Bitter sweet...part deux

Well, 10 weeks has gone much faster than i expected... though there were days when i didnt think it was going to come.
I had my last day of class yesterday ... tear. It was so hard to leave my class. I took them cookies and candy for my last day. Let me tell you ... they truely app[reciate it. we took heaps of pictures. Oh major detail. I bought a the traditional clothes and i wore them to school... Big hit... everyone was so suprised. My class started yelling and clapping when i walked in... really good fun. Some of the wrote me letters telling me how much they will miss me and how much they liked having me as a teacher... wrote messages on the board. So sweeet.

It was pretty funny b/c then they each wanted an individual picutre with me... i felt like a celebrity.

All day b/c i had the traditional clothes... "Christa... today you look so beautiful..."
All the teachers threw me a going away party with juice and cookies(buscuits) . A few of the staff stood up and spoke and said some really kind things. It is sometimes hard to tell if they approved of what i was doing or if they thought i was doing a good job, it was really nice to hear their thoughts.

Oh some things i think i might not have mentioned but thought i would throw in... everyone's name in Venda... has a meaning... so i was often asked... what does your name mean...? I have no idea... this would get a strange look. i think my parents named me this b/c they like the sounds with my surname...
But they all know what their names mean.. so my family gave me a Venda name... Malondi...which mean "someone who cares"

Also, names are not based on gender like ours are. All names are for both men and woman. Which toook me some time to get used to. amazing how gender roles are ingrained in what we do... also colors. and behavior. For example.. boys here willl have pink back packs for school with flowers on it... to us CLEARLY a girls bag. but nope. it carries books so who cares. Or my sister had colored lip gloss the other day and the boys wanted to put it on... if my brother asked to use my lip gloss that was colored...?! what...
Or behavior... boys and grown men here hold hands, sit close, or put their hand on one sholder as they walk. This is just a sign of friendship...

Oh since i am in my last few days i have been reflecting back and thinking. I feel badly b/c i think in this blog i may have seemed critical of the differences that i noticed. That was not intended. but was also a lesson that all of us clearly have discrimination towards something... also judgment. Who am i to say that the western way is the correct way... i mean i think all of us in the world( for the most part) agree that killing peopel isnt right... but things like having multiple wives, or belieeving in a witch doctor... who am i to say that is wrong.

Overall this has been a very mentally challenging experiance to who i am , what i believe and what i will continue to believe.

I am sure i will have a few more entries left as i think of more things to share.
Cheers!