First Week of School

The first day, and the rest of the week at Mabuleng Secondary School were not at all what I expected. I guess I should have anticipated what happened – there were signs all around. My supervisor (the principal of the school) had only been around for two days out of the entire summer break from December to January. On Monday January 16, the first day of school, we had a total of 3 teachers (I think there are supposed to be 5), my supervisor was still MIA, and approximately 10 students showed up. I’m pretty sure everyone has known for at least three or four months that the other science/maths teacher left and we need to hire a new one, but that hasn’t happened yet either (no, I didn’t make a mistake, they really call it “maths” here, short for mathematics). I know we have a small school, but I was told “small” meant we have around 50 students enrolled each year. I guess I really did expect those 50 students to show up at 8 AM in their bright blue uniforms on the first day of school. Silly Caitlin! The few that came trickled in gradually between 9 and 11 AM. I did see one at 8 AM, when I arrived, but she wandered off somewhere. We ended up letting them out early at 3 PM.

Maybe you’re curious as to what I did during those 7 hours on the first day of school? Sure didn’t teach. A better question is: what are the students doing for those 7 hours? Sitting in the classroom. Not only is that pitiful, but it’s a waste of time and money, especially when these kids barely have the money to pay for school. Apparently the teachers at my school never teach on the first day of school here…they just can’t get organized enough. Initially I thought it was related to the principal being out of town, but it’s not. On the first day of school, half the teachers were absent and we still hadn’t created a timetable or confirmed what classes we’d be teaching exactly. Also, many of the students come from poor families in the surrounding rural villages. Many still haven’t gotten together the funds for school fees, books, and uniforms (only primary education is free in Lesotho unfortunately) by the first day of school. So, I did what the other teachers did: I sat in the teacher’s room. I read an entire novel. A great novel it was, but I couldn’t help but feel as if this situation could have been avoided. I walked home for my hour-long lunch break at 1, called my mom on her birthday, and returned to be told I could go home again. On the second day of school, I was still sitting in the teacher’s room, but I at least planned out the tentative first quarter for each of the three classes I’m projected to teach. I went home early again and made chicken soup.

This whole thing has reinforced what I already know and am still trying to get used to: in Africa, things go slowly. There are very few things that run efficiently, but no one seems to mind. It’s important to exercise a lot of patience here; otherwise people from Western cultures will go crazy. To an American, it seems like an awful lot of time is wasted. But the Basotho see it differently. It’s just life and that’s how things go. They never rush themselves or anyone else, which is honestly kind of nice – you never have to worry about being late every once in a while, hell, or even showing up (probably not going to try that one). They seem to have a different concept of time. It is absolutely fascinating to me. So far, I’ve adapted in that I now know how to sit for hours on end. In my three months here, I’ve read 12 books so far (who’s the bookworm now, mom?). I’ve never read much for pleasure because I’ve always felt that I was wasting time – I was somehow never caught up with readings for my classes at my university. But now, I’ve graduated, I’m in Africa, and can read as much as I want. It’s lovely. I never knew how much I enjoyed it. There are some amazing authors out there. Some books I’ve read recently that I recommend include:

-The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (a good story whether you’re into science or not)

-The Corrections (about a dysfunctional Midwestern family – I laughed out loud)

-The Vegetarian Myth (debunks a lot of veg. arguments and makes you think)

-Fall on Your Knees (an international bestseller in Oprah’s book club!)

-The Poisonwood Bible (about a missionary family meddling in the Congo)

Anyway, I finally started teaching on Friday. I’ve got two science classes and a math class. I’m not a big fan of math, but the math is basic enough and I try to make it fun with games…and minor bribes. “Whoever gets the problem right first gets a sticker!” Kids here will do anything for a sticker. Never underestimate the power of the sticker in Lesotho schools. I certainly have challenges. Right now I’m wondering how the hell I’m supposed to teach the use and parts of a microscope to my science class when we don’t have a science lab or a microscope…this is going be bo-ring! Poor kids. They don’t get to experience the burning and blowing up stuff that made me love science so much. The 5 students in Form A today looked at me like a crazy person when I spoke, even though I do my best to speak as slow as I can and enunciate every single word (we volunteers call this the “box talk”). Almost all of the subjects are taught in English at the secondary level, but out in these parts the English skills ain’t so great. Science presents a double challenge: not only are the students trying to grasp the main concept, but they’re also trying to remember (and pronounce) terms like “mitochondria” and “chloroplasts.” Things are going to go pretty slow! Anyway, I’m finally having fun doing what I came here to do.