Dear readers,
Yesterday was a normal school day, except we had the delight of teaching the itty-bitties about Easter. One of the activities was to create your own Easter egg. Coincidentally, the kids on either side of us had very similar designs, colors, and patterns. Little heads would peek over at our drawings, we'd laugh and they'd cover their identical papers.
After school, we dropped by the tailor, Nick, to pick up our finished dresses. We climbed back into the car to meet an overjoyed Peter. He almost drooled in admiration for the handiwork. We picked up detergent along the way, so we could wash our overdue, heaping pile of dirty laundry.
With our clothes swaying on the line, we headed out for a farewell dinner for David. Our cravings were fulfilled with delicious pineapple pizza and ice cream: two foods which we have been deprived of since our arrival.
Emilia has been reading away piles of books. Meanwhile, Mattie has been procrastinating her summer reading by teaching herself an action packed game, solitaire. Today, she won her first two games... without cheating.
After watching the sunrise and saying good-bye to David, we set out for school. TGIF! However, our school day only lasted forty-five minutes. We only stayed for a presentation, by the fifth grade, about factors. Now, we are waiting for our clothes to dry (Emilia's attempts at spelling this word: die, dye, drie. As you can see, we are both exhausted. Last night, with the attempt of singing ourselves to sleep, our enthusiasm kept us up 'til twelve. Partyin' it up).
Off to lake Bunyonyi in a few hours! (Look it up)
Emilia and Mattie
P.S. You'll hear back from us on Monday!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Happy 4th
Dear readers,
It's uber late, so we'll be brief. Today was gym day, so for morning exercises the kids lined up and competed in activities such as "who can keep their left leg up the longest without falling".
After that, in spirit of the U.S. Independence Day, we sang the "Star Spangled Banner". Emilia and all the Ugandan children knew the words. Mattie, on the other hand, got away with mouthing "watermelon" over and over.
Later in the day, we all played soccer. Mattie scored a goal. woot woot! The kids called it, "the goal of the year", but they were probably just being nice.
After school, we went to the tailor to make alterations for our dresses for the wedding (Mrs. K's niece's wedding). The street back from the tailor's is narrow, and filled with sewing machines and fabric spools. We were stopped many times by Ugandans calling out, "Mzungus [white people], how are you?" When we got home, we played "would you rather" with the Harvard kids, and we all went out for Indian food. Patriotism!
Happy 4th of July,
Mattie and Emilia
It's uber late, so we'll be brief. Today was gym day, so for morning exercises the kids lined up and competed in activities such as "who can keep their left leg up the longest without falling".
After that, in spirit of the U.S. Independence Day, we sang the "Star Spangled Banner". Emilia and all the Ugandan children knew the words. Mattie, on the other hand, got away with mouthing "watermelon" over and over.
Later in the day, we all played soccer. Mattie scored a goal. woot woot! The kids called it, "the goal of the year", but they were probably just being nice.
After school, we went to the tailor to make alterations for our dresses for the wedding (Mrs. K's niece's wedding). The street back from the tailor's is narrow, and filled with sewing machines and fabric spools. We were stopped many times by Ugandans calling out, "Mzungus [white people], how are you?" When we got home, we played "would you rather" with the Harvard kids, and we all went out for Indian food. Patriotism!
Happy 4th of July,
Mattie and Emilia
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Dear readers,
Today we did twice as much fossil work, twice as much playtime with the itty-bitties, but it sure felt like we had half as much sleep as the night before. However, today was twice as joyful as yesterday, and coffee sure made up for the early wake-up call. We bonded with Peter, who drives us to and from school, over Beyonce's song "Halo". Seven am, and we were already straining our voices by belting the high notes.
We started off by instructing the fourth graders how to make their own fossils. They ran around the yard, pulling dear Mrs. K's plants out to imprint into clay. By the end of the lesson, their hands and clothes were covered in mud, and we hurriedly rushed them to the bathroom before snack.
The itty-bitties were just as much fun, but had more difficulty paying attention. We taught them the wax museum game: when Mattie turned their back to them, they run, and when she looks at them, they are supposed to freeze. However, they didn't understand the concept of freezing, and poor Mattie was drowned by boogery fingers.
Yet again, we finished the day helping Mrs. K with her English class. This time, we were just as much eager for a nap, as for the jam session with Peter. Hopefully today we will get to bed earlier.
