Back from America

I’m back at my site now. It was a long trip. Did you know that the time it takes to fly from Atlanta to Dakar, Senegal is the about the same amount it takes to travel from the capital to my site by taxi brousse. Anyways, I ate my first (and last) fast food while being home in the Atlanta airport. The flight to Johannesburg, via Dakar, ruled because there were empty seats, so after watching four movies in a row, I was able to sleep laying down sideways. I arrived in Jo-burg and called the hostel I booked on the internet to come and pick me up and twenty minutes later a lanky 62 year old white guy pulled up in a 1980 Honda accord and drove us to the hostel. During the ride I noticed how developed Joburg is, with freeways that resemble the US’s and big buildings and car dealerships. The capital of Madagascar is way behind. So, during this twenty minute ride he tells me how he just started working at the hostel as a driver and housekeeper and continues by professing that he is confused and insecure in his old age. A short therapy session followed. Turns out that wasn’t the most awkward part of the whole experience because later that night I would be sleeping in the same room as him and listening to him moan and groan as he moved around in the top bunk. Weirdest hostel experience ever, but thankfully it was only one night.

It felt so good to be back in Madagascar and to speak Malagasy again and see everything that has made up the past year of my life. I really love it here. Life is so simple and people only own what they need. There is no excess, no materialism, and no shallowness. No one worries about brand names or wearing something that is out of style. People are pretty genuine and don’t pretend to be something they are not. They are happy, no matter how many meals a week they miss or how much work it is to cook or fetch water or work in the fields. Don’t get me wrong, I know that there are Americans who live like this, but it is a general way of life here and being back in the US made me see those things again. All that being said, I think I’ve decided not to extend for a third year. I’m sure that my mind will go back and forth in the year to come, but I’m fairly sure that I will apply for a teaching job at Madison West next year. In a perfect world, I would live here for the rest of my life, with all of my family and friends from the US. But, I guess it’s not feasible to uproot everyone in my life to come live here. I have amazing people in my life back in the US and I want to be there to create even more memories together. Plus, if I stay a third year, I am only postponing the need to start my “real life” and earn money to pay back my students loans. Debt sucks, especially when it keeps you from living the life you want, but I definitely am grateful that I had the opportunity to get a university education.

Last Monday was the first day of work for teachers. We had a four hour meeting, during which the head principal answered his cell phone about 8 times, while he was talking to the entire staff. The administration announced the results of the baccalaureate, which is the exit exam for students to earn a high school degree. 46% of the students who took the exam passed. This was seen as a great success, especially since it was up 2% from last year. I think its crazy that less than half of the students passed and that more than half must retake their senior year of high school, transfer to a technical school to study a trade, or drop out, but I guess my view of education is different than theirs. “Leave not more than fifty percent of the children behind” just sounds weird. After the meeting we took a tour of the new classrooms that were finished this June. They are really nice, with lights installed in the ceiling and even a science class with tiled countertops and running water faucets. The only problem is that there is no money to buy new desks so the classrooms will remain empty until some funding is found. The next day we met with our pedagogical team and had some of the teachers who had attended a training explain to us what they had learned. It involved the Dewey decimal system, researching in a library, combining teaching resources in order to create a well-rounded course and writing lesson plans. All of these things I had assumed all of the teachers already knew and were already using. Evidently lesson plans are a novice idea here. Then we received our teaching schedules. I will be teaching 5 classes of Seconde, which is the youngest grade at the high school. Last year I taught 8 classes, but they were only two hours a week per class. Now, I have one class for three hours a week, which is going to be awesome! I will have fewer students and more time with them, so it seems
like I will really get to know them and make more gains with their English.

The English radio program that my friend, Rivo, and I do will start again this week and I’m busy helping prepare things for the Girl’s Camp coming up.

Otherwise I have been busy with the teachers beginning of the year party and I went to a wedding and had a blast! People here really know how to dance and celebrate!