Thursday, March 5th, 2009
I’m about to finish my sixth week here at Selamta and I’m finally
feeling like I have my routine down. Carol and the big group of
volunteers were here about two weeks ago, and right after they left it
was tough to keep the energy level up without the help of seven
others. Especially after we got home from Bishangari, I was having a
lot of trouble with homesickness and frustration in teaching. I’m
teaching English grammar to grades 6 and 7 at the Alpha School (where
all of Selamta’s kids go). My grade 6 kids especially seemed to be
having so much trouble remembering what I had taught them in the class
before, I felt like I was failing as a teacher and as a volunteer. It
was nice to talk to my dad, who has been a professor for about thirty
years, about this frustration, its good to know that I’m not alone in
feeling like I’m not doing my job correctly! And of course he
encouraged me not to get angry at the kids for not remembering, but to
try and come up with a more creative way for them to learn the
subject. Although anyone who can make conditional sentences
interesting has got to be a genius… I did try my best and after
another review in more of a game form, they seemed to understand a lot
better. I realized it really isn’t fair to think that they’ll remember
everything I teach them. I might review the lesson four times in the
four different grade 6 classes, but they only learn it once, along
with all of their other lessons of the day. So I’ve been trying to
practice patience and teach more creatively, and I think it has really
been working.
On Carol’s last day here she picked up three new girls, Almas (15),
Belaynesh(12), and Yezzina(8). They are sisters and they are just so
sweet. The school won’t let them just start in the middle of the
semester so they’re hanging out at Selamta during the day with me.
They are really adjusting quickly and seeing their gorgeous smiling
faces every morning makes me so happy. It’s pretty cool that they’re
so loving and open with me, shows that the culture of Selamta is easy
to get used to for them. The other girl who’s home every day is
Mekedes (15). It’s been one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had
here to get to know this girl. I know all of the things that happened
with her in the past but she has clearly made a 100% turn around and
its been so fun to spend time with her. Her English is also improving
really rapidly so that’s exciting to see. Unfortunately, on the other
side of things, Belay has not proven to be behaving any better since
Carol left. I feel so bad for him, he’s run away about 15 times and
just never listens to any authority whatsoever. Its clear that he has
had major trauma and trusts no one. It’s really tough to see him
struggling.
John and I had a lot of fun finishing up the woodworking project. He
did such a great job of getting as many kids as possible engaged, and
it was especially exciting to see so many girls with so much skill in
carpentry. I helped out as much as I could in the shop, although I was
learning right along with the others. By the time he left on Tuesday,
John and the kids had built a shoe cubby for all seven homes and an
extra for the eighth home (opening in April) and eighteen “dooka” or
stools for the mothers and aunties to sit on in their kitchens. Every
piece that was completed was varnished a few times over and made to as
close to perfection as possible. John worked hard to show the kids the
difference between just doing something, and doing something well. He
also spent at least a day and a half at each home fixing up all the
loose/broken odds and ends that needed to be fixed. His “honey-do”
list, as Carol called it, was very long, and whenever he showed up at
a house they ended up thinking of four other things that needed fixing
as well.. But he got almost everything accomplished and the mothers
and children were so grateful for all that he did for them. The kids
especially showed an amazing form of gratitude for John, two of the
houses made him big pieces of art work to bring home. Wendimagegn
(Lalibela House) actually drew a beautiful map of Ethiopia, with all
of the important landmarks labeled, and put it in a frame that he had
built with the help of John in the woodshop. I thought that was really
touching because he had worked so hard to make this frame perfect and
then felt so grateful for John’s help in teaching him that he wanted
him to have it. That kind of generosity is definitely not seen in
fourteen old boys everywhere!
On John’s last Sunday here we spent the afternoon going around to the
different houses to make sure everything was copasetic and for him to
say his goodbyes. I have to admit, I was very glad I didn’t have to
say goodbye to all the kids and moms yet. We probably drank one too
many cups of buna, but we had a good time seeing all the shoe cubbies
and dooka put to use. Since he left, the office has seemed extremely
quiet. After Abel left on Tuesday night there was hardly any noise
until Haile started his tasks at 7 in the morning. It really wasn’t
fun to make or eat dinner alone! It has also been really great to just
discuss day to day issues, and life issues, with John over instant
noodles and a St. George’s. I was really sad to see him go. But
luckily I can convince my buddy Tesfaye to stay and hang out with me
pretty often!
As I’ve started to realize that I really only have two weeks left, I’m
already getting sentimental about leaving. I’m going to try to make
the best of the time I have left here, and of course am already
planning for when I’ll come back.
