Since we last spoke, I have made an interesting dicovery. The more you punish Malawian students, the MORE they like you. I was always the chill teacher, and they just walked all over me. I now make them call me Madame (although it makes me feel like I should live in the wild west or Vegas), they must stand to speak, and if they do not participate or do homework or come come late, they msut get me a bucket of water or work in my garden. They are chronically late (none own watches), and a group of 15 students came to senior life skills late. I may them all come to work in the garden, carrying bricks from the trash pit to my yard and put them around the flower beds some otehr students had hoed for me earlier in the week. I read of the list of names for roll call after school, as usual just to make sure htey don't skip out, and there were actually mroe students than on the list! I asked why, and the students just said, "we heard it's really fun, we just wanted to come." Yes, they WANTED to come to manual labor detention. Since I began making them slash (cut crass with knives) and mop, they have taken to bringing me small gifts (bean leaves) and takign notes in class... the bitchier I am, the better they are.
I have just spend the weekend restocking in Lilongwe (buying things I can't get in the village... aka, anything other than powdered milk, and occasionally cassava, eggs, and tomatoes). I don't really have any cell phone reception in my village, so i always schedule phone calls with my parents when I'm in town. This weekend was particularly exciting, because Matt called as well, for the first time I'd talked to him since I've been here. I can only wonder what they think of my Peace Corps experience, as all I do when in Lilongwe is use the internet, each cheese burgers, and drink beer... when they called I was playing softball with a group of expats. I promise, Peace Corps is slightly more hard core than a 27 month stay at a low end country club!
I have been really busy lately, and enjoying everything a whole lot more. I stopped taking Mefloquin, the anti-malaria med, because it was makign me stressed and teary... google it, it literally makes some people CRAZY. I am takign a new one, and feel so much better is unbelievable. I am also going to have more free time soon, as I am hiring a worker to make my fire in the morning (so Ill have hot water to bathe in... it's starting to get chilly), as well as to do my laundry once a week and mop my batha and toilet once a week.... maybe even wash my pots. Washing pots is so hard without running water. I do as teh villagers do, using sand and rocks... you take a wet pot and toss sand in and rub it around with your hands; it gets off all the food, grease, and fire soot! Also, because parrafin has been in short supply, actually OUT, I am splurging on a gel fuel stove to cook with at night. I cannot wait... no more fire or paraffin stains on my pans!
I am working on a school food program, in which the students would either get lunch or a breakfast, as most go till 6 or 7 at night without eating. I am also the new secretary of the Gender and Development comittee for Peace Corps, so I will be writing monthly updates for the country news letter as well as going to all memeber and board meetings. And, I am working with one of the strikers on the village youth club team. He is really well educated, but out of work other than helping on his family's land. he wants to start a 2 week camp next november inw hich boys and girls will play together (this NEVER happens) and then they conitnue as a team for the rest of the year. As well as coaching the camp will have a trip to a Pro league game (their first time out of the village!) as well as gender, life skills, and team skills work shops by anti HIV non profits as well as other PC volunteers. It looks awesome and I will keep you all updated as we chug along on it. Lastly, teh club is also thinking of doing soap making as an income generating activity. Matt is sending osme essential oils, so hopefully well be able to sell tem to the whites in the city for a high price (no one in the village uses soap... see above note on sand in pots)
I have to go to the airport now; Martha's dad is coming... its getting me so excited for when mom and dad come. I can't wait.
I love you all, and want to give a special shout out to the Riddles and Fishers... It was amazing of you to think of me and made my week!
Talk to you soon. KB
2.29.2008
Frustration sets in....
How many Peace Corps Volunteers does it take to change a light bulb?
None, silly. Peace Corps doesn't actually change anything.
No no, I'm just kidding... although kindof, not really. In the end, I don't really know how much education can really change anything. The schools need to get better, but as one teacher, I can't fix teh lack of resources, terrible primary schools, lack of work ethic in other teachers, the outdated curriculum, or many of the hundreds of other problems with the school. I am fairly certain that if I came back to Dzoole in 20 years, I would see my female students, without a single word of English or memory of math, with 8 kids and selling mandazi (donuts), just like their mothers do. However, I would also bet that the football team we helped start would still be practicing.
