Tot weer siens Emil Weder.....

Hallo julle,

Since Margriet left I have been a bit of a loner… haven’t really been reaching out to the other students… It’s kinda lonely but I do see my dear project coordinator Lizelle quite oten and it’s fine that way….

I can’t wait until my hun, Ivy is coming…. It will be good to show her everything in Genaal… Will definitely take her to Emil Weder and we might go and watch a rugby game if we have a chance :)…

What’s on schedule:
- Wine Tasting
- Partying in Cape Town
- The touristy thingies: Table mountain, Robben Island, shopping!
- Road trip incl. Addo Elephant Park, Tsitsikamma (rainforest), cuddling with cubs etc…..

Today was my last day at Emil Weder… Funny enough I wasn’t sad…. I was just having a very good time and enjoyed the kids. I introduced the game Dodge ball to the kids and they loved it….. I haven’t played it for a long time (since high school) but it was awesome!
Over the past few months I have really come to love this place, the kids and the people I have met here….

Unfortunately all good things come to an end and I guess, for me, my teaching experience has come to one. I was speaking to a colleague and was telling her that I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like, teaching in NL again, because the kids here, they’re different… The kids in NL, they don’t need me, everything there is so well organized… If your dyslectic, or if you have troubles learning, there’ll always be someone who can help you and guide you…. Nothing like in SA, where kids just have to deal with whatever they get on their plate and suck it up… Children fall behind, there’s no special attention paid to them in a class of 48, you’re just another pupil, teachers don’t have to energy or time for that…. I worry about what will become of some of the sweet kids because they won’t ever get a chance to “make it”… What will happen to the ones who drop out of high school or even the ones who do graduate from high school and can’t afford to go to college….. Will they ever get a decent job and to get a chance to live a better life? I wonder….

Being a child here isn’t always easy… Not much individual attention at school like I said and sometimes no love or guidance from their parents… I just really hope that whatever I did manage to teach them and the times we spent together will be useful to them… even if they felt as if they were acknowledged for the time being… Gosh, I am really going to miss my dear pupils!! I have learned a lot from them too....

Oh, before I forget, the school dance was lovely, a lot of pupils showed up and we managed to get R453 (we asked for a 2 Rand entrance fee ;) ) which I will use to buy skipping ropes and balls for the pupils to use during intervals… That way they won’t get bored and they can stay active :)!

Okay, so that was all I wanted to share with you guys for now….
Hope I’ll get a chance to blog before I go to NL….

Love u guys
xoxo