Anticipating the Unknown

We have the visas, we have the air tickets, we have homes for our guests to stay in, we have “buddies” set up for the visiting teachers and students, we have transportation and entertainment scheduled, we have workshops and meetings arranged, and we even have some hard-to-get indigenous staple foods purchased so that our guests will feel comfortable.

Still, my mind goes round and round at night: What have we forgotten? What still needs to be done? What more can we do to ensure that the upcoming two-week-long visit is not only a success but also takes the fullest possible advantage of the opportunity to physically bring together these two communities that have worked and dreamed together for the past 10 years.

Four delegations from Saint Mark’s to eSiboniswseni have done much to consolidate our relationship, but those visits each involved only a small (while committed) representation of our extended school community. The upcoming visit by five teachers and six students from eSibonisweni finally offers the opportunity for everyone at Saint Mark’s to engage in a partnership that lies at the heart of Saint Mark’s commitment to global education.

What will be the results of the coming together of these two communities? We can anticipate the class-to-class projects that our teachers will plan together, we can anticipate the discussions and learning that will occur in both directions, we can anticipate that many members of our local community who were not engaged in the past will become interested and committed to this partnership; what we cannot know is the personal impact, both short- and long-term, that this visit will have on both the schools involved and on many individuals within each community.

I can’t wait to read the blogs of students, teachers, staff and families as they first encounter and then get to know each other, because until now there has been much imagining, but I am certain that imagination cannot possibly live up to the reality.

So today is Friday – one week to go and counting. - Jennifer Getz