katie in cairo, egypt

Wednesday night was the last night of teaching my English class to the refugees at AUC for the semester. For the last two weeks of classes, we focused mostly on dialogue and conversational work. Most of the younger students enjoyed this the most, and tried to learn as much American slang as they could. While even seemingly very natural expressions such as "staying in touch," and "drifting apart," were quite foreign to them, some students came up with even more bizarre expressions that even if I had heard of before I couldn't possibly explain. A couple students brought in Bob Marley lyrics, which I could explain to them relatively easily; however, when it got to 2Pac, even I had a little trouble. I think the funniest expression I had to try to uncover for a young Burundi man was what "Stay Black!" means. After about ten minutes of trying to figure out whether he was saying "stay back" or "stay black" (finally I made him write it down), I asked him where he heard it. And of course--some ghetto American movie in which two African American guys were saying goodbye. (I would give the challenge to my parents to explain this quote if you even can, haha.) Just as I was beginning to grasp what they meant, the young man asked if this was something only "niggers" say. I'm not sure whether I gasped in shock or giggled out of embarassment, but I felt a little strange telling a black man why it was ok for some people to say this and others not, and also why I could never call him a "nigger." Anyways, I think he was appreciative of my efforts, and told me after class yesterday that he really enjoyed the class even if it was too easy for him sometimes.

Their last assignment was to write their own dialogue and then perform it with another person for the class. This was important because while some members of the classroom tend to talk incessantly during lessons, others are extremely shy. But they all wrote very funny dialogues, and acted them out well. Though some might consider it a schmucky assignment, I think that they were really proud to come to the front of the classroom and be heard--all eyes on them. After being driven from your native land in which your people have been slaughtered and persecuted to a country such as Egypt, which isn't all that welcoming either, feeling like you're being heard for even just 10 minutes must be important.

Yesterday, we gave the students their final exams, which really were just their placement tests for taking English classes next semester and had a few minutes after class to talk to them about what they thought about the semester. Though I've felt like I've struggled somewhat over the past few months to be an effective teacher, explain concepts clearly, not be too boring, and try to make sure they understand anything that I'm even saying, any fears I had about being a sucky teacher vanished after talking to them. Not to sound like too much of a schmuck, but I've honestly never felt so appreciated in my entire life. They told me how much they treasured the time we spent together, even if they didn't always understand. Just the fact that someone was giving them their time and energy and a smile made it worth it to them. Of course they're always joking and laughing and trying to con me into doing ridiculous things for them, but at the same time, they are extremely respectful and know which lines not to cross. Despite their desire for closeness, I've never felt at all threatened or intimidated or infringed upon by any of them. In truth, I feel much more welcome and respected in their company than with the majority of Egyptians.

Most of my students asked if they could take classes with me and Khalil, my fabulous co-teacher, again next semester. I was really glad to hear that they wanted to stick with me, even though next semester might be a little different as far as teaching levels, and the fact that my students this semester were all over the spectrum in level means that we probably won't all be together. But just the fact that they kept coming to class, and want to continue, really means a lot.

Another thing I learned about Africans yesterday is that they LOVE to take pictures. I brought my camera to class, and didn't manage to get them to stop taking pictures for nearly an hour after class. I think there are pictures from everyone in the class--they're mostly Sudanese, but there are also Liberians, Eritreans, Somalians, and Rwandans. And of course, us three Americans--Alice (from Massachusetts, Khalil (lives in Indiana but is also half Palestinian), and me.

posted by Katie Warren @ 11:13 AM 0 comments