Tuesday, June 11th
Last
night was really entertaining. Apparently the grasshoppers have a thing for Liz
and I because I woke up twice to jumping noises in the room. When I turned on
the lights there were 2 very large grasshoppers each time on the walls and nets.
Liz, who jumps off African cliffs and is fearless with everything else, huddled
under her blanket on the bed and told me to take care of them. It’s really odd
because I am usually terrified of my own shadow but when it comes to bugs I
just don’t get too freaked out. I had a system going after I found the 3rd
one; I would lure them into a cup and cover the top with a book and set them on
their way once I got them outside. Liz just stays under her blanket the whole
time and says, “Are they gone, are they gone?” Crisis averted.
This
morning at breakfast Liz and I met Amy and Leigh at our normal time, which is
right when breakfast is served (we are always the first people there). Dr.
Kelly and Dr. Roberts were there a little earlier than usual and gave us an avocado
that their room keeper gave them! You would have thought that we were offered a
million dollars. We were so excited and Dr. Kelly said she was going to give us
another one tomorrow just to see the looks on our faces again.
This morning was really foggy and a
bit chilly. We all thought it was going to rain but IT NEVER RAINS HERE. Never.
The sun is always shining. We all loaded up on the bus and headed to our
schools. Of course, once we got to the school…it starts to rain. No one had
prepared for this except the lovely Marikate. People were actually making fun
of her for bringing her raincoat to school today but that quickly backfired on
us. Oh and when I say it rained, I meant it poured. We were all in shock,
especially because this was the one-day we had to walk to Melemia, which is the
farthest school from ours. Needless to say, my shoes are soaked and I took two
showers today instead of one.
In
class today we showed the students the movie Finding Nemo! They were all very
confused as we set up the computer and started the movie but I have never seen
a group of children more in tune and quiet. We had 98 kids today in class and
it sounded as if there were maybe 5. I personally love Finding Nemo
specifically due to the colors used. I honestly think that the colors and music
is what grasped their attention. I loved watching their faces during it. Lafiki
was right in the middle of the class, mouth open, eyes wide, and had his full
attention on the movie. The kids didn’t laugh very much but they made my whole
world when they cracked up during Dory talking whale. I love Dory because I have
this unhealthy obsession with Ellen Degeneres. I think Dory makes Finding Nemo
because Ellen is her voice. So, when the kids laughed at Dory, which truly
meant laughing at Ellen, my heart became whole again.
Today
was also a picture day! I really wanted to get a picture of each student with
their nametag so I would never forget their precious faces. Liz and I pulled 3
students out of the class at a time, which on any other day besides Movie day,
it would have been chaos. The precious Angels aren’t used to getting their
picture taken and when you actually want them to smile, they don’t haha. One
little boy wasn’t smiling so I put my fingers to my mouth to show him what a
smile was and he proceeded to smile, using his fingers; that’s a picture I’ll
never get tired of. At break time
Ellen and Lana asked us to come inside to talk to them. Liz and I were a little
confused when they shut the door behind us. They started talking to us and were
saying how appreciative they were to have met us. They said that they have
learned so much about teaching through us and that they are going to miss us
very much. I was a wreck inside because it was really feeling like the end of this
experience. They handed us both a package and inside was this beautiful sky
blue, navy, tan, and brown skirt wrap! They got us matching ones and showed us
how to wear them. It was so thoughtful and Liz and I coincidently wore light
blue and navy shirts today to school so we matched perfectly. They are honestly
two of the most loving individuals and I was so blessed to have met both of
them.
After
break the kids came back in and we served them American peanut butter, aka Jif!
They were so excited for this little snack. We gave them a spoonful on a Popsicle
stick and they were jumping for joy. One of the first students, Ruth, didn’t
know what it was and what to do with it. I showed her with mine to lick it and
she just put the whole thing in her mouth and ate it in one bite, it was so
funny! After the snack, we played them a few songs and sang our farewells with
them until tomorrow.
After
class we went to lunch and then prepared to walk to Melemia. Of course, the
rain didn’t seize and seemed to shower a little harder but it honestly wasn’t
that bad. Once we got there we practiced some songs we would be performing
tomorrow for our teachers. After that we went to downtown for some water and
other last minute stops before we leave Zomba on Thursday. Once we got back to
Annie’s the power was on and off until about 8:30pm, which made it pretty
difficult to do anything. Liz and I decided to pack our suitcases tonight since
all of us were putting our donations in bags for the schools tomorrow. I was so
impressed with the VT group. We accumulated so many bags of donations that our
ride on the bus to school tomorrow was going to be like a box of sardines. We
have such wonderful family and friends at home that sent us on our way with
wonderful donations! When Liz and I finished packing we fell asleep and
mentally prepared for what tomorrow would bring.
Until then,
Xoxo
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