Back in the now rather obscure and vaguely remembered distant youth, I never planned to travel widely, and certainly was never going to sign up as a teacher. I was going to be a lawyer, drive a Mercedes Benz and live in a big white house next to the beach. But the universe has its own way of directing one’s life and it’s quite a humbling experience and yet strangely uplifting to reflect on how things turned out in the end.
I guess I was never going to be a complete fit for the norm. I was born in the Ugandan city of Kampala and I was told by my mother the delivery room clock had stopped sometime before midnight so my exact date of birth was more of a guess than an accurate record. But that’s Africa, and from an early age I embraced everything about the continent good and bad. A few years in Kenya and then Swaziland and finally Durban South Africa completed my early years and brought me to the start of a long, rich and fruitful career in education.
So to cut to the chase and to get to the essence of this Blog, in 2007, I was appointed as the CEO of Round Square, a global association of like-minded schools and this was the beginning of a fantastic six-year journey to all parts of the world and to schools that reflected rich and varied cultures, values and influence. Most were independent/international in flavor and staffed with expats. This offered me a rich opportunity to meet and interact with teachers from diverse and fascinating backgrounds.
In reflecting on this, it becomes really apparent to me that the expat teachers who relished in their circumstances and who were richer by the experience, were those who chose to make a good jump away from their comfort zones. Staffroom chats and sundowners with these folk soon revealed the wonder and richness of their newfound experiences. Particularly those folk in the more exotic locations like, Kenya, Thailand, India and Columbia. One or two really spring to mind and are worth sharing in this blog. For obvious reasons, names are changed but the story is real.
Gwalior is one of those Indian cities that personifies all that is ancient India. Temples, Palaces and shrines dating back not hundreds, but thousands of years welcome a visitor with a breathtaking impact. The great fort that sits on the plateau overlooking city commands one’s attention immediately and one soon becomes absorbed into the sounds and smells that draw you into a very different world.
It was to this very unfamiliar place that a young South African teacher chose to spend a year. Let’s call in Johan for the purpose of the story. I joined up with him after he had been working there for about six months and was immediately enthralled by his tales of adaptation and challenge. Just getting down the mountain into the city on a moped itself was a weekly adventure. (Traffic in India is on another level and in the rural areas it reaches astronomical heights compounded by the presence of all manner of challenges) Strange beds, spicy food and accents that are often undecipherable contrive to make the experience a challenge and an unforgettable memory.
Johan spoke of adapting to a foreign system of teaching and learning and embracing the opportunity to learn new and unusual skills. This paled into insignificance what he spoke of the travels that he had undertaken when the opportunities presented themselves. Indian trains which have a character all of their own, Tuk-Tuks, Busses which travel with a blend of formula 1 racing, Mad Max type urgency and something of an apparent dearth wish, took him to all parts of the sub-continent and added to the avalanche of color sounds and smells that every journey presented.
Pulling it all together, the unfamiliar living quarters, the warm wonderfully friendly colleagues and indeed anyone he met, the grandeur of the daily sunrises and sunsets and the splendor of the country as well as the cultural immersion combined to make this an unforgettable experience rich with memories that will never fade.
Returning to South Africa and a once familiar life style took him a measure of re adjustment and despite being back with friends and family, there remained a longing for the pungent odour of the Mumbai streets, the smog of Delhi and the street sounds of Jaipur. And certainly an experience to be richly valued and never to be forgotten.