I have never seen so many children. Since Ashley and Penny
were in Blantyre and I wasn’t expected at Zomba Central until the afternoon,
after breakfast I hopped on the bus with all the T&L girls and headed for
Melemia primary school. As we pulled into the yard I got my first glimpse of what
these schools are like- mostly a dusty courtyard surrounded by small brick
buildings that are segmented into classrooms. There is also an administration
building where the teachers keep their supplies and meet with each other, but It’s
mostly just a room with a big closet in the back. We went there first.
Gradually as we were sitting in that room and the T&L
girls prepared for their lessons, children started running up to the door, only
a few at a time, looking in at us. The word for “white person” is Azungu, but
most people above the age of 10 know it’s not really polite to shout about how
white we are. I heard it whispered around this growing crowd though. Despite
having been taught by the T&L girls a whole week already, our presence was
still very exciting for them. Since I didn’t know what the lesson was I
wandered into the little crowd and talked to them as best I could.
The interesting thing is that though Chichewa and English
are the two national languages (Chichewa much much more used than English),
many children don’t learn either until they go to school. Their first language
is their tribal language: Chitambuka in the north, Chewa in the middle of the
country, and Yao in the south. So the standard 1 kids I was trying to talk to
didn’t understand my English OR my limited Chichewa. That is when I found out
one of two fool proof ways to communicate with Malawian children: photos. They
LOVE having photos taken of them but most of all, they love seeing photos afterwards.
I actually got a little overwhelmed by the swarm I accidentally incited.
Patti saved me by showing me around a bit and introducing me
to her friend Innocent, the head teacher there. Innocent is such a wonderful
man, very calm and a very good friend to Patti. He was so happy to meet me and
have me there. Then the T&L girls were ready. There’s six of them usually:
Abby, Julie, and Emily are best friends from home and all just finished their
masters in special education. They teach as a team here. The other three are
Lindsey J, who is a senior at Radford, Rebecca, who will be a junior at Tech,
and Lindsey L, who is beginning her masters in math education at tech. Lindsey
L wasn’t feeling well that day though so I sort of took her spot on that team.
First we went to standard 1, since they get out the
earliest. Despite how hardworking the teachers and student teachers are here,
schools just work a little differently than at home. Classes are easily interrupted,
such as how students poured out of classrooms when our bus arrived. The classes
are also huge- just one class for most grades, each with over 100 students in
it. I struggled teaching a seminar of 10 last semester.
When standard 1 saw us headed to their room, they SPRINTED
to the door or to grab our hands as we crossed the courtyard. They all poured
in, filling the desks in the back of the room and gathering in a big clump at
our feet where we stood by the chalk board.
The way the teaching works is to help with English education
by having experiences with sports. Last week the T&L girls taught the game
spud, a running and tagging sort of game. They had the teachers translate into
Yao or Chichewa and then they played. Today they were doing the lesson part. We
asked them (with translation) their favorite part of the game, least favorite,
what they would name it, and how they would teach it to a friend. We wrote
their answers in English and read it back to them so they could see their words
in English. Then we went outside and played the game.
It was hysterical with Standard 1. The way the game works is
everyone makes a circle around 3 students who have balls. We count to 3 and the
throwers throw the balls high in the air. While the balls are in the air,
everyone in the circle runs away. They stop when the throwers catch their balls
again and we blow the whistle. Then the throwers can take 4 big steps before
they have to throw the ball at someone to tag them to make them become the
thrower, then the original thrower was out. We didn’t enforce the “out” part
with standard 1 so they could all keep playing, so the ALL wanted to be tagged
and become the thrower. They would laugh hysterically when they got hold of the
ball. That meant that NO ONE ran when the balls were in the air, in fact most
of them moved closer. We were powerless to change what was happening so we just
had fun counting to 4 with them.
Next we went to standard 5. These kids seemed like 40 year
olds with 501k’s compared to the first graders. They were outside their
classroom making “houses for animals” out of reed and clay, and they were
really impressive. These kids knew much much more English too, enough that when
they started teaching me Chichewa and then laughing hysterically I wondered if
they were making fun of me. I’m just going to assume I was so amazing at
Chichewa they just couldn’t control themselves.
We did the lesson with them and they were able to read the English
back to us which was great. This classroom was also a lot more formal, the students
had to stand to answer questions and there was just more order. Playing the
game with them was very different too because we enforced the out policy, so
competition was WAY up. We all ran as fast as we possibly could away from the
circle, and the taggers took enormous steps. They always went for us student
teachers if we were close enough, with giant grins on their faces.
