Today was our first day teaching at San Pablo and can I say it was an eventful one! First, we took the 9-mile long dirt road, which was about a thirty-minute drive off the highway. We drove passed many banana farms and saw a few farmers picking bananas. Needless to say, I’ll never take a banana I eat at breakfast for granted again!
When we arrived at the school, the students looked excited to see us. It’s amazing to think that some of these children have never been out of their village and are so curious as to why I have white skin, light eyes, and light hair. We started the day assessing the students to gauge their reading levels. After our first break, we returned to the classroom and I read one of the classics, Corduroy to small groups and worked on phonics and sounding out words in the book. The story interested each and every student and left students smiling when we finished reading. It goes to show the book’s message of the true meaning of friendship and acceptance is universal and unchanging wherever you go.
During breaks between classes, the students got a kick out of taking pictures with my camera and seeing themselves on the camera screen. I will never grow tired of seeing their smiling faces. Some of the girls took me down to the river and showed me where they swam and did laundry. After showing my enthusiasm about the river and telling them how much I wish I could swim with them, they jumped in without hesitation in their uniforms and wanted me to join them. I admire the students’ fun-loving attitudes. Their ability to appreciate life for what truly matters in the midst of “poverty,” will undoubtedly impact my life back in America.
Thanks for reading!
Emily Dahl
No comments:
Post a Comment