Blaring South African vuvuzelas (long, plastic horns that make the incessant buzzing noise) and loud chanting remind us daily that the FIFA World Cup has commenced! It has been an exciting time, as the fervor for the home team, Bafana-bafana, continues to grow. Talk about the matches has allowed us to quickly meet the friendly and enthusiastic locals who live nearby.
Today was our first day teaching our Problem Solving Camp at Letsie High School. We arrived to a nicely organized classroom filled with thirty excited Form D students. It did not take long to break the ice with our students, as they giggled every time we tried to pronounce their long, multi-syllabic names. As we explained to them the camp’s rules, expectations, goals, and supplies, the students’ faces lit up with a desire to learn and be challenged in a new way. We were able to do most of our proposed lesson plan for the day, but realized that in the future, we need to be much slower in explaining our concepts, activities, and games. For the vast majority of the students, the concept of critical thinking and a model for problem solving are completely foreign. We hope to use our problem solving model to help them in all areas of their life, including academics, interpersonal relationships, and community efforts such as environmental conservation and HIV/AIDS.
At the end of each lesson, we also give the students a time to reflect in their journals and freely write about a certain topic, with today’s prompt being: “write about an interesting experience.” I was both humbled and touched as I read their entries- as they were incredibly honest, recounting fun birthday parties, love stories, or hardships they face within their families. I am already encouraged by how thoroughly these students seem to understand the reality of their situation but still have an unyielding desire to pursue education for a chance at a better future.
On another note, we also had the chance to try our first taste of true Lesotho food. Our camp includes lunch for our students and teachers, which the secretary of the school has graciously agreed to cook for us. Today, we had heaps of their staple food called papa (a white, thick, cornmeal-like starch), minced meat with diced potatoes and carrots, and cooked cabbage. For myself, the meal and the chance to eat with my hands made me reminiscent of eating traditional Indonesian food, the true Indonesian way. I thought the food was delicious!
Cheers,
Beverly