Yesterday began the first session of the business classes in village. I had one heck of a time this time around recruiting students. Perhaps I became too confident and thought word of mouth would do and thus did not attend enough neighborhood meetings. Anyhow, I had only around 15 students during the first class, so I told them if they find someone to sign up for Thursday, I’d pay them 500cfa ($1). I am pretty sure I will be paying money out of my own pocket for this session of classes.
The reasons people give me for not able to attend are quite amusing. A lot say, “I don’t have time.” and it would be 10am and they are sitting at a bar drinking a beer. Really? Don’t have time? Come on. A lot of people say, oh, it’s vacation right now, so a lot of people aren’t around. People who take vacations are students; ironically, 3/4 of my class right now are students. Even with just 15, the first class was already rewarding. People are often timid during the first session, so it’s less fun to teach. I enjoy it far more when there are plenty of interaction among students. These exchanges are very valuable.
Having taught the condensed version with RELUFA in Yaoundé a few weeks ago spoiled me. The level of students are different and it was so much easier and the conversations were much more in depth. Also, it was so well organized for me that all I had to do was show up and teach. This is different. I have to do everything. After all, I am a volunteer for rural development. There is a reason why I’ve been placed here.
Here’s hoping this next round of classes will be smooth and successful!
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