Deprived Child? Naaaaaah

Let's see, where did I leave off last time? I know I probably have blog fans busting at the seams, but I won't hold you accountable for reminding me of what has transpired over the course of three days. Three interesting days, I should say. I mean, how many people get to turn 19 in Kenya? Not too many, besides the millions of Kenyans.

Everyone here with the Elewana project is pretty tired, no, exhausted, after this weekends retreat. We hosted a whopping total of 140 high school students over the coarse of two days. That means two days worth of writing letters to sponsors, turning in report cards, attending highly advanced lectures taught by highly qualified professors, (a.k.a. me standing in front of a class reminding kids to use a condom) alumni stories and recounting of past Elewana experiences, speeches from our towns Bishop the list goes on and on. In all reality, I had a lot of fun. Yes, we talked about more interesting and engaging things than sex Ed, thought that was a big topic of discussion. Those kids are not learning anything about it in school or worse, are getting the wrong information. We had three workshops as I probably explained before. I was in charge of the "healthy lifestyles" workshop along with another volunteer. We also had a workshop for study skills, and one for decision making and goal setting. Though it was tempting to cram just about every speck of information I knew into the short time we were given, it was also really important to take a different approach with our teaching methods. We were prepared with the knowledge that Kenyan students, and I've heard this is similar in other African countries, are taught to copy everything they see or hear and regurgitate without any questioning or critical thought of their own. If you would allow me to rant about the Kenyan school system, I could go on for a while, instead I'll just say one thing. It doesn't do much for creative thought. Here's an example. The students are told to draw a picture of a rabbit with fuzzy ears, a short tail, and a pink nose. Each one produces carious pictures of a rabbit with fuzzy ears, a short tail, and a pink nose. Easy. No problem. Next, the students are asked to draw a picture of whatever they want. They can draw anything in the world....

They're stumped. They don't know what to draw. They want specific instructions. The school system doesn't encourage critical thinking so students don't learn to stretch and work that part of their brains.
As an inexperienced "teacher" standing in front of a classroom full of 50 kids, I am intimidated.

Though we were expecting to have a slightly difficult, patience-testing experience, these kids exceeded my expectations by lightyears. The students at our camp were extremely bright. They had a million questions for us about a wide range of topics. At the end of our workshop, we had each student create a "flag of hope" stating different ways to make their world an ideal place. We got responses like "by teaching my peers the importance of practicing ways to sustain energy and care for the environment," and "by respecting my elders and authority and encourage my peers to do the same."

It was a bit difficult at first, but it got easier with each group, once I realized that their lack of engaged expression wasn't due to my lack of teaching expertise, but rather, that they were absorbing every word I said. Let's just say, I experienced something new, and I have a better grasp of what to expect for the camp coming up this week.

Today we mostly relaxed, something I really needed to do. I also found out that I am a deprived human being for never having seen The Breakfast Club. Shoot me, I know. Apparently it's a crime. Maybe, one of these days I'll actually watch it, until then, I'll just be deprived. I certainly don't feel deprived, especially here. Kenya may be one of the most beautiful places I've been, other than, maybe, the Columbia Gorge. That's some tough competition. I could do without a lot of the bugs, (I found a cockroach waiting for me in my toilet) but that's just a small sacrifice.

One thing I know, is that when I go back to the states in less than two short months, a piece of me will stay here. I know that sounds horribly and disgustingly cheesy, but it's so true. I'll leave you with that, since it is far past my bedtime, and I've exhausted my ability to make sense any longer. Lots of work left to do, I hope anyone out there reading this has a lovely sunday afternoon.