I would say out of 300 students, there are one or two smart and dedicated enough go to college, and none who have the 60-100 bucks a year it would take for most 2 year degree programs. For the village, it is the secondary projects that make a difference.
This weekend, Dr. Max, a Zimbabwean who got his med degree in America and who is our PC doctor, visited our site (he visits all sites each year). He has some interesting views on development and was a huge comfort to me. I had been feeling drained and frustrated by the efforts I'd been putting into my school (doing 5 more credits a week than I'm supposed to, the patron of tons of clubs I don't even enjoy). Not only that, but I felt guilty about all the things I enjoyed doing and that I felt took me away from the school... like career counseling and the village club soccer team and their plans for a primary school acadamy. Max was really impressed with the stories about the team and how didicated they are... and he confirmed by enthusiam for the career counseling and life skills classes I have been holding. I realized that I have been putting alot of pressure on myself. I want my classes to be fun and interesting and like the ones I had at Potomac and Georgetown. However, I realize now that this is simply not possible. Not only is there a language barrier, but they have spent education doing strait memorization. While I was always encouraged to think critically and challenge a teacher, here a student could correct a teacher who made an incorrect math problem on the board, and he would be punished with manual labor... no joke, this has happened several times that I've seen.
I am getting a break from teaching though, and perhaps this is a good thing. I came into Lilongwe on Friday with Dr. Max to change my Malaria medication (Methloquin gives really terrible dreams that are hard to tell if they are real or not) and intensive language training begins on on Tuesday in the Southern region, where I'll be till Saturday. Max said just to stay in LL till Tuesday. At first I felt bad ditching out, but I am ahead in my lesson plans, and 3 teachers have already taken off at least 2 weeks (we've onyl been teaching for 3), so I don't feel too bad.
My headmaster has stil not arrived. Other teachers have confirmed my suspicion that the deputy is stealing large sums of money. They have also confirmed rumors that he has a long history of sleeping with students, and is currently hooking up with 2 (his daughter is a student, by the way). The other young female teacher left this week, just stormed into the office and yelled and quit. She will not be replaced, althoguh the ministry will still pay her, although she is not working... oh Malawian bauracracy. So yes, it has been a stressful week.
How is everyone from home? I will be here till Tuesday and will check the net then, so any notes would be very appreciated. Hope you are all well. I love and miss you. KB
None, silly. Peace Corps doesn't actually change anything.
No no, I'm just kidding... although kindof, not really. In the end, I don't really know how much education can really change anything. The schools need to get better, but as one teacher, I can't fix teh lack of resources, terrible primary schools, lack of work ethic in other teachers, the outdated curriculum, or many of the hundreds of other problems with the school. I am fairly certain that if I came back to Dzoole in 20 years, I would see my female students, without a single word of English or memory of math, with 8 kids and selling mandazi (donuts), just like their mothers do. However, I would also bet that the football team we helped start would still be practicing.
I would say out of 300 students, there are one or two smart and dedicated enough go to college, and none who have the 60-100 bucks a year it would take for most 2 year degree programs. For the village, it is the secondary projects that make a difference.
This weekend, Dr. Max, a Zimbabwean who got his med degree in America and who is our PC doctor, visited our site (he visits all sites each year). He has some interesting views on development and was a huge comfort to me. I had been feeling drained and frustrated by the efforts I'd been putting into my school (doing 5 more credits a week than I'm supposed to, the patron of tons of clubs I don't even enjoy). Not only that, but I felt guilty about all the things I enjoyed doing and that I felt took me away from the school... like career counseling and the village club soccer team and their plans for a primary school acadamy. Max was really impressed with the stories about the team and how didicated they are... and he confirmed by enthusiam for the career counseling and life skills classes I have been holding. I realized that I have been putting alot of pressure on myself. I want my classes to be fun and interesting and like the ones I had at Potomac and Georgetown. However, I realize now that this is simply not possible. Not only is there a language barrier, but they have spent education doing strait memorization. While I was always encouraged to think critically and challenge a teacher, here a student could correct a teacher who made an incorrect math problem on the board, and he would be punished with manual labor... no joke, this has happened several times that I've seen.
