School

Anna had been to Kenya 6 times before this trip, but she has never visited while the kids are in school. On Monday, we decided that we would take the opportunity to visit one of the schools that some of the children from our orphanage, CRCA, attend. It was a primary school for kids pre-school to 4th grade. The teachers told Anna and I that we could split up and go into different classrooms to observe while lessons were being taught, then switch. I found it interesting that there were only four kids in the classroom I was in, despite the mass of kids that were playing in the school yard outside. I guess the younger children were given much more free time than the older. As I observed the class, I found there were a lot of differences from US schools. Questions were asked to the class as a whole, and children would give their answers freely. The buildings were smaller, with sometimes large number of kids cramped in. For their age, it was also evident that the curriculum was focuses less around creative activities, and more around memorization. The culture  made the school different in other ways as well. I found it funny that when a question was asked about animals, they named lion and zebra as examples, whereas American kids might give bear and deer. During their break, Anna and I went outside to sit with the kids. They were timid at first, but soon enough all of their kids had their hands on me. They wanted to stroke my hair, touch my skin, and hold my hands. They were entertained when I made sad attempts to imitate their Swahili words, calling me "mzungu" (meaning white person) and laughing. Although I was tired and worn out when we left, it was an experience like no other, and one of my favorite in Kenya.