It’s the end of a chapter in my life. It’s really bittersweet. But after everything I’ve learned during this amazing experience and with the direction and focus I have now, I’m excited to move forward, see what’s in store, and start on a path I didn’t see for myself before at all.

To keep up with my adventures and shenanigans, here’s the link to my personal blog. Thank you for reading and all your support during this awesome time in my life!

On test day, it took longer than I expected, and I could tell that the students were struggling. In result, test scores were low. When I handed back the tests, I apologized, and explained that it was very long because we were covering our first 5 weeks together and how the next test won’t be as overwhelming. The next test would only cover one week of material. After class while marking exercises, I found a test shredded into pieces on the floor near the desk of a girl who I knew poorly. This upset me deeply. I waited until the students were back from their break to speak to them.

I channeled my inner Oprah and spent a good 15 minutes seriously lecturing the students. I told them their responsibilities as a student and how I have made myself so available to them, but I cannot do everything for them. I told them about the long term importance of education and that being serious about every aspect of school is the only way to succeed.

Two outcomes came out of this experience. First, extra lesson attendance jumped from averaging 8-12 to 14-18, out of a class of 30. Second, I realized that 3 months is not enough time to truly help these students. (I was struggling with the large gap in abilities between the students; trying to help those falling behind and those striving forward at the same time was challenging.) I quickly got over being upset and went into proactive planning mode to move forward. While my plans are still vague, I hope to return to Zambia and work for the community school system. I hope to: increase funding; implement set and standardized curriculums that are followed without fail (my experiences have shown that many teachers teach straight out of an outdated textbook; this is very problematic when exam time comes around); and implement testing at every grade level so students are not passed from grade to grade without first mastering necessary skills. That was one idea. My other idea is to come back for a year with a comprehensive curriculum for grade 7, 8, or 9 to catch up on necessary skills, complete the curriculum for their grade, extra exercises to prepare them for the next grade, maybe some awesome Jane life lessons to inspire them for the future, and hopefully scholarships and awards for secondary school tuition.

I can’t help but feel reaffirmed that education is the right career path for me. I love Zambia for all it’s teaching me about myself.

The extra lessons program at Racecourse OVC that Peter Paul has set up is awesome. He hopes for it to be self-sustaining and continue even after he’s gone. While I miss the one-to-one atmosphere of tutoring that I’m used to in Canada, there are so many kids that one-to-one attention isn’t feasible. These kids are extremely driven and attentive, so I don’t mind the workshop-lesson setting. I’ve been forming genuine relationships with them and want to do all I can to prepare them for their upcoming exams.

I’d had a full day of teaching my classes, running my extra lessons, and then teaching at Racecourse for extra lessons. We got through a solid 1.5 hours of grade 9 math revisions and practice questions. When it was time for us to knock off, we realized two of our students were walking in the same direction, and I was pretty stoked about the additions to our long walk home. Humphreys and Funwell are good kids. They’re attentive and always quick to answer my questions.

I was walking and talking with Humphreys when the topic of our future careers came up. He said he was unsure about his future and had many interests. I explained how I’m almost 100% sure that teaching is for me: I’ve wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl; I want to work with people; I want to educate and empower. Yes, it can be a difficult and demanding job, but I told him (something that Peter Paul’s told me), “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” And then something in our conversation switched. Humphreys told me that he’s seriously considering becoming a teacher and expressed his appreciation for all I do. Me? Really? All I do is teach math, try to use other more effective approaches to help them understand, and maybe goof off a little to try to make it fun for the kids. To hear that he always understands what I’m teaching, that he loves copying down my organized notes, and now wants to be a teacher, truly touched my heart and reaffirmed me in the work I am doing.

While this is just one student’s opinion, it brightened my day and reminded me that the effect I may have on my students is so much more far reaching than just passing their exams. Even on days when it doesn’t seem like anything exciting or amazing is happening, just by being here, the kids are learning from me and I am always learning from them.

HEY! from Zambia

I’ve had my pre-departure blog, my first 2 week blog, my epiphany blog (I’m in peace), my gender equality blog, and now I’m going to tell you what I’ve been up to, and how I can’t believe I’m leaving in 2 weeks.

This overall experience has been beyond amazing. I don’t even know one word that can describe everything I have gone through personally.

I think I have had a reality shock of being an adult – going to work early, coming home late, and then being too tired to get groceries and make dinner…and then the routine continues the entire week until you have a weekend – then you just want to sleep and do laundry lol!

