Wow! What a week! This was probably one of the most fun weeks so far in Kenya. It was also probably one of the busiest. Spiritual Emphasis Week went really well, and my students really seemed to grow a lot. They have been begging to listen to worship music everyday instead of just 3 times a week. I think this week we will rearrange the schedule and see how it goes :) I have been working with 3 other teachers from the school to make the elementary worship more active. We have been doing hand motions and teaching them what it means to really worship God. It has been awesome to see the students really singing with everything they have! A pre-schooler and a 1st grade caught my attention this week during Spiritual Emphasis week. One was singing as loudly as she could, and another had her eyes closed and arms partially raised to praise God. How awesome it is to see such young children giving God all that they have!
Last Friday we also got to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. The students split up into different classrooms where teachers read many different Dr. Seuss books. I read "Green Eggs and Ham" to the students who came to my room. I also read "Oh! The Places You'll Go" to my own students. After we had all read our stories, the entire elementary school filed down to the bandas (our lunch area), and got to listen to one of the middle school teachers read "Cat in the Hat." We finished off the day with lots of homemade cakes that were Dr. Seuss themed.
I decided, this week, that my students really needed to learn some study skills as well as test taking skills. I learned a lot about their study habits, and encouraged them to change some of the things that they were doing. One thing that I really encouraged them to do was change their diets. Many of them were not eating foods or drinking drinks that will keep them at a good energy level. I also played a little trick on my kids during this unit. One of the things that I taught them was that they need to be sure they read the directions before answering a question. Many of them had been missing very important parts of directions on homework and losing points for it. I decided to give them a fake quiz. At the top it said "Read ENTIRE page before answering any questions." Then the paper had a list of funny things they had to do like put the paper on top of their head and then raise their hand for me to come sign it. At the very bottom of the paper, however, the paper said "Do not do anything on this page. Turn it over and watch the fun." Needless to say, the students were very upset that I made them look silly, but the point was to teach them how important it is to read the directions before doing anything else.
Last weekend we hosted a baby shower at our house for a couple from our school who will be adopting a baby in the next couple weeks. We played games and had some awesome chocolate cake. The new parents were able to get some really awesome baby supplies. It is harder to prepare when you don't have the full 9 months! They now have almost everything they need.
I also got to help make props and costumes last weekend for the school's play. I helped to sew some vests for the boys. The play is called "Fools." The whole thing reminded me of sewing season at Hempfield which I am missing very much right now! It really helped to be part of the sewing for this play to make me feel like I was at home (Even though I didn't have my second mom, Donna, around to keep me in line :) ).
Yesterday we had a random day off of school. Our household decided to go to the elephant orphanage near our home. This orphanage helps raise baby elephants whose mothers were killed by poachers or who have abandoned them. We lined up with about a hundred other people and watched as they brought in a bunch of baby elephants ranging from 4 months to a few years old. They all drank out of bottles and then had fun playing in a mud hole that was provided for them to cool off in. I even got to pet the 4 month old elephant! His skin felt very rough and scratchy. It was so awesome! At the elephant orphanage they also have a very large black rhino. He is blind and can't be released into the wild, but he stays at the orphanage and they take very good care of him. How amazing it was to be within a few feet of these two amazing animals!
After returning from the elephant orphanage, we had to take Ginger to the vet for a check up. She has had some problems with itching and with losing the fur on her legs. The vet determined it was a fungal infection on her skin. We have to give her a bath every 5 days along with some anti-biotics daily. Hopefully this will help her to recover quickly. The doctors were awesome with her. I was really impressed by the care they provided...even if they did bring all the treatments and shots out to the car to treat her :) What can I say...this it Africa!
Today I went to the movie theater with a few of my roommates. We saw the movie "We Bought a Zoo." It was a good movie, and the experience was almost like being in a movie theater in the states. Evidently they usually have everyone sing the Kenyan national anthem before starting the movie, but I think because there was only one other person in the theater with us, they skipped it today. The movie was still done with a film projector, not digital. It was interesting because there was scratches on the film and you could also hear the clicking of the film rolling on the projector. I haven't heard that sound in so many years. Oh, and did I mention that a movie only cost about the equivalent of $4 here? A bag of popcorn is only $1. I think we will be going more often!
Jenn and I have decided to attend the Langata African Gospel Church regularly. Last weekend I was really not feeling well, and so we decided to do home church. The worship pastor from the LAGC e-mailed us and said they were praying for me to feel better and that they missed seeing us that day. I am aware that we are the only two Wazungu (white people) in the church, but it was nice to know that they noticed that we were missing.
Prayer Requests:
- For my finances for coming home this summer
- For the couple who is adopting that the final paper work will come through this week
- For the overall health of our campus. We have had a lot of students and faculty with various illnesses lately.
- For the end of quarter and for parent-teacher conferences in 2 weeks.
Verse of Encouragement:
" I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of Your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:2
On Friday last week we hosted the Junior/Senior banquet (Similar to Prom) at our home. The banquet was Hollywood themed. Our yard was transformed into a beautiful outdoor room. There were caterers that set up beautiful tables served delicious food. Some of the other teachers at the school also helped to set up a red carpet, a photo booth, a Hollywood walk of fame, and a juice bar. Glittery stars and white lights hung from the tree branches and ceiling in our house. Glitter still covers much of our living room :) I had the opportunity to play a celebrity on our version of Hollywood Squares. I got to play Lady Gaga. I covered a dress in socks and had my friend Tara put a ton of makeup on me. I think Paul would probably have called me "Sparkles" that night. Tara played Snookie from Jersey Shore, and then other teachers played Bruce Willis, Ozzy Ozborne, Hilary Duff, Whoopie Goldberg, Angelina Jolie, and Lil' Wayne. We had so much fun and I think the students did also.
After recovering from the banquet, I went to the doctor on Saturday morning to get a physical for my MDA camp application. As many of you know, I have not had the best luck with doctors in Kenya, so I was a little nervous about trying this new person. The doctor is from Australia, and she was so nice! She had awesome bedside manner and joked around with me about living here. I think I will continue to go to her whenever I am sick instead of the guy who tried to purposely give me a medicine I was allergic to.
