A Big Welcome

Today was incredible. We drove to the high school and caravanned to the Intermediate school where we teach. Some of the cars at the front had flags and all the drivers were weaving right and left for show, all the while beeping. When we approached the school, a bunch of students were lined up on the street clapping and cheering for us. Once we parked, we were ushered to the main open area of the school and all of the students and teachers were on the lawn singing. It was so moving that all of us were tearing up.



They said a welcome and then a prayer for us and then some students came up and welcomed us and read a poem about our arrival. Then the head of the assembly wanted someone from our group to speak and I was asked to do it. My legs were shaking as I greeted hundreds of students—there was no way that my words could compare to their carefully crafted poems and speeches, but I tried.

After the assembly, a few of us went to the grocery store to buy bread and oranges for the snack we provide for the students. While there, we ran into three teachers who had left their classes to come to the outdoor shopping mall. In fact, none of the teachers taught today—all of the students were running free with no supervision except our own. When we returned to the school, we sat in the sun and the students swarmed us. I had a group climbing over me and one girl started writing the words to the first son they sang for us so that I can sing it with them next time. We also agreed to teach dance moves to each other. Our group ate some food in one of the classrooms, which was incredibly uncomfortable as children were peeking in the doorway and through the windows. Most of them probably hadn’t anything yet. Then, just before we were supposed to teach our after school classes, the teachers asked us to come into the staff room and we were sat down with full plates of food. We told them that we only had ten minutes to eat because we had to teach but they didn’t seem concerned. Despite having just eaten, we all ate again to be polite.

Teaching went well, though my class size doubled. Today we folded and sewed paper together to make the interior of our books. After class, three of the students came back in to give us goodbye hugs. I was especially proud today because I learned all of the students’ names. If they sit in different seats tomorrow, though, I’m in trouble.

After school we went to the mall and Asanda, a former student who now helps out with teaching and translation, helped me to pick out Xhosa CDs. I polled the guys at the music store to see if they had art in their schools. Dinner was amazing again and despite the early hour, we’re all ready for bed.