Thursday 1/12: Lots and Lots of Gingerbread Cookies!

Today I taught three classes. The first one was at the school next to me with Bruno’s class of 8 year olds. We were working on interviewing people, so I let the students take turns interviewing me and writing the answers up on the board. Then they finished asking the questions to their partners and we discussed how they would present them to the class next time (“HER favorite…” “HIS favorite…”).

During lunchtime I ended up skyping with Jessie (who was up waaaay past her bedtime!) and then I biked over to the other school.

My first class there was with the little kids and it went okay—we are still working on colors. The classes always go so quickly there because the class is directly after lunch and the students always come in about 8 minutes after we’re supposedly supposed to start. But, I do my best!

With the older kids, we just worked on reading the pen pal letters and then started writing drafts of their replies. I wish the classes were longer!! Hopefully we can get the letters written next class!

When I got home, I checked the mail and found an envelope of letters from a different class—this one is in San Jose, CA and the teacher is a friend of Hollye Chapman’s. I will be pairing up these kids with the 5^th graders at the school near me, but I have to wait until I receive letters from a class in Arizona (another friend of Hollye’s) because there are 60 students here that need pen pals! Should be fun! :)

This afternoon I started to make gingerbread cookies (I found a recipe without molasses, because I can’t find any here), but realized I didn’t have any butter. Pretty much every time I start to bake something, I realize (halfway through) that I am missing an ingredient. But, it only takes 5 minutes to bike to and from the little grocery store on the main street, so no big deal!

Photo: Piles of gingerbread cookies!

Photo: Margot made one with sunglasses...

In any case, I made over 100 mini gingerbread cookies!! Most of them are gingerbread men, but there are some other shapes as well! I was busy decorating them (using a toothpick to put on the frosting) when Margot got home from tennis and she joined me. We had a lot of fun decorating the cookies—she made some really interesting ones!

After dinner, I finished decorating and then packaged them all up so I can take them into school tomorrow. I am bringing them for the 3 classes of CM2 (5^th grade) students because we read “The Gingerbread Man” in those classes. And I have some extras for the teachers, of course!

I got to chat briefly online with Maria today and she has made it to Arusha and is settling in (grocery shopping, sorting out internet, etc.). I’m not surprised that she’s homesick—I can definitely identify. Although it is even harder for her because she doesn’t speak Swahili and no one there really speaks English (that she’s met). Hopefully she can pick up Swahili really fast!! I think she’ll do just fine.