Art lesson at a public school..

I arrived just before 8am this morning at a Mauritanian public school.  It is their day of rest (our Sunday) before the work week starts tomorrow.  The children were slow to arrive in the beginning but then before we knew it we had the 20 students we planned for and a few more!  Here is the outside of the school.  Kane and Ami came with me.

The room was very simple if not sparse.  There were places to sit and write and there was a blackboard as well.  I found Arabic written on the board in the room we were using. 

I decided to teach them about crayons and watercolor.  I demonstrated how the crayon resists the watercolors and how patterns and details show up when color is applied carefully to the paper.  If they loved the idea of this, they did not show any indication.  I was completely at a loss as to whether they even liked the idea of it.  I tried to have a conversation with them to spark ideas in their head about imagery and how to use the materials to convey their ideas.  The question I posed was: "Since I have just arrived in Mauritania, what are some things you could tell me about that are unique to Mauritania?" What do people eat, wear, do?  Where do they live? Do people all live in the same kind of house?  What does the desert look like?" And so on.  Puuuuuuuuuuulllllllllllllling teeth!  I finally realized this kind of "conversation" doesn't happen here.  Just like with the artists, the students aren't used to giving their opinion so freely  They can give a right answer, but the whole idea of sharing a thought is more foreign to them.  So, I started asking the children for an answer. I specifically called on them to answer...and then it started to flow. Phew!!!!  They got going quickly after we had enough ideas out there.  They worked very quietly and carefully.  The students did get the concept and when they started their second piece, I could see they applied what they learned from the first sheet of paper.  I was happy with the results even if their skill level wasn't what it could be with more instruction. 

It was only when I was about to leave that they all came out of their shell and started to talk to me, hold my hand, take pictures with me and with their art.  They were very happy we left the materials with them..as you might be able to imagine.  We also took a group photo..which everyone LOVED!!!!  I am not sure why they all look so serious in the photo though..few smiles.  The white t-shirts are compliments of the US Embassy..their flag and ours...