Once when I was out I was standing with the other out kids
and a girl named Debora asked me my name and then just started dancing. She
said “Kuvina?” to which I said “huh?” Rebecca told me Kuvina means dancing. So then
I said YES! And I tentatively started dancing. At first one boy laughed. His
name is Innocent and he is the king of fools in standard 5. He was the main
laugher when I was learning Chichewa. I said “YOU DANCE THEN INNOCENT” and he
stopped laughing at me. He loves being the clown.
Innocent is the one with the goofy grin
Little did I know, that was just the first taste of kuvina.
After we were done with standard 4 we had time to kill, because the other 2
classes we would have taught were in exams. Rebecca, Lindsey J, and I sat under
a big tree near the courtyard to relax. A little boy soon sat next to me on the
big roots. I tried out the universal language of selfies again and it was a big
hit. Soon I was literally covered in children. I needed to avoid drowning so I
stood but what the heck do you say to a mob of children that don’t speak your language.
So I just said “kuvina?” and immediately some started wiggling. I got going and
then it was just the worlds biggest dance party. We did head shoulders knees and
toes, the hokey pokey, the macaraina, they copied my every move. We must have
hopped around for an hour, and I was just surrounded by tiny people, it was the
strangest sensation.
Dev sat next to me first
The the swarm arrived
Life's biggest party
We then had a snack in the teacher room before our drum
lesson. Innocent is teaching the girls to play the drums so they can perform at
a ceremony on their last day at the school. We learned that a drum ensemble is
a family: The father is strong and silent, playing a few beats every measure
but leaving big spaces. The mamma talks more but fills the father’s silence and
leaves her own small silence. The baby talks constantly. Apparently there are
also visitor drums but we didn’t get that far. He taught us “dum” is hitting
the center of the membrane and “ke” is hitting the rim. We did some repeating
after him before graduating to making our own father, mother, and baby combinations.
I felt really good about it after all my rhythmic training
as an Irish dancer. Innocent was very complimentary and kind and asked me to
come back to play for the next lesson, which I hope I can but am doubtful since
we have so much to do at the hospitals still. It was a blast to play though!
one kid even started breakdancing to our sick beats
Soon it was time to go. The T&L girls always walk about
a mile to the next primary school, Domasi Demonstration, where the North
Carolina girls teach. I walked with them, trailed by students the whole way,
and got to talk to Patti some. She is leaving from Liwonde with Ashley so it
was good to have that chance to get to know her! Shortly after getting to
Domasi Demonstration where the T&L girls chilled waiting for the bus, I
walked back out to the road to catch a taxi I arranged that morning. The driver
was named Sandy and claimed to be Felix’s brother which was cool because Felix
was at that moment in Blantyre with Penny and Ashley. He took me to Zomba
Central.
There I stopped by the lab but the surveys we left there
still weren’t done, so I said I’d come back next week. Then I went to
pediatrics and asked for Hendrina. I left a note for her telling her I’d be
back at that time Monday afternoon, and I saw the note on the board at the
nurses station but she wasn’t there. The helpful head nurse David took me to
the meeting she was attending in the surgical clinic. She told me she was
nearly done and she’d meet me in pediatrics, so David and I walked back. He seems
nearly my age but is pretty quiet. The best was when I smiled at a baby, and it
started crying, and David said “wow, you made him cry. I think it is your
complexion.” It stung a little but was worth it for David to show some familiarity.
I waited for a little over an hour but Hendrina didn’t ever come. I did meet a
German medical student named Sarah. I had noticed her other times at ZCH
because it’s hard to notice the one white person, but it was great to talk to
her finally. She is a first year medical student on a program run by the German
government to aid developing countries; she’s been in Zomba for 10 months and
has 2 more. A lot like Dr. France but not yet a doctor. She was really sweet
and fun. She said being in Malawi absolutely affirmed that there is no other
path for her but medicine.
I had to leave then because my taxi was coming back and it
would start getting dark soon. Back at home I joined all the girls and Patti
for dinner, and the waiter even informed us there was dessert available that
evening! It was the first dessert I’ve had in Malawi and it was yummy cake. So
that was quite a party. Then I worked in med school app all aloney in my room
and went to bed to be ready to head to Liwonde Safari Camp in the morning!
With love and dancing and cake,
Lauren
I am grateful for…
Ashley
Knowing names of Annie’s staff
Mt. Vernon Elementary school (mine)
What will I do to make
today great?
Playing with KIDS!
Drink a soda
Figure out the infuse IV
Daily affirmations. I
am…
EXCITED ABOUT CHILDREN
3 Amazing things that
happened today…
KUVINA
Seeing so many smiles at school and the hospital
Fun dinner & dessert with the T&L squad
How could I have made
today even better?
Been more assertive at the hospital
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