Last Night, Last Sight

Another day beginning with the little ones. Now we wonder how we ever survived the three days last week when we were with them for more than 2 and a half hours. Now we’re wiped out after half that time. For a time we (foolishly) thought that today would be our last day, but last night Edward said that tomorrow will be it. It might have been because of the bracelets we had made from plastic lacing we found in the cupboard and asked if we could give one each to all the pre-primary students that we have been calling kindergarteners.

They are cute, though Montana stops short of that adjective. She reserves it for puppies or kittens. She agrees that they are enthusiastic and that all our jumping up and down, along with “capturing” them sends them into squeals of laughter.

At 10:00 we left for the secondary school and Haran was glad that we were going to do one more class on “How to Write a Story”. The students this time were more shy than the previous two classes, so writing the sample group story took a bit more prodding. But when they wrote their own, they wrote at least as much, if not more, than the other classes. Again, we struggled with the accents to hear what their stories were about, but managed to hear the critical words, like died, injured, or good student so that we could have the proper response when praising their efforts.

It had been planned that, after lunch, Edward would accompany us Global Volunteers to the monthly market. As it turned out, his presence was required at the funeral and burial of a villager. The five of us walked up into the center part of the village, going through side paths of vendors with blankets spread on the ground, or makeshift stalls to display mostly used clothing, shoes, and various other items. There was a real cross-section of items for sale, though, so apparently it is a big deal for the villagers.

Montana went for a walk while LuRue packed. She ended up on the secondary school sports grounds where she found a lot of her new friends & had a great time talking to them. She had hoped to go back for more visiting, but she had just enough time to take her shower with the rest of the hot water heated by MamaTony. After that, Edward showed up to escort us to his home for a special meal. His wife was still helping at the funeral, so was not able to join us.

We are essentially packed up for the long 2-day drive back to Dar es Salaam. We have only the morning sessions to complete. This will be our last night in Pommern.