I can't believe that we only have today and tomorrow left at the BNC. The time has flown by and as much as I miss everyone back in the states, I really am not ready to go home yet. Here's what's been going on the past few days...
My kids at the BNC are amazing. I am working with a group of 21 7th graders who are full of energy, life, and enjoyment of learning. We are in a relatively small classroom, but compared to the rest of the rooms, there is enough space for me to walk around during lessons. We have been working on multiplication and division in math, and writing and spelling for English. In 8th grade, they have a big test to take to see if they qualify to move on to high school, so we are trying to prep them for that as best we can. It's been really rewarding to implement teaching techniques I have learned about over the years and see how they work in a classroom that is so different than those in the US.
This whole experience, although it's not over yet, has already been life changing. These kids, unlike many in the US, cherish their educations and don't take them for granted. For most of them, an education is a way to escape the difficult lives they are currently living. There is a policy at the BNC that if they miss more than 3 days in a month, they lose the privilege of being able to attend the program, so they are all really dedicated and committed to learing. I've been writing goodbye letters to give to my 7th graders to give them on Tuesday, and it's honestly been so hard to keep it together when I think of how hard they have been working... they ALL have so much promise and potential to follow their dreams and I'm so proud of them for their hard work.
This trip has been great because not only have we had the amazing opporunity to work at the BNC during the week, but we have taken two very memorable weekend trips. Last night we got back from Swakopmund, a coastal tourist town about 5 hours away from Windhoek. It was SO adventure-packed and exciting! Our first day, we left Windhoek at 2 am and got to Swakop early for sandboarding!! Basically what this is is speeding down the dunes on a piece of wood at incredibly high speeds lying down face first (my top speed was 45 mph!!!!) I was petrified at first; but for a girl who hates heights and rollercoasters and high speed I foud it to be such an amazing adrenaline rush. I was fearless by the end of it. On Saturday we went on a seal cruise, and seals jumped up onto the boat and we could feed them fish and pet them. We also saw dolphins and had a great lunch with champagne and oysters! After that we went four wheeling through the desert for about 3 hours. The scenery was amazing... I really can't to it justice here but when I post pictures you'll get an idea.
Anyway, we're off to the centre soon so I have to get ready... just trying to soak everything in these last couple days before we head back to reality in the US. This has been an incredibly educational, rewarding, life-changing trip... and I don't want it to end!
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