Maisha Ni Nzuri!

Hello all! And hello to the students at Whittier Elementary as well :)

As I'm sure most of you have expected, I am getting used to the school and feeling a lot more comfortable. I am going to stay in level 2. We actually only have 3 weeks left after this week teaching in the classes. These schools go year round so they begin a new grade in January, go to school for 3 months and take a 1 month break then repeat until they end their grade in mid November. Once we are done teaching we will still have plenty of things to do that count toward our teaching hours such as visiting the orphanage, helping with the chicken coop, tutoring children and who knows what else. So, it would be silly to join a new classroom now and I am really starting to love my level 2 children.

To make this all easier for me, I've asked for lessons ahead of time. Then, I jot down a few Swahili words that I feel will be helpful for teaching. I also take notes during the day in class for words to look up later that might be helpful (sit down, listen, please stop, no pushing). I have also drawn myself a seating chart to be able to learn their names. I know just about all of them now.

Madam Carol and I have recently figured out that our students do not know colors. So, yesterday afternoon I went into town to get a poster and some markers. I made a rainbow with things that belong under each color (red apple, yellow sun, blue sky, etc). I also looked up a song to teach them about colors. Today we spent the whole morning reviewing colors and then they did an assignment. Most of them improved! I'm happy to be feeling like I am a helpful body in the classroom.

The routine at school is as follows:
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday around 8 the students all gather in the school yard to sing songs, sometimes get a bible verse read to them, hear announcements from the head teachers, and raise the flag.
Level 2 will come into class around 830 to get started, usually with language arts. There is a time table but it is followed very loosely. A bell is rang when subjects are supposed to change. The mornings also usually include math. Physical activity starts at 950... Sometimes the teachers go out and lead them in activities, other times the kids just run out and play on their own. I have played various games with them. I'm interested to try and play soccer with them but I think I would just be embarrassed.
The level 2 students have this break until 11 so I usually go into level 3 classroom with some of the other teacher and have chai and a pastry type food.
From 11 to 12 the subjects vary from science, life skills, social/environment, music, and creative arts. Like I said, it is very flexible.
Lunch is from 12 until 2 so I always have a lot of time to either play with the kids, go back to my hut and take a nap, eat lunch, read, write, etc. It has been nice to have company during this time now that the UI girls are here.
Lunch usually doesn't get cleaned up until 2:15 which leaves only about an hour until school is out for level 2. At this time the class finishes up odds and ends types of things or practices their sons (which I believe they will sing for their parents at the level 3 graduation ceremony). The students play outside and either wait for their older siblings to get out of class at 430, walk home, get picked up by their parents, or take the one ICODEI van that drives up to 45 minutes away to take some of the kiddos home.

Tea time is always interesting. Many teachers come in to chat and ask me questions about the US. One teacher was inquiring about the weather. He was very worried about the winter cold and wondered if he would be able to survive and adapt if he came there. I told him he would be just fine as long as he had some warm clothes. He also said, "so mothers don't have babies in the winter?" I wasn't sure why he might think this but he said he thought he babies would die because they would not be able to adapt to the cold weather. He was funny. Other teachers have been surprised about the way marriage works, divorce,and religion in schools. They also think that all couples have one boy and one girl only and that there is something special we do in order to ensure that.

While I was in class one day a small boy who is just one of the teachers children came into my class to find me and handed me a white doll. He apparently thought that doll belonged to me. The kids thought it was very funny.

This weekend we plan to stick around here since it is the UI students first weekend and they would like to go to church. In the weekends to come we've discussed going to Kisumu to shop and take a boat on Lake Victoria, Kakumega where there is a forest with many animals, Mount Elgon to climb and see more animals... I think we can get a tour guide there, safari at Masi Mara, and possibly do a bike ride through Hell's Gate National Park. Since we will be around this weekend we will probably go to Sangalo Rock again, this time I will bring my camera!

Hope all is well at home. Congrats to mom on the football pool. Comment on my blog or send me an email if you'd like to know anything else! Liz-furmanski@uiowa.edu