Hope Restored

In Dar my kids joined in my enjoyment of mermaids, quite often adorning a math paper or spelling test with one or two for my pleasure.

I had thought my new students found mermaids silly, so was heartened to see a few spontaneously arise in our last art class.

Parachichi Zangu

Parachichi Zangu = My Avacados.

They grow on my tree.
They are creamy.
And beautiful.
That's all.

Cooking with Pascaria

On Saturday my friend Pascaria came over to show my housemate and I how to cook a duck. She graciously brought one of the ducks that her family breeds and sells from their yard. She showed us how to pour boiling water over the duck and pluck its feathers, roast it a bit over the charcoal stove, then cut it up and cook it in its own (AMPLE) oil. The flavor was rich and bacony.

Back at LVLC!

 We finished our first week back at Lake Victoria Learning Center. Here I am with our entire student population... all three grades mixed together for history.

We're learning about first peoples of North America and Australia. The kids are showing off what they learned about Iroquois pictographs.

It's been a good week. I'm thankful for wisdom, smiling kids, fun subjects, and weekend rest.

Sink Monster

What do you do if your plumbing has air intake problems, making sonorous grumbles and growls, and your students are scared to wash their hands?

Well, you Google for the cutest, pinkest picture of a monster, print it out, and give it a speech bubble: "Hello! Welcome to my sink. Sorry if I burp loud. I don't mean to scare you." Then the kids actually bond with the sink (monster) instead of fear it... and their hands are clean.

The Princess and the Pea

This is mattress shopping, Musoma-style. I was borrowing a bed until recently, so just bought my own. Oh! The bliss! So many patterns! So many colors! Only, do you pick one for beauty or quality?!

Oh my... so sleepy... I'm in the middle of planning for the semester, which begins Monday, and my brain energy expenditure has been high. The new mattress calls to me...

I'M BAAAACK!

I forgot I have a blog for awhile. It was the traveling I suppose. I got to go visit one of my former housemates from Dar in NORTHERN IRELAND! It was green and lovely. I am thankful for the get-away and rest.

Now I'm back in Musoma. I have a new housemate, Ronit... and we spent our first two days together picking out colors and painting her new room. So fun. The colors are Clay Pot and Butterscotch. Names are important to the enjoyment of color. It was a good time to get to know each other too.

Tomorrow I will head to the classroom for the first time. I'm excited, but expecting to feel a bit overwhelmed. There's a lot to do!