WEEK 11
April 18, 2012
Today
Mr. Diallo, the principal of the school/Kadiatou's dad, asked me if I would
teach a few math classes a few days a week. After looking over the schedule I
decided I probably could do it, even though math is not my strongest subject,
to say the least. As if he could tell I was wavering about what I should do,
Mr. Diallo then offered me the option of teaching English instead. Clearly I am
much more comfortable with this and so I agreed. Now I will be teaching 7th grade
and 8th grade English, each once a week.
This
afternoon I looked at Kadiatou's English notebook to see what the 8th grade has
learned so far. First of all, the last English class she had was in December,
so pretty much anything she may have learned, she probably lost. Although this
sucks for the students, it makes lesson-planning soooo much easier for me; I
can just start at the beginning, which I plan to do, using the same model as
for my revision class.
April 19, 2012
Well,
today was my first day teaching English for the 8th grade. It went well,
although it was a little overwhelming. There are about 45 students in the class
(remember, my revision had only about 7) and they all talked at once and asked
a million questions. However, the students were all kind, and listened to me
and I think they actually understood what I was trying to teach. I felt a
little bad at the end, because I told them I plan to give an exam next week,
after having only one class in which we covered A LOT of material, but no one
complained, and so I hope they are prepared next week.
April 21, 2012
Since
I haven’t been working at the hospital, I’ve been spending my days selling bean
sandwiches with my host mom. These are awesome sandwiches, simple baked beans
on French bread with a sauce made from oil, onions, and I think mashed up fish
(it doesn’t really taste fishy, so I’m not sure). They are a nice change from
rice and sauce and so I enjoy having them for breakfast each morning. Yesterday
my mom also started selling “banti” or meat balls made from fish. These are
also delicious, although they take a little getting used to since they are made
with the bones of the fish in addition to the meat. Banti are made with mashed
rice, onions, mashed whole fish (literally the whole fish, but with the head
cut off), and hot pepper. Some people sell these fish balls with a hot
pepper/water sauce, which is delicious and is actually what I prefer, although
my mother cooks the banti in the pepper water rather than serving it in it.
Each
morning I get up around 6:30 to help my mom prepare the beans and fish balls
and then we carry everything over the school to sell to students and teachers.
It is a nice way to pass the morning because I can talk with my student friends
and see the professors I work with (namely Mr. Soumah, my Susu teacher). In the
afternoons, once school is out, I help Kadiatou prepare the rice for her family
and spend time with her brothers and sister. I feel more a part of their family
than my own sometimes, so this is a pleasant way to pass the day. Once the food
is finished and we have all eaten, Kadiatou and I get water from the pump and
then I head home for the evening. Mostly
I hang outside with my sister, Namina,
and my mom has to cook the beans and prepare the fish balls for the next
morning (these things take a couple hours to make so it’s necessary to prep
them at night so their ready for cooking the next morning). Sometimes, when
Namina has finished her chores and cooking the “cookies” she sells, we walk to
the port where a bridge is being built connecting Bintimodia to Katangoro, a
neighboring village. I like seeing the progress of the bridge and its nice to
be at the river in the sunset hours.
WEEK 12
April 23, 2012
Today
I had my first Susu class in about 3 weeks. Mr. Soumah was impressed that I
remembered most of what he taught me, and that I have learned new things in the
interim. The class progressed smoothly and when we were about finished I received
a telephone call from a number I didn’t recognize. I noticed the country code
was not from Guinea, so I was curious as to who was calling me and so I
answered (normally I would just call back after class, that is the respectful
thing to do, after all). Well, it’s a good thing I answered, because it was
Raychel calling from Tanzania! It was so great to hear from her and share our
PC experiences so far. It was an awesome surprise to get that call, and I look
forward to talking with her, and others, again.
April 24, 2012
Every
Tuesday there is a “petite marche” in my village where women sell vegetables, food
(KeKe, bean sandwiches, etc.), and shoes, amongst other things. It is very
small, but everyone comes to buy various things for meals and whatnot. Today
was my first time experiencing the market, and it was rather exciting. Let me
begin by saying I ate a ton of food. Before 10 am I had already eaten a bean
sandwich, keke (shaved manioc with a little sauce and stuff), an avocado salad sandwich,
about 6 fish balls, and a couple bonbons glacees. I was stuffed and happy, and
could honestly not think of a better place to be at that time than selling
beans and banti with all the other women talking in Susu.
Later
in the morning, the chef of the health center gave a short talk about the
importance of treating water and drinking only this water because there was a
recent cholera outbreak in Kamsar, with two deaths as a result. The women all
stopped their work and listened attentively while the chef went on about this;
but once he was finished, it was back to business and chatting, just like women
everywhere.
Today
was also my first day teaching English to the 7th grade. I decided
to give the same lesson as I gave the previous Thursday to the 8th
grade. Everything was going well, except for a few disrespectful students, who
apparently give all the other teachers a hard time too. This class is smaller
than the 8th grade (about 25-30 students) but it is wayyy more challenging.
No one understood anything, or so they said, and no one listened at all. I
ended up cutting the lesson a little short because I could tell the students
had checked out, and honestly, I had had enough. Hopefully next week goes
better, now that I know what to expect from them.
April 26, 2012
Today I gave an exam to the 8th grade English
class. It was awful. The class average was a 10 out of 20. The highest grades
were a 19 and 18, but I’m fairly certain these students cheated, as I know the
smartest kid only got a 16.5. I gave a
written part, which went ok, and an oral questioning, which went horribly.
Firstly, all the students were talking throughout the whole
exam. Second, hardly anyone knew the answers to the oral exam. Thirdly, half
the class cheated on the bonus I gave because they were all listening in on the
oral exam. This was all very discouraging, but I made it through, and
definitely have a better plan for the next time.
Grading papers was again slightly upsetting, once I realized
how badly most students did, but this is normal, and I know education is not
valued here and so this occurrence is not unique to my class. I was happy with
some students, who I know, and who did well, namely Kadiatou who earned a 15.5.
Once I got the last few papers, though, I realized there was a major case of
cheating. One student’s paper had two different handwritings on it; one
belonging to the girl whose test it was, and the other belonging to Kadiatou. I
asked Kadiatou if she sat next to this girl, to which she said no. I then asked
if this girl is a good student, and Kadiatou replied not particularly. I then
flat out asked if Kadiatou helped her with her test, to which she, again, said
no. I then told her I knew she did because her handwriting was on the test and the
answers she wrote were wrong and unique to her own test. She then admitted that
she wrote those answers in to help her friend. I told her they would both receive
zeros, because cheating is unacceptable. I feel badly about this, but I know it
is right and for the best.