G'night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs "mosquitoes" bite,
Mattie and Emilia
P.S. We successfully taught our fourth graders a new song! props to Harris.
Today we did twice as much fossil work, twice as much playtime with the itty-bitties, but it sure felt like we had half as much sleep as the night before. However, today was twice as joyful as yesterday, and coffee sure made up for the early wake-up call. We bonded with Peter, who drives us to and from school, over Beyonce's song "Halo". Seven am, and we were already straining our voices by belting the high notes.
We started off by instructing the fourth graders how to make their own fossils. They ran around the yard, pulling dear Mrs. K's plants out to imprint into clay. By the end of the lesson, their hands and clothes were covered in mud, and we hurriedly rushed them to the bathroom before snack.
The itty-bitties were just as much fun, but had more difficulty paying attention. We taught them the wax museum game: when Mattie turned their back to them, they run, and when she looks at them, they are supposed to freeze. However, they didn't understand the concept of freezing, and poor Mattie was drowned by boogery fingers.
Yet again, we finished the day helping Mrs. K with her English class. This time, we were just as much eager for a nap, as for the jam session with Peter. Hopefully today we will get to bed earlier.
G'night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs "mosquitoes" bite,
Mattie and Emilia
P.S. We successfully taught our fourth graders a new song! props to Harris.
Monday, July 2, 2012
The International School of Mbarara
Dear Readers,
Today was our first day of school! First thing, everyone gathered outside to do morning songs, including "Jambo" where everybody shakes each other's hands while singing. Then, they had a competition to see who retained the most information from the previous week. Everybody was enthusiastically applauded after providing a correct answer.
The next period, we started work on fossils. The kids in third grade presented what they had already learned through a lecture, a song, and a charming skit. The teacher then declared that we would teach them more. Twenty minutes feels like a long time to teach something to kids who have already covered the subject thoroughly. Surprisingly, it went pretty smoothly.
Mrs. K then invited us to go see the site of her new school. We gladly accepted. A surveyor checked the dirt quality and declared it worthy to make bricks. Relieved, we traveled back to the school.
We then visited with a kindergarten class. It was basically a small room filled with adorable little dumplings of enthusiasm; enthusiastic about practicing the abc's, and pulling out Emilia's hair. At the end of the period, her hair was well decorated with "monkeys in a barrel" and knots.
Lunchtime came, and we decided to sit with the children. At first, they were shy, and responded to our questions with mere giggles. As lunch progressed, they invited us to play with them. Jump rope was a big hit. When the line got too long, we decided to start a new game of jump rope. When we left, so did they. The other rope was abandoned, and once again, the line was too long.
We finished the day by making play-do, and helping the second grade class with their English books. When it was time to be picked up, we were reluctant to leave, yet excited for a nap.
Goodnight,
Emilia and Mattie
Today was our first day of school! First thing, everyone gathered outside to do morning songs, including "Jambo" where everybody shakes each other's hands while singing. Then, they had a competition to see who retained the most information from the previous week. Everybody was enthusiastically applauded after providing a correct answer.
The next period, we started work on fossils. The kids in third grade presented what they had already learned through a lecture, a song, and a charming skit. The teacher then declared that we would teach them more. Twenty minutes feels like a long time to teach something to kids who have already covered the subject thoroughly. Surprisingly, it went pretty smoothly.
Mrs. K then invited us to go see the site of her new school. We gladly accepted. A surveyor checked the dirt quality and declared it worthy to make bricks. Relieved, we traveled back to the school.
We then visited with a kindergarten class. It was basically a small room filled with adorable little dumplings of enthusiasm; enthusiastic about practicing the abc's, and pulling out Emilia's hair. At the end of the period, her hair was well decorated with "monkeys in a barrel" and knots.
Lunchtime came, and we decided to sit with the children. At first, they were shy, and responded to our questions with mere giggles. As lunch progressed, they invited us to play with them. Jump rope was a big hit. When the line got too long, we decided to start a new game of jump rope. When we left, so did they. The other rope was abandoned, and once again, the line was too long.
We finished the day by making play-do, and helping the second grade class with their English books. When it was time to be picked up, we were reluctant to leave, yet excited for a nap.
Goodnight,
Emilia and Mattie
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