Tuesday, Oct 20, 2009
It’s 5:45am. I can feel the cool air passing through the cracks in the doors and as such, I am awake early. Strangely, but predictable enough, the sky is a beautiful overcast blue. Never has the sun hidden its face while being in Malawi these past weeks but today it’s different. The coolness in the air and colour of the sky indicate that the rains will come, if not today, then very soon. It’s too early still but with variations in climate these days I wonder if we can expect them sooner than late November.
I have more interviews to conduct with a panel of three others from the secondary school. Yesterday we conducted 5 interviews and not one made the cut for our teacher training course. All of the people applying were teachers (or so their resume states), but their English was very poor which resulted in many of us, including me, moving on to other questions when our questions could not be answered or worse, answered incorrectly.
This morning we will reassess the other applicants and start the interview process over again. This will delay the start date of the course but it is a necessary measure to take to ensure we have the right candidates selected. Once everyone is chosen we will begin training. I will have the students for a third of their course and I will be teaching Methodologies, Testing, Measuring, Feedback, Appraisal, and Evaluation. I will be using a text that has been provided: “Becoming a Teacher in a Field Based Setting” by Donna Wiseman et al., and printed in Canada, 2005. Interesting indeed. This has been provided by the Education Coordinator who is Malawian so I am going to make the assumption that this book will suit their needs as well as mine, not only for this training course but for guidance in teaching at the secondary school upon completion of this course and in the event that they are hired into a position when one becomes available. Hopefully I can develop a rigorous syllabus based on information provided within these pages.
***
We interviewed about 7 people which took us through the lunch hour and didn’t end for a good 3 hours. After organizing a list of people selected to meet with us for final discussions regarding the teacher training I bolted to the camp administration office to post the list—I hadn’t eaten since 6:00am and it was around 3:00 at this point so I figured rushing would get me to food a lot quicker than sauntering.
Before reaching the admin office I ran into 4 people. I discussed having dinner with one of them; engaged in conversation with two others, one of which is a new student in my class and who was a pilot back in his home country; and the other is an Ethiopian refugee who I’ve befriended and have come to trust and appreciate very much. The fourth person was a lovely man who’d helped to organize a meeting between myself and a case worker from JVA in Nairobi to discuss work in the refugee field. They all waited for me to post my notice and then I talked to each person one by one. How patient they are, really.
The new student and Ethiopian walked with me through two of the markets we have here in Dzaleka. I was in search for an onion, soya protein, potatoes and rape. Stopping here and there they waited patiently for me to purchase and bargain for what I needed. I apologized to my Ethiopian friend for taking so long and his response was, “for what are you sorry for?” He smiled at me with a look that told me everything was fine, that this wasn’t a burden on him at all. Somehow, nothing seems to be burdensome on people here, nothing but living here that is.
The two walked me home (as my body guards they say). After they left I spoke with other man who'd been waiting for my return. After the small talk he told me that he loved me. I told him he didn’t and that he didn’t know me at all to profess such love. He told me I should ask him “why.” So I did. He told me this:
“I have seen you walk among the people. Some people come to the camp and we say hi to them but they simply say hi and rush on their way. You don’t do that though, you talk to the people. You can’t know how much that is appreciated. There is nothing for us here, it is like a prison. So, when you talk to us it makes us very happy, it makes us feel good again.”
I could only respond with the truth: “that’s why I am here. Not only am I here to assist with language learning but I am here to walk and talk among you, to be with you here.” I didn’t entertain his love for me but I am truly grateful for his comment. For the first time in a long time—maybe even ever—I feel as though I am doing something that touches peoples’ lives and gives them a sense of dignity and honour.
PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!
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