August 30, 2012

     The past couple weeks we’ve spent most of our time getting ready for school.  Last week we set up and decorated our two classrooms.  They are actually two small bedrooms with a bathroom and a utility closet.  They’re small and cozy, quite warm in the afternoon, but they’ll do.  We’re just excited to be able to present our students with actual classrooms instead of having to have school in our living room.  Still, if it gets too hot we might just have switch things up and have class outside or something.  One of the big bummers is that these rooms, as well as the living room and master bedroom, have ceiling fans but they’re not functional yet.  They have yet to be hooked up to the electricity, and apparently we have to wait for Cees to get back from Holland to do it.  So for now they just hang around, laughing at us as we slowly melt.  Still the temps haven’t been too hot yet.  We’re told it’s been unusually cool for this time of year and temperatures will get much hotter in April and May.

   This week, we’ve mostly been going over curriculum and textbooks.  Jen and I will be splitting up the teaching, rotating between age groups and teaching multiple grades at the same time.  The schedule will go something like this:

7:45-10 a.m.         Language Arts (Jen teaches 6^th and 7^th grade, I teach K5 + 2^nd grade)

10:30-12               Math (Jen teaches K5+2^nd, I teach 6^th+ 7^th)

1-3                          French Class (taught by a local) / Science or History (Jen teaches K5-2^nd, I teach 6^th-7^th)

     It will be a weird balancing act with Abi to top it all off, tagging along with our activities or doing her own thing.  At this point she’s the wild card; we’re praying she goes with the flow and isn’t too demanding or distracting. 

     We’ve also been spending time with the Galvez children.  They’ve come over a couple times to help watch the kids while we work in the school.  At first they were very excited to do this, but their enthusiasm wore off pretty quickly as they discovered how tiring little kids can be.  It will be very difficult replacing Hannah Gunn, our favorite  babysitter.  I’m thinking the church needs to fly her out here to be our permanent nanny.  I’m sure she can put her college career on hold for a while…

     Other than school work, we’re still adjusting to life in Africa.  I went out and played soccer with the local kids last night for the first time.  It seems though that it’s just the younger generation that plays; all of the teenagers and young men stand around and watch or ref the games.  Also, this morning I was shocked again at the sight of a woman washing her laundry in our backyard.  And when I say washing her laundry, I mean washing everything including the shirt off her back.  It’s a little awkward; I don’t know if I should make eye contact and say hello, ignore her, or just turn around and go back inside. Still it’s a good reminder that we have a long ways yet until we fully adjust to our new home environment.

     Finally here’s a rundown of what I like and dislike about being here so far:

                What we’re enjoying most:

Ø  Fresh baked French bread (I even talked a motorcycle guy into delivering it straight to our door every morning).  

Ø  Nutella on fresh baked French bread, delivered every morning…

Ø  Fanta tropical (really yummy) and other coke products sold in glass bottles.

Ø  Pretty much all of the old French products I remember from my childhood:  Le Petit Ecolier, syrop de Grenadine, croissant, etc…

Ø  Cool breezes in the mornings and evenings—it even gets chilly sometimes.

Ø  Exploring the many trail systems on my daily run or bike ride.

Ø  The big smiles and daily “Bonjours” from the neighbor girls every time they walk by.

Ø  The view from our backyard looking out over the valley.

What I miss the most:

Ø  A/C (as in cold, air blowing machines, not the “ac” electricity converters we were told about…)

Ø  Microwave and any kind of prepackaged convenience foods.  Funny story:  Andres and Diana had a huge box of microwave popcorn (literally hundreds of them), saved up from all the care packages people sent them.  Diana finally tried to cook one over a stove top, having asked Jen if she thought it would work.  Turns out it does.  Andres’ final diagnosis:  “Keep sending us popcorn!”

Ø  24/7 running water and hot showers, though cold water from a bucket does help cool one down before bed time. 

Ø  24/7 electricity.  We have to conserve electricity at night and during cloudy days, and we can only watch movies in the daytime (which makes it rather hard for Jen and I to watch anything rated over G.  Last night we got half a movie in on Jen’s computer before the batteries ran out.  I don’t think there’s much chance we’ll be going out to the movies either.)

“Lord, please help us to continue to transition well.  Give us peace and patience as we make the adjustments to a different life style.  Thank you Lord for all the blessings you’ve given us, and for how abundantly you’ve provided for us.  Please help us also, God, to be ready for school to start next week.  May you bless this school year in a really special way.  May the kids all learn and grow, and may they experience your presence and love in a very real and personal way.  Please help Abi, too, to adjust to our new demands and schedule.  Help her to be relaxed and easy going; help her to have fun with the other kids and know when to leave them alone; help her to respect mommy and daddy’s teaching positions and not feel left out.  Help Jen and I also to have grace and patience with her, I pray. 

     And God, I continue to ask for great things this year for our neighbors and the Jahango.  May you pour out your spirit on this city, this country, and its people.  We pray for radical transformation in this place.  Perform miracles and signs and wonders, Lord.  Send forth your word with power and authority.  Draw these people into your heart and into your kingdom, we pray.  As Moses prayed, ‘Show me your glory!’  Amen.”