Day Five

After an exhausting and overwheliming day yesterday, everyone came to the breakfast table refreshed and buzzing with ideas and plans for today.
The ride to school was different kind of excitement with a little less of the unknown facing us. The students were even more excited to see us coming down the road ths morning; perhaps because now we are recognized as friends and a little less alien. Jumping out of the car, the kids were there to greet us, and friendly waves and smiles met us all the way to the staff room.
Had a bit of a wait before our first class, so took the opportunity to visit and play with some of the students. This is one of the areas I have found very different in Zambia--the lack of interaction outside the classroom. The newest discovery of the day was my camera, which attracted piles (literally, kids piling on top of each other) who wanted to be in a picture, and, more importantly, see the end result on the screen. It is difficult to capture "moments" when students rush to pose at the sight of the camera. Many cartwheels were turned and poses made (groups of students showing up at the classroom door) in hopes I would pull out my camera.
Our first team-taught lesson went well. A bit frustrating from my end as both the students and my partner teacher are discoverying this new way of learning and teaching...but, even one new technique used in today's class is progress!
Break time--Kate and I brought our frisbees and paddle ball for the kids and almost had a riot on our hands. The kids were SO pumped to see these things emerge from our bags; they didn't care if they knew what they were or not! We ended up spending a bit of time throwing the frisbee around, and it was dutifully brought back to the staff room at the end of the day by the designated "frisbee monitor".
Watched Kate's P.E. class build a human pyramid--awesome!
Enjoyed a shared lunch with the entire staff, so yum! One of my students brought fresh bush fruit for us to try--an interesting taste of Zambia.
Observed a senior English class and was very proud, for lack of a better word, to see the respect the students have for themselves. Their refusal to sit on the ground so as not to dirty their uniforms reinforced to me what I have continued to witness since being here. That is, despite the amount that the people here lack (from our perspective), they take pride in the lives they live, the things they do have, and the work that they do. Their humble and modest nature commands respect from others, and their potential for greatness is no less than ours. Maybe even more so.
As we waited for the others to arrive after school, we played a rousing game of Duck, Duck, Goose, followed by a similar Zambian game. I think the kids were surprised to see I could run, and their laughter and excitement was just awesome as they watched their teachers finally participate in these games with them.
After our planning sessions were over and we piled into the car, I received a wave and a face--my face--from one of the students. A student has taken to mimicking my facial expressions, and does it so well it's like looking at myself! This was closely followed by students chasing the car, pointing to me, yelling "you!" and then laughing so hard they had to stop running--this all stemming from the games we were playing earlier.
Back at the hotel, Kate and I went for a walk (actually, Sam drove us) into town. As much as we are still spectacles to this community, I felt myself walking down the main street confidently and with direction as part of the community. Since Sam was with us, we were able to venture down into the "market" area of town, which was just amazing to experience.
I'm sure I have missed some details of the day, but there are just too many to include them all. Tomorrow will definitely bring just as much excitement. I'm loving this trip more everyday!

Cheers,
Laura Swan
Massey High School