A Day of Discovery

Dawn broke early today for LuRue with the sound of machinery. There is some kind of construction going on nearby...grinding, buzzing, etc. Work continues even after dark as we have discovered workers still busy when we return from SEAM...about 7:30pm.

Update from last night re: The Tale of the Gecko. Turns out the writhing tail, which was perfectly normal in itself, was indeed a portion too far. Though we had found the tail-less gecko still moving around last night, all four legs intact, we found the corpse this morning...on the floor just under where we had seen it clinging to the balcony wall. Hopefully the poor thing didn't suffer too long.

Today LuRue wore her salwar kameez for the first time. Even though she likes the look and the outfit is generally comfortable, it is a lot of work! Every time you bend over, the scarf falls to the front & you must rearrange yourself. Going to the bathroom involves finding the tiny strings to untie, then re-do. Not quite like wearing a pair of jeans & a top.

Going to Standards 5 and 4 held some surprises. The kids in 5 are a bit unruly to begin with, so LuRue found herself using Nancy Pelosi's "mother-of-five" voice when she needed to get everyone's (especially the boys') attention. Not surprisingly she sounded like the regular teacher who controls her classroom with her voice and her occasional grab. Standard 4 was sitting in the small entryway through which we pass on the way to their classroom. Turns out that their teacher was sick today. Apparently there are no subs, so the students sit on the floor in an alcove; we guess that someone stops by occasionally from the front office to see if everyone is doing OK. We asked the students if we could go ahead to their classroom & they indicated that we could.

Once there, we learned that their teacher, with a softer touch than Teacher 5, has wonderful control over her classroom as today Montana and LuRue had to use quite a bit of "Simon Says, Sit Down". Somehow the sides were lopsided, with students indicating that some of the others belonged on the other side of the room, but we had no way of knowing who belonged where. Through it all, though, the students were enthusiastic and responsive. A woman from the front office came occasionally to see how things were going. LuRue tried to enlist her help in explaining "Mystery Bag" in which a student was to reach in, feel an object, and describe it to the rest of the class without using the name of the object. Turns out neither the teacher nor the front office lady could understand enough English to know what was going on. The kids finally caught on anyhow. We also taught a new song to the Standard 4 students...Herman the Worm.

Lunch today was a wonderful treat. We were driven to the house of Stephen's parents for a special meal. Normally Stephen and Sheeba would be living there, as is the custom. With so many teams of Global Volunteers coming most of the year, it is easier for them to live at the Guest House. Stephen's brother Stephen lives in the house adjoining his parent's house with his wife and 2 children. We met all except his son who was at school. Most of the teams enjoy a meal at the parents' house, as we saw when they brought out family photo albums.

The SEAM session was more-or-less normal tonight...beginning with several minutes of music--singing and action songs. Montana, with the help of the other volunteers, introduced the Penguin Song. That was a hit as there is a lot of action. The other volunteers took children off for special tutoring and the older girls of SEAM now automatically get out the table & chairs for crafts. Quilling is still popular, but rubber band bracelets were introduced tonight, so several made those.

The walk home (after dark) is getting more routine now. We are getting better at swiveling our heads at intersections to see if there are any approaching cars, bikes, motorbikes, etc, though the drivers usually politely beep their horns. We are getting used to the hairbreadth distances allowed for such passing. If we just keep walking, the drivers know how to get by us safely, even if there is a slight brush of clothing. Tonight LuRue was concentrating on where to put her feet along a rather dark stretch and almost walked into a cow (perhaps a bull?) lying on the path. The stray dogs own the street, but don't pay any attention to humans...only to canine intruders encroaching on their territory.

It was Montana and LuRue's turn to wash the dinner dishes. Just over a week from now, we will be the only volunteers left, so it will be our turn every night.