Owed to PCAR
on Me Talk Pretty One Day (Malawi), 30/Dec/2008 06:55, 34 days ago
After the debacle of my first three days of Malawian schooling, my employers asked me to return to the little mountain town ofDedzato attend a second period of curriculum training. The asking was purely diplomatic. I had no choice in the matter. I was going back. To ease the pain this caused, my employers allowed me the luxury of staying in a local guest house within walking distance of the training centre. This arrangement was designed to reduce the chances of a freezing shower catching me on my bike, and also the chances of me on my bike catching a young goat crossing the road.On my first night in that guest house—named The Rainbow Lodge but painted only in blue and pink—I lay on a soft and welcoming bed, in a small room, while a dramatic storm raged outside. The power was off and all about me was darkness. The world was illuminated only momentarily by the occasional flash of lightning, before the darkness again enveloped me. The thunder roared, shook the room, and the torrential rain pounded on the tin roof and added to the storm’s tremendous cacophony of sound. It was a magical time. I lay there all warm and cosy, caught in a moment in which I could happily exist for eternity.The storm didn’t last of course and I eventually fell asleep. The following morning I trudged through the mud, back to the classroom for more tedious lessons. I sat there, but instead of concentrating on the work, I composed a poem. I sat there and feigned interest. I sat there and redrafted the poem. I sat there and pretended to be listening to everything that was said. I sat there and let my mind wander. For hours I just sat there, trapped in a moment that seemed like it would never end.The poem I wrote that morning is about those two very different experiences. It is called‘Owed to Journeys Through Primary Curriculum and Assessment Reform 10, Facilitator’s Training for Teachers of Standard 7’, or, for short, ‘Owed to PCAR’, pronounced P-CAR.Owed to PCARHave you ever found yourself in a moment in time,A moment so blissful and beautiful and fine,That you wanted to stay there forever?Have you known such a moment, have you known such a feeling,Have you known the pleasures of a place so appealingThat you wanted to stay there forever?I have been there myself but I am there no longerFor now I am trapped in a moment much stronger,A moment so dull, so boring yet so clearThat my heart is filled with the terrifying fearThat I am destined to stay here forever.I am destined to stay here forever…