Reflection weekend update

Malo- I have been practicing my Xhosa... :-)

Its Monday! I had to ask my students what today's date was because I had no idea what day of the month it was. When they told me that it was the 26th, I couldn't believe it. It truly was not possible that this was the last week of July and that August would be beginning soon. I guess the saying is true that time flies when you are having fun... :-)

This weekend was an amazing experience. I am entering into my second week of my homestay in Langa which unfortunately is coming to an end soon. I cannot think TWA enough for giving us the opportunity to be able to experience living in the township and connecting with our students on a deeper level.

On Friday, one of my host took myself and several other TWA members out to Khayelitsha which is another township. We went to several places and had one of the best times I have had here in South Africa. It was so nice that every place we went to we felt so welcomed and people didn't mind having us there. They knew we were obviously visitors, but they wanted us to enjoy and feel like a part of the community. I had the time of my life there and was so greatful that our host gave us the opportunity to experience this.

On Saturday, we headed out to a farm to have a day away which was an exciting day. It was so nice to be away to just sit outside and relax and have time to think and reflect. Probably the highlight of the day/night was the braii and the great food as well as going ATV'ing in the dark on this trail. It was so much fun. I definitely felt like a kid again as i was laughing to myself while driving.

Well today marks a new day in the work week. I just finished marking the test that my students took on Friday and I was so excited  that over 90% of them got a 90 or higher. I don't hink I have ever graded tests so quickly as I did on Sunday. I was just so excited to see how my students perform on the test. I had a great opportunity today in class to reteach a topic that a lot of my learners struggled with on the exam. I am learning so much about teaching and developing skills and practices that are helping me become a better teacher. I absolutely am loving my time here in LEAP and South Africa. I don't want to think about there only being 2 and a half weeks left before my return to the US.

Hopefully I will have some time this week to update more about what life is like teaching and co-teaching here at LEAP.