Day 12: Listening
Well, it's been a few days. A lot has happened in between now and then. I've actually been quite busy here, meeting new people, running errands and starting my teaching at the ladies institute here. It has been so good to jump into life here without too much down time. I would probably be depressed by this time, but I'm not! God has been so good to me in this regard. My natural tendency is to be depressed during periods of transition, but this time, I feel good.
Perhaps, the reason why I am doing so well is that I get to teach four days a week. My friend started a ladies center two years ago in Mazar and since then, it has grown into a well-oiled machine. I started interviewing girls yesterday and today for my English classes. It has been a very unique experience. The girls are all so sweet; they just smile and laugh when they sit down, seemingly ecstatic to be at the center. Many of them spoke some English, which surprised me. I got to ask them a series of questions during the interviews and some of the answers cracked me up. One of the questions was: "what is your favorite food?" Almost 80% of the girls answered, "oh oh spa-ghetti!" I have yet to see any spaghetti in Afghanistan. I think they were sharing English answers. The other interesting question was: "do you think that cooking is a man's job or a woman's job?" The answers were mostly, "women" but some of them said confidently, "men, yes it should be men."
After wading through two days of interviews, 26 girls are eligible, so far, for the course. I will do one more set of interviews tomorrow. I begin classes on the 26th of December and I will teach 2 per day, a beginner level and a level 1. I really look forward to the 9 weeks teaching these girls. It's such a joy to see so many girls who are eager to learn in a culture that does not value educated females. I feel so privileged to be a part of educating some of the most oppressed women on the planet. This is a special opportunity, perhaps the most important one that I've encountered. I hope that I remember this each day of the 9 weeks. If I forget, please remind me.
One really neat thing that happened today was my conversation with a girl who is helping at the institute. She is Hazara, fluent in English, stunningly beautiful and clearly struggling with life decisions. She expressed to me that she wants to take a scholarship at a university to study psychology. The only problem is that she would have to move to another city or country and her husband will not go with her. He won't let her go either. He doesn't approve of her devotion to education. This was just one issue of many others she has faced. As I listened to her, I thought about how difficult it was for me to relate.
I have no idea what it's like to fight for opportunity, to have my dreams denied by people I love. I don't know that I ever will. What I can do is listen. I think these women just need someone to listen; to hear their thoughts, to pay attention to their desires.
Well, there will be more to come. I'm sure that it will get more and more interesting. Life is hard here, harder than even I can imagine living here, but these girls have good days and bad days like you and me. They love to laugh, they love hanging out with friends, they really like talking about girly stuff, and they have grand hopes and dreams. I can't wait to listen.
Perhaps, the reason why I am doing so well is that I get to teach four days a week. My friend started a ladies center two years ago in Mazar and since then, it has grown into a well-oiled machine. I started interviewing girls yesterday and today for my English classes. It has been a very unique experience. The girls are all so sweet; they just smile and laugh when they sit down, seemingly ecstatic to be at the center. Many of them spoke some English, which surprised me. I got to ask them a series of questions during the interviews and some of the answers cracked me up. One of the questions was: "what is your favorite food?" Almost 80% of the girls answered, "oh oh spa-ghetti!" I have yet to see any spaghetti in Afghanistan. I think they were sharing English answers. The other interesting question was: "do you think that cooking is a man's job or a woman's job?" The answers were mostly, "women" but some of them said confidently, "men, yes it should be men."
After wading through two days of interviews, 26 girls are eligible, so far, for the course. I will do one more set of interviews tomorrow. I begin classes on the 26th of December and I will teach 2 per day, a beginner level and a level 1. I really look forward to the 9 weeks teaching these girls. It's such a joy to see so many girls who are eager to learn in a culture that does not value educated females. I feel so privileged to be a part of educating some of the most oppressed women on the planet. This is a special opportunity, perhaps the most important one that I've encountered. I hope that I remember this each day of the 9 weeks. If I forget, please remind me.
One really neat thing that happened today was my conversation with a girl who is helping at the institute. She is Hazara, fluent in English, stunningly beautiful and clearly struggling with life decisions. She expressed to me that she wants to take a scholarship at a university to study psychology. The only problem is that she would have to move to another city or country and her husband will not go with her. He won't let her go either. He doesn't approve of her devotion to education. This was just one issue of many others she has faced. As I listened to her, I thought about how difficult it was for me to relate.
I have no idea what it's like to fight for opportunity, to have my dreams denied by people I love. I don't know that I ever will. What I can do is listen. I think these women just need someone to listen; to hear their thoughts, to pay attention to their desires.
Well, there will be more to come. I'm sure that it will get more and more interesting. Life is hard here, harder than even I can imagine living here, but these girls have good days and bad days like you and me. They love to laugh, they love hanging out with friends, they really like talking about girly stuff, and they have grand hopes and dreams. I can't wait to listen.
I'm so excited to hear more about this and hope you can find some spaghetti!
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