Today while getting ready to leave for the six hour drive to Malambo we decided to go to one of the markets downtown. I knew I had no more money so I wanted to give the trading/bargaining thing a try. I wanted some Zambian soccer jerseys so I put on my African accent and tried to get it. For some reason the people at this market were a bit more stingy at bargaining but they was at the first one but they still was no match for me. I ended up trading my shirt and my watch for three official Nike and Adidas soccer jerseys. I can tell they were mad at me when I walked away with basically all of their merchandise. Now I know that I’m the best at bargaining if we go back I am going to see what I can get for my socks.
This trip so far for me has been a great experience to be exposed to a new culture in Zambia. The most moving part of this trip was when we gave away the bikes to the kids that could not go to school because it was too far away from their homes. This was moving to me because when we arrived at the event the kids started singing a song about how what we were doing that day meant so much to them. I have never felt so proud of my self in my life because not many people can say that they made transportation for kids in a African country so they can better their lives.
Another part of this trip that also made me grateful that I had applied for this experience was today when I was teaching my 3rd graders at the Malambo school. The way this class room was set up was that the smarter kids were separated from the slower learning kids. I felt this made the slower kids not really learning anything because the class was 27-40 ratio with one teacher. I had the pleaser of teaching the slower learning kids because I could see in their eyes the desire to learn but sometimes the teacher can not help them and at the same time keep up with the school curriculum requirements. I taught them their ABC`s and at first they did not recognize or remember many of them but by the time class was over they knew them all frontward and backward. This made me proud because I know that these kids now have a better chance of passing to the next grade with my great teaching skills.
Taylor B., SEED Public Charter School