Tuesday 5-6-14

Tuesday 5-6-14

                Today was pretty great; long, but great. Kids woke up just before the alarm, so even though it is the beeping from wrist watch, I didn’t have to wake up to beeping. And who can’t claim that is a good thing. I got the kids up and ready and neither one of the whined about going to school. They had no problems until the girls didn’t show up on time to get Ayla and Jove to walk to school. I told them that they would have to walk over to the school on their own. I let them know that I would walk them to the road (just down the driveway) then it is just down the hill. The school is very close and they have done it many times with their friends, but Ayla is still very scared of getting lost. Jove was fine with all this; he just wants to be let loose to roam free. Ayla started crying pretty bad and Jove kept telling her it was okay because he would take her to school. Luckily when we started down the driveway Farida and Joan came walking up. Instantly Ayla was fine again. With the kids off to school, Mamaliz and I drank our coffee and finished getting ready in peace. It was very nice.

                School went the same as it usually does. We started in std. 1. Ayla was very excited to see me teaching in her class. Jove was very sad because now that Asa is gone and I have moved to taking his place, it means I am not teaching the preschool class with him anymore. He has his moments, but he is doing great even when I am not in there. Next, we moved over to std.3. Teaching std.3 is so much nicer now that we switched rooms around. They were in this very tiny classroom where there was scarcely enough space to move. Keep in mind that even though it is basically a third grade class, things are different here and most of the kids are pubescent boys. Anyone that can remember junior high can remember that if you get that many young teens in a small space, it smells, gets very loud, and arguments can break out. Well now they are in the bigger room and std. 2 is in the smaller. They are littler kids for the most part, and there are less of them, so it works out. Jove saw me at one point when I was in std. 3 and he just broke down in tears. He told me his eyes were hurting and making him cry, which in turn made him actually start to cry and have a hard time breathing. Poor guy is getting allergies here, so I promised him after lunchtime I would make sure to get the allergy meds from the house. It made him feel a little better and he went back to what he was supposed to be doing.

                Lunch was so great. We sat and had a cup of coffee and I took some decent bread and toasted it in a pan with butter, then I topped that off with a fried duck egg and some sliced and fried tomatoes. I had never eaten a duck egg before, but that is what one of the village women brought us so I figured I would try it. I am very glad I did.

                After lunch it was back to school to work with std.2. This is my favorite group of kids. I love std.1 because I get to see Ayla, but English is still very new to them and so even the simplest tasks are difficult for them to grasp at times. Std.3 are very smart and they know it, therein lies the issue. They are very full of themselves, even when it comes to items that they don’t know. They will still jump up and claim they do. When asked what the answer is, they will just blurt out anything. Std.2 though they are smart enough to pick up many of the concepts we are trying to teach, but not yet so cocky to think they know everything. They are a good group. Mamaliz was busy speaking with some of the other teachers, so I even got to start the class myself. We just did some reading, but still. It was my first time with any of the groups to myself. I loved it.

                After school we came back to the house and had the kids change out of their uniforms then go outside and play. I got to talk to Asa a little on Skype in between the power going out. It was very nice to hear his voice. I know he has only been gone for two days, but still. I just don’t do that well without my best friend. Sappy, I know, but it is true. Ayla and Jove had some fighting with each other issues and when Ayla found out I told Asa, she freaked out crying that he was going to get rid of all her toys back home. He told her before leaving that if she wasn’t good for me he would get rid of everything in their room except a bed and their pillow and blankets. I think it has her on her toes.

                We had dinner, and then I put a movie on for the kids. We had some of the school kids over tonight for an hour to get extra practice with reading. I needed Ayla and Jove to stay quiet while we did this. The night was ended by reading “Ramona the Pest” while they ate mango. I just had to remind them a few times that I would not be able to kiss them goodnight on their faces because mommy would get a bad rash. Stupid mango allergy! Now for reading “Dance of Dragons” and off to bed myself. I just wish we had internet so that I could Skype and hear Asa’s voice before bed. Oh well, still a great day.