I am getting a break from teaching though, and perhaps this is a good thing. I came into Lilongwe on Friday with Dr. Max to change my Malaria medication (Methloquin gives really terrible dreams that are hard to tell if they are real or not) and intensive language training begins on on Tuesday in the Southern region, where I'll be till Saturday. Max said just to stay in LL till Tuesday. At first I felt bad ditching out, but I am ahead in my lesson plans, and 3 teachers have already taken off at least 2 weeks (we've onyl been teaching for 3), so I don't feel too bad.
My headmaster has stil not arrived. Other teachers have confirmed my suspicion that the deputy is stealing large sums of money. They have also confirmed rumors that he has a long history of sleeping with students, and is currently hooking up with 2 (his daughter is a student, by the way). The other young female teacher left this week, just stormed into the office and yelled and quit. She will not be replaced, althoguh the ministry will still pay her, although she is not working... oh Malawian bauracracy. So yes, it has been a stressful week.
How is everyone from home? I will be here till Tuesday and will check the net then, so any notes would be very appreciated. Hope you are all well. I love and miss you. KB
Looking back... my first letter
My village is amazing. It is an 8 km bike ride from a nice little market. and 8 km from a main road, which is 45 minutes on that by hitching, 1 hour by bus to Lilongwe. I have a site mate, a girl in my village. Other than married couples, I am the only person to have someone else in my village. Martha is a health volunteer who has been working to start a youth club soccer team (by youth, she means 18-25 yr old men about. They are great guys, most of whom graduated high school, but as farmers, couldn't go to college or leave their family farms. it's great. martha left for 2 weeks and each day she was gone, they practiced 2 hours each day. The team is doing really well in the area's village league. Now, my job is to expand this to a woman's team. I am also going to work on expanding the program to the high school. If that is successful, we'll begin to work at the primary school. It's great; Martha and I get on so well. I also get on really well with my fellow teachers. The majority of Malawian teachers show up drunk (literally, this happened at all of our practice schools) and none lesson plan. But at my school, Martha has worked with them, and she assures me my first impressions from staff meetings were correct; they work extremely hard and are so friendly and upstanding. Also, my headmaster is super friendly and cool. His wife speaks no English, but we get on great, always joking and chatting. When I stayed with them for a week for my site visit, she had me do all the chores with her... from gathering and cutting wood and building the fire to pounding maize corn in a giant mortar and killing a chicken (BTW, Malawian knives are NOT sharp, so I essentially decapitated a chicken with a blunt strait edge. yuck)... being a Malawian woman is a lot of work.
My school is located on school grounds, its small, with a cement floor and tin roof (v nice :) I hate dirt floors, too much sweeping and maintaining!) It is next door to what used to be a science room, but do to lack of facilities (no beakers or chemicals) they stopped teaching science, and the school's 90 girls all board in the one class room!) There are no desks or text books, not even one for me. Although the library is full of donated books, 4 shelves, each full with 100 plus copies of one book... they are: 1) Train your dog, change your life (a self help book made especially ironic by the fact that Malawians are so poor, they don't keep pets, and most of the students barely speak English), 2) The power: 11 reasons why women gain unhealthy wait, and ways to change them (also ironic, as weight is not an issue in what is the 2nd poorest country in the world..also, feminism is not really a movement here yet, where women can not legally wear pants to school.. nor can i teach in them :( ) 3) A guide for Doctors on changing patient behavior (Malawi doesn't have medical school, like not a single one in the entire country we learned in training... not to mention that these kids are in secondary school. 4) Lonely Planet Adventure guide to hiking India, Pakistan, and the Himalayas (also strange as not a single kid has been farther than 1 hour outside of their village. So, in short, the library is BULL SHIT. Even US text books are silly, since Malawians don't get American English and the curriculum is off... but Malawian text books are super cheap and really good. In the shipping costs alone, companies could just give the money and buy text books... But they need their tax deduction. It is infuriating. I am hoping my family will visit.. i want them to see it. For all its problems, Malawi is stunning. It's tiny but has a million languages (i got lucky, as alot of people speak Chichewa, the national language and what I've been learning, at least to some small extent). it's a really interesting cultural experience. People are obsessed with greetings... if there are 20 people,. you must shake and say how are you to each one... sometimes 10 people will come and go in a line asking you who you are too... I am always tempted on the last person to say, not well, just to see what they will do.
