Losotho visit

Today, we were so lucky to have a visitor from Lesotho in our class. Moliehi Sekese, who is a teacher in Lesotho told us about the circumstances in Lesotho and compared them to ours. Lesotho is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the children in her school are far from as lucky as we are; they only have two computers to use for 700 students, and one teacher to teach a group of 100 students. Their classrooms are only three quarters the size of the classrooms we got, and we're only about 25-30 students in one classroom at the time. Sekese told us that they're in a lack of tables, chairs and books. When she teaches a class she has to write down everything for her, as well as their assignments. There is no possibility for the students to do work by them selves; they're dependent of their teacher. 
Many of the children have to worry about things as if they got enough food, if they have anything to wear ect. There is few places with electricity and running water. They have to walk very far to get their water. I wrote a little poem about my associations to this.

Far far away

Too far to really understand

Just imagine 

A crying child

An empty stomach

A closed door

The sun is heating 

The throat is dry

The people walk far far


Far far in the heat
To the nearest waterhole
Carrying buckets on their heads


Small children 
Only hope for a better life
Is to get an education


Schools without electricity 
Without pencils and books
Depending on their teacher


Children going home
Don't knowing if there will be dinner

 Will mom survive today?


Diseases fighting the population
But there is a hope in medication
A hope in plants


So they plant
They make their own botanic gardens
Where hope will grow


Poem by me

Double entry: The Devil and Miss Prym

The Devil and Miss Prym is written by Paulo Coelho and is about Chantal, a village orphan in Viscos and a Stranger that visits with a task and a reward.

Conflict.

"What?"

Her question came out like a yell.

"Exactly what I said. I want them to commit a murder."

I chose just a few lines for the theme "conflict" because I think these three lines are all that's needed to illustrate the story's conflict. The Stranger is telling Chantal about his plan; if the people of Viscos commit a murder within seven days they will me rewarded with ten golden bars that would make the village a wealthy village. None of the inhabitants will need to work for the next thirteen years. And the Stranger will get the conclusion: we are all evil. But if a murder is now committed he will conclude that we are all good, and if Chantal's steals the one gold bar he has shown her where is buried, he will conclude there are both evil and good. Chantal is given the task to either tell the inhabitants of Viscos about the offer, or he will in the end of the week and then, if they decide to kill someone, he says; "it would probably be you". She could also run away with the one gold bar.

These lines illustrate the paragraph because it tells us about the main conflict of the story: "will the inhabitants kill someone?" And that's why these lines were chosen.

Self-realization and Relationship.

She smiled to herself, glanced to her left and blew a discreet kiss. She was not a useless woman; she had something important to do: to save the place where she has been born, even though she had no idea as yet what steps she should take.

The "she" person in this paragraph is Berta, the old widow living in Viscons. She can "see" people, and she can se the evil by the Stranger's side, and the good and evil fighting in Chantal after she have met the Stranger. This paragraph goes under both relationship and self-realization. Relationship because it illustrates Berta's love for the village and that she is very bonded to Viscos. Also, in this chapter we get to know more about Berta's husband.

But it goes under self-realization because of two reasons. One: In this chapter, we also get to learn about why Berta can see people and how she realized her purpose in life after her husband died and why she is the woman she is today.

Reason two is that Berta helps Chantal realize something important: who her enemy really is and who she is "hunting". This realization sets the story off in new direction.

Picture link

The Devil and Miss Prym

So, after a lot of back and forth I had to chose another book to read in English class. Of course, I am going to read Emma, but not now. Emma is a book that deserves more attention than I got time to use on reading right now. Besides my "job" as a book critic/reviewer (I am not sure which word would be right to use..) I don't get much time for other reading. After all, I have other school work besides my job and social life ;-) So I had to find a shorter book this time, and ended up with "The Devil and Miss Prym" by Paulo Coelho. I wanted to read "The Alchemist", also by Coelho, but it was sold out everywhere.

I started reading the book today and it caught my attention after just a few pages. Which is a good sign! Soon there will be a post with "double entry journal" about this book. ;) Stay tuned!