Normal.

While I was back in the US, a lot of people were asking me what my “normal” day looks like.  I figured I’d take some time to give you a picture of my life here and try to explain what being a teacher in Zambia is like. 

The school year in Zambia goes from January to December with 3 month-long breaks.  The first was in April (which is why I was able to come home for a whole month and not be considered a terrible teacher), the second will be in August and then the last one is December. 

Since I’ve started teaching full-time, my schedule has become pretty consistent.  During the week I wake up around 6:15 (or 6:30, depending on how many times I hit the snooze button!), eat breakfast (usually cereal or toast with peanut butter and bananas for those of you who are curious about the food), iron my clothes if needed (because we hand wash everything and then dry them, all your clothes get very wrinkled, and Zambians pride themselves on looking very nice everywhere they go…no scruffy teachers allowed!), and then leave my apartment by 7:10.  I leave our gated area and then join MANY other Zambians on our walk up the road to town.  It’s one of my favorite times of the day…there are always students, women going to the market, men on their way to work, and we’re all just walking together.  Since I got back from America, this morning walk is usually quite chilly because we are in the cold season here in Zambia.  People laugh when I say cold, but it really DOES get cold.  Not “winter in America” cold, but definitely “I need my fleece jacket” cold.  And if I think it’s cold, you can only imagine how cold the Zambians think it is.  It is not unusual at all to see people wearing winter jackets these days.  So I walk the ten minutes down my road till it intersects with the main road that goes through town.  Here I hail a taxi (any car passing by that honks at me) and make sure they are going the direction of school.  Since I live in a small town, most of these taxi drivers know me by now and they quickly tell me to hop in.  It’s during these taxi rides that I get to practice most of my Bemba.  I greet everyone in the taxi, tell them my name and what I’m doing in Zambia.  They generally ask me if I’ll take them back to America with me and why on earth I would ever choose to live here.  These taxis are different from Americans taxis in that they are “group taxis,” meaning I pay $0.60 for one seat but the driver may stop at any time to pick up other people to fill the remaining 3 seats.  Sometimes the drivers will even stop to get gas or drive way out of their way to pick up their children for school…those are the days that I just have to sit back and say, “TIA!”  (This is Africa) and pray that Teacher Esnart gets to school early.

As long as everything goes according to plan, I arrive at school at 7:30 where I usually find a handful of students already waiting.  The kids are very self-motivated and know to grab the brooms when they get to school to start sweeping the classrooms and yard outside.  I spend my first few minutes greeting students and then every morning either Shadrick (the grade 2 boy whom I sponsor), Collins, Travise or Joseph will run up and ask, “Can I get the books, Teacher?”  Because we rent a house for our school, my classroom is not very secure.  It’s technically the “sitting area” of the house so it’s quite open.  Many people come to visit Fred, the man who stays at/takes care of the house, so every day after school, I have to pack up all my supplies in boxes and store them in Teacher Esnart’s room which has a lock and key.  These four boys LOVE helping me by bringing the boxes to and from my classroom every day and I love giving them special jobs to do.

Around 7:45, all the students gather in my classroom to start the day.  We say the Lord’s Prayer, sing a few songs, go over the date/calendar and read a devotion from the book, "Jesus Calling."  We then dismiss the Grade 3’s and 4’s to their classroom and I start the day with my kids.  We, of course, start the day with potty break, which (be warned, this may be TMI) means whatever gender I call goes outside to the large pit dug in the yard and does their business.  For those of you wondering if I use this method, you can rest assured that I don’t.  We DO have a toilet in the school, but honestly the kids are quite used to using a pit and it would take way too long for all 33 of my students to use the one toilet.  (Although we DO let them use it for “other emergencies.”)  Sorry if that was way more than you ever wanted to know…back to the school day!

