My wee grade three class

Grade three is a handful to say the least. Thirty six kids in one class is something you just would not get in the UK. The classrooms here are very basic. A black board, a cupboard for textbooks and metal benches with metal tables attached. There are dirty white walls with some handwritten posters that were put on the wall with PVA glue and are half hanging off the wall.  

(The boys never like to smile...) 

The kids here are great. Full of energy. They LOVE to sing and dance! Some of the best times with my class has been the last half hour of their friday class where we have a singing and dancing session. I even taught them the 'I like the flowers' song. Great fun. In lessons it is cute because they love to be picked to answer a question (they get even more excited if I ask them to write the answer on the board!). They will throw their hands in the hair all saying 'teacher teacher - teacher teacher!' (No matter how many times I have told them that I only want hands up) 

Walking about the school grounds during break is lovely. They are all playing. Football is very popular here (often with 50+ kids playing in one very disorganised looking game). They also play dodgeball (though this tends to be played with rolled up socks or a shoe instead of a ball), a skipping game is played by the girls alot (its hard to describe and I've never seen anything like it in the UK) and they like bottle games. Some of the older kids have tins and various other bits that they use to make music. They sing and dance along and it is so great to watch! 

Here it is still acceptable to hit a child or call them stupid. This has been a big struggle for me. With such a big class when I'm the sole teacher I find that whenever I turn my back to help someone a small fight breaks out. This is because they feel they get away with it as a stern telling off or asking someone to stand outside is not as bad as a small bit of garden hose whacked across their palms. It is a difficult situation I feel like I am handling it well though. 

A big problem with the schools here is a lack of understanding for children who are struggling. Instead of giving the kids who struggle extra help they will just give up on them completely and say they are 'not serious about school' or they are simply 'stupid'. This is a real shame and thats why when I'm with my class I try so hard to make sure all the children are learning. Not just the children who have a greater understanding of the subject. 

Despite these challenges I am loving teaching. I love getting to know the kids and I'm learning so much here. I just hope that I make some kind of difference for the school and the kids. One can only pray. 

Where,when and why.

Hello there!!! 

It is nearly Christmas and not long till my first plane out of the UK. I'm so excited and have started to pack!

So, what exactly will I be doing? 

For my first trip I'll be off to Colorado for ten days for some skiing during the new year! This is a family trip and it's going to be good. I love skiing!!

I then have less then 24 hours to get from Edinburgh airport to Manchester airport to get a flight to The Gambia. Which is the "Smiling Coast of Africa." This is with a charity called Affecting Real Change.

Check them out! 

http://www.affectingrealchange.org/

I love what this charity does and feel proud to be working with them. While in The Gambia I'm staying with a brilliant man called Musa and his family. While I'm there I will be working in Lower Bakau Basic school. I will be assisting with English classes here! Musa has also found a local church to go to and I'm really excited to get involved with that. 

After three months in The Gambia I'm going to the Scripture Union Snowports holiday in Austria. This is an amazing trip which I've been going to since 2012. It is lead by amazing people who have been brilliant to me over the years and helped me through some tough times. While away I'm hoping to get baptised. This is something that means a lot to me and is going to be so cute to get baptised in a place that means so much to me.

Soon after that I'm planning on buying a interrailing ticket and bounce around Europe for a while!! Plans still to be confirmed. 

I will then go back to Austria as I've been accepted onto a great program in Austria called a Summer of Service. Check out the programs website! 

http://castlesos.com

Finally, my last trip is to Southern India for a month to work in Moparru Orphanage I've being sent here by the charity Affecting Real Change who I'm going to The Gambia with as well. Here I will be helping with the day to day running of the Orphanage and staying in the Orphanage. This is going to be really full on work but I'm excited (I love kids and they seem to like me). 

So, why am I doing this? 

I'm going to do law at university in September 2016 (either Edinburgh or Dundee - still to be confirmed). I could of gone to uni earlier but decided I wanted a break from exams, deadlines and stress (plus be 18 for freshers week). I love travelling and it's been a dream of mine to go and see some of the world. Since I've left school I have been working at Morrisons as a sales assistant, must-fill champion and a cashier (cause one role would be boring and not enough work...right?) to pay for these trips (not going to lie I'm going to miss my supermarket family probably as much as my actual family). 

That's it! That's what I'm doing! Hope you follow me on my travels around the world! If you want to contribute in a financial way here is my fundraising page but I'd just love people just to follow my story around the world. 

https://www.gofundme.com/xxaxg84