ECC and Kagiso
Posted by Shawna on May 24th, 2008
We’re almost 1/2 way through our placement – time flies! Emmanuel Counseling Centre (E.C.C.) has been so much fun. The youth we’ve met there are so great and I’ve made so many close bonds already. It’s definitely going to be hard leaving them. We’ve had many good conversations and many youth have explained why they have come to the centre. Every person has a different story, but most stories are similar to those of our youth in Canada (they just want to hang out!). We are handing out questions we may ask for our documentary next week and may even start interviewing the youth. A lot of the youth are very excited and so are we! I think the documentary will turn out great with all of the youth so active in their communities.
We have also been teaching Form 4 and 5′s (gr. 11 and 12) at a high school in Ramotswa called Kagiso (kah-hee-so). We’ve taught about E.C.C. and HIV/AIDS so far and have had a great response. The students here are much more respectful than in Canada. Most classes are very inquisitive; it’s so awesome! The questions they ask and things they want to know are so cool and it’s made us feel amazing being able to teach them.
So, it’s been 3 weeks since we’ve arrived and already I’ve learned so much about Botswana, the youth and about myself. I’m really excited to start on the documentary soon and am looking forward to teaching more subjects in the high school.
The weather is much colder than you think! Most days are nice, but it gets very cold in the mornings and at night. The atmosphere is much different than I expected as well. Gabarone is very industrialized and walking through the city is hard because it smells like everyone has diesel cars and it’s tough to breathe! lol. Ramotswa is so neat (it’s a rural village) and there are wild goats that run everywhere! We’ve seen wild baboons on the side of the road once on the way to Ramotswa and horses and cows aren’t as encaged.
We went on a safari last weekend in South Africa in Pilanesburg. We got some AMAZING footage for our documentary of elephants that were so close! We saw so many amazing animals: zebras, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, elephants, impalas, caracals, jackals, wildebeests, kukus, and so many more!
Please email me if you have any questions at all!
I love and miss you all at home!
*Follow Your Dreams. You Never Know Where They Might Take You.*