BUT, I haven’t been doing that. I wanted to absorb myself into the Zambian culture as much as I could within the three months that I am here. I am so proud of myself that I have not got bored once and have not opened ANY of the entertainment merchandise that I brought (Friends season, a DVD player, etc). Maybe you can say my motto here has been ‘ you can go sleep in Canada when you are back.’ I don’t want to waste any of precious seconds that I have.

I’ve grown so much as a person – becoming more independent and finding out who I am, and what I really want out of this one life that I get to live.

Any free time that I get, I have been visiting around town (buying fresh veggies/fruits from the market, checking out different educational systems such as Copperbelt University, watching sports games, visiting/spending time at various orphanages, coaching a vulnerable kids soccer team <which I did buy them a soccer ball from my last blog post>, working with other organizations such as Kamatipa New Hope that funds children’s education and provides them extra support with schoolwork and fun (I really enjoy tutoring the children of all grades on their homework/lessons), and hanging out with my new Zambian friends while they teach me about their culture & take me on learning adventures. I have been fortunate enough to go spend time and see my roommates’ organizations such as TWIP (I got to go into a community and visit women), YMCA (where I got to have my own class and do a presentation/workshop on gender equality, gender roles, & human rights), Play 4 All (go and play with the kids who don’t get the chance to go to school) , Racecourse OVC school (got to teach a pre-school class… they were absolutely adorable!), and hopefully more before the end of my trip.

teaching math

I had a bucket list of things to complete before I leave this trip, and I’m almost certain I’ll get them done before the end.

I’ve done some pretty cool stuff though! Here are just some of them…

-Kiss a cheetah

I fell in love with a cheetah!

• hold a lion’s tale
• hold a snake

aaaaaaahhhh. Maybe I was freaked out because it wasn't the most safe 'zoo'

• go on a safari, camp out in the wild & see Victoria falls

yep, you totally get soaked

• wear a chitenge

sporting our chitenges

• learn how to cook the staple food, nshima
• kill a chicken…
• go to traditional events, such as a kitchen party
• learn how to Zambian dance

First day in Kitwe when I learned how to dance. I surely have had WAY more training.

• go to a Chipolopolo soccer match (the Zambian team)

Jane, PP, and I at the Chipolopolo game -- Zambia VS Ghana

• see our organization’s idea on paper come to life at the International Trade Fair

• admire the strength of the kids at the orphanage

Kids from the Chimwemwe Orphanage

• eat a sugar cane

Its super hard to break!

not so cool : find a tarantula in our shower bucket :/

STREET KIDS STORY:

As you know, I work with the homeless back in Canada with the project I co-founded (Project HELLO). There was an incident  that occurred here that really opened my eyes. I was in town, and have been getting street kids approach me all the time asking me for money (and I have been told to ignore them and walk away, as giving them money is just encouraging them to stay on the streets), but then I realized the same is said for the Downtown eastside back at home. One of the kids came up to me and asked me for money while I was sitting on the grass in town eating. I told him that I couldn’t give him money, but that he could sit with me and we could hang out. I spent over an hour sitting and talking to two street kids which really opened my eyes to many difficult circumstances that are present here. I fed them as I couldn’t believe that these kids were around the same age as my brother back home. I called some connections that I made with the orphanages here and told the kids to meet me somewhere in 30 min. Unfortunately, the kids never showed up. A couple days later, all of us at home went out for dinner and all walked by the many kids that were grabbing at us. I stopped, introduced myself, got their names, hung out and made them laugh. I encouraged them to go to an orphanage. There is a really big negative mentality towards these kids, and just as I have noticed with my different projects back home, there needs to be hope and support for these kids as they have gone through so much. I feel like the rest of the roommates saw my reaction towards the kids and they started to do the same (or have a more friendly reaction towards them). I was so happy that a couple of my roommates thanked me for showing them the other side of things. I feel as though I created a small little path for people to follow. To sum this up, I have had moments with the street kids that have really inspired me. I am astonished with the amount of orphans on the streets. There really needs to be support put in place for these kids.

I have continued to do the gender equality talks at work – they are becoming more interactive. I have realized that religion plays a huge factor to this issue here.

Making my gender eqaulity talks more interactive.

I love coming home from work and being greeted by kids running at me and calling me bupé or Anoop. I have become attached to these kids after seeing them constantly for 2.5 months. With their positive attitude, I know they are going to go far.

Before I left, my eight year old brother gave me his toys in a bag and asked me if I could give them to some kids in Zambia. I am such a proud big sister.

