There were a couple of class reunion celebrations down Canyon Acres this past week. Oh, how I yearned to have attended an American High School—American Graffiti, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club.
Instead, I went to Kitwe High School, with its strict, no-nonsense British teachers in the middle of the Zambian bush, where the boys dropped tomato and cheese sandwiches on your head from the second floor and the girls got “cuts” across the knuckles with a ruler, the boys across the seat of their pants for things like repeatedly forgetting to do homework, fighting in the yard, or punching someone’s arm while passing on the staircase—I was caught doing the latter.
And then the reunion where one could have an opportunity to see how everyone else turned out. A reunion would never be possible for me. Any trace of my high school life was obliterated after the country gained independence, amidst rioting, death and uncertainty. Everyone left, scattered across Africa, England, Australia and America. Lamentable as it was, and not the American one I’d always dreamed of, I wanted that reunion.
What a starkly arranged class picture; thank you for sharing your memories. Reminds me a bit of my high school, uniforms, having to get up when the teacher came into the classroom and chant, all together now, “Good morning teacher.” However in my school there was no punishment by ruler, that was unheard of.
Thanks so much for stopping by Uvi.
Do you remember all those people? Melany Watson in the middle seemed to be the head girl, & Janet along on the right was such a sweetly spoken girl who had “colours” for hockey & also tennis I think. Iris next to her was a real tennis boffin I seem to recall. I later worked with Melany & she became my chief bridesmaid & Carol Yates was also one. Do you recall John Baird, who did athletics & also rugby. Jeoff Waters was cricketer & was keen on Shirley Arnold. Oh for a reunion to see who had gone where. I did run into Joan Wilson in Jan Smuts airport once, when off to some place. She looked exactly the same. Who have you seen & where?
D
I didn’t know all that, Donna. Will have to email you for longer discussion. Thanks for stopping by.
that’s so sad and terrifying really. Still, I could have gone to my reunions, but it’s enough to see pics on facebook and how we all have changed too much and just look, well, what we are, middle-aged (a lot of us a bit “bigger” than we were back then).
Thanks for stopping by Sandra, I don’t even that luxury of seeing my old schoolmates on Facebook–they’re all pretty much Luddites, except for the two friends I mention in my blogs, Joan and Donna.
You say “Any trace of my high school life was obliterated after the country gained independence, amidst rioting, death and uncertainty. Everyone left, scattered across Africa, England, Australia and America”
What nonsense. I still live in Zambia and there was very little, if any, rioting; and certainly very few deaths. The school that you attended is still operational and people, black and white, go about their daily lives, very happily.
It is exaggerated comments such as yours that give countries like Zambia a bad name.
Hello Heather, I attended Kitwe High before it became Kitwe Boys’ High, before Kitwe Girls’ High was completed. My records were certainly unavailable when I wrote for them. As for rioting, there were violent clashes between the two parties, molotov cocktails, beatings, etc. for at least a year before independence as the two parties fought for domination as well as a number of incidents in which whites were attacked along the roads, a family firebombed on the road to Ndola. And yes, I know the school is still operational and from all reports the schools in Zambia are doing very well. Sorry if you’re offended by my take on it. As for giving Zambia a bad name, I don’t think so. This was in the past at a tumultuous time.