Life @ school

Two more week in Nairobi have passed and it’s time to publish some more news. I will write two blog entries at the same time, for right now I have much better Internet facilities, due to a guesthouse change and access to one of the office with free Internet! (Thanks to my Spanish friend Carolina!).

In this entry, I’ll inform you about life @ the Gentiana Primary school, and in the next one about how I use my spare time.

My main job given by my always busy chief Peter Baumgartner at the school…

…firstly is to observe the used teaching methods in classes and secondly to improve the used and introduce new ones that are useful.

Therefore I also prepare lessons for the teachers, e.g. here in the staff room. On the next picture you can see some of the teachers concentrating on their article in order to exchange the new information in a “jigsaw/group puzzle”. And trust me, teaching teachers in a foreign country is quite challenging, but would it not be boring if it were too easy? ;)

Well, after observing or teaching, everyone has earned a short break for lunch. Close to the school, there is a “cosy” place where we usually go to fill our stomachs. ;) Of course it is necessary to clean your hands before, for who the hell needs fork and knife to eat?! =)

The food is ok, but quite boring. Everyday it is either rice or Ugali (cooked flaw). But one gets used to it and it is still much better than the food of the goats below! ;)

Actually, one should not make jokes about a picture like this, but somehow you cannot always be sad about the unbelievable poverty you see in the slums. Some of the other volunteer workers at the guesthouse are already quite depressed, but with a certain amount of humour and good people around me during work and spare time (as you’ll see in the next entry), I try to keep my positive mood steady.