Apologies that I haven't posted lately. Things have gotten very busy--and also a lot more challenging. I am still struggling to figure out what my role is at Albergue, I am frustrated that relationships haven't developed more at this point, and I am unsure how to teach photography to unwilling students.
Here's a snippet from my most recent assessment letter regarding the photography project:
My thoughts in regards to this feel kind of ethnocentric and I am still sorting through them, so bear with me. In various conversations lately, I've been learning that in the Bolivian school system—and to some extent in Bolivian culture in general—creativity and critical thinking are painfully absent. Everything is rote memorization and regurgitation of information. It is no wonder, therefore, that I get blank stares when I am explaining an open-ended portraiture assignment. It grieves me that creativity could be so absent from an entire culture, while it also makes me want to teach it well all the more. The question still remains as to how I should go about doing that, because to force creativity is essentially oxymoronic.Please pray for inspiration in teaching; for God to work through and strengthen relationships with the girls; and for grace and rest amidst the busyness and ambiguity of this season.
"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." -2 Corinthians 4:8-9
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