School and Mashramani

Hey Holland,

Everybody OK? Guyana is still hot and humid, but every day is challenging and fun. School is fun because the kids like to mess around all day =). some people said before I left, oh teaching in a 3th world country will be so easy seeing they will all pay attention, NO. Kids are kids and they will run around. There is a difference of course between the lower forms and the older kids. I say kids but the exam students are about my age or older. They pay attention thought, during the lesson. Because they understand that we (me and calum) know something about the subjects we teach. After school it's just fun to play with them, mainly the students that life in the dorms we play cricket/football with. But sometimes after school others stay to play with us and we even get a proper game going.

The younger kids just play around during school and you have to keep on trying to get their attention, which is, obviously, the whole point of teaching, but it is a bit weird to sit on this side of the desk now. After school time the kids walk/bike/get a ride home and the dorms kids have their time off till around 6. Then they have dinner and study hour. Between that most stay inside the dorms, seeing most of the time outside it is too hot. But from 5 till 6 they will be playing sports or tag or dodge ball.

Last 2 weeks have been a bit special anyway, Mashramani celebrations where going on. Mash is the Guyanese day to remember their freedom. 41 years ago the country was given back to the Guyanese by the British. This is celebrated with a whole lot of different games shows and road tramps. In school we had classroom competitions and general knowledge quizzes, there was a children road march, sort of carnival idea, trucks with speakers and people in costume dancing. Then last Wednesday was finally the national holiday with the grown-ups road march. (photo's are on face book). This was a good lot of fun with a lot of pain afterwards. Yes I was smart enough to walk outside for 2 days without sun-cream. My nose is still peeling and my neck hurts.

Of course all this mess means that there is less teaching going on, great for the time off and the students but as teacher you suddenly feel a lot different about all this. You have your schemes and lesson plans to follow, and without lessons it's not as easy to teach. Then last Tuesday all students that were under 14 got a shoebox filled with toys. I remember that we had to fill those back in school in Amsterdam. It was fun to see the other side of this. Everyone was so grateful and happy with their new toys. I mainly see this from the dorms kids of course but it is an amazing initiative.

I now have to go back to writing end of term tests and the marking of grade 11 tests,

So see you around and take care,

Stefan La Rooij