First day of school jitters

Monday: May 27^th

Liz, Amy, and I stayed up a little later than expected watching Glee and Step Up that we decided maybe this morning wasn’t the best to catch the sunrise but we are going to have plenty of mornings left to catch a couple. Liz and I woke up and went over to breakfast early like we have been doing and it was just as great today as it has been. As I mentioned before, the Monkey Trouble has quickly escalated haha. Liz, Amy, Leigh, and I were sitting on the inside of the dining room but the girls who sat outside had a Monkey swoop from the ceiling and go over one of the girl’s shoulders to steal her banana. It was so funny because none of us expected it. Another Monkey swooped down and stole a banana from the food table but was quickly chased away by some of the workers; it was quite comical. The Monkey’s are adorable but we were told not to get close to them just incase they attack us. Who knows what kinds of funky diseases they carry, I must say though that it’s hard to not want to feed them because they are disguised by cuteness. They remind me of Abu in Aladdin, which makes it so much better.

After breakfast ended around 8:30am we were off to the Schools! We first stopped at the Malemia Primary School, which is where Radford will be teaching. While we were driving on the road there were many villagers out walking around and even after smiling and waving to hundreds of people the returned smiles NEVER get old. It’s kind of like your first love happening over and over and over again. These children smile from the inmost part of their being and I can feel it’s right from their soul. The children all wanted their picture taken so when I would hold my camera up they would cheer and jump right in front of my face, it was such a magical feeling. All of the VT, Radford, and A&T students stopped at every school today, which was so great for all of us to see where one another will be teaching. After we visited where Radford was teaching we headed up the road to Domasi Demonstration School where A&T will be teaching. This school was so much more advanced than the others. These children all had something to sit on and even had desks to sit at. The teachers at this school gathered us all into one room and introduced themselves and what standard they taught (they label grades through standards, for example it’s Standard 1-Standard 8 for Elementary schools). The kids were just as excited to have their pictures taken as the students from Malemia. I was able to meet some of the most precious children at this school and A&T is truly lucky to be able to work with them.

Now, last but certainly not least we traveled to Domasi Government School, which is the school that my fellow Hokies and I will be teaching at. I cannot really put into words how I was feeling as we were driving up to the school. It’s a feeling that can only be explained if you were actually here with me. Leigh was sitting next to me on the bus and we were both very anxious, like everyone else, for our arrival. The school looks like a mini campus. It has a handful of cement buildings that have about 4 classrooms to each building. The building doors were all labeled for which standard they were. In our school there is Standard 1A and Standard 1B, Standard 2A and Standard 2B, etc. because there are about 75-85 kids per classroom and combining those numbers would be hard to handle. Dr. Kelly told us that the school is actually short on teachers for all of the classrooms. Jackie, Leigh, and I went into the Standard 7B classroom to get a feel for what it would be like. The teacher was so sweet and had us introduce ourselves to the class. When I asked a couple of the boys in the back how old they were they told me ages ranging from 12-15 years old. This, however, doesn’t mean that there aren’t students outside of this age range; it’s all based off of when they are able to start school. The most magical and sweetest moment happened in that class, Leigh was talking to a little boy and the boy told her his name and said, “Jesus loves me and you.” I am so glad that I was put right behind her in that moment because it sent so much warmth right into my heart. After we visited Standard 7B, I wanted to go on the hunt for the Standard 5A& Standard 5B classes because those are the children Audra and Ashley taught last year. I eventually found them and the Standard 5A class was so adorable! There wasn’t a teacher in there but there were a couple of older boys keeping the class in line. We introduced ourselves to them as well and when Jackie said her name they all cheered and pointed at this sweet, innocent angel whose name was also Jackie. We brought her up to the front of the class so her and Jackie could meet and take a picture. I was trying so hard to look for Audra and Ashley’s students who they found such a strong connection with, Lenox and Filip, but we were only allowed a certain amount of time (don’t worry though my loves, I’ll find them). We then went next door to the Standard 5B class and they were so well behaved; I loved them. They all stood up when the teacher said something and sang us this song to welcome us. These children were all sitting on the floor because the school cannot provide them chairs and desks, like us Americans assume to have in every classroom. They were so excited when I pulled out my camera and started cheering for me when I was taking their pictures. They are little angels that have permanently found a place in my heart.

A lot of these children are sponsored because the families simply cannot afford it. Amy was asking Dr. Kelly how much it was for a child to be sent to school for a year and she told us about $150.00-$200.00 for the first year because they are required to buy a uniform but after that it’s about $100.00 a year for supplies. To me, $100.00 is a nice pair of shoes or a night out to the Cheesecake Factory with my parents but to these innocent children, it’s their future. It’s hard to accept how different my life is from theirs. Amy, Liz, and I like to debrief our experiences and talk about how we’re feeling throughout this trip and one thing I have been having a hard time with is the feeling of guilt. I just don’t understand how I am able to go to a University, drive a car, over satisfy my hunger, and spend money on unnecessary things such as getting a manicure when these 800 kids in front of me carry a potato sack as a book bag, have 1 uniform for the whole school year, and don’t even wear shoes to protect their feet. I truly just want to swoop all of them up and bring them home for me but then I look into their eyes and I understand that this is the life they have always known and they are perfectly happy with it. A world full of smiles, joy for sunshine, praise to have food on your plate, and treating a hug as others would treat a paycheck is a world that we all should want to live in. Just being here in Malawi for less than a week has shown me that there is so much more to life than the materials we think are important. I was wondering what the people do all day while they sit on the road without a phone or laptop to get on the Internet but then I realized that they have time to talk, listen, and truly be in that moment. I don’t get data on my phone over here and I have found myself forgetting I even have one; I must say it’s the best feeling. I’m no longer getting the view of my feet by looking down constantly on Instagram, twitter, facebook, or any other mindless app but I see the trees, the people, and the beauty that has been right in front of me this whole time.

After we got done looking at all of the schools we went into the town of Zomba to buy more bottled water and go to the fabric shop. The fabric shop was full of dozens and dozens of different and colorful fabric. I bought 3 different kinds and we then later went to a tailor who is going to make us skirts, bags, etc. with them, which is so exciting! After the tailor, I went to dinner with some of the girls and we debriefed as a group.  Now, at 7:43pm Malawi time, Liz and I are already in bed (wild girls on this wild night). We usually get really tired around this time every night but then have a surge of energy around 9pm but that’s what a 6 hour time difference does to you I guess, haha. Tomorrow we are heading back to our schools so I am sure I will have plenty to write about after that.

Until then,

xoxo