I feel like there’s so much I still want to accomplish and do in so little time. With all the extreme highs and lows of this trip, I am so grateful for this opportunity. When I graduated a year ago, I had no idea I would be doing this. It has been my dream. I feel like I have lived what I have always imagined.

As I said before, I want to inspire and help as many people as I possibly can before I leave this earth. This has been an unforgettable chapter of my life. I totally believe that everything happens for a reason. Everything that has happened has made me who I am today.

So, fellow readers, go chase your dreams. No matter how crazy and far fetched they may seem, go for it. You only have one life to live.

PS – I got Giardiases :/ ( at least its not malaria?)

When it came to starting my tutoring program, some teachers like it while most didn’t care. However, no one actually did anything to help. I would politely remind them every couple of days and still the program would still not happen. I was not going to let Zambian pace dictate the success of my program. It was in the third week wherein I decided that I had to do EVERYTHING. I advertised in all the classes, booked class rooms, put up a timetable and bought all the necessary materials.

The attendance was slow at first but now we have an average of 16 students. Also being a “white teacher” has attracted attention from other schools so I have a couple pupils from a school near by.

Sustainable? That’s the plan. I initially wanted to do it for free but was told the program would end as soon as I left because no teacher would do it for free. So we charge a very small fee, 500 kwacha (about 10 cents), which is very affordable compared to the competition that charges 5000 kwacha (a dollar!). The money will be used to pay the teachers that take my place when I leave. I have been slowly incorporating teachers to take my place. As of now it’s looking great!!

Moral of the story. When things (like the tutoring program) were idle, I contemplated on playing the blame game. I then thought about the benefits of blaming others. I would not gain anything, and I never will. The only benefit that comes from blaming others is well, being better at blaming! I believe that it is resourcefulness, not resources, that determine someone’s success. If the program doesn’t work out then I will live with the peace of mind knowing that I did everything in my power to see it through. This is better than forever wondering if I should taken more initiative.

Trust currently runs in a rented church. To help you imagine my classroom, think of entering a church into the entrance/gathering/vestry area. On one side, this is where grade three is taught in the morning and grade four in the afternoon. On the other side, all day long, there’s a carpenter who makes cool wooden things like bed frames, dressers, doors, and more. Through this entry area is the main church area, my classroom. It’s one big room but grade six is taught on the left and grade seven is taught on the right. There’s also an open window between my grade seven classroom and the grade three/four room. The only reason this was tough to adjust to was because my voice was constantly raspy and tired from coughing so much. It was interesting to have to coordinate with other teachers when to give lessons and exercises to avoid talking and yelling over one another. My only struggle that still continues is when teachers leave the room and their students become loud and disruptive to my class.

Because of the limited space the church has, Trust’s timetable is split into two half days to include grades kindergarten to seven. Kindergarten, grades 1, 3, 6, 7 are in the morning and grades 2, 4, and 5 are in the afternoon. The grade seven timetable starts at 7:20 am, and ends at around 12:30 pm. But with Zambian time, the school day usually starts at around 8:15-8:30 am. That leaves about four hours to teach 5-6 subjects, so 40 minutes per subject. At first, I tried to do way too much in too little time. I was given a textbook, and was so unclear about pacing, curriculum, and what I had to teach by the end of the term in August. Observing students rushing to copy down notes and submission of incomplete exercises forced me to slow down and realize it was okay to take 2-3 days to cover a topic.

With only 40 minutes per subject, every minute is important. That’s why I could never understand why students would be required to leave for 10-30 minutes at a time, or arrive significantly late. It wasn’t until later when some pupils would come in with yard tools and clearly tired, or I began to see them through the window, that I realized they were being pulled out of class to do yard work. Some mornings, class starts at almost 9 am because halves of classes are fetching firewood or water. This is one of those things that from an academic or professional perspective I do not agree with at all, but from a cultural or outsider perspective, I understand because this is how Zambians do things. Just like in the community, everyone in the school pitches in and helps out so everything can function. (One of my favorite things to watch every morning is when one of the girls will sweep and once she’s done, every kindergartener will grab two fistfuls of dirt from the pile to throw away. It rarely takes the kids more than one trip, so it’s very efficient!)

One of the things that I was actually expecting to be perhaps difficult to adjust to but wasn’t at all was the limited resources. I realized early on, in school and in the community, that: they don’t miss what they don’t have. The students all have one notebook per subject and one or two pens. If a pencil or ruler is needed to underline or sketch, they are used to sharing with each other, or they use a pen instead of a ruler. For myself, only having chalk and a chalkboard has tested my ability to teach outside of the chalkboard, to encourage questions and discussions, and to break the mold of the standard routine: lesson, examples, exercises, homework.

