“Ordinary is what you are used to. This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary.” - Margaret Atwood
Happy New Year to everyone. I hope the holidays were enjoyed by all. For me, like last year, even though I of course missed home, I enjoyed my time here over the holidays. The Saturday before Christmas I celebrated with a regional volunteer and his group of orphans where they danced and sang and Santa even appeared. Christmas Eve I danced with my friend’s children and ate a nice meal. Christmas morning a friend and I hosted a ‘children’s time’ outdoors where we provided ten kids with juice boxes, snacks, balloons and some other toys. We took photos and everyone had a nice time. Then I hung out all day with different friends in my neighborhood, eating and drinking well. New Year’s Eve was a huge outdoor dance until 5 am and visiting friends again the next day. So my holidays were simply a nice break from working and fun with friends.
My photos on the other site really show what we did for HIV/AIDS education in the schools in December. We still have a few remaining sessions until my girls club and I approach another subject. My English club is meeting regularly and we discuss interesting topics while I correct their grammatical errors. We have a good time together and they are excited about the correspondence we are starting with a French class in the US. I also have the English class that I team teach with exchanging emails with a French class in Newton, Iowa- my hometown. The class is fun and they are full of energy. Oh how I miss having that energy!
It’s always interesting to witness something that demonstrates how the children view their education. One day, a student that hasn’t yet paid his school fees was literally pushed out the door of the classroom by other students that didn’t want him in there receiving a “free education.” The director was gone that day, so just me teaching, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it at first. I know each day when the director is there he makes the student leave, as it’s not fair to the others who have paid with their parent’s hard earned money. He usually tries to hide and follow the lesson from outside, sometimes angering the director. This time, he thought he would test me, but I just let the students handle it, as long as they weren’t out of hand. So he ended up outside in the sun like the other times. Sad, but you can’t make exceptions. It is unfair to the others - school fees aren’t cheap, especially for these more rural families. It is not uncommon for kids to take two years to pass a grade or for an 18 year old to be sitting next to a 10 year old in the same class. Some years families just can’t afford it. Kids here love school and know they need to do well to better their lives.
I thank everyone who has helped with my orphanage project, which is on target. We have raised around $15,000 already in less than two months. Have some more to go, but I know we will get it. I was featured in my hometown’s newspaper which helped a lot, as well as many friends and family giving money and spreading the word for me. My parents organized a very successful fundraiser at their church with a beautiful power point presentation and dinner. They did an outstanding job explaining my project and talking about their trip over here last September. So many people are so generous. Big thanks to everyone who has helped in any way!
I guess it’s the little things here that also bring joy to my life. Having crazy conversations about how in some countries snacking on cockroaches is a pastime, or talking American politics and how people view the US potentially having a woman president. People laugh at how I burn my sensitive hands when I crush hot peppers, which I LOVE! But it’s so worth it as it brings much needed life to some of my meals here! It’s always fun when I see a group of old women coming from the market with big loads on their heads, and I greet them in local language, and they return the greeting like normal, and then I just wait….it always comes. A few seconds later it always hits them (if they don’t know me)….. “Ahhhh??? That YOVO just spoke GOUN to us! She understands our language!” And then I shout back, “No, I only speak a few words,” not wanting that they get too excited! ;-)
Clothes made in the developing world and sold to “the west” are then given back through charities and are sold again second-hand in the developing countries. Peace Corps volunteers and locals alike buy up the good stuff like crazy; there are even some volunteers planning on bringing some of it back to the US to save a few bucks for those entry-level positions requiring business casual. ;-)
There are some great photos of the English class and Christmas with local kids on my flickr site (address near the disclaimer above). And here are some videos from the classroom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xDLmVTDgH4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emCf7CIWFWM
Happy New Year to everyone. I hope the holidays were enjoyed by all. For me, like last year, even though I of course missed home, I enjoyed my time here over the holidays. The Saturday before Christmas I celebrated with a regional volunteer and his group of orphans where they danced and sang and Santa even appeared. Christmas Eve I danced with my friend’s children and ate a nice meal. Christmas morning a friend and I hosted a ‘children’s time’ outdoors where we provided ten kids with juice boxes, snacks, balloons and some other toys. We took photos and everyone had a nice time. Then I hung out all day with different friends in my neighborhood, eating and drinking well. New Year’s Eve was a huge outdoor dance until 5 am and visiting friends again the next day. So my holidays were simply a nice break from working and fun with friends.
