Back To School

11.18.2015

Well this week we started school with Benson and Hudson, while Jett eagerly tried to join whenever he found the opportunity (welcomed or not). It’s a learning opportunity for me as much as for the boys, but we’re all doing alright I think. It’s definitely interesting trying to have activities that will engage a kindergartener as well as a 2nd grader while not being above the younger one’s head, but I’m having fun! Hopefully they are too haha. :) We transition from worship and the pledge of allegiance to the date/time to math, and then possibly my favorite part where we go outside first to feed the two turtles and then on to the garden plots the boys have been given to build up and plant. Each boy got to choose 4 things to grow and they even gave me a plot and gave me zucchini to grow, so if our garden skills (more likely the gardener’s skills, thank you Maxwell!) are good, we’ll have a bumper crop of produce ranging from pumpkins to watermelon to goose berries to beetroot and cucumber. That isn’t an all-inclusive list but it has a good portion of their choices! I don’t know what will grow well for this season but those were the crops they dearly wanted so it’ll be an adventure finding out what produces a crop. Anyways, after gardening and cleaning up, we go inside and work on things like reading/writing/spelling/etc. and somewhere in there we fit a P.E. class and of course either history or science, depending on the day. I think if the boys could decide, they would only ever do science or art projects and maybe some easy math worksheets (because if it’s easy it’s fun I guess?) but hopefully we’ll be able to find a good balance of fun as well as learning. That will be my challenge.

Looking back on my first week here I still feel incredibly blessed to be here. Everyone has been so kind and open to me. Every time I catch a ride anywhere, I’m like a kid in a candy store staring out the window at the scenery. Between the macadamia nut trees, eucalyptus trees, and tea bushes the landscape looks quite lush and it’s indescribable. And then there’s the roads. They still crack me up a bit because they are SO BAD around the mission. The pavement will only be half there, the other half where it should be is potholes and dirt. It makes for quite the ride though and amazingly, it puts the kids to sleep. Seriously. They were awake the whole time on the smooth roads but getting to the bumps put them to sleep! I’m hoping to make it to the Makwasa Market tomorrow (Friday) again so that will be nice if it happens! I’m a terrible barterer though so that will be something I potentially will work on unless I’m content being swindled consistently. Since being here, there have been three times where I came to the guest house to find someone waiting with their goods spread right next to the front door baiting me to buy something. Some of them will wait all day for one of us residents to come look. “It’s free to look,” they’ll say. True, but as nice as that ebony is I really have no use for an elephant to sit on my dresser. Maybe if it was a really really nice elephant, but I just got here… I can’t spend all my kwacha in my first month! If anyone has a great desire for me to buy them an ebony elephant do let me know! :) (If I’m being honest though, I have bought a few small things so I guess them coming isn’t a total waste)

Well next week will be a bit of an easier week for school work what with thanksgiving happening. We’ll probably take Tuesday and Wednesday to just do crafts or work on a thanksgiving skit to perform for the group coming to eat thanksgiving dinner together. Should be fun! Now I just have to refresh myself on what happened so I can help with the skit! Also, a wonderful thing happened this week: Carla and Mindy were able to visit Malamulo from Blantyre and they brought me a package and card from the SM office that went to their post office. In it were various crushed food items such as popcorn and fortune cookies, but in it was also a polaroid from some of my favorite people. I value that photo more than anything else in the package. Even from around the world, friends can make such a difference. Life today is very good. I know challenges will probably come, but for today I’m very thankful for where I’m at!