Bwana Asifiwe!! (Praise the LORD!!) I have made it through the chaos and I am still in one piece. It's kind of refreshing to realize that I'm learning to let go of things. Here, there doesn't seem to be a huge weight put on completing things by a certain deadline, or arriving on time, or really doing anything in a timely manner. And, although some of personal pressure I put on myself still exists, I'm realizing (once again) that I'm human and I have limitations. And, although I felt terrible that I didn't do my Kiswahili homework for last night, I knew there was no way I could've gotten it done and we did the work during the lesson.
Today, I had an interesting new experience. Teaching in a classroom with a metal roof and windows with no glass in the pouring rain. I'm not sure if you've ever been in a building with a metal roof during a bad rainstorm (we're talking thunder and everything else), but it is LOUD. Also, I'm sure you can imagine this, but the rain was coming in through the open windows. Thus, in the middle of class, we had to rearrange the furniture and room set up so that the students and their stuff wouldn't get wet. Well, once we situated ourselves once more, it became quite apparent that there was little hope for me completing any form of a lesson. I had to yell just to talk to a student that I was standing next to, and I felt utterly hopeless to try and yell loud enough for the whole class to hear. In addition, my throat was still not feeling top notch (though each day I am feeling much better!!), and yelling made that whole situation much worse. I attempted to write the directions on the board, but without being able to fully explain them using words, I still found that I had to go up to each student and yell the directions to them. It was really quite a comical situation!!
Well, I survived first period with Class VII, and I had second period off to grade, and then I was off to Class V. But, unfortunately all the yelling in Class VII had done a lot to agitate my poor throat and by the end of Class V I was coughing up a storm. Thankfully, I had some time off after Class V to rest my voice and grade before Class VI which went quite well.
One of the teachers from school has asked me to tutor her daughter who is in Class VI. I agreed and decided that I could spare 1 hour after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I feel like my personal time keeps getting crunched more and more. Although I'm honored that so many people are happy I'm here and want me to be involved in so many activities and do so many things, I have to constantly remind myself that I'm human and I can only do so much. I have to remind myself that while my job here is to help, I cannot do a good job if I'm constantly stressed out or if I don't have enough time to myself to just relax. It's hard to admit it, but as much as I want to, I can't always help everyone. I'm thinking about asking a few other students (particular ones who are struggling) if they want to come to the tutoring sessions, but I want to limit the number to about 5-6.
I really wish I could tutor every student, but unfortunately I know that's completely impossible. Each student is unique and needs help in different areas. Some students learn fast and others learn slow. It's hard to make sure there's enough work to keep the students who are good in English busy and occupied, but not so much work that the slow learners fall behind. And, right now, I feel like (especially in the larger classes V and VI), there are about 2-3 students in each that are falling slowly behind. *sigh* I know it's the age old problem of every teacher, and I hope that I'm doing a good job of balancing the lessons so that everyone gets something out of them. I do have to say, though, I'm very much looking forward to going into speech pathology because I enjoy working with students in small groups and one-on-one so very much. I feel that by being here I've also gained new insights into language development and the development of the pronunciation of words. There is so much to learn about placement and vowel shape when learning a new language and when teaching a new language. It's really very fascinating!! :D
Well, I'm going to leave things here for now. I've got more pictures that I took last week and this past weekend, but I'm sorry to say that I don't have time to upload them now. (or, well, that's a lie. I do have time now, but I would rather do something else like journal or read my book. sorry...I promise I'll get them up sometime) Well, I hope you're having a blessed week so far and that God is teaching you all kinds of new things. Remember, each day is an opportunity to learn something new. It's also an opportunity to make a difference in someone's life. So, don't let yourself become so busy that you miss out on everything God has in store for you. Sometimes, those deadlines are not nearly so important as we make them out to be.
"Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10
May the Lord Bless you and Keep you,
~Christine
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