The art of gratefulness.

Recently I've been thinking about how much I have to be grateful for. This past year has presented me with so many opportunities. 

Admittedly I had to be bed bound and very ill to have the time to think about this subject properly. {Feeling better now though after momentarily feeling like death put in a oven.}

Firstly out here in the Gambia I have so many things to admire in my day-to-day life. I love watching the strong women working. Carrying buckets on there heads and babies secured on their back with a scarf. {Too cuttteeee.}

It's great seeing the men at the road side selling the coconuts I adore. I get excited by the busy markets and especially the fish market. The fish market is full of life and colour. The boats are beautifully painted. The kids play and help the adults. Also, i love the doughy balls they sell there. A brilliant snack. {Delicious! I have far too many when I visit...}

I love the kids making toys out of absolutly nothing. Most kids at my school play games with socks and shoes. Some of the older girls sing and make music with old tins. It's really beautiful to watch. The power of play doesn't have a price tag. 

I am proud to be a teacher here. The kids are inspiring in ways I cannot even begin to put into words.

I'm overhelmed by the fact I'm in a home that makes me feel like I belong. I enjoy eating as a family from one big bowl while cross legged on the floor. Learning how to cook african dishes, helping in the garden and looking after the kids. It's fantastic and I am so happy to be here. {Kaddy really is my Gambian mummy}

This past year has been really good. I feel closer to my family than I ever have. Especially my mum, sister, gran sandra and granpa don. I realise how lucky i am to have so many people who love me and look out for me. 

(Please ignore my face in the above photo)

I have a diagnosis for my special hand which was brilliant. {Cheers NHS it took you a year but you finally got there.}

I am grateful for my education. {Like im going to uni in September...crazy!}

I love my friends who stick by me even when I am in a different continent. 

I'm so excited for what the future has to hold. I don't know what is going to happen but no matter what I am going to be forever grateful. 

I want live life to the fullest. No regrets. If I have learned one thing from being in The Gambia is the how important it is to smile. 

Ps, sorry for lack of blogs recently. Been busy and then ill. 

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.