Back to School

We're back to school and things are rolling.  Patricio started Standard IV and Nino is popping in and out of the Preschool class.  He isn't too interested yet but we hope once his uniform arrives, he'll want to spend a little more time there.

I've added some variety to my teaching schedule this year.  In addition to English Standard III, I'm also teaching a bunch of new classes.  I've got Vocational Skills in Standard II.  So far we've been learning to draw without a template.  I've got Personality Development and Sports in Standard III.  So far, the lessons have been games.  Also, Vocational Skills in Standard VI.  We started with letter design.  And finally, Information Communication and Technology in Standards V and VII.  In Standard V, we've been studying about the post office and in Standard VII we've been reviewing MS Word and MS Excel in the computer lab.

I feel like I'm all over the place but it has been fun to do so many different things in so many different classes.  I also distributed all the girls running gear today and we plan to start up again on Monday.  They are very excited.  I hope they feel the same way after their first run!

Trevor has Math and chess club up and running.  He is hoping to get the boys going on football again soon so they can get some games scheduled against other schools quickly. 

All and all, things have been good. We are full steam ahead as we see our departure (in June) coming up on the horizon.  We feel like we have many things to do before we get to that point.

Happy New School Year

Today is the last day of winter break.  It has been a very long vacation and we feel rested and ready to go.  The students have been arriving all day long and we will begin bright and early tomorrow morning.

We spent our holiday in South Africa.  First we went to Durban and were able to see my parents.  The boys were so excited to see their Grandparents.  We even managed to see Star Wars The Force Awakens on the day of the international premiere (two days before the U.S. release).

Then we went back to Cape Town for Christmas.  It was a wonderful trip full of fantastic sights, sounds and tastes (amazing food....double burgers, sushi, etc.). 

We're pretty convinced that we are destined for good things over the next six months given that today we managed to have enough water to power the shower and the hot water heater at the same time.  So amazingly, after nearly 1.5 years living here, we all took showers....and there were hot.  And the water stayed on long enough for us to wash the dinner dishes.....Wow....

Village Life

We spent a day in the village of Katoma this week visiting our friend Egbert and his family.  It was a really fun day.  We felt so welcome by his family and friends.  It seemed like everyone came to greet us and spend time with us.  They served tea, followed by snacks, followed by lunch.  We were treated like very special guests. 

Their house is surrounded by a small farm where they grow coffee, bananas, ground nuts, greens, etc.  They don't have running water or an indoor toilet.  We sat on the only couch in the room for the day while everyone else, including Grandma, sat on the floor.  It was so clear that they had spent time preparing for us and were just thrilled to be our hosts.

All of the food was prepared outside over an open fire. 

It took a while to convince the boys to go outside and play with the other children.  But eventually they did and had a wonderful time.  The children there speak no English and very little Swahili.  They speak the tribal language of the area, Haya.  I asked Patricio how they were able to communicate.  He said, 'We figured it out....'