I'm Back!

I'm back on the blog! For real this time.  I really am going to try to be better about keeping you up to date with what's going on here.  For those of you who use Instagram, I have been uploading pics there, and welcome you to follow me if you are interested in seeing more day to day happenings. 

I made a temporary move back to the Big Island for the next three months.  I arrived here on Saturday evening and am looking forward to some time to plan, and some good time of fellowship with other friends that live here.  I will be using these months to plan a curriculum to use with the English teachers in the local schools.   I know I have shared before that school (high school) here is supposed to be taught completely in English, and all of their textbooks and tests (exams to graduate high school) are all in English.  The passing rate is so low because very few teachers know English, which means they are unable to adequately prepare the students.  By focusing on teaching teachers in a way that is reproducible, I believe it can have a bigger effect on the community.  

I will also be working on a curriculum to teach English to some locals who are working at the hotels.  As tourism continues to grow on our Little Island, the need for the locals to learn English to communicate with tourists is also huge.  I had a meeting with one of the big hotels on our Island, and am planning on running a course for them starting in January. 

Here's a little about the two weeks leading up to my move here on Saturday!

I finished up my computer and English courses two weeks ago, and officially closed our school until January.  Most of my students will be continuing to study at our school in the new year, which I'm really excited about!  I have grown to really enjoy each of them, and they are becoming more comfortable with one another and more willing to try to speak (which is a GREAT thing!).   Here are some of their smiling faces!

This is my best computer student and good friend, Sauda.  I am hoping to train her to teach the Pamoja computer courses in the new year, which will free me up to spend more time in the local school.

(Sauda's certificate is upside down haha)

After classes finished, I spent a little time cleaning and re-organizing our school.  Tables were painted, spiderwebs were taken down, folders were organized, computers were cleaned, and doors were locked!   

I also spent last week soaking up some neighbor and friend time!  I love teaching at our school, and I have built awesome relationships there, but I also really enjoy time off when I don't have a mandatory schedule to follow.  I get to spend as much of the day as I want sitting and talking with my neighbors, teaching them to play new games, learning new games from them, watching movies, and taking them on little adventures.  Here are a few pics I snapped over the week:

I love this picture, but I am feeling a little guilty because he was so focused on me taking this picture that he dumped all of his food on the floor on accident.  But then he picked it up and ate it anyway without a second thought, so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad.

 This little one loves to ride his scooter around bare bottom.

And this little one likes to ride around town in the basket of her dad's bicycle.

I have been doing Insanity workouts with my neighbor Salma every morning, and one morning her two little boys came and joined us.  If I could set up a hidden camera and record how ridiculous we look (her more than me, of course) when we try to follow the exercises that Shaun T does, you would appreciate it.  

I'm obsessed with this little girl, Musda.  She is absolutely beautiful, and if she didn't have really great parents, I would consider stealing her.  :)

Some of my neighbors had NEVER been to the beach.  I could not believe they have lived on this beautiful Island their entire lives, and have never seen the incredible ocean our God created.  Last Thursday we packed a picnic and headed north.  Our first stop was the lighthouse!  They were scared (and to be honest I get a little nervous every time I go up that thing- its very tall, very narrow, and very old), but we made it and the view was breathtaking.   Then we drove to the local beach where the kids played in the sand, swam in the ocean, and chased crabs around for hours.

 Musda loved it!  Anywhere she can get dirty, she loves.

 Achmedi was so cold, he was shivering.  (Even though it's 90 degrees) I took a pic rather than getting him a towel.  I'm a good friend, eh?  He was too cute!

 Ramla even went in for a little dip.

I got to spend some time with Hamida and Salum.  We enjoyed a nice lunch at the one restaurant on the Island in the big city.

Then on Saturday morning I picked up Shannon from the airport on the Little Island!  She hopped over to visit for a few hours, then we caught the afternoon flight back to the Big Island together.  I am really excited to have them back in Africa!

Selfie before the flight

 In the middle of the flight I looked forward to see our pilot with his head down.  I am pretty sure he was asleep for about 5 min. Haha  I was ready to jump in the co-pilot seat and land that baby.  No worries, though, he woke up and got us there safe.  AND there were 3 beautiful little girls waiting for us!

I got to spend the evening with these beauts and their parents before they were off to the mainland on Sunday morning.  I have really missed having them around, and am looking forward to some more time together soon!

Bray beat me in checkers because she makes up new rules. I'm a sucker for cute kids, though, so I let it slide :)

It's good to be back on the blog, and for a time, it is good to be back on the Big Island.  Looking forward to a good 3 months of planning and of course, fun!