The week continued (mid-July)

Tuesday – today was to be another day of doing nothing, but instead of sitting around the office, I ended up going to Embangweni Community of Christ nursery school to observe the class and well, do something other besides sit around the office. This nursery school was the first I visited in Malawi, and in my mind it is one of the most difficult, because it is without a chalkboard and the kids can almost perfectly recite their letters and numbers, but can not recognize them in written form. The kids even recited the 12 months of the year, yet they are only repeating what the teacher says, so even though it is impressive, it’s not like they actually are understanding or comprehending what they are saying. But they used some good songs and even used the toys they had really well, so A+ for that.

Wednesday – today we managed to visit two nursery schools and teach the caregivers how to use the new teaching resources (play toys) they will be receiving soon from the US group. They will be getting a bag of puzzles, a bag of building blocks, and a bag with balls, a pump (very in-demand), puppets, a hula hoop, and a book that is translated into Tumbuka from English, something which does not exist here, since school is taught in English or Chichewa, Tumbuka is mostly spoken, even though they have a Bible in Tumbuka and most business letters or written words in the field are in Tumbuka as well. It’s really cool that the centers are getting all this stuff, I only hope that the caregivers will use them and have fun with them, because it truly is a different way of teaching than they are used to. It takes some doing to go from just rote teaching – stand up, recite such and such, sit down, etc. – to using toys and teaching things to kids’ different learning styles and interacting with them on a completely different level. Even reading a book to kids, making sure that they are participating, takes some effort. But yeah, it was a good day I thought, we had to rush back to the office because someone was selling life insurance, something that rarely Malawian people have, and at first I was skeptical that it was legitimate, but after Mr. Nyirongo confirmed it, I thought it was cool that everyone was able to have that chance for their kids and such. Then, when we went to run errands at a print shop, I was invited to a bridal shower for a friend of a friend this Saturday, so I’ve been debating about going...since I don’t really have a good gift, and I really have no idea what I am getting into, but we’ll see! It would probably be a good experience, and worth the possible awkwardness, since she was kind enough to give me an invitation and all : )