So, my first teaching block lasts from around 8-10:30 and then we have a break for tea and recess.  It can be quite a struggle to teach 33 students from two different grade levels, but it’s a fun challenge.  We mainly focus on Reading, Math and English with a bit of Handwriting, Science, Bible, Spelling and Art thrown in.  Most public schools in Zambia are bursting at the seams with students so they just move kids on without truly making sure they have the skills.  We are trying to ensure our students’ success, so we keep kids in grades as long as they need.  For example, I have grade 2 students who are anywhere from age 7 to 12.  This is also a result of the fact that all of our kids come from families who can’t afford school, so maybe they’ve never even had an opportunity to go to school before now.  Thankfully many of the Haven of Hope Teams throughout the years have brought over school supplies, so I have the crucial things like an alphabet above my chalkboard, reading books, some curriculum, flashcards and crayons.  Since coming I’ve made a “word wall” where I add 5 new words each week for the students to learn and spell.  I test the students individually on these words every few weeks and they LOVE it.  They really do love learning how to read, and they especially love having my undivided attention.  Teaching in Zambia is always an adventure and any day there can be something that throws off your schedule.  One day it might be the neighbor’s chicken wandering into your classroom, a vomiting child who clearly needs to be taken to the clinic, a local mother trying to find a spot at the school for her child, a man stopping by to see if we want to buy charcoal, or kids just stopping to stare at the white girl teaching a bunch of Zambian kids. 

From 10:30-11 the children are running around in our small yard playing soccer, the Zambian version of dodge ball, jump ropes or some other game.  If I’m not in the office talking to Charity and Esnart or writing lesson plans, I’m just sitting in the classroom with anywhere from 3-15 students who would rather read with me than be outside.  They love digging around in my supply box to get out their favorite flashcards or grab the magnetic letters/cookie sheet to spell words for their friends.

From 11-12:45 it’s more learning and then we prepare for lunchtime.  We have an amazing cook who helps make our lunch every day, so when she’s finished, I dismiss a few students at a time to go around the house, wash their hands at the faucet outside (if there's running water) and line up outside the kitchen to grab their plate of nshima (a thick mashed-potato looking food which is made from maize meal) and whatever relish we are having that day.  (2 days a week we have kapenta, which are very small, dried fish.  2 days we have beans.  And the other day we have soya chunks…which I think is basically tofu.)  After lunch, I choose 5 students to clean up the classroom and 2 students to sweep outside in the yard.  (It’s my class’s job to take care of the yard and cleaning the tea-cups during break while Teacher Esnart’s class cleans the plates from lunch.)  Around 2:00 we are done sweeping and mopping the floors, and the whole school lines up outside for any announcements we need to make.  We pray and send the kids off to walk home. 

Some days after school I will stay around to write lesson plans, talk to Esnart or make new posters for my classroom, but usually I walk to the closest kiosk (small shop along the road), buy a Fanta (aka: nectar of the gods) and head into town to run errands and then go home to prepare for the next day. Mondays are my "grocery buying" days.  We now have TWO grocery stores in Luanshya, which is a pretty big deal, and up and down the streets/corridors of shopping areas you can find people selling fresh fruits and vegetables.  My shopping list almost always includes chicken, apples, tomatoes, onions, milk, yogurt, eggs, chips and other random stuff.  Wednesdays I head to my Pastor's house for Bible Study and Thursdays I go into town again to make photocopies of whatever homework sheet I’m sending home with the kids on Friday.  Some days I walk the 35-minute walk to the Banda’s house to visit with them, but I always make sure I leave in time to be back before it gets dark.  Since it’s winter here, it’s starting to get dark around 5:30 which means I spend most of the evening alone in my apartment.  It’s good though…gives me lots of time to cook a good meal, boil water so I can take a hot bath, write my lesson plans, catch up on my favorite tv shows, and chat with friends and family.  I was very lucky to find a nice apartment for cheap, but it’s definitely “Zambian” in that it has no hot water, my sink is outside (under a carport), water comes and goes throughout the day so you have to stock up, and at least one night a week the town shuts off our power to conserve energy.  But honestly, you get used to it!

My weekends are normally spent catching up on house chores like laundry, sweeping & waxing the floor (yes, waxing), and whatever else needs to get done.  I always walk to Kamirenda (the neighborhood where the Banda’s live) on Saturdays to attend my church’s youth group at 3:00.  On Sunday, I leave the house at 10 to get to church and am there till around 1.  Most Sunday afternoons I go to the Banda’s for lunch and hang out with them before going home to rest and start another week.

So there you go.  My life in Zambia.  I’m definitely not living in the bush like I’m sure a lot of people picture when they think of Africa, but I know it’s hard to imagine when you haven’t been here.  Let me know if you were wondering about anything else that I happened to leave out.