June 11 2011
I was riding on the bus the other day, one of my favorite things to do (if it’s not crowded), and I was looking out the window. Sometimes, well most of the time now, I forget how beautiful this place is. It’s not until I am alone on the bus looking out the window that I realize where I am and how gorgeous it is. The coast is one of the things that can make me feel better on a bad day, but it can also make me feel claustrophobic realizing how small the piece of land I am on is compared to the ocean surrounding it. There is nowhere to go…
The honeymoon in paradise is over. There is a reason why Peace Corps are here. We are lucky not to have the threat of infectious diseases or for the most part criminal activity. The fear for me is the effect I have on the school, students and teachers and how well they will be able to sustain on their own. I know I am making in impact now, but part of our project is to leave the schools with the tools to maintain on their own once I leave. They are more than grateful for having me here. I don’t see the enthusiasm or motivation I would lik,e to learn new methods of teaching. I am not expecting to see results after only one term of teaching, but I can’t help the frustration. The last three weeks of school are super slow. Some teachers are giving exams; some are planning them so the students are doing nothing. It feels like there is meetings everyday which causes school to end early. I gave my English exam to my year 7 class. No one got a zero, which is an improvement, but I was a little disappointed in myself because it wasn’t the results I thought. I confided with another teacher, here response “I’m hungry”. Many of my conversations during a school day consist of the following….
Fia ai?= want to eat?
Fia moi?= want to sleep?
You go to salelologa?
The constant feeling of fia moi is because they are always “aiing”(eating, aiing is not a real word). I would also like to challenge the guy who does Man vs. Food to come here and have one of our lunches. Ten pounds later I am done being culturally sensitive with the food aspect of this culture. My host parents worry about me now because of my new portion size at dinner and my teachers are ecstatic because it means more food for them. Those of you who had this picture of all these fresh fruits and vegetables every day, well I wish. I guess it comes down to priorities in a sense. Many teachers feel that their daily mood over rides the students education. Lots of work to do, but it’s a good thing that we are here. There is so much potential for education, the schools just need a kick in the ass to wake them up.
Looking forward to the three week break. My group has a conference for the first half, then the second half its off to Australia with Colleen and Summer!
Peace and Love
Pa and Sarai on her 6th Birthday
Ma and Sarai
The Family all together
Flat Rosemary
Kids during Pese (singing) practice
typical breakfast for one....
Soccer Champs!
Hello Jenny,
ReplyDeletewhen I was just off university I also was often disappointed that things didn't move as quickly at work as I imagined. It took me a while to realize that things do improve, but they do on their own schedule.
Don't give up or be too unpaitent with your teaching collegues. I think you do a great job and it does make a difference that you are there!
Good luck,
Markus