September 10, 2014

Another slow start to the morning and I was beginning to wonder what I would do with myself every day if this were my schedule. I’m certainly someone that thrives on projects and a busy schedule. If I’m not constantly working on a new project, or multiple projects at the same time for that matter, I’m horribly unproductive in every aspect of my life. I attempted to stay busy while working on some of my training projects, but that only lasted so long and I resulted to reading for the next three hours.

I was anxious and excited to finally start the day at 1pm as we traveled to Molapowabojang Primary School to run Jessica’s English club. Jessica intended to use a classroom space to practice writing and journaling; however, we arrived to find all classrooms being used for practice exams and were forced to hold the English club outside. On the fly we had to completely alter our plans and play it by ear. We started by  singing songs in English that Jessica had previously taught the club. Without notice, Jessica turned to me and asked me to lead the next song. I quickly tapped into my inner camper and pulled “Baby Shark” from my days at science camp. The children had fun with it and were singing and dancing. We soon transitioned into playing games. Again, Jessica struggled to come up with ideas and I found myself being the little bird on her shoulder whispering ideas into her ear. Jessica had a difficult time holding the attention of the students and controlling the class. I struggled not to overstep my boundaries when a boy would smack his peers with a stick every time Jessica’s back was turned. I wanted to walk up to him, grab the stick, and throw it in the trash, but I didn’t have the rapport in the school and didn’t know how this action would be perceived. The students continued being disrespectful and not listening to Jessica, so I finally asked all the children if they could hear what was being said while Jessica attempted to explain the rules of a new game. Of course I did this in a gentle and friendly manner, but it was still frustrating to see the chaos of the class. This shadowing experience has given me great insight into what I would like to attempt in my future sit as well as providing me with the opportunity to observe the things that I would like to modify and alter to best fit the needs of my community. No two services look the same, so it is up to me to design and implement the Peace Corps experience that will be most conducive with who I am and what I have to offer.

With the same fitness group, we decided to mix up the workout videos and go for a walk down to the river. The river was completely dried up; however, I was reassured that it is full and flowing come rainy season. I figured we would get to the river, explore a little and then turn around. One of the women started leading our group out into the bush, away from the river, as the town slowly disappeared from view. We quickly lost track of the well traveled foot paths and were forging our way through thorny trees, dry grass, and large bushes. And the five wandering women were never seen from again. Until of course they emerged along the river farther down from the initial entry point. Happy the town once again returned into view, we climbed down into the empty riverbed and snaked our way through the empty channel. I love nature walks and exploring the outdoors. While the rest of the group was slowly, carefully treading through the sand, I was busy running up hills, touching the patterns in the sand, jumping from rock to rock, and looking for new and interesting wildlife. We managed to find a giant grasshopper hiding in the tree as well as a rabbit dashing across the ridge above us. There is nothing more inspiring and captivating than exploring the outdoors, genuinely connecting to nature.