Lilongwe is an odd city. There are huge houses, walled in with 3 gaurds and the tops of the walls covered in wire AND cut glass. The thing is, outside of Malawi, hitch hiking is the safest form of travel. Volunteers here have one of the lowest crime rates against them. Yet in Lilongwe, we aren't even allowed to ride our bikes, as it is not unusual for someone to jump out with a machete and take it. At the same time, it's nice to be staying at the volunteer house with showers. I need to go to session (2 more days of training and then we are DONE), but I wanted to say hi to everyone. I wil get to check the internet again this week I hope, if not, some time in the next month, so a reply would be cool if you all have any questions or anything. Also, feel free to email my mom at dianedeva@aol.com for questions about phone cards (mom, can i get the phoen card info again? All the volunteers want to know it) Thanks alot. KB
ps, I may have forgotton, def did actually, to email some people, so pass it on to anyone you think might like this. AND WRITE ME LETTERS! I LOVE MAIL.
My school is located on school grounds, its small, with a cement floor and tin roof (v nice :) I hate dirt floors, too much sweeping and maintaining!) It is next door to what used to be a science room, but do to lack of facilities (no beakers or chemicals) they stopped teaching science, and the school's 90 girls all board in the one class room!) There are no desks or text books, not even one for me. Although the library is full of donated books, 4 shelves, each full with 100 plus copies of one book... they are: 1) Train your dog, change your life (a self help book made especially ironic by the fact that Malawians are so poor, they don't keep pets, and most of the students barely speak English), 2) The power: 11 reasons why women gain unhealthy wait, and ways to change them (also ironic, as weight is not an issue in what is the 2nd poorest country in the world..also, feminism is not really a movement here yet, where women can not legally wear pants to school.. nor can i teach in them :( ) 3) A guide for Doctors on changing patient behavior (Malawi doesn't have medical school, like not a single one in the entire country we learned in training... not to mention that these kids are in secondary school. 4) Lonely Planet Adventure guide to hiking India, Pakistan, and the Himalayas (also strange as not a single kid has been farther than 1 hour outside of their village. So, in short, the library is BULL SHIT. Even US text books are silly, since Malawians don't get American English and the curriculum is off... but Malawian text books are super cheap and really good. In the shipping costs alone, companies could just give the money and buy text books... But they need their tax deduction. It is infuriating. I am hoping my family will visit.. i want them to see it. For all its problems, Malawi is stunning. It's tiny but has a million languages (i got lucky, as alot of people speak Chichewa, the national language and what I've been learning, at least to some small extent). it's a really interesting cultural experience. People are obsessed with greetings... if there are 20 people,. you must shake and say how are you to each one... sometimes 10 people will come and go in a line asking you who you are too... I am always tempted on the last person to say, not well, just to see what they will do.
Lilongwe is an odd city. There are huge houses, walled in with 3 gaurds and the tops of the walls covered in wire AND cut glass. The thing is, outside of Malawi, hitch hiking is the safest form of travel. Volunteers here have one of the lowest crime rates against them. Yet in Lilongwe, we aren't even allowed to ride our bikes, as it is not unusual for someone to jump out with a machete and take it. At the same time, it's nice to be staying at the volunteer house with showers. I need to go to session (2 more days of training and then we are DONE), but I wanted to say hi to everyone. I wil get to check the internet again this week I hope, if not, some time in the next month, so a reply would be cool if you all have any questions or anything. Also, feel free to email my mom at dianedeva@aol.com for questions about phone cards (mom, can i get the phoen card info again? All the volunteers want to know it) Thanks alot. KB
ps, I may have forgotton, def did actually, to email some people, so pass it on to anyone you think might like this. AND WRITE ME LETTERS! I LOVE MAIL.
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