My last day in South Africa

Some of you may remember when I first applied to the COST program, and how stressed I was about my placement. My mind was going back and forth about whether I should go to South Africa, Mexico, or stay in Ohio. I finally decided (partly because of my COST advisor’s encouragement-she loves South Africa) to come here. I was still uncertain up until the moment that my plane left, and I was so scared and sad about leaving my friends and family behind. I think I cried almost every night the week before I left. Since I’ve only felt a little homesick here, I joke about how I got it all out before I left- and I really did.

But now, I’ve begun to look back on my trip and the whole experience, thinking about my first day here, driving through the town where everything was bright and sunny and a lot like home, and yet a little bit off. It was nothing major, there were still trees and grass growing, but it’s not the same type of trees and grass that grow in the US. There were still cars and traffic lights, but not the exact same type of cars or traffic lights. Now, driving down those same streets, everything looks completely normal and feels like home. I’ve had an incredible teaching experience and a wonderful host family, and I’ve made some great friends who I’m sure I’ll have for life. There is no other place on earth that I could have had such a great experience. It was hard, and I struggled to acclimate to the school and assert what I needed, but even through that, I grew stronger.

I realize that by being here, my own perceptions about people and towards racism have been challenged. I came here with my own ideas of what South Africa would be like, not understanding the townships, and no idea about the complex interactions between groups of people. I see now that things cannot be summarized easily and it’s not always easy to define relationships. People in South Africa are still struggling to live together in peace: blacks are still struggling to get by, and whites are still struggling with the racism they’d lived with for years. However, the democracy is young, and although they still have a long way to go, the people of South Africa have come so far already in the past 12 years.

And finally, for those of you at Ohio University who are considering applying to the COST program, 5 reasons to student teach overseas:
1. The people you meet: You really get to know your students. The schools have many school functions and encourage you to get involved in sports and clubs. Also, the students want to get to know you: any chance they have, they’ll ask questions. You also get to know the teachers: all the teachers, from all different grade levels and content areas. You see all the teachers 3 times a day in the staff room and hear from the principal every morning at the meeting. There really is a community of teachers here.
2. You are able to challenge your beliefs and open your mind to a new way of thinking. Here, they don’t have the same laws and situations that have been drilled into our heads from our very first education class. There is no high stakes testing, there are no state standards, no inclusion, and they’ve never heard of “no child left behind.” However, they do have their own set of learning areas, and outcomes based education, and continuous assessment portfolios, and learning outcomes. You’ll come out with a much more well-rounded view of what education is and what works.
3. Here, people give you much more respect as a teacher (the students are incredibly polite and call you “ma’am” or “sir” all the time). You also have so much more independence, both inside the classroom and out. In the school, I could choose which classes and teachers I wanted to observe, and the teachers were more than happy to let me teach. At home, I had a little help from my host family, but they also gave me a lot of freedom to explore and learn things for myself. For me, about to graduate from the safe haven of university and learn to live on my own in the “real world,” it was a nice trial step to learn how to live in another country on my own.
4. Learn firsthand about another country, its history, its people, and their attitudes. You can read all you want about another country and its history, but you don’t realize the impact until you travel there and interact with the people.
5. You get to be “The American,” which makes you the most popular person everywhere you go because everyone has questions for you. You can voice your own opinions and people assume you’re representing all Americans (so watch what you say and do!). It’s very powerful to be THE authority on all things American.

I highly encourage anyone to student teach overseas, and I'd be happy to talk to you more about it when I get back- all you have to do is ask! I also enourage anyone to visit South Africa- it's an amazing country, so diverse in its people, the food, the landscape, and the things to do. It's a good country to backpack through, with a backpacker's bus going all along the coast and hostels in every town. However, if you choose to stay in the nice hotels and cities instead, don't just stay to the ritzy areas of town and the tourist traps: make sure you at least get out into the townships for a day or two, visit the inner part of the country, and talk to as many locals as you can!

To all my friends here in South Africa: I'll miss you all, and you must come visit Ohio! To the Americans here: have fun travelling after I leave, and make sure you tell me all about your adventures! Hope to meet up in the States sometime.
To everyone at home: I'll be back in Ohio on Sunday, April 30, and back in Athens the same day for a meeting. Can't wait to talk to and see everyone!

I will update once more after I arrive back home to share some of the "reverse culture shock" things I notice in the U.S. Thanks, everyone, for reading this and allowing me to share some of my experiences with you!