A Warm Welcoming

We were finally able to enter the school and began our mission! We woke up very early and were very excited to arrive at the school. The school was kind enough to have a breakfast for us to start the day! We had such a great timer meeting the teachers. Many of them were able to recognize us! 

We had our own student tour guide and he was very proud to be given that role. He let us see the playground and even visit the Reception classroom, what we would call the kindergarten classroom. 

As we reentered the school building, we were greeted by all the students. They held American and England flags, to represent our group and a British teacher. As we walked into the auditorium, it was hard to hold back tears. They waved our flags as our national song was played. We felt welcomed and accepted into the school. 

The students prepared dancse and songs for us! They were beautifully done and represented their culture. The showed us their culture with great pride. We were very fortunate enough to have a deeper understanding of the culture here in South Africa. 

After the assembly, the student leaders each took us to our corresponding grade. The school serves up to grade 7. We have two DeSales students or faculty on each class. As we entered the classroom, the children were excited to see us! As their warm up, they worked in a news book and we were the center of it! According to one of the students, we are the best! 

It's been really great learning with and from the students. We are learning so much for both students and teachers. This is a great opportunity to grow as future teachers and expand our techniques and skills we have. 

We even had a chance to learn more of the Afrikaans and Xhosa language after school with three wonderful seventh graders. We may need more after school tutoring but we managed to remember thank you very much, bye-a-danka. Now let's just hope we don't get a test tomorrow because we may not do very well!

Hearing the goals and stories of the three girls really allows us to see the wonder and curiosity of children regardless of age. We wish to continue a relationship with the girls. They even wish to study in New York City as future a doctor, fashion and graphic designer!

This week may pass quickly but the imprint the teachers and students have made will forever be with us. We just hope to learn more from them as the days go by.