On Tuesday, the day started with a meeting about the ‘English
Day’. We (the teachers, the American volunteers, Jens and me) talked about the
program, the schedule and the activities. Ryan and me selected a story and rewrote
the script. We chose ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. Our pupils follow lessons in the
4th grade so their English is not that good…This will be a challenge! Today
their were no children in the school building. The Arabic people remember the expulsion of
thousands Palestinians and the loss of their land. The teachers ate breakfast
with us and at 1 o’clock we had a meeting with the principal. One of the
teachers wanted to take the whole group (the American volunteers, Jens and me)
to the beach of Haifa. Of course we said yes! We had one hour to go home and
pick up our stuff.
One hour became two but finally the both cars arrived. It’s
still a little bit strange that lateness is more a rule than the exception. Around
4.30 p.m. we arrived at the beach in Haifa. We enjoyed the sun, the sounds of the
sea, the company and refreshing drinks. Some of the volunteers went for a swim
or a game of football and some of them stayed on the beach. I asked them
questions about their program and organisation (Friend Forever). It’s the First
time that the organisation send people to Israel. They are here to teach
English in an elementary school. The prinicpal of this school went several
times to America to make contact with ‘Friends Forever’ to start an exchange
project. We watched the sunset, took pictures as a reminder and went to the
downtown area to eat shoarma (= sheep meat). We ended the evening with Arabic
coffee in one of the bars in German Colony.
On Wednesday I met the 340 pupils. Wow, so many faces and
names to remember! I was overwhelmed by the noise and energy of these
children. During the day I noticed several things. I saw children running in
the corridors the whole day. During the lessons, the break of just between two
lessons. In Belgium in most of the schools it’s forbidden to run in the
corridors but here it’s just normal. If you don’t close the door of the staffroom,
the pupils just enter the room. Sometimes, from my point of view (!), I feel
that the children don’t have respect for their teachers. At home, I talked with
one of the daughters in my host family and she feels the same way. She said
that my stories about the elementary school match with her experiences. According
to her it’s the same in high school…A pupil threw a ball (by purpose)to the
face of a volunteer. The pupil called it
a game, but the volunteer couldn’t laugh with it. It’s also very vague to distinguish
the different classes: it’s not clear when school ends. As teachers we don’t
leave the school before 3 p.m. but some children leaving the building around 2
o’clock or even ealier. To me it looks chaotic but fort hem it’s the school system
and I respect that. It works for the teachers and for the pupils. That’s the most
important!
Before noon I helped Naomy with her preparations. I drew a
purple cat for her play and she was very pleased with it. Then it was time for
my play. Raeda helped me to gather the children. I started with practicing but
immediately I realised that my script (I updated it twice!) was still to hard.
I sent the children back to their class room and searched for a new story. I
chose ‘Big Carrot’, an easy play with easy Lines for the pupils. After the
break I started with the rehaersal. It went pretty well…I was relieved with the
result. The sports teacher painted the background for our play and it was
amazing! I’m grateful for her work. Ryan and me were brainstorming about the costums
we need. Tomorrow we will go to the shop to buy some stuff. I also helped the other
volunteers with their dance number.
After this long and busy school day my host family and his
guests were invited for a bbq in Nazareth. Like all the dinners I had here, their
was so much food…Wow! The food was delicious and the people were hospitable. I
had the feeling that I ate too much. Reject food is rude so you eat more than
you can take. Last night I could not sleep because of abdominal pain. The whole
day I felt so sick and took medication to accelerate the healing process. I
didn’t go to school but a teacher came along and we made the costums together. After
one hour I felt so bad that I need to lay down so she went to school and she
finished the costums with Jens.
My time in Israel is running out and there is still so much
to do…
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