The hardest thing to adjust to in the first month was my schedule. I’d been given grade 7 English and math, and that meant I’d only be teaching 80 minutes a day. I wasn’t sure if it was because they didn’t want to overload me, or because I’m female and a volunteer. Either way, it was a tough pill to swallow. My classes are first in the morning, and after that I was left to occupy my time with marking, lesson planning, and visiting and helping with other classes, until my students knocked off. Luckily, by the end of my first month, we addressed the issue and I started teaching grade 5. By the time I was recovered from bronchitis, Peter Paul’s extra lessons program at Racecourse OVC was up and running, and my program started promptly after my return. So, I’m very pleased to say my schedule has filled up very nicely.

All that said, I’ve adjusted the best to how welcome and loved I feel by all my students and by my colleagues. All the differences and adjustments make work more interesting and remind me how lucky I am to come from our Canadian school system. I love arriving at work and greeting everybody, our conversations, and their kindness in always making sure I’m safe when leaving (preferably with Peter Paul, or not walking the shortcut by myself). I’ve accepted that even school runs on Zambian time, and am grateful for the time to socialize or finish work for teaching. From the get go, I knew teaching at Trust was meant for me and a wonderful first month proved that.

A week later, I had my follow up appointment. The serious part of my infection was over, but there was still a lot of fluid in my lungs. Doc scolded me for not smelling like Vicks. Whoops. We were both on the fence about my going back to work too soon, especially considering that I still tired easily. Stupid decreased lung capacity. When I told her that I walk 80 minutes a day in the dust and heat for work, that seemed to decide it, and she prescribed me some oral antibiotics and one more week of house arrest and rest. Talk about mixed feelings…

After the clinic, I visited my school to give my doctor’s notes, and visit my grade 5 class. I know they like me and that they can be fairly high energy, but I was not ready for the fanfare that followed… Normally, when a teacher or headmaster enters the room, the students all rise to greet them, and while the kids stand out of respect, the usual conversation goes:

Class: Good aftahnoon, Madam.
Teacher: Good afternoon, class. How are you?
Class: Fine, thank you. And how ah you?
Teacher: Fine, thank you. Please sit down.
Class: Thank you very much.
And then class proceeds.

So, my students rose to greet me, but with huge smiles on their faces and most of them with their hands in the air waving to me. We go through the little script, and by the time I’m at the front of the room, a bunch of them are already standing in front of me waiting for high fives. I somehow manage to make explaining my sickness a comical event and they’re actually leaning forward to hear me better. So, I tell them I can’t come back to teach until next Monday. I’m met with a chorus of: “No, Madam! Tomorrow! Come back tomorrow, Madam!” Sighhh. If only. Finally, I had to say bye, and it went a bit like: “Be very good, work very hard, see you Monday!” After a lot of high fiving, waving, and blown kisses, I was gone, but only after apologizing to Moses (the grade 5 teacher) for disturbing class.

As for my mixed feelings… I absolutely hated that I was missing out on seven full days of school. That was the week I was planning on starting extra lessons (or tutoring) and weekly tests with prizes. Plus, we teach straight out of the textbook so I knew I wouldn’t have a clue where we were in the book when I got back. My time here is so limited and I can’t help but feel like time not teaching is time wasted. So, I was determined to not feel like it was time wasted. I was been cleaning and organizing my room, doing house chores, organizing photos and stuff on my hard drive, journalling, catching up on emails, running errands here and there, hanging out and doing nothing with the kids outside, hanging out with people in MEF… And when all that fails, I lie on the couch and tell my housemates to tell me stories about their day.

Last story… Since early on in our trip, we’d been talking about and feeling excited for the national Zambia vs. Ghana soccer game, and we’d bought our tickets a week in advance. The game was on a Saturday, right in the middle of my recovery period, but I was determined to go, especially because I already had a Zambia Chipolopolo jersey and scarf! So, the 11 of us are decked out in our Chipolopolo garb, some had face paint on, and we had an awesome time watching the game and cheering. We won 1-0! Come Sunday morning for my injection, the nurse at the clinic knew I was at the game and asks how it was… Monday afternoon, the regulars at my and Peter Paul’s nshima lunch spot ask us how the game was. Same for my headmasters at work, and I have to explain we’d bought the tickets in advance and I rested before and after, even on the bus rides there and back. So, I can only assume: Zambians are so friendly and hospitable that they nationally televised us good-looking muzungus having fun at the game. So much for being sick and on bedrest. At least I had the canula to show for it.

