Lauren
Today in Zambia, everyone had the opportunity of shadowing a girl that attends the Fatima School for Girls. I had the opportunity of shadowing a girl named Bangi who was in 11th Grade. We woke up this morning at 5:45 to meet our guides at mass before school started. After mass ended, we helped our guides with their daily chores such as cleaning the church or sweeping the roads. We then went to breakfast and shortly after, we went to our first class.
During this English class, we read a story out loud and all the girls wanted to hear me speak so I ended up reading the entire story to the class. They asked me how to say certain words and this usually ended in a giggle fest because they said I spoke in a funny way. Some said I had a strong Minnesota accent and that made me laugh. Most girls came over to me during class and wanted to take a selfie with me.
After our morning classes, we went to lunch. Similar to how Vis girls are obsessed with food, the girls of Fatima are just as obsessed with food and I introduced my guide to the wonderful snack called Goldfish. Having the guide show me around the Fatima campus was truly wonderful and I have definitely made new friends that I plan to keep in touch with after our stay in Africa.
Looking forward to working in the outreach clinics in the bush tomorrow. :) Lauren
Mary Clare
Today, I also was a guest at Fatima School for Girls. Every morning, the girls wake up at 4:30 am for 6:15 mass and they study until 10:00 pm.Today, as Fatima girls, we were required to mirror their schedule. After mass, we had breakfast which consisted of white cornmeal porridge. My hostess, Caonga, recommended not to eat the porridge, so instead we shared a bag a chips.
As Caonga and I were walking to class, she told me that the teachers move from class to class instead of the students moving-- it is different from schools in the U.S. By Tea Break, I was starving for some "real" food that would actually fill me up. Unfortunately, I did not get any until dinner. During Lunch break, I got to formally introduce myself to the girls. They were all very curious about what life is like back in Minnesota. A question that I received most frequently was, "What is snow like?" I said that is was cold, white ice that was mold-able.
During French, my last hour, I became comfortable with most of the girls in the class--some even gave me notes with their Facebook name and their P.O. box so that I can write to them. By this point in the day I felt right at home! I felt very knowledgeable at the end of the day because I knew more about schools outside of the United States and their customs.
I can't wait for another day full of surprises tomorrow at the outreach clinic tomorrow! Mary Clare
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