoral care in education and used her Masters in Transformational Leadership as an additional opportunity to explore pastoral care nationally and internationally. Annie has recently started writing about pastoral care at talkpastoral.com. Connect with Annie: Twitter: @TALKPASTORAL and LinkedIN
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