Happy Halloween and Happy World Savings Day! (Bet you didn’t know about World Savings Day…but just to let you in on this pretty genius holiday, click here to read the Wikipedia page on it)
Anyways, the students here in Namibia are writing their first letters to their pen pals back in the States! After some weeks of practicing writing, learning the correct letter format and even practicing writing out some emails, the Grade 6 students are ready to send out their letters (after they are proofread by their teacher, of course) 
After visiting with the Namibian Grade 5 and Grade 6 students who will be the first participants in the Building Cultural Bridges program, the students are beyond ready to get the program started. Brett Claydon, Board Member and Peace Corps Volunteer, who is spearheading this project in his site in southern Namibia, said that meeting the students was such an exciting time and profoundly moving, and even funny.
“I opened up the conversation so that the students could ask me questions they had about the United States and some of the questions I got were hilarious…”
Some of the questions Brett said he got were the following…
- “Have you ever been chased by animal?”
- “Who did you vote for?”
- “What’s the best thing about America?”
- “Can you dance?”
- “Are you glad that the Helicoprion is extinct?” (Brett said he had no idea what this was and apparently it’s an extinct shark)
Regardless of the questions, here at Educators of America, we cannot wait to get the BCB Program in full swing and to see how the students on both the American and Namibian side will increase their social development skills, their reading and writing skills and their patience as well.
For more details on the Building Cultural Bridges program, click here. To help Educators of America keep this program going and even expand it to your school, do not hesitate to contribute! Thanks and stay tuned for our next post.