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.

Wednesday 1/11: Getting Some Much-Needed Rest

I really needed a day like today. I slept in until 11:30am and then fell back asleep until 12:45pm. I think all those late nights with Maria caught up with me! It felt good to have no plans and to just rest.

Margot had a friend over today, so we all ate lunch together and then they accompanied me on a walk with Dunja. We went exploring in the woods, played catch with the basketball (while running down the road…it’s tricky), climbed all over the monkey bars in the woods, and tested our balancing skills by walking across a pipe that went over a stream. It felt good to be out in the sun and cold air.

I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening preparing for classes and writing thank you letters (which I’m very late at writing). But, they will be very well decorated, thanks to my sweet marker set!

After dinner tonight I got to talk with my parents, which was really nice because it’s been ages! I’m feeling pretty good (despite wishing Maria was still here) and my sickness is nearly better…and the pink eye isn’t very bad, so that’s a pro!

Tuesday 1/10: Saying Goodbye Is Sad.

Oof. Well, Maria and I didn’t get much sleep last night… Since it was her last night here, we figured we would rather spend our time talking than sleeping. So, after the movie, we ended up talking until 3:30am. And then the alarm went off at 7am. So, needless to say, we were a bit tired.

After a quick breakfast, Maria said goodbye to Catherine and Margot and then we walked to the train station. The train arrived fairly soon after and we quickly hugged goodbye and she departed. Sniffle. It felt like the week went by SO quickly! Of course I wish she could have stayed longer, but I’m excited for all the adventures she’s about to have! I just hope her travels today went smoothly!

I walked back home and prepared my classes for a bit. I managed to slip in a 45-minute nap before I had to teach class. It went okay and then I came home for lunch. I wanted to get some more sleep, but I had to do more class prep (because I didn’t want to waste time when Maria was here, so I didn’t do any over the weekend).

The afternoon classes all went really well! I worked on colors with the little kids and they are catching on really fast! I also had them work on responding to the directions: “stand up!” “sit down” “hands up!” “hands down!” It did feel a little bit bizarre to be telling a bunch of seven-year-olds: “HANDS UP!”

When I finished my last class, I ended up talking with one of the English teachers who gave me some more lesson ideas and websites. We also discussed the issue of the trouble-child in my CM1 class. They are trying to deal with him and hopefully this week there will be a big meeting about what they’re going to do with him. And it’s definitely not just me—the teacher has been out sick for a month now and her sub just left because she couldn’t deal with this student! He’s a demon-child. I don’t know what the issue is, but he deliberately tries to mess up any learning and is really awful to all the teachers. He needs help and I’m glad the issue is finally being addressed.

I got home around 5pm and, after a quick tea and a short skype chat with Mark (who was nice enough to listen to my sleep-deprived and depressed self talk about how sad I was that Maria had to leave), I headed over to lead a conversation class. It was organized by the lady who is part of the assistant program (and was my contact person) and it’s free for any teachers in the area. Tonight there were 6 teachers (I know 2 of them) and we just introduced ourselves and chatted in English. Some of them are considerably better than others (and talk considerably more than others), but I think when they relax a bit, it will go just fine! I had fun and it’s nice because we are just talking—I don’t have to prepare lessons!

When I got home, I made dinner for Ralf, Margot, and I because Catherine was taking care of Chantal’s kids tonight. After dinner, Margot wanted me to watch a TV show with her and it was okay…I only fell asleep for 10 minutes of it!

It’s a bit sad to be going to bed with no roommate—it was nice getting to talk before going to sleep. Now it feels kind-of lonely. But, I am really looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

Monday 1/9: A Long Day of Teaching…and Maria’s Last Day

We really did try to go to sleep early last night, but (of course) we got talking… It was hard to get up for the 8:30am class today, but it was Margot’s class, so we had fun! Mostly I just had them ask Maria lots of questions (and I taught them “What is your favorite ____?”) and I read them the story of the Gingerbread Man. We really did have a good time—they were interested and well-behaved, which makes all the difference!

