Not having much clue about what to teach, I have decided to start with the basics of essay writing. One of the teens of the parish recently told me of his struggle to “get” English. Sierra Leone has 23 living languages; most in this area grew up speaking Temne, a tribal language to the north, before moving on to Krio, the English/tribal hybrid. Only a certain percentage of the students here move on to learn English, and the adult literacy rate for the country stands at 31%. What an American college student would likely consider rudimentary English skills cannot be reintroduced enough here to the collegiates. It certainly has led me to reflect on the blessings of my own upbringing, notably my parents’ successful efforts to implant a love for reading early in my childhood (in turn, I began reading to my brother when we were very young. He lazily assumed that he would never have to read since I would do it for him; not much has changed).
One of the students asked if we could have a class on writing poetry. I smirked, realizing that my college professors had effectively hammered into my skull the absurdity of using fluff or flowery language to make any intelligible point (unless you are Ronald Reagan, trying to “slip these surly bonds of earth to reach out and touch the face of God”). I assured him that I would be a poor poetry teacher.
Thank you for all the prayers. Hard to believe that my first experience of teaching at a university would be in Africa. God continues to shatter what I consider to be the limit for my “wildest dreams.” May the Spirit rain down blessings upon us and make our hearts overflow this Pentecost.
-Bob
written 06/09/11
Yesterday morning I woke up with you and Dan on my mind. I woke up early. A couple hours earlier than I needed to. I was thinking I had really sacrificed, since I missed those hours of sleep. I read all your posts, and then I was quickly put back in my place. I had been intending on keeping up with the blog, but got behind. I spent yesterday morning catching up, and I'm glad I did. It's been really fun reading about your adventures. I was excited that Dan posted yesterday morning as I was getting finishes with the others. New material! I had written a nice long response like this one, and the computer froze, and I lost it. I have never had a Mac freeze before, so I didn't know what to do (there's no "control" or "alt" buttons!). I ended up losing my post, so I've tried to summarize it above. I know that you guys are about 5 hours ahead of me, so when I wake up and read the blog, I'm thinking, it's middle of the afternoon there, and it's probably ridiculously hot! I'm sure that can wear on you mentally, so I'm glad you're getting some down time then, and hopefully a beer here and there :) I'll be thinking about you both, and look forward to reading more posts! God speed!
ReplyDelete~Kel
PS - Bob, I think you should teach some poetry. After all, limericks are poems!
Dan, don't ever underestimate the power of jumping in the middle of a game of football :) Even if you aren't very good, the others will appreciate you did. Don't pass it up! :)