Its difficult to write lately. Not for lack of subject matter, more for lack of translation. My double perspectives are catching up with me. I want to write about the oddities I see here but I end up sounding too much like complaining. I’m still enchanted. I just wanted to give a more accurate picture of what it is like at times. Unsuccessfully, so far. I'll come back to that.Something that is proving a bit challenging for me, as my stay becomes longer, is being a good judge of character. I’m trying to realize that I may not be an especially good judge of character. I’m trying to learn from my past mistakes, perhaps. And it’s really throwing me because I’m just not sure what went wrong. I have always chalked it up to personal growth on my part and lack of such on the other, but how many times does that occur? And why does it reoccur? I’m beginning to think my vision is flawed. Delayed?
Things I have seen though, that I believe in, include our safety officer, Papa Josef. Since I have been here, I’ve only seen him in this role. He takes it very seriously and I delight in hearing him rebuke the drivers for one infraction or another. He is essential in communicating across the language divide that often separates maintenance and chauffeurs from faculty. He is expert at developing a relationship with the children and keeping their needs in mind. He seems to have every elementary student’s phone number in the palm of his hand, ready to dial should a child be left waiting too long.
Last evening, the elementary school performed their annual holiday concert. It was truly a grand affair and the students were spectacular. The music teacher (intern) really came into her own and chose an eclectic range of songs from around the world. Children sang in many languages and brought a true sense of hope and unity to the evening.
It began as expected, with everyone meeting in their classrooms. After the grand finale, however, the students were simply dismissed. Parents scooped children directly from the stage or gathered them off the sidewalk. I was slightly uncomfortable with this arrangement after the strict U.S. policy of signing kids out from the class and making sure safety and security abound. It can be very loose here at times. So it was that I encountered a parent on the sidewalk, telling me one of my students was stuck, having been dropped off by a parent who thought the evening would be longer than it was.
I took the student, found his brother, made a call and we all sat down to wait. We had some fun reviewing social studies facts for a test and playing simple games on my phone. Papa Josef checked in, as he can be counted on to do, to make sure I was staying with the child and had called the parents. I didn’t see any other teachers or staff. I know if I had gone ahead home and not run across this student, he would be staying with Papa Josef until someone came. I think everyone on campus is secure in that knowledge.
Which is why, at that time as many others, I hear the echo of someone telling me, “But he’s just a gardener.” Perhaps when she arrived she saw him that way, but since I’ve arrived, I’ve seen him only as a safety officer, a resource and necessary part of student life. When I saw him gardening in our neighbor’s yard I thought, “What’s he doing? He’s not a gardener! He’s the safety guy!”
There are many hidden treasures here and I’m not always sure I can be counted on to spot them all. Likewise, I may be mistaking a mere glass globe for a pearl. The lens I am looking through is distorted by culture and language and it is difficult to be certain I am seeing clearly.
I was recently asked to sign a letter of complaint against someone and found I simply couldn’t do it. I tried to evaluate my real reasons and am still wondering which of us has the more valid points. Perhaps this is a natural give and take, but here the consequences seem so much more severe. It is an immense responsibility to accept that, as a result of my statements, a job may be lost. I do not want to face the implications of that. However, I also realize the need for expectations to remain high. Sympathy is not enough to keep a job.
I did feel, however, that the letter of complaint was quite severe and could have simply been addressed through conversation. I felt perhaps that the author was a bit picky. And then I thought that perhaps my experience in Congo was not as thorough as hers, and maybe she had a right to be picky. I also felt that sometimes people just don’t communicate well enough with the people they are asking to drive them around. I understand I am a bit laid back, often to my detriment. Sometimes people make assumptions that just aren’t true. But I’m not sure if that would be me or them. So, I couldn’t sign the letter.
Everyone seems to have their own unique perspective based on completely different schema. It is a time when my ability to judge character is really coming under scrutiny. Though I may not be great at this particular skill, it is hard to accept too much help here. Ultimately, I must decide what works for me in my world. Because here in international teaching, we are like a bunch of concentric circles, orbiting in our own ellipses, colliding occasionally with common needs or interests but maintaining space and distance, coming as we are from such diverse backgrounds and reference points.
It’s a mini cosmos, with an occasional blip of chaos and one or two stray gardeners wandering about.
