Goodbye, Zenica

Sezam ended Friday and it was very sad. We organized it so we had some time with our classes but also combined the three classes into an Olympics type event for part of the time. Several kids brought us gifts including the traditional flowers given to teachers at the end of school.

We asked the oldest ones to write feedback (in English or Bosnian) and it looks like they had a lot of fun, although several from Deivid and my class complained that we did too much writing.

Here’s a run down of some of the more successful activities that emerged over the course of the four weeks:

Musical chairs was a huge hit, especially with the youngest class, and it really is hilarious to watch. During the Olympics we did musical chairs with all three classes, and I joined in for a few games – it is fun!

The mural on the side of the school was fun to do and turned out beautifully. A lot of credit really goes to Deivid for envisioning the project and making it happen. Our kids also enjoyed doing water colors in class one day.

For the oldest kids, as I mentioned in an earlier entry, a little competition really got their juices flowing. We would ask them to draw and write about a creative subject (their dream vehicle on transportation day, favorite location, etc) and then each would present their work to the class for a score from the teachers. Some of the quieter kids talked quite a bit when we did this, and it gave us the opportunity to correct their work and prompt them to push further with one-on-one instruction while they were drawing and writing. Despite the complaints that we did too much writing, they really seemed to like this activity. And on the second-to-last day, when towards the end of class we had them create an advertising poster for a product of their choice (tennis balls, roller skates, shampoo were among their choices), they complained that we didn’t have time for them to talk about their projects.

We tried a few improv activities with the older two classes. This included asking them to act out animals, modes of transportation or places around town, and more. The oldest class was best at it. When we removed some of the structure and did the “freeze” game (anyone can freeze the scene, tap one of the two actors, and resume with a different scene from the same physical position) only a few participated. They did really enjoy “what are you doing” (in a circle, each person asks the person on their left in turn “what are you doing” and then must pantomime the response”) partly because they could make their classmates do funny things like “I’m smelling my foot.”

When we played jeopardy, pictionary, and other semi-competitive team games, we got a chance to address the issue of being positive towards struggling teammates and towards the other team. I think some of the message got to them, but not completely. We also had to address a little bit of cheating.

The biggest success in terms of activities was also our greatest challenge. The older two classes absolutely loved loved loved the game “Honey I Love You” and we also taught the older class a less-violent version of Mafia. However, they liked both of these games so much that they would ask for the entire class to play them, distracting the class from other activities. The games were a little too popular. It did work well to promise them they could play after they did, say, a writing activity, or if they were good at the end of class. It was really wonderful when one day our middle class, after playing Honey I Love You 5 minutes past the end of class, resumed playing in the schoolyard.

Overall I had a great time with the kids and adults I met in Zenica. I learned so much from everyone and it was an incredible experience.

A few tidbits

I just saw a t-shirt that said ''I'm Muslim, Don't be Afraid.''

People chain smoke here, and when they go to a café they might have 3-4 cigarettes over one little cup of coffee. So I’ve noticed that waiters do more work bringing fresh ashtrays than drinks.

I get a kick out of seeing couples walking around with the man carrying his girlfriend’s purse.

I am constantly amused by the random old American songs that play on the radio or TV.

The calls to prayer near my house have recently been accentuated by the howls of a dog. My host mom jokes that the dog is praying. (Well, she pantomimes.)

Most showers here are a messy combination of a loose showerhead and no shower curtain, so it has been a challenge not to create puddles on the bathroom floor every time I shower.

TV programs show a lot more nudity than in the US, but I was still surprised when a Croatian gossip show aired close-ups from a club of some celebrity’s cocaine-damaged nose. I can’t imagine that being aired on an American gossip show, but then, I’ve never actually watched one.

Lessons

As I write this entry hail is pounding furiously against the windows of my room (and on anyone/thing unlucky enough to be caught outside). I think I now know exactly what it would be like to live inside a rainstick. Every few minutes a bolt of lightning contributes its lagged crash to the cacophony. So much for going to the pool today...

We (the students from Swarthmore and William & Mary) just wrapped up our weekly check-in meeting with Sezam. We use these meetings to talk about what's going well, share any problems we're encountering, and collectively some up with possible solutions. The general consensus was that things are going well and a lot of the kinks from the first two weeks have been smoothed out. As for me, I am happy with how the students and I are getting to know each other better. Andrew and I have a great time talking with the kids both in and outside of school, and we have gotten better at predicting how our three classes will respond to different activities.

The kids are much more likely to try on their own to communicate in English than they were three weeks ago. This may just be because we no longer have translators in the classrooms, but I would like to believe that it is also because they are more confident. Truly, after watching us Americans struggle with Bosnian, they could not fail to feel better about their own proficiency in English. Their new favorite word to tease me with is tvrđava (fortress). Yes, that would be four consonants in a row. And no, not one of them is silent.

The only really serious problem we have run into with the kids is an increase in the amount of teasing going on, especially in our oldest classes. Since the majority, if not all, of this has been across genders rather than within, Andrew and I split up the class (guy group and girl group) at the end of the day on Tuesday to talk about it. After the discussions we asked them to write down their opinions of the class so far, what activities they liked and didn't like, and any suggestions they had. Our students "like when we lern new words", "hate to play football", "love play foodball", "like pizza", "hate when boys teez girls", "want to do more music" and most of all "HATE the game Honey I Love You". So, Andrew and I have started to do more music and activities that involve running around (but aren't football). Since the discussions and subsequent reformatting of our lessons, the classroom atmosphere has gotten a lot better. Musical chairs and a Scavenger Hunt were big hits, and could be used as incentives to complete a less intrinsically fun task (like translating song lyrics). If they knew that a Scavenger Hunt was coming up after a creative writing exercise, they spent less time resisting us and teasing each other.

Last weekend we all traveled to Mostar, a city about 3 1/2 hours south of Zenica. I was blown away by how beautiful it was. Cobblestone streets, white stone buildings and lots of lovely bridges over the Neretva river. And so old! A fortress in the nearby town Počitelj was built in the 1300s. Very very cool.

I wish I had some very very cool pictures to go along with this, but I stupidly did not bring a camera with me. So that's lesson #247 I've learned on this trip: always bring a camera. It's right up there with #6: some bathrooms are BYOTP, and #51: it is physically impossible to go through a full day of teaching without getting a) chalk, b) glue, c) glitter, d) marker, or e) all of the above... all over one's pants. Live and learn, right?

Happy 4th Everyone; I hope your fireworks don't get interrupted by a hailstorm.