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Two Goats, One Wife
I took a deep breath and entered the classroom, "Hello everybody!";
This was met with that oft-practised choral line, "Good morning, teacher.";
"Hallelujah!"; I thought to myself. "I've hit the jackpot!"; This was like being back at my boarding school in England, teaching more-or-less what I had studied as a kid! Polite and obedient children! Young minds who were open to the idea of learning!
After taking attendance, which went very smoothly as my predecessor had left seating charts, his former lesson plans, as well as notes about who would be most helpful, I looked up and dove in with both feet.
*
The illusion of innocence was quickly shattered a few days later by a lunchtime altercation between Mandy and Elijah, two Form 4s who had been assigned to me as homeroom students. The normal course of events would be a fairly loud and rather public flogging, something for which I had no stomach.
"She insulted me"; was all I could get out of him at first. Beating up a girl did not sit well with me, so I insisted on knowing more. However, Mandy's performance of loud wailing and buckets of tears seemed a bit over the top, and as I could see no blood, I was going to ask two of the girls, who had all clustered around her, to escort her to her dormitory.
It was at this moment that Major Magwaza arrived. The students scurried back to their desks and sat obediently and quietly with their eyes facing the floor. My heart lurched. I had failed to control my class, and the Major had borne witness to the event. He addressed the class in Shona, so I was unable to follow what was taking place, then he ordered Elijah and Mandy out of the room and the three of them departed. A few moments later we could all hear the blows of a stick raining down in the staffroom a few doors along the corridor.
I was angry at Elijah and was not prepared to let this be the end of things when, a few minutes later he returned to the classroom.
"I want you to come to my house after tea time this afternoon,"; I told him and he hung his head and sat, not really paying attention to the rest of the lesson which, by coincidence, happened to be dealing with the witches in Miller's "The Crucible";. As it turned out, our meeting proved to be a fruitless encounter and, recognizing it as such, I told the sullen young man to return on Saturday morning with a shovel and a desire to do some work. I needed to convince the other students that Mr. Garford was not a pushover and was not prepared to let discipline slide. They were all certainly watching me carefully, thoroughly, over this issue.
That Saturday, before I was fully awake and breakfasted, there was a knock at my door. Elijah stood before me, glistening with sweat, and behind him I could see a wide trench of newly dug soil where the vegetable beds of the former tenants had once lived.
"Is this enough, Sir?"; he asked.
It was an ambiguous question, and I could see him looking discreetly at me. In my "Africa 101"; orientation class, I had learned that it was impolite for African children to look directly into the face of an elder. Armed with this knowledge, I could see he was asking me indirectly if there had been enough effort put into his punishment that he could be dismissed, as well as asking me if I liked what he had done and it was sufficient for my needs.
"That looks very nice, Elijah, but please rake it so we can plant something.";
I headed off to visit the German couple. Elijah would not have the satisfaction of determining the length of his punishment so I decided to project an air of indifference and turned my back on him. It didn't really suit my character and, in spite of myself, I soon returned. Much to my delight, a first bed looked comfortable and soft enough for me to curl up into. He had raised the soil into a mound and left a small trench around it, allowing for a small barrier between the bed and the inevitable weeds.
"I think we need some tea, Elijah.";
For the first time since the incident, his smile shone, cheekily, and he replied, "I have not finished yet, Sir."; With that, he returned to his task.
By the time he had finished the sixth bed he began to slow down. This time the cup of tea and a thick slice of bread were gratefully received and, after hosing himself down and drying himself off with his shirt, he came and sat in the kitchen.
"Why did you beat her,"; I asked as he bit into the bread.
"She wanted me to make love to her."; It was a simple, direct response that I was entirely unprepared for.
"She is a prostitute.";
"That is very harsh,"; I replied. "Surely she was just expressing her interest in you as a boyfriend?";
"She has been bothering me for many weeks now. I need to pass my exams. I don't want to become one of her lovers. She is trying to bring me down to her level. I had to teach her a lesson!";
"But a real man must never beat at woman, Elijah. Has your father never told you that?"; I asked.
"Eh-he,"; he sighed, realizing that the murungu (white man) was not getting the whole picture. "That is of course true, Sir. But my father also told me that it was most important that I complete my education. Look around Sir, outside the school. What do you see?";
"Lots of fields, lots of huts, lots of families and children... So what is your point?";
"That, Sir, will be my future too if I do not do well at these exams. I do not wish to become a farmer, like my father, nor does he wish me to become one either. That is why he has sacrificed so much to send us to school.";
This brief conversation opened my eyes to a deeper trust that had been placed in my hands. I understood what was really going on at this idyllic little rural school. The struggles that both the boys and the girls were seeing as their future surrounded them in the form of the dry pastures and as-yet-unploughed fields of rural Zimbabwe. The poverty I beheld would be the norm for their lives if they failed. The girls who realized that they were going nowhere with their academic futures, were looking to connect with a young man with promise so he could be their ticket out of poverty and failure. Mandy was not stupid, but she clearly saw that she was not likely to obtain sufficient credits to qualify for her 'A' Levels, the all-important key to a salaried future. In Elijah, she saw potential husband material and a paying job, not an endless dependency upon the whims of Mother Nature.
Elijah knew he had a shot at making his family proud, and a means of repaying the investment they had made in sending him to school for such a long time. He also understood the cost to his parents, and he was determined not to let them down.
All too soon a bell summoned Elijah to the dining hall for lunch. However, much had changed for the two of us. The murungu clearly had much to learn and Elijah, as it turned out, had much to teach.
