Life out here seems to be rushing by faster and faster and it seems crazy to me that I have just over 4 months left. Every time friday comes around again I find myself feeling very surprised that another week has gone by. We have one more week of school and then we will have completed our first full term and I feel pretty happy with what we've managed to achieve. Last Monday Cherie went back to the UK where she's staying for a month so I've had 2 weeks in the class with just myself and Fatima and it's been great to see how there's less of a need for both us which means the children are learning to become more independent.
Cultural differences are still a big challenge and it was only yesterday, whilst talking with a Zambian, that I leant some things about discipline here and it completely changed my perception of the children when I'm disciplining them at the school. Here a child would not look at an adult when being told off and even if they're asked a question they wouldn't respond as it would seem as though they are challenging them. So when I've been getting frustrated that children won't look me in the eye or tell me why I've put them on the thinking chair (even though I know they know why) they've actually been showing me respect. All these small differences make teaching here a much bigger adjustment then I could have anticipated. Although the children are pushing and challenging me more than children did in England they are also showing me more love and, I think, appreciating me more which in the end makes it worth it.
I know for certain that when I return to teaching in the UK in September I won't be taking TAs for granted and I now know just how much they do and how invaluable they are to the running of a class!
We had our school opening a few weeks ago which was a big success. We opened the school for the morning so people could come around and see how we teach and then unexpectedly everyone stayed and watched me teach a phonics lesson. I've been observed lots of times before but never by more than 2 or 3 people...in this lesson there were at least 30 but luckily the children were on their best behaviour! We then had a celebration in the bible college with the parents and guardians, the workers, the students and friends of the school so it was a big celebration. We had the children talk a bit about what they'd learnt so far, show some of their work and sing some songs and I was very proud of how well they did. For one of the songs we made everybody join in and unfortunately as we were teaching them a new song and I was 'leading' the children I had to stand on the stage and 'sing' the song...I'm not sure who it was worse for, me or the audience! But all in all it was a great success and everyone had a lot of positive things to say about the school and the teaching so it was great to be so encouraged!
On our half term break I went to Nsobe with the girls I live with, Cherie and Anne-Mette and her family. We stayed in chalets in a completely private area, which is a good thing because the bathroom which was attached to the back of each chalet only had 3 walls (an intentional design) and therefore you didn't need to worry when you're showering outside for the whole world to see. It was also a strange experience to be showering whilst it was raining so you're washing in both hot and cold water, very bizarre! We ate lots of nice food, played games and even managed to convince the men to 'serve' us whilst we pampered ourselves with a pedicure!
I went to my first ever football match recently, Zambia against Uganda and I enjoyed it much more than I expected. The atmosphere was great and the final score was 2.1 to Zambia so there was great atmosphere and it was fun to join in with their crazy over the top celebration of each goal.
A few weekends ago Cherie and I took a trip to lusaka, the capital city, because Cherie needed to pay for a flight and I hadn't been there yet. It was very strange to be back in a place that's so westernised compared to Ndola. To be able to do things like go to the cinema (which we did twice) get my haircut and have a cocktail seemed like a big deal which shows how quickly you can get used to the environment you're living in. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed small things like going to KFC and being able to walk to a local shop. Coming back to Ndola I also realised how nice it is to not always have those conveniences and to live a little more simply and then when you have these treats it makes you appreciate them more.
This year has definitely been more of a challenge then I think I could have imagined and there are so many small and big things that I had no idea I would struggle with but I really believe God has been with me the whole time and I know it sounds like a cliche but I have learnt so much. I think it is meeting my expectations of being a life changing year, I just pray that those changes are for the better and that they are long lasting!