My photos on the other site really show what we did for HIV/AIDS education in the schools in December. We still have a few remaining sessions until my girls club and I approach another subject. My English club is meeting regularly and we discuss interesting topics while I correct their grammatical errors. We have a good time together and they are excited about the correspondence we are starting with a French class in the US. I also have the English class that I team teach with exchanging emails with a French class in Newton, Iowa- my hometown. The class is fun and they are full of energy. Oh how I miss having that energy!
It’s always interesting to witness something that demonstrates how the children view their education. One day, a student that hasn’t yet paid his school fees was literally pushed out the door of the classroom by other students that didn’t want him in there receiving a “free education.” The director was gone that day, so just me teaching, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it at first. I know each day when the director is there he makes the student leave, as it’s not fair to the others who have paid with their parent’s hard earned money. He usually tries to hide and follow the lesson from outside, sometimes angering the director. This time, he thought he would test me, but I just let the students handle it, as long as they weren’t out of hand. So he ended up outside in the sun like the other times. Sad, but you can’t make exceptions. It is unfair to the others - school fees aren’t cheap, especially for these more rural families. It is not uncommon for kids to take two years to pass a grade or for an 18 year old to be sitting next to a 10 year old in the same class. Some years families just can’t afford it. Kids here love school and know they need to do well to better their lives.
I thank everyone who has helped with my orphanage project, which is on target. We have raised around $15,000 already in less than two months. Have some more to go, but I know we will get it. I was featured in my hometown’s newspaper which helped a lot, as well as many friends and family giving money and spreading the word for me. My parents organized a very successful fundraiser at their church with a beautiful power point presentation and dinner. They did an outstanding job explaining my project and talking about their trip over here last September. So many people are so generous. Big thanks to everyone who has helped in any way!
I guess it’s the little things here that also bring joy to my life. Having crazy conversations about how in some countries snacking on cockroaches is a pastime, or talking American politics and how people view the US potentially having a woman president. People laugh at how I burn my sensitive hands when I crush hot peppers, which I LOVE! But it’s so worth it as it brings much needed life to some of my meals here! It’s always fun when I see a group of old women coming from the market with big loads on their heads, and I greet them in local language, and they return the greeting like normal, and then I just wait….it always comes. A few seconds later it always hits them (if they don’t know me)….. “Ahhhh??? That YOVO just spoke GOUN to us! She understands our language!” And then I shout back, “No, I only speak a few words,” not wanting that they get too excited! ;-)
Clothes made in the developing world and sold to “the west” are then given back through charities and are sold again second-hand in the developing countries. Peace Corps volunteers and locals alike buy up the good stuff like crazy; there are even some volunteers planning on bringing some of it back to the US to save a few bucks for those entry-level positions requiring business casual. ;-)
There are some great photos of the English class and Christmas with local kids on my flickr site (address near the disclaimer above). And here are some videos from the classroom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xDLmVTDgH4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emCf7CIWFWM
posted by Sara Birkenholz at 5:42 AM
1 Comments:
Dude! I just so wish i could speak french!! That little Masim is sooooo cute and it is so obvious that not only is he totally changing and expanding your life - you're doing that for him. What an amazing gift!! Over here things are well - we're going to Peru for a little vacation here in a couple of weeks. I can hardly wait as it's been soooooo cold and i am excited about the idea of being warm all the way through my body! I bet you can hardly remember the freezing cold winters - that will take some getting used to again! also, i bought a new car! a vw rabbit - it's green and it's a hatchback and i'm so excited! i'll give you a ride when you get back! also, we got a cat - his name is nixon, and he's the most gosh darn adorable thing ever (although not nearly as edible as your pet roosters!) you can see some pictures of him (and us) on my new flickr site! (http://flickr.com/photos/michellepinkston/)
i hope you're well - as usual! post some english videos so we can all check you out!! muwahs!
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