After class, we came home and Maria skyped with a friend from home while I typed up the pen pal letters that were written by students from Keizer Elementary School in Oregon. Their handwriting is sometimes hard to read and I wanted to correct some confusing spelling as well. And take out the questions that were meant for the original pen pals… The class had thought they were writing to elderly folks in Oregon, so some of the letters contained questions like “Do you have any kids?” or “Did you fight in World War II?” and I figured that would be a bit confusing to my 10-yr old students!

After a quick lunch at home (we attempted to go out for pizza, but the restaurants are closed on Monday as well here…), Maria and I biked to the other school. Class with the younger kids actually went really well today! They were more engaged than normal—and better behaved! I discovered something that worked really well: when having them repeat vocab (such as colors), change your voice from a normal tone, to whisper, to half-shouting. It really kept them paying attention! Always good to find new ways to do things!

The older kids were beyond excited to receive the letters from their pen pals! After passing out the letters, Maria and I went around trying to help them understand them. That wasn’t always easy—some of the American kids wrote rather complicated stuff in their letters! But, we did our best to help them understand. I gave them the typed up copy of their letter, but also the handwritten original. They commented on the rather lousy handwriting of many of the American students. It’s true, though—here they make a point of spending a lot of time on having good handwriting. We don’t really do that in the US…

After class finished, Maria and I biked over to the store so she could get some food for her long days of travel tomorrow/Weds. We had to hurry, though, because I had to teach again at 3:45pm. I let Maria stay home to just relax, while I went to teach the CM1 class. I was hoping that the kid who is really badly behaved would be absent again, but no such luck. He was there and within minutes I was ready to pull my hair out. The teacher (well, long-term substitute) was in the room, but apparently the kid was being observed by the school psychologist (who was standing outside the door), so she didn’t want to interfere. He wanted to see how the kid normally acts in class. Well, it was awful. Finally, I actually YELLED at him and the class got quiet for a minute or two, but then he started right back up again. The teacher hauled him out of class—literally hauled—and I did my best to finish teaching. At the end of the class, I gave them all a lecture (and the obnoxious kid was brought back in) and compared how well they behaved when Maria was there…and how fun that class was…whereas today it was awful. I told them that if they were well-behaved, then I would be in a good mood and we could have more fun. We’ll see if they act any better during Friday’s class… I think if that one student were removed, it would go pretty well. SIGH.

When I got home, we had tea with Margot and then did the online geography quiz. It’s been a while since we’ve done it, so we all did worse than our best scores… oh well! Then we played some cards with Margot and played with photobooth for a bit.

Photo: Yeah, we're cool.

During dinner tonight, Catherine noticed that my eyes were really pink…and I had thought they were watering a lot… yep, I have pink-eye again. I really don’t understand why I always get it?!!?! But Catherine doesn’t seem to be worried about it, so I don’t think it’s a big deal here—I guess I will be going to work anyways. And she’s going to pick up some eye drops for me tomorrow. Sigh.

After dinner, Maria said goodbye to Ralf (because he will leave for work before we get up tomorrow) and then we went upstairs to hang out. We ended up watching the movie, “Bridesmaids,” which was okay. We mostly liked it because the main characters were best friends and they seemed kinda like us!

I cannot believe Maria is leaving already. It feels like she just got here yesterday! I hope that I can visit her in Tanzania in May…we’ll see…

Sunday 1/8: More Driving, Coloring, and a Trip to the Cinema

I drove (the automatic) to Capbreton this morning with Maria to pick up Alison. We stopped at the beach to walk around, despite the fact that it was raining…

Photo: Maria in Capbreton

After showing Maria the beach, we drove back towards Tyrosse, planning to stop at the shop that sells dried fruits…but apparently we took a different road (I find roundabouts rather confusing), so we didn’t pass it. We ended up getting back to Tyrosse and immediately driving ten minutes back to the fruit stand. It was worth it—the dried strawberries and orange strips are like heaven. We tried to find a pizza place for lunch, but all the ones in Tyrosse were closed and I didn’t want to do any more driving. So, we just had lunch at home and made an English Apple Crumble for dessert tonight.

