DAEYANA
Elementary Education Graduate |
DAEYANA
Elementary Education Graduate |
Today we went to the University of Zambia. It is a humongous Campus. It is also one of the oldest learning institutions in Zambia. We met with a few higher ups. They were extremely welcoming and eager to teach us about their school. We learned that within the last year, over 30,000 teachers were hired in Zambia. They are in the process of making school free which will be a huge deal because the are free only to a certain age. We took a walk through the library and it was so surreal. The structure looked very much like our one and only Butler library which was interesting. Walking inside was a culture shock. Each and every student was there completing their work. There was no talking and no other tasks going on. This is very different from the culture of Buffalo State University where the library is used for various things. As we walked around, we noticed that the library had rules intact that made it that you were only studying. If you were reading books in the shelves, you were fined. If you moved furniture, you were fined. If you wore headphones, you were fined. If you answered the phone, you were fined. They made it pretty much impossible to do anything other than study there. I feel as though we take our resources for granted because they had so many old books that were still being utilized. I am sure they would be extremely grateful to have the plethora of resources that we have. It humbled me and reminded me how blessed I am to be able to access the resources I needed in ordered to graduate. One thing that I enjoyed most was the binding room. We learned that every master and doctorate student would have a book created that contained their final thesis. It must be a great feeling to see a book you created in the library that you worked on. Their value of books is present all throughout the library and in their education. Overall, It was nice to see other students our age doing the same thing as us in a different part of the world.
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“Just touch down ina de airport mmhmm !”
We connected in Ethiopia. The airport was pretty hectic. The food was delicious on the flight ! When we reached Zambia, it was beautiful. The nice crisp air immediately hit my face and I took in a large whiff. They drive on the opposite side here. Everyone seems to go the speed limit and I did notice one speed camera (I believe). It kind of reminds me of Jamaica. This just reassures me that we are literally one race, which is the human race. Instead of looking at our differences we should focus more on our similarities because there is more than we think. I am super excited to see what this trip is going to be like. I have no expectations and I am going with an open mind ! I hope to interact with some wonderful people and learn about a wonderful culture. I am dreading the 17 hour plane ride which is very long but I will sleep for most of it. I am anticipating that I come home with a different outlook on my life.
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