This was met with that oft-practised choral line, "Good morning, teacher.";
"Hallelujah!"; I thought to myself. "I've hit the jackpot!"; This was like being back at my boarding school in England, teaching more-or-less what I had studied as a kid! Polite and obedient children! Young minds who were open to the idea of learning!
After taking attendance, which went very smoothly as my predecessor had left seating charts, his former lesson plans, as well as notes about who would be most helpful, I looked up and dove in with both feet.
*
The illusion of innocence was quickly shattered a few days later by a lunchtime altercation between Mandy and Elijah, two Form 4s who had been assigned to me as homeroom students. The normal course of events would be a fairly loud and rather public flogging, something for which I had no stomach.
"She insulted me"; was all I could get out of him at first. Beating up a girl did not sit well with me, so I insisted on knowing more. However, Mandy's performance of loud wailing and buckets of tears seemed a bit over the top, and as I could see no blood, I was going to ask two of the girls, who had all clustered around her, to escort her to her dormitory.
It was at this moment that Major Magwaza arrived. The students scurried back to their desks and sat obediently and quietly with their eyes facing the floor. My heart lurched. I had failed to control my class, and the Major had borne witness to the event. He addressed the class in Shona, so I was unable to follow what was taking place, then he ordered Elijah and Mandy out of the room and the three of them departed. A few moments later we could all hear the blows of a stick raining down in the staffroom a few doors along the corridor.
I was angry at Elijah and was not prepared to let this be the end of things when, a few minutes later he returned to the classroom.
"I want you to come to my house after tea time this afternoon,"; I told him and he hung his head and sat, not really paying attention to the rest of the lesson which, by coincidence, happened to be dealing with the witches in Miller's "The Crucible";. As it turned out, our meeting proved to be a fruitless encounter and, recognizing it as such, I told the sullen young man to return on Saturday morning with a shovel and a desire to do some work. I needed to convince the other students that Mr. Garford was not a pushover and was not prepared to let discipline slide. They were all certainly watching me carefully, thoroughly, over this issue.
That Saturday, before I was fully awake and breakfasted, there was a knock at my door. Elijah stood before me, glistening with sweat, and behind him I could see a wide trench of newly dug soil where the vegetable beds of the former tenants had once lived.
"Is this enough, Sir?"; he asked.
It was an ambiguous question, and I could see him looking discreetly at me. In my "Africa 101"; orientation class, I had learned that it was impolite for African children to look directly into the face of an elder. Armed with this knowledge, I could see he was asking me indirectly if there had been enough effort put into his punishment that he could be dismissed, as well as asking me if I liked what he had done and it was sufficient for my needs.
"That looks very nice, Elijah, but please rake it so we can plant something.";
I headed off to visit the German couple. Elijah would not have the satisfaction of determining the length of his punishment so I decided to project an air of indifference and turned my back on him. It didn't really suit my character and, in spite of myself, I soon returned. Much to my delight, a first bed looked comfortable and soft enough for me to curl up into. He had raised the soil into a mound and left a small trench around it, allowing for a small barrier between the bed and the inevitable weeds.
"I think we need some tea, Elijah.";
For the first time since the incident, his smile shone, cheekily, and he replied, "I have not finished yet, Sir."; With that, he returned to his task.
By the time he had finished the sixth bed he began to slow down. This time the cup of tea and a thick slice of bread were gratefully received and, after hosing himself down and drying himself off with his shirt, he came and sat in the kitchen.
"Why did you beat her,"; I asked as he bit into the bread.
"She wanted me to make love to her."; It was a simple, direct response that I was entirely unprepared for.
"She is a prostitute.";
"That is very harsh,"; I replied. "Surely she was just expressing her interest in you as a boyfriend?";
"She has been bothering me for many weeks now. I need to pass my exams. I don't want to become one of her lovers. She is trying to bring me down to her level. I had to teach her a lesson!";
"But a real man must never beat at woman, Elijah. Has your father never told you that?"; I asked.
"Eh-he,"; he sighed, realizing that the murungu (white man) was not getting the whole picture. "That is of course true, Sir. But my father also told me that it was most important that I complete my education. Look around Sir, outside the school. What do you see?";
"Lots of fields, lots of huts, lots of families and children... So what is your point?";
"That, Sir, will be my future too if I do not do well at these exams. I do not wish to become a farmer, like my father, nor does he wish me to become one either. That is why he has sacrificed so much to send us to school.";
This brief conversation opened my eyes to a deeper trust that had been placed in my hands. I understood what was really going on at this idyllic little rural school. The struggles that both the boys and the girls were seeing as their future surrounded them in the form of the dry pastures and as-yet-unploughed fields of rural Zimbabwe. The poverty I beheld would be the norm for their lives if they failed. The girls who realized that they were going nowhere with their academic futures, were looking to connect with a young man with promise so he could be their ticket out of poverty and failure. Mandy was not stupid, but she clearly saw that she was not likely to obtain sufficient credits to qualify for her 'A' Levels, the all-important key to a salaried future. In Elijah, she saw potential husband material and a paying job, not an endless dependency upon the whims of Mother Nature.
Elijah knew he had a shot at making his family proud, and a means of repaying the investment they had made in sending him to school for such a long time. He also understood the cost to his parents, and he was determined not to let them down.
All too soon a bell summoned Elijah to the dining hall for lunch. However, much had changed for the two of us. The murungu clearly had much to learn and Elijah, as it turned out, had much to teach.
Submitted on June 30, 2016 in By David.
