October ends the holiday and is the season for initiations, a cultural practice that differs from tribe to tribe. In the present day, initiations all happen towards the end of holiday (late October), so as to give time for the pre-initiation classes and to not interfere with school. The boys initiation culminates with circumcision. Most boys now go to the hospital, but in the past they would go out into the forest. A not insignificant number, I am told, would die of infection.
For girls, initiation is mostly about the classes; it is when they learn to be a woman, how to respect elders, and wifely duties (apparently this used to be "practical" I was told by one of the sisters in a tone of serious disapproval-- I did not ask for clarification). Both initiations end with huge parties. There is dancing all night! I heard the drumming and singing, but did not want to intrude as a curious azhungu (white person). The picture was sureptitiosly taken while driving. People in Malawi are understandably very touchy about pictures, so I try to respect that; I mean really, who wants their daily life and customs to be photographed as a curiosity?
This week opens the first week of school. To be honest, there have been so many things that make me want to pull out my hair. It is a good learning experience, reinforcing the need just to be present and accept things as one finds them without always trying to "fix it."
It is nice to have the girls back. The campus is alive. All the girls look clean and sharp with short short buzzed hair, as the haircut needs to last the term. The Form 1s look a little lost as they wait for their uniforms and wear their civilian clothes.
This year, I will be teaching Form 1 and 3 Literature and History. We have ten weeks in the first term, three of which are allocated for testing. The incoming Form one has some really bright girls in, and I am excited to get to know them. I will be even more excited when they are all here. The final count for the class has not been set. We had a list of all girls who had passed the entrance exam, but who was actually going to come here or had opted for another school was an unknown until Monday when the girls arrived and role was taken. Another round of entrance exams was then held on Wednesday to try and fill out the class size from local girls. These girls will presumably start next week.
Form 3 will be arriving next week, so will have a 9 week term (still with three weeks going to testing). Form 3s start late, because the results from the national exam that determine whether they passed Form 2 or not were not released until yesterday evening!
While not on the high scoring list, at least we're not bottom 10! To be frank, I am impressed how much learning happens given the conditions.
It was also surprising to see a number of girls who were on the list of "withdrawn," i.e. will be disinvited from coming back due to poor performance or behavior, back again this year and moving up into the next Form. A casual remark on the subject to another teacher elicited, a "yeah." In a tone that clearly revealed resigned disapproval. I can guess what was involved in the conversation with the parents that got the girls back on the roster, but that would be gossip.
As my title indicated, we are opening in the midst of a cholera outbreak. While the title is dramatic, the reality is not. There are added hand washing stations around campus, and that is really the extent to which our life has been effected. I am sadly not supporting the mandaz and zitombue street vendors until the outbreak is over, but life goes on.
As Marina says, God looks after these people, and in situations were we (Europeans and Americans) would have been long dead, somehow the people here survive.
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