Of Classes and Culture

We are into our second week of teaching and the classes are somewhat defined in terms of who is at what level. It is rather informal when discerning the children's language skills; "hello, how are you, I am fine, what is your name, what color is this, say your abcs and count to 20".  We started to use the required books but all are not yet available. Flexibility, self reliance, and creativity are crucial skills to have as teachers. Interruptions, mild catastrophes, and events that are impossible to understand occur on a regular basis. But none of this is important, what matters is that we have fun and just do what we can. One never knows what seeds are being sown with every small effort. 

I continue to feel like I am riding a roller coaster in terms of whether I can do this for three months. The heat, chaos, and cultural subtleties can be overwhelming at times. Other times i feel grateful for being here, experiencing such a different world. I have grown close to the young women who work at the day care downstairs from our bedrooms. We share lunch with them, practice Kurdish, joke around, and sympathize with each other when someone is sick. Stomach ailments appear to be all too common. I have been quite fortunate.

My latest reading is with CS Lewis and "Reflections On The Psalms", the chapter called "Nature". "All creatures, like us, wait upon God at feeding time".  And so we put our well being into hands that are quite capable, and praise is given.