This afternoon, Maria, Alison, and I went to the cinema here to see “Intouchables.” It was such a big hit that they brought it back (even though it played here back in November) and I loved it so much that I wanted them to see it. We all enjoyed the movie and the cinema was pretty full considering that the movie has been out for several months now!

Photo: At the Tyrosse cinema

We spent some time coloring with the epic markers (now Alison is hooked…) and then taught Margot a new card game. I helped Catherine make dinner while Alison and Maria continued playing with Margot.

After dinner (and apple crumble with custard from Scotland—Catherine’s dream dessert), I drove Alison home and successfully made it back without getting lost in the dark! Hurrah!

Saturday 1/7: Fun!

Ah, sleeeep! We woke up to my phone ringing at 11:27am and I answered it to find Isabelle (the lady from folk dancing) inviting me to go to Spain with her tomorrow. However, I had already invited Alison to come over so we could go see “Intouchables” at the cinema, so I had to decline Isabelle’s offer.

Maria and I lounged around and didn’t end up going down for breakfast until noon. How lovely to be so lazy! ;) Catherine showed Maria her incredible English book collection and lent us each a Janet Evanovitch book, which she says (and I’ve previously heard) is hilarious!

This afternoon we played cards with Margot and then made some scones for tea. Isabelle (the friend who came to the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners) and Alexandre (her baby) came over this afternoon and we all had tea with scones and clotted cream and jam! They’re all hooked on clotted cream now… just like me!

Photo: Maria and Margot playing cards

Afterwards, Maria, Margot, and I goofed off with Maria’s camera, making slow-motion videos and taking funny pictures. Then we moved to “photo booth” on Maria’s computer, which lets you take funny pictures of yourself and has different features, which mess up your face! It was hilarious—Margot loved it!

Photos: Some examples of our photobooth fun!

Tonight we all squashed into the kitchen to make one of my favorite dinners: a potato/broccoli/ cauliflower gratin.

It’s so fun cooking together—all of us working and joking around! I’m so glad Maria’s here to get to know my host family…and for them to get to know her!

Photo: Cooking together!

Photo: I love my host family!!

After dinner (which Maria loved), we skyped with the Hommeses for a bit. Then we watched “Return to Me” with Catherine (while nibbling on a Swiss chocolate bar…thanks to Uncle Jim and Aunt Heidi!), who loved the film!

I can’t believe Maria will only be here for two more days… it’s going to be so hard to have her leave!!

Friday 1/6: And We Folk Dance!

This morning we headed to a class at 8:30am and that went really smoothly. During our break, we headed to the market, which was unfortunately smaller than normal. It didn’t take very long to walk around and grab some fruit for Catherine. The second class I had went extremely well—the terrible kid wasn’t there!! It was so easy! And we actually had fun because I didn’t have to constantly try to get them to shut up! Maria got to answer loads of questions, including “What is your favorite friend?”—what kind of a question is that?? :p

For lunch we just ate at home, but I had just enough time to give Maria a quick demo of my stilt walking! Then we had to head back to teach two classes this afternoon. I had a lot of fun with the little kids because I started teaching them the colors! We played games and they also got to practice asking Maria questions. The best question was “What did you get for Christmas” (I helped them say the questions in English)—they wanted to know what I got as well, so I had fun telling them about my 3d Butterfly coloring book. I think the 7-yr-olds were impressed. However the expression on the teacher in the back of the room was priceless!

This afternoon we skyped with Mark—yay! All the roommates “back together”!

Maria and I went to folk dancing tonight! They didn’t have the rope up for people to practice on the stilts, so Maria didn’t get to try them. She’ll just have to wait until we get back to Corvallis and I build a bunch of pairs! But, we did get to dance a lot of new dances that were really fun! It was fun introducing Maria to the group here—and I think they were impressed with how fast she picked up on the dances!

When we got home, there was pizza still in the oven from when my host family ate dinner. So, after a late dinner, we went upstairs and watched “The Beginners.” It’s an excellent film that I saw last summer at the Darkside and really enjoyed.

So excited to sleep in tomorrow morning!!

Here's a video of one of the new dances we learned tonight!