I was planning on writing about my first couple
weeks in South Africa in my next post, but it looks like I will officially fall
behind, because today was the best day yet.
I’ve been living in Stellenbosch, one of the wealthiest municipalities
in the country, I’ve traveled to Cape Town, the Cape of Good Hope, and Cape
Point, I’ve seen penguins on a gorgeous beach, wild baboons and ostriches, I’ve
spent an evening on a wine farm surrounded by beautiful friends; but today was the
first day of classes, spent in a dusty township outside of Stellenbosch, during
a heat wave. It may not sound like the
setting for my best day yet, but it was the day that I finally experienced the
South Africa that I’ve been hoping for.
Don’t get me wrong – I’ve been having the time of my life here …but
something was missing. As I sat in
Lynedoch Primary School today, listening to my new professor Grant Demas tell
us what the next semester holds for us students in the LSCE course – Learning for
Sustainable Community Engagement, I found the missing piece that will completes my heart
and my passion for this incredible country.
We will be at Lynedoch two days a week. One day is for discussing theory; the other
is for applying what we have learned, and teaching in our assigned
classrooms. I’m in Grade 3! Perfect age group, same as my mentee Taylor in
Vermont – old enough that they understand what you’re communicating, but young
enough that they’re still super cute!
Each grade has one teacher and three LSCE teachers. The other two in grade 3 are Tiffany, one of
my AIFS friends, and Helga, who’s from Norway!
Grant told us that one of the children once said that they may not get
to see the world, but they get to have the world come to them! It’s things like this that make Lynedoch
children so special. They truly want to
be at school, and they’re so interested in their new teachers! I sat with a group of girls aged 10 – 13, and
they were so sweet and welcoming – quite unlike how a typical American “tween”
girl would act, sadly. They shared what
they knew about American culture, and they told us a little bit about what to
expect from their school.
When most people look at Lynedoch, they see poverty. But what I have already learned today is that
in its place I should see HOPE. While these
kids may have little material wealth, we learned that they feel lucky to live
in South Africa, which despite all of its downfalls, is at least not a
warzone. They don’t take their school or
teachers for granted. They don’t
oversleep or want to skip school. As
someone that loves children, and loves empowering children, it is such a
blessing to find kids that so look forward to education and personal
growth. As for my own personal growth, I
can already tell that I am quite lucky to have a professor like Grant
Demas. Grant is overflowing with
knowledge and positive energy. After just
about any comment, he has a bit of insight that speaks to the very soul. The quote from Grant that struck me most
today was “thoughts become things.” I’ve
always been a dreamer, and so this quote is perfect for me. I’ve dreamt of doing service abroad,
particularly in Africa, for years, and look where I am now. My dream became a reality. Grant’s example however, was particularly
touching. He said that there used to be
a world map in the very classroom we were sitting in today. He asked one little boy where he wanted to
go, and the little boy pointed to Norway.
Grant asked him what on earth he would do in Norway, and the little boy
replied that he’d go see the king and queen!
An adorable story already, right?
Well the next year, that little boy was on a plane with Grant and a few
other children, heading to Norway, at the
invitation of the king and queen. Thoughts
become things.
