SORRY it has been so long since my last posts. There have been some challenges BESIDES being busy . . . like power surges and internet failures and I thought my modem was broken . . . turns out I had used up all the megabites and had to buy more credit. Simple solution, thankfully. So here I am, back at it.
Life has been interesting and crazy and