I got chatting with a woman on the train this morning (no, not like that!), who was from Zimbabwe. She was over here doing care work, because the currency there is worthless, and in order to survive they need to get a hold of foreign currency. I knew things were bad out there, but the stories she told me only reinforced that opinion... 10 hours queueing for petrol in stifling heat, can't get hardly anything from the shops. She actually compared it to Darfur! What I found really surprising though was just how passionate she was about her country. She said she would never leave, and was highly optimistic that change would come.
We found out today where we're going for our school experience placements. I won't tell you where because that wouldn't be appropriate, but let's just say within a 10 mile radius, for me. I'm happy enough with the 2 schools I'll be going to. I already know one of the teachers and he's a really nice guy, so I'm sure that's going to be a great benefit. I know it's going to be hard, but I plan on steeling myself for it. I know what I need to do to get where I want to be, and there's no way around it, so I'll just have to get stuck in. I hope that if I treat every experience as positive in some way, then I can only improve.
I've also realised that not only am I the only Computing student in this area, but it also look as though I'm the only Trainee Secondary School Teacher from this area. I have a list which shows where everyone has been placed and no-one is going to the same schools as me. That' really surprising. We have some fairly large schools round here and I would have expected others to find places here, but I guess that I must be the only Trainee living in the area. Good or bad? I'm uncertain at this stage. It might have been handy to have some other trainees to exchange opinions and ideas with while on placement, but it's not going to be possible now.
