A Long, Busy 'Summer'

It certainly has been hot enough to feel like summer!  When we arrived here last August, the rainy season had started early.  So we though the temperature was always cool and breezy with a once a day rain.  But we have learned this August that it can be very hot and dry here.  We expect the rains to start anytime and for it to finally cool down a bit.

It has also been a very busy term since returning from our holiday.  There has been a lot to do to prepare students for exams.  We also had preparations for the Standard VII graduation. And there was an epic football match between our Standard VII boys and the boys from the school behind ours.  We have one week of school left before heading our for a much  needed week vacation. 

Here are some pics for the events of the past month...

The football match was pretty amazing.  Our boys scored a goal about half way through the first half.  Because everyone was busy preparing for graduation, they only let the older kids go watch the game.  But the younger kids kept sneaking over and watching until they would get sent away.  But then finally, they let everyone come for the last 10 minutes or so of the game.  They were so excited. The sang and clapped the entire time there were there.  It was quite the cheering section.  We were still leading 1-0 until the final minute or so of the game.  Then the other team was awarded a penalty kick.  We thought all was lost.....but they missed!!  You can't imagine the cheers from our side.  The final whistle blew and you would have thought we had won world cup!  The team was cheered the entire walk back to campus.  It was nearly impossible to settle everyone back down for lunch and afternoon classes!

Yesterday was the graduation for Standard VII.  It is our second graduation here and it was a lot more enjoyable when I actually knew what was happening and had participated in the preparations.  All of the classes prepare songs and performances to celebrate Standard VII.  And the graduates themselves prepared things to show everyone else.  Then they received diplomas and gifts.  Finally, there was a big meal and celebration with their families. 

Standard VII dancing onto the stage:

Standard I performance:

I am the class teacher for Standard VI.  This meant I had to help them prepare their presentation.  We did two.  The first was a dance and song.  The second was an English presentation.  They described what they have learned about writing essays including the writing process and types of essays.  And then four students shared their essays.  It was really great.  I was so proud of them!

Traditional dancing:

Once of Patricio's closest friends here is Shedrak, a Standard VII student.  Patricio was happy to see him celebrated at graduation but so sad to think about him leaving next week.

Vacation!

We have been on a grand adventure for the last week or so.  My sister flew into Dar after her months hiking the Camino de Santiago.  She's tired and injured from her pilgrimage but so elated to be spending time with the boys.  And the boys couldn't be happier to be with her. 

We were supposed to take a train for the first leg of our journey but there is a railway workers strike in Zambia so we ended up on the bus.  This bus was much nicer than the one we rode last time so we didn't mind.

We traveled to Livingstone where we staying in a place that was a little like fancy camping.  The hardest part was how cold it was.  We've definitely gotten used to the temperature in Bukoba because we were freezing.  We had fun though.  Patricio got to play chess with Samantha and Nino got to play on a playground.

Then we walked across the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.  The walk was a little challenging considering we had all of our luggage and 2 kids in tow.  But it was worth it to get our first glimpse at Victoria Falls along the way.

In Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, we are staying at a wonderful house we found on Airbnb.  We never would have guessed how much we'd use that site here in Africa.  But it has been so helpful.  For the price of a hotel room we have a 4 bedroom house.  Having a kitchen and room to spread out is so helpful for us when we travel. 

We spent a day exploring the Falls and it was incredible.  We are catching it at the end of the rainy season so there is still a ton of water and mist.  In the dry season, there is a small pool at the top of the falls that they let people swim in. I guess there is a natural rock wall that keep the swimmers from going over the edge.  I can't imagine ever doing that....

We also planned a day trip to nearby Chobe National Park in Botswana.  The highlight of that park is the elephants.  Our guide told us there are an estimated 75,000 elephants living there.  He also explained that the 4 countries bordering Chobe (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia) have all agreed to not put up any border fences so that the animals can freely migrate in search of food.  Pretty cool.

We still have lots to do on our vacation....so more pics to come.  We are just so grateful for the amazing opportunity that this experience has awarded us.

Cooking

 Any one who knows us, knows that we love to grill.  Finding the equipment to grill has been quite a challenge.  Last night we finally had everything we needed to give it a try.  We grilled some steak and veggies.  The experience wasn't without frustration (charcoal troubles, skewer issues, nosy neighbors) but the end product turned out well.  Next up, chicken....if we can find someone to kill, pluck and cut up the chicken of course.

School is closed for about 7 weeks.  That is a long time for Patricio to be out of school.  He thrives on routine and predictability.  So we have a schedule of tasks that he has to complete everyday, although he gets to manage the order and timing.  One of his tasks is to complete a chore.  Today's chore was to cook lunch with Trevor.  It was nice to see him back in the kitchen as he used to this often in Memphis.

A very sad day.

We have a very good friend here named Egbert.  He has been kinder to us than anyone, showing us where to buy things we needed, checking in on us, making sure we are OK when he hasn't heard from us.  Six weeks ago, he welcomed twins into his family.  He was a proud first time papa and we couldn't have been happier for him and his wonderful wife.

 

Yesterday, we all went over to his house to see the babies.  This was my first time meeting them because I had been sick the last time Trevor went.  They were beautiful.  It is always amazing to hold little babies.  It reminds you of what your own children used to be like.  We took countless pictures with the little ones and Egbert reminded us that, 'They are our babies.  Ours and yours.'  The little boy had been to the doctor because of a fever.  I held him close and tried to keep him sleeping and rested knowing that he wasn't well.

This morning we got a terrible call.  Egbert told us that little William had passed away.  Such terrible, terrible news.  We rushed over to his house without knowing what to say or do but just to be there and hug his devastated mother and father.  It is so difficult to know that we'll never have a reason or an explanation.  That sweet baby is simply gone. 

We will do our best to support our friend and his family in the difficult weeks to come.  No one knows how to navigate a situation like this.  I am just so grateful that I got to hold sweet baby William before he left us. 

Phew! We did it.

Yesterday was the last day of the first term.  It was a very busy few weeks getting ready to close school.  Students had exams in all of their subjects.  That meant a lot of editing, copying and grading.  The students were also responsible for doing a lot of cleaning and yard work in preparation for leaving. 

On the last few days we had an Academic Meeting where we discussed the performance of students and started to think through a plan for addressing strengths and weaknesses in the second term.

Then the afternoon of the final day of school, there is an awards ceremony.  The students who were ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each class are called up to the front to shake hands with the teachers.  Then those students get to drink a soda in celebration of their accomplishments.

Today, most of the students will leave for home.  We won't see them again until mid-July.  It has been a whirlwind first term and we are all excited for some rest. 

Race Day!

Today was our official 5k race.  When the girls started running in January, they couldn't even run 1 mile.  They have come so far.  They were so excited. 

We had to delay the start a bit because of heavy rain.  But eventually the weather cleared and we gathered everyone at the start to send them off. 

It took about 24 minutes for the first racer to cross the finish line. Goodhope's mother is one of the madams at the school who supervises the children on the weekends and in the dorms.  After crossing the line, Goodhope collapsed into her mother's arms and let out a few tears of exhaustion.  It was really sweet.

The rest of the girls trickled in over the next 10 minutes or so.  Trevor ran with the girls so I could take pictures at the finish line.  He ended up cheering on the last two finishers who held hands throughout the final stretch to encourage each other.  Such great teamwork!  They crossed the line to the chants of all the students at the school.

We had cookies and a t-shirt for the top three finishers.  But we also had all the runners over to our house afterwards for a soda and a hot dog.  And to celebrate the end of the term, we have the DJ coming back tonight to play music.  All in all, a great way to end the semester.  The students wrap up classes next week and we won't see them again until mid-July.

 

 

A Long Walk for Tea

Yesterday, May 1, was a holiday so there was no school. My running group decided to use the morning to do some walking since we have been running really hard the last few weeks.  I suggested that they take their mandazi (aka sweet buns) with them so they would have something to eat along the way.  That became quite controversial.....because apparently, you can't have mandazi without tea.  Eventually, they settled on taking both the tea and mandazi with them. 

I wanted to find a cliff that Trevor had been to before.  I thought I know basically how to get there.  But it turned out to be much harder than I had thought and I was lucky that one of the students lived around there and knew where we were going.

The girls kept picking fruit from yards along the way despite how many times I told them that when you are wearing shirts that say the name of your school, it isn't a good idea to pick fruit from someone else's yard....but none of the home owners seemed to mind. 
.
When we got there, it was worth the effort because it was a peaceful setting and a beautiful view.  Today it is back to running, but it was nice to have a little break.