So, that was a few weeks ago. Since then, I’ve fully recovered. Still a little bit of a dry cough here and there, but nothing major.. Two bouts of an upset stomach. Those are never fun.

Health and wellness really takes extra effort to maintain while travelling. First of all, this is my first real experience of living on my own and having to cook for myself. Luckily, I have Anoop and Peter Paul and we’re always combining our knowledge and creating basic but substantial meals. Not to mention, our grocery shopping trips are usually really fun. One accomplishment Peter Paul and I are really proud of is: consistent delicious breakfasts. We wake up early enough and have a system where Peter Paul makes eggs on toast and p.b. & j toast sandwiches, while I make oatmeal and peel fruit. Every day usually has a deviation of our basic menu. Eating a big breakfast is our only way to get through the day. We don’t always get time to leave for lunch, nor can we pack a lunch at eat at school, since none of our students or colleagues ever eat lunch.

As for exercise, I really wish I hadn’t lost my running shoes with my custom orthotics on the bus back from Livingstone. I was still recovering from bronchitis at the time, so I hadn’t even gone for one run here… I miss yoga so much and have had one session with myself. But honestly, our house is kind of dirty, and doing it outdoors would attract more attention that I desire. Excuses, excuses, I know. And as much as I don’t want to go back home, I am looking forward to running outside, yoga, and hopefully hitting the gym.

I’ve been sleeping less, but well. There’s not enough hours in the day to sleep 8 hours here. Walking a lot has really helped my energy levels. And all of that combined equals the me who has enough energy to now work 10 hours day and still go out and explore after. It’s been amazing. More on that later!

We got to Majory’s house and to his surprise a group of about 12 women were sitting in her living room.  He took a moment to absorb the situation and walked around the room greeting people. As per the guideline, he started with the FINCA introduction and he realized these women were one page ahead already.    Although I do not know exactly what they were saying, I can tell the process went faster than normal. After everyone gave a brief description of their business, we moved on to appointing the positions in the group: chair person, treasurer, secretary, etc. We left with the promise that next time we would come to collect all the needed paperwork and at the same time would bring some forms they needed to fill in.  On the way back to the office, Arnold explained to me how he thought some of the group members were qualified to get a Small Group Loan, which would enable them to get a bigger loan because of the capacity of their businesses.  He said that in the end, that was my group and therefore my decision: we had a Village Banking (VB) Group ready or we could form a Small Group Loan (SGL) and put the rest of them on hold until they got a few more members that would replace the ones that were forming the other group.  I figured that getting five more people would not be a problem, so I decided to go for the second option.  For this, I needed to go with another loan officer since Arnold only works with VB.  As soon as we got to the office, I talked to Chabby, a loan officer for SGL and we agreed on a date to visit them.

Long story made short, I went with Chabby to assess their business and take photos of it; I prepared the package and within three days we presented our group to the committee for approval (very fast compared to standard).  My small group was formed by two grocery store owners, one tailor, a baby clothes retailer and a chicken rearing woman.  Each one of them got a loan of 1,200,000 Zambian Kwacha ($230).  Three of them will use their funds to re-stock their businesses and the other two will go to the Northern Province to buy rice at wholesale price.  While I thought I had agreed a name for that SGL with Chabby and my friends, I think I missed out at one point because I recently found out their name is ROSE, these women really know how to make me blush!  Majory, Betha, Dorothy, Alice and of course Petronella, went home very excited and full of energy to start working their money.

Leaving aside my dream group, that same week I went to Wusakile as I had promised Prisca Chela.  This visit was certainly one of the highlights of my trip! Looking at all the familiar faces and recalling what we discussed last year made my heart melt. They were really confident they were going to see me again.  After talking to them, I have the impression that they are the ones that have been more committed to the savings plan we did last year.  They were all very proud to say how often they go to the bank and how their balances in the bank are on the rise.  Most of them in that community have small vegetable stands at the local market or along the road; I visited some of their stands and even made some sales.

While talking to Prisca she told me she knew some people that wanted to get a loan too, so I told her I would assist her in mobilizing the group and getting all the paperwork.  By the time we are done I might have very few days left but I already talked to Arnold so that he gives follow up until they are formed.  This time, he said “No problem, I’ll do that”.  I guess he trusts me now…

Less than three weeks are left and I feel like I have work to do for another three months. I am very excited to witness what my groups are going to go through on the next few weeks, so I look forward to a very busy end.