Happy Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day, we asked our friend who is a teacher by day and DJ by night to come to KEMPS to play music for the students.  We had no idea how serious his DJ business is.  He brought giant speakers, laser lights, and music that the students loved.  It was a fantastic way to spend Valentine's Day for us and for them.  It was a great night!

Tree Cutting

They cut down a tree recently on campus.  I'm not sure if they did it because they had to cut it down or if it was because they needed the wood.  They do all the cooking for the students in wood burning stoves.  Which is, let's be honest, pretty amazing.  When they finished chopping the wood, they rang a bell.  When the bell rings, the students know it is either time to work or time to eat.  In this case, it was time to carry the wood behind the kitchen so it was ready for cooking.

Watch Them Run!

One of my favorite hobbies in Memphis over the last few years was running.  After being here a few months, I decided I wanted to find a way to run here with students.  The Standard VII girls were all for it! My parents' church, Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrenville, Illinois, was kind enough to donate all of the running gear you see here.  The girls are so incredibly grateful! 

Today we starting running.  The girls all ran one mile and we wrote down their times so we can see how they progress over the coming months.  Our goal is to build up to running a 5k.  I've been talking to some folks in town about possibly putting together a formal 5k as a fundraiser for the school.  I'd love to see the girls cross the finish line of a real race with these fantastic shirts! 

A Tour of Bukoba

Today we went on a tour of Bukoba.  It was really great to see all the things outside the city center where we have spent most of our time here. 

We went to the home of a local farmer who is growing a cocoa plant.  This is a picture of the inside of the plant.  They explained that they are experimenting with growing it here and are still trying to figure it all out.

We also went hiking through a field and down a somewhat scary cliff to a small cave that had some paintings on it. The cave was interesting but I think we enjoyed the thrilling climb a bit more.

Then we went to a small waterfall and enjoyed the peaceful scenery for a bit.  All in all a wonderful day full of friends and fun.

Chai Time

Every morning lessons stop for tea.  The students line up to get a big cup full of tea and milk.  They are also given a handful of nuts to eat.  Then we all take a few minutes to enjoy the break before heading back to class. 

 

This morning some of the girls were washing, rinsing and drying millet.  After it is dry, they will take it to town and have it ground into flour at the mill.  Then it will be used to make porridge.  This amount of millet will last a week or two. 

This was a short week to kick off the school year.  I did introductory lessons and exercise to get to know my students in all my classes.  One of my goals for the year (and I have several) is to get to know each of my students individually.  That is no easy task when each class has close to 45 students.  The first step was to have each of them fill out an index card with information about their interests and backgrounds.  They were very interesting (and sometimes entertaining....). 

The other task for this week was to give each of my classes their first diagnostic test so I can understand where they are currently performing and better plan my lessons.  Below is a picture of Standard V hard at work on their first diagnostic.  I think I've got three really great classes and next week, the real work begins.