An early morning wake up call to breakfast started this amazing day. We are blessed with sunny weather, high 60’s. The rain passed in the night. We drove to Mitchell’s Plain to attend school with the “learners” at Beacon View Elementary School. Martha Esterhulzen, principal and nearly 1500 students in grades Pre-K thru grade greeted us for a full day of being guests. Our Ambassadors were given Rock Star status as the beautiful learners smiled, asked for autographs and posed for pictures (which they immediately wanted to see themselves in! Our Ambassadors were paired with an individual learner, which they shadowed all morning. The children in the school are coloured, and learn two main languages, English and Africans. Xhosas is also taught so those by grade 5 most are tri-lingual.Each classroom prepared a special greeting for each of the leaders, and some had prepared songs and recited poems in multi-languages. It’s hard to explain the experience that we had. It was a touching, over-whelming feeling being so loved and having so many learners reach out and up to us. The outpouring of genuine friendship offered by all the learners and the teachers touched us. In the classrooms that were teaching about world currencies, a single dollar-bill given to the teacher was a gift that was immeasurable. Teachers cope with an average of 50 students in a room, however today, since some teachers were helping host our delegation, the others picked up students and had 65-70 students in one small classroom not much bigger than 18 by 30 ft. In some cases when we entered a classroom, a young student was in charge teaching the class! How much we take for granted in the states! African learners proudly showed us their workbooks, with neatly scribed words in three languages. They asked questions like, “Where are you from?” and “Can I go home with you?” The answers we gave were an attempt at USA geography, and a smile while reminding them the flight was over 2 days long, and the winter weather was considerably colder than theirs. In reality, if our students could have figured out a way to smuggle their learner Prefects home, you would all have an additional child in the family!
We were treated to a snack at 10, and recess at 12. Before breaking for lunch, the entire 1500 students in the school met in the courtyard at an assembly, where they entertained us with beautiful songs and displays of friendship. A really emotional performance as each of the sweet faces looked at us with smiles ear to ear.The pictures just don’t convey how moving it was.
At 2:00 we had a fine lunch of fresh caught and grilled snoek fish, pasta and a salad with feta cheese, pineapple, tomatoes and lettuce. Desert was milk cake, a local special that reminded us of vanilla pudding pie. We got to eat with our new learner friends. All too soon, we had to say our goodbyes. Our bus was surrounded by all the students, the neighborhood families, and parents coming to pick up their learners. Each was frantically waving goodbye as if to say, “Please don’t forget us. How could ever forget a day so filled with emotions, so thought provoking, so unique and incredible!
Tonight we dine at the hotel, and in the morning leave for Jo-Burg as the locals call it. The students continue to impress their leaders with how mature and responsible they are. We are so blessed with a great bunch of students!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment