The transition back into school after break is finally over with the close of this weeks classes. Break was all fun so getting back in the groove even after just a week took a little bit.
Monday and Tuesday came with music class and political science which was about the same. With it being April, we are beginning to come to the end of the semester. Only a few more classes/lectures left. So we are prepping for and reviewing material for our last essays, final exams, and presentations.
Service on Monday and Tuesday went well, however, on Tuesday there was a pretty big fight that broke out in my 4th grade class. The two fighting were older than 4th graders and much bigger. I believe one had taken the others money (50 cents or something). Anyways, breaking it up wasn't hard but it came with a few punches to the chest and back. These kids are fairly violent for being in 4th grade. Just another element of African primary schools.
A wonderful part of teaching is finding those students who truly want to learn and progress. Nokonwabo, or the nickname I call her by - Nokia, is one of those students. I work with her one-on-one because she struggles with math and English, but she wants to learn very badly. She asks me for homework so I make some up for her. I have her circle nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Identify pronouns and pronounce certain words, then define some. She is definitely progressing which is great. Something interesting I noticed, though, is that on one of her assignments she couldn't define some of the words because she didn't have a dictionary. Even her older sister who is 18 couldn't define these simple words. That shocked and disheartened me. I think it says something about the education down here.
Nokia deserves better for all the hard work she puts in so I decided to go and buy her and her family an English dictionary. I will give her the dictionary on Monday. I hope this helps her learn and progress with English.
Wednesday and Thursday came with a presentation and a test. Nice to have both out of the way. Now onto the weekend. A few of us are thinking of going to Seaview tomorrow to pet lions and tigers! Tigers aren't native to Africa but they have some there. This will be exciting. Next weekend a group of 5 of us are going to head north to the Drakensberg Mountains and climb for the long weekend (Monday, April 21st is a public holiday). We will also celebrate Easter on the mountains which will be a great experience. Just how God intended it to be ha. I am extremely excited because I hear it is beautiful up there and that it is a must-see place in South Africa.
The fall weather here is great. Reminds me of Minnesota summer days, some being even hotter. Yet, some feel chilly because we have become use to the warm weather of Africa. It's funny when we complain of it being cold. It's like we are native South Africans.
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