Submitted by Jahmar Tate

While today was a travel day, there normally wouldn’t be much to discuss. Before discussing the post-Zanzibar meeting, please allow me to reflect on the previous days’ activities. Meeting the students at the Juba Islamic School was a very enriching activity. During the course of the two days, I honestly believe that I made a connection with students. On the first day, I was paired with Ciera to teach a group of 9th/10th graders. While I was unsure how the language barrier would impact the lesson. To begin the lesson, I pulled out my phone and showed the students a map of the United States. I pointed to Georgia and explained a bit about my background, both educational and personal. The look on their faces showed how unfamiliar they were with the United States. We then began the lesson with words and phonics. At each word, I had the students pronounce each syllable of the word to ensure that they were saying the words correctly. We then moved to words that sounded similar such as “wood and could”. Overall, given the group that we were assigned and the length of time that we were given, I’d say that we did a good job. As the lesson progressed, the students became more comfortable with Ciera and I. They began to ask questions and engage in the lesson. To finish the lesson, I played Chris Brown’s “Fine China” for the small group of girls that I was assigned. I explained the lyrics to the students as Chris sang them. For those unfamiliar with the song, it is about how he will treat the young woman. Given the opportunity to be her boyfriend, he would treat her as delicate as the finest china. I used this approach while understanding that music is a universal language. This piece also provided the students an opportunity to hear American music and be provided with some context behind it. I also asked the students to provide me with songs that they think would be good for my American students to listen to. They were super excited to do this task and it also encouraged dialogue between myself and them.
Post-Zanzibar, we had a meeting to discuss our feelings about Zanzibar. There was a very positive response from the participants, with many people mentioning the food. We happened to be there during the Zanzibar International Film Festival. Many people shared stories of seeing films or hearing live music. Others mentioned going to the slave dungeon/caves and how it impacted them to see that. I would venture to say that the trip to Zanzibar provided a positive, fulfilling experience both educationally and personally.