World Citizenship

We finished our first week of school last Friday. There are 5 high schools that are involved in this project and we meet each school once a week for about 2 hours. Each week we shall be talking about a different issue and last weeks topic was Communication and Feedback. We got off to a rocky start as the number of students that showed up was lesser than what we expected, but we were right back on track the next day.

I wasn’t quite sure of what to expect as I had never done anything like this before. Getting and holding the attention of some 20-30 teenagers, after they had had 7 classes through the day is not the easiest thing. You cannot act like one of their teachers but at the same time you cannot try too hard to fit in. They appreciate you being yourself and you have to be willing to let your guard down completely and put yourself out there. It usually takes me a while to warm up to people before I can bring out my wild side. : P In this case I don’t have time on my side, it is their time. But then that’s the learning, right?!

The students are very friendly and volunteered to show us around the city, go on treks and also invited us to play basketball with them. The students are quite confident of themselves and eager to learn. The feedback that we have received so far is very encouraging and rewarding. They think the project is great and very useful; they enjoy the games and movies we play and want to learn more about our cultures and our experiences. There are also a few students who want to join AIESEC!  woohoo!!

I really appreciate the fact that the students stay back after school hours to attend our session and even if they are half dead they don’t show it. Another point that I like is that some of them feel that they are not very fluent in English, which is not the case because when they start talking they do just fine! But the point is that they make the effort and that is what pushes me out of my comfort zone.

After I decided to accept this traineeship I never doubted my decision and each passing day is just another affirmation. My only wish is that it was longer!!