6/12/10: The Vision
Today we went to the SOS Children’s’ Village, which is an orphanage. When children enter the system they are put into 10-kid homes, equipped with a “mom” and an “aunt”. These homes are clad with white stone exteriors and have a full kitchen, electricity, and running water (which I’m told is rare in Lesotho). When the children are around 14 years old, they are transferred to a “teen-run” house, a 2-bedroom building that has 8 teenagers in it. There they learn life skills and are given an allowance to budget for food and travel. When the children turn 18 they are sent back to relatives or neighbors from their previous childhoods (or before orphanage), not without setting up an internship or job beforehand. They are taken excellent care of and those we saw seemed jovial and healthy. I think some children are better off in this facility than many that I see at home. It’s hard to weigh the cost of having loving parents and meager living situations vs a group atmosphere and no true family, though. I suppose I am not the right person to make this distinction.
After our return we were approached by several young girls (which happens every time we venture outside of the lodge). They were very friendly and walked with us a while as we checked out more of Thaba Bosiu (apparently this is it; the lodge we stay at is one of the only attractions and the rest is rural farmland). We took pictures with them (which they LOVED seeing!) and they gave us a brief history of the Thaba Bosiu mountain, which is home to the tombs of the Kings of Lesotho. When we were ready to head back to the lodge the girls asked us for money and candy, which seemed so natural to them. We said we had none and headed home.
On our way back we passed the “general cafe” and decided to go inside. One woman was having a weave braided into her hair and had remembered us from our walk a previous day. She was very friendly and affable, and so excited that we would be spending our time at Letsie, where her children will go after they finish primary school. The café sold bread and canned goods (I personally wouldn’t eat their bread though) as well as soap and other household essentials.
As we left to return to Mmelesi Lodge, several groups of school-aged boys approached us, or wanted to “meet our acquaintances” as they said (why don’t men in America speak like that!?!). One boy was very friendly and gave us all Sesotho names; my name is “Bonang” (pronounced “bow-nah” with a very subtle/silent g on the end), which means “the vision”. I instantly fell in love with it.
Beth and I had to completely revise our biology lesson plans, for we created reviews for Biology and Life science, while Letsie teaches Human and Social Biology. Actually though, I think that it is better that the students learn the social biology rather than traditional biology; knowledge of cellular structure would do them little good here, whereas proper sanitary techniques and STD prevention knowledge is essential for living a healthier life.
6/13/10: Food for Thought
Today was a very non-eventful day, so I read for a long while in Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. It may be one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. He says such inspirational words in between his recollections, words that could inspire anyone. I think one of the reasons why I love the book so much right now is that I am actually in Africa and can relate (on some level) to what he is saying. Even though I have never slept on a dirt floor or eaten fire-roasted pig, I still can get a clear picture in my mind of what that must have been like. It’s very enjoyable and overall inspirational. I think that is just the word for the book, inspirational. I can’t think of a word that better describes it. I strongly believe everyone should read it.
6/14/10: Ohhhh Big Mountain
Today was our first day teaching at Letsie. Because the rest of the week will be filled with practice COSC exams for the students (aka not a lot of fun), we decided to keep today light and fun. After stating our expectations of the students for the course and playing some get to know you games, the day was over.
The students were all very high-spirited and seemed to be very comfortable with one another. They were shy in the beginning with us, but once we started playing some games they acted like any other teenager/20-year-old would. They range in age from 17 to 22, but I don’t think that the older ones will feel bad about having younger teachers. After several games we got to “Big Mountain”, which is a more-appropriately named version of “Big Booty”. The girls laughed at how I pronounced “mountain”, so it was good that they felt comfortable enough around me to even jest at my “accent”.
For lunch we ate the traditional papa and moroho (I think that is how it is spelled). I did not care for it at all. I politely ate my portion that they served me, but from now on I think I will be eating a bagged lunch. The spices and cooking still are not agreeing with my stomach.
6/15/10: Phagocytosis looks like THIS
Today was our first official day with the COSC review course. Beth and I provided a diagnostic Human and Social Biology exam to our form E (equivalent to high school senior) students, corrected the exam while the students went on break, and went over the correct answers together.
The results were surprising; yesterday the students seemed so lively and confident. Today, after the test, the room was silent and the students often just had blank expressions on their faces. The highest score was around a 60%, and one student only managed to answer 5 out of 40 multiple choice questions correctly. The rest scored within the 40-50% range. It seemed to me that they were aware and embarrassed of their low marks, but they accepted the false belief that they couldn’t really do much more. Although they were all excited at the prospect of us teaching and preparing them for the COSC exams, I couldn’t help but feel that they were not truly convinced. I may be way off-base here, but the general atmosphere of the room after the diagnostic exam was that of fear and defeat. If there is one thing that I hope to inspire in these Basothos by the time I leave is a sense of accomplishment and confidence in the classroom. Even if they only feel confident about multiplying fractions, that would definitely be an improvement from the atmosphere today.
It is hard to comprehend the stark difference in disposition; outside of the classroom the students are a completely different breed. They laugh, they joke, they smile. Inside the classroom they are timid and afraid. The only time they laughed was when I explained the concept of phagocytosis, which appeared as a question on the diagnostic test. I made a large C-shape with my arms and pretended to “eat” Beth, because this is the best analogy to what phagocytes do in the body; they “eat” pathogens and foreign particles. After enduring their laughter directed at me for a few seconds, I feel pretty confident that no student will incorrectly diagram a phagocyte from a red blood cell ever again – they will definitely remember what a phagocyte looks like. It appears I may need to make a fool of myself in front of the class for them to remember some of the obscure or tricky material. If that’s all it takes though, I’m certainly game! My brief embarrassment is a small price to pay in order to make a huge difference in their education.