Testimony of Sarah Rasmussen
My Time at the Mary Bloom Center:
My time teaching at the Mary Bloom Center was genuinely a really fun and wonderful experience. The staff, the kids, and their families were all so kind and caring towards me and the rest of the group. I’ve never been away from home for so long, and being included in such a kind, loving, and supportive group of people helped me feel comfortable and at home while in Puno. It would take me millions and millions of words to fully describe how wonderful everyone at Mary Bloom is. Everyone there has a heart of gold, and I’m so lucky to have met them for even a short time. I think about them all constantly still.
I was placed into a group with my grandma, and Janine, one of Father Bloom’s grandchildren. We were placed with the group of older teens for the duration of the week there. We had both a morning and afternoon group that would swap during lunch time. For the most part, we did a lot of reading. My favorite book, and the one we read on the first day meeting everyone was ‘Necesito un abrazo’ or ‘I need a hug’, which is a really cute story about a porcupine who goes around asking for a hug. The teens in our group were actually the ones to pick out the book, which made it even better. We also read a book about St. Martin de Porres, and his life. It was a reading-filled day, but the books really helped to break the ice and calm any nerves we had about working with our group. The books being in English also allowed for some fun English lessons in between activities.
My favorite day personally was the 2nd day, when I had the chance to take over my group’s curriculum. Melani was able to last minute print some star chart crafts I had found online at the last minute, so I had the opportunity to teach the teens a lot about our solar system and the night sky. Star charts are pieces of paper you fold together that rotate to what month of the year it is and show you what stars and constellations are in the sky at that time. Janine, my grandma, and I spent the whole day helping everyone assemble their charts, color them, and answer questions about the night sky. From shooting stars to planets, to the Star of Bethlehem, we covered everything we could in the few hours we had with each group. Interacting with a group of teens that I could share a common interest in was a really great way to get to know them all even more.
From that point forward, it was more group crafts, books, bingo with Father Bloom (a group favorite), a volleyball tournament, and a closing ceremony before our time in Puno was done. It was all so much fun, but also such a wonderful learning experience for me. I still miss everyone so much, and I hope that one day my travels lead me back to Peru.
-Sarah Rasmussen.
My time teaching at the Mary Bloom Center was genuinely a really fun and wonderful experience. The staff, the kids, and their families were all so kind and caring towards me and the rest of the group. I’ve never been away from home for so long, and being included in such a kind, loving, and supportive group of people helped me feel comfortable and at home while in Puno. It would take me millions and millions of words to fully describe how wonderful everyone at Mary Bloom is. Everyone there has a heart of gold, and I’m so lucky to have met them for even a short time. I think about them all constantly still.
I was placed into a group with my grandma, and Janine, one of Father Bloom’s grandchildren. We were placed with the group of older teens for the duration of the week there. We had both a morning and afternoon group that would swap during lunch time. For the most part, we did a lot of reading. My favorite book, and the one we read on the first day meeting everyone was ‘Necesito un abrazo’ or ‘I need a hug’, which is a really cute story about a porcupine who goes around asking for a hug. The teens in our group were actually the ones to pick out the book, which made it even better. We also read a book about St. Martin de Porres, and his life. It was a reading-filled day, but the books really helped to break the ice and calm any nerves we had about working with our group. The books being in English also allowed for some fun English lessons in between activities.
My favorite day personally was the 2nd day, when I had the chance to take over my group’s curriculum. Melani was able to last minute print some star chart crafts I had found online at the last minute, so I had the opportunity to teach the teens a lot about our solar system and the night sky. Star charts are pieces of paper you fold together that rotate to what month of the year it is and show you what stars and constellations are in the sky at that time. Janine, my grandma, and I spent the whole day helping everyone assemble their charts, color them, and answer questions about the night sky. From shooting stars to planets, to the Star of Bethlehem, we covered everything we could in the few hours we had with each group. Interacting with a group of teens that I could share a common interest in was a really great way to get to know them all even more.
From that point forward, it was more group crafts, books, bingo with Father Bloom (a group favorite), a volleyball tournament, and a closing ceremony before our time in Puno was done. It was all so much fun, but also such a wonderful learning experience for me. I still miss everyone so much, and I hope that one day my travels lead me back to Peru.
-Sarah Rasmussen.
