This is my third time trying to start to write this blog so hopefully third time is a charm. There is just so much that happened today and so much that I want to say. I don’t even know where to begin. Today was definitely another one of those days that will stick with me and is helping me grow.
Christel House is where I started my day. It was the first day of internships and there were many good and bad that things that occurred. It was a lot more relaxed than I thought it was going to be. We got teatime from when we got there which was 8:30am until 9am. At 9am we all split off and went to different classrooms. I was in a Grade R classroom, which is a Kindergarten classroom. I definitely learned a lot today from just observing in this classroom. While we were at circle time going around and saying how their weekends were one girls weekend stood out to me. She said that she went to St. Johns to visit her aunt. I had no idea what St. Johns was, nor did the assistant in the classroom. The teacher then explained to us that St. Johns is a home for abused women. This just made me realize that these kids really do come from hard backgrounds and they really are here for a reason. Christel House presents these kids with a good education and gives them many opportunities that they probably would have not gotten at public schools. When I hear things like this it just makes me sad. When I found out I felt like I wanted to cry, it’s just sad that at such a young girl probably does not understand everything quite yet. But there are so many others out there in townships in particular that are going through similar situations. Many of these kids from houses where their parents abuse them or have drug problems. I can only hope that at their time at Christel House they will be able to get out and use it to the full advantage. I really look forward to seeing these children succeed.
The whole idea and goal of Christel house is really breath taking and just blows my mind. But the discipline and way they teach is different than what I am used to. In Grade R many of the kids do not know how to speak English most either speak Afrikaans or Xhosa. The teacher I was with Ms. Loren spoke fluently in both English and Afrikaans and her assistant spoke Xhosa. She taught the class in English but then would translate instructions or if the students did not understand in Afracans and then the aide would translate in Xhosa. Overall I really like the teacher I was paired with and we made a good connection. There were some things i did not understand. For example, two students were talking Afrikaans and were scolded and told "you both know English so speak English I don’t want to hear any Afrikaans." This made me confused because they were just working on a worksheet minding their own business. During free time I think they should be allowed to talk in whichever language they feel comfortable as long as they are not excluding others. By telling them they are forbidden to speak their native tongue in a way takes away their identity. I understand that they are trying to teach them English but I do not understand why they can't use both.
The vibe I got from the school was that it seemed like many of the faculty and teachers were very strict. At snack time they were not allowed to talk to each other. The children ate in complete silence. This was very different to me and I didn’t like it mostly because I wanted to talk to and get to know the students. When another teacher came into the room and talked to her. The kids were sitting in their chairs quietly waiting for her to give them instructions.
I did think that she was a good teacher and did care about her students. I just think the way they run the class is a little bit different in South Africa than in the U.S. You have to take into account that the culture itself is more relaxed and laid back with the teatimes and long lunch breaks. It takes some getting used to and is not the same as the U.S but that does not mean that it is necessarily bad. I have realized being here that you have to be opened to other cultures. You have to respect them and know that they might do things differently. It is good to be open to new ideas and things.
In classroom today I was able to play with the kids during their recess. They all wanted to play with me and many touched my hair. The kids were all so adorable. They were asking me where I got all of my jewelry and giggled every time I said I got my ring from my boyfriend. At recess they all wanted me to watch them jump rope or hula hoop. It was cute and made me realize that they probably don’t get hardly any attention at home. It just makes me sad that these kids probably don’t get the love and care that they deserve. It makes me realize how lucky and fortunate I am to have such a wonderful and caring family.
Today just made me realize how fortunate I am for everything around me. It just hit me today. I have a bed to sleep in at night and I live in a nice house with a pool and a gate. Some of people here live in these shacks where anyone can break in and are very small and not very sturdy. It just made me feel so selfish and awful for every time that I complained for not having a car or getting this or that. I can’t believe how selfish I am for wanting more even though I already had so much. These people have nothing at all. Like Ryan was saying at his internship, which is the clinic, some people were waiting there since 5am to be seen. If we were in the U.S some people would have complained or had a hissy fit. Here Ryan said that there were no complaints or anything people were just happy to be seen. There are many things in the U.S that throughout my life I have taken for granted like running water, good health care, and a good education. It just makes me sad and makes me feel guilty for complaining about money when many do not have hardly any.
At least the kids I saw today were given a chance to break that poverty. I was so happy to be able to interact with the kids. I was able to help while the kids were in the centers and read books to them. I had a long lunch break and then when I got back they were all asleep for nap time. They unfortunately had nap time until I left. But I was able to talk to the teacher during nap time. I was telling her about the kids and playing with them. She was saying how I was new and different and that made them curious about me and excited. She said that if she can’t play with them everyday that she has to play the role of the teacher and keep that authoritative figure. If she doesn’t then they will be more relaxed and not take her seriously. This was a very good point and makes a lot of sense to me. At home the kids might not have as many rules either so that is why Christel house is very strict. The kids need the rules to keep out of trouble and to keep the kids in place. It seemed to me that none of them really caused any problems. I was very surprised at how polite they were.
If I was a teacher at Christel house I would try to show my students that they can succeed and I would try to show them that I believe in them. Their lives are already tough as it is so they really need to know that at least someone is there for them. Shortly after my first day of internships was over I was able to meet up with everyone else. We had class and ended up talking about the internships. Many did not have as much of a good time that I did.
This whole class and being here and everything has made me realize many things. It has made me look at things differently and become more conscious of race. I have seen a lot and all of the poverty that everyone is going through. It has opened my eyes and I do enjoy talking about it. It has made me want to do even more and help out. It has also made me want to go outside of my comfort zone when I am here. I want to really live it up when I am here. I want to do as much as I can and really take advantage of everything. Now is the time to really explore and do things that I have always wanted to do. I plan on going surfing hopefully every week, bungee jumping (don’t worry mom I’ll be safe!) and many more adventurous things. Most of all I want to sleepover in a township for a weekend and help with household chores and experience how they live. I know it is just for a short time but I hope to work with people in the townships in the future. Today has taught me a lot and it really did just hit me. I came into this trip wanting to grow and help and I feel like I am definitely doing that. I just did not realize how hard it would be. But I am very excited for the future!
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