I have started an informal English class with some artists. My class
consists of 5 full grown men who make and try to sell artwork, dresses, little
statues, jewelry and other stuff to tourists. They want to learn English so
that they can increase their client base. I have never taught English before or
anything really, so this has been an interesting process. The first class I
proceeded to just try my best to gauge their various levels and the most
successful way I could go about teaching them. Each week is a learning
experience but so far they have been very receptive and seem truly appreciative
of the time that I’m spending with them. Another project that I have is an English/Environmental
Club at the middle/high school. We have only met a couple of times and each
time the number increases slightly (I’m up to 5 kids now…). The purpose of the
club is simply for the kids to have a place to play games, review lessons and practice
speaking English outside of school. I am going to do my best to implement projects
such as learning how to compost and starting a school garden to make them more
environmentally conscious. That sounds so boring when I write it out like that…
I promise that we have fun too. This week we are reviewing body parts and
playing Simon Says, talk about a good time!
The final larger project that I am working on is teaching a course
called Junior Achievement at the elementary schools in my village. Junior
Achievement is, “an organization dedicated to the education of students on the
knowledge of the economy and business. The goal of Junior Achievement is to
inspire and prepare the youth for success.” It’s also about getting kids
thinking about their future and possible career paths they might want to
pursue. My class is about 25 kids between the ages of 9 and 14. Kids here all
start school at different ages depending on when their parents let them go
and/or can afford it. I think this also depends on how much their French
improves as time goes on. Oh yeah, did I mention I’m teaching this completely
in French? Good thing I’m at about the same language level as these kids. A
highlight of my first lesson was when I proposed the question of what these
kids wanted to be when they grow up. No one ever asks them something like that.
Most kids weren’t even sure how to respond but I had one who was confident and
quick in his response. I thought that he said a doctor; turns out he wants to
be a wrestler, classic mix-up.
Along with the previously mentioned projects I’m working on some
smaller scale things such as trying to formulate a grant for a possible youth
center to be built in my village and I’m also serving as a co-coordinator for
my work zone. This basically means that I am in charge of possible cross-sector
collaborative work, projects and the facilitation of these things. Soooo if
you’re still reading this, that pretty much catches you up on all of my wordy
work-related info.
Anyway, lately I’ve been feeling real philosophical and thinking a lot
about fate and how crucial of a role that timing plays in our lives. This might
be largely due to reading some interesting books and possibly also due to the
fact that every time I log into Facebook it seems like someone else is getting
engaged or some other life changing event. Is there something in the water over
there in good old America? It’s pretty crazy though to sit and wonder where I
might be and what I’d be doing if this Peace Corps thing wouldn’t have worked
out. I know this experience is going to shape the rest of my life, how could it
not? The question is how much is it going to shape?
At times I find myself jealous of the normality that I see every day
following other peoples’ lives. Did they have to get up this morning and heat a
pot of water to make their bucket bath lukewarm? Do they have to think through
almost everything they say, before they say it, but then still walk away after
conversations with a dumb-founded look on their faces? Do they have to
constantly prove their worth being a woman living in a male-dominated,
chauvinistic society? Yes, I chose this, and most days I’m happy about my
decision. My fear though, is what if I’m never going to be content settling
down? Most of my life has been spent chasing after the next adventure. What am
I really searching for?
I wonder how much will and won’t have changed by the time I come back
home. I wonder how much I will have changed. I already find myself
flabbergasted by some of the things that used to seem so important. I don’t
think I was ever that concerned with make-up, fancy clothes or stuff like that
but here, I don’t even own a mirror. I guess all I can really hope for is that
one day I will look back and be proud of the decisions that I made and the
person that I’ve become. Right now, I can’t help but feel like I am exactly
where I’m supposed to be. Sure, sometimes it’s really hard to see the normalcy
of other peoples’ lives but maybe my life wasn’t meant to follow that “normal”
path.
I suppose I’ll end this post by saying that I am not accusing anyone of
living a lesser life, or a better one, than anyone else. I think we all feel
where our paths are leading us and some of us are maybe just taking a more
roundabout way. I also realize that not everyone has had the opportunities that
I have had to be able to follow my adventurous itch and for that, as I’ve
stated many times before, I am incredibly grateful.
Until next time,
xx
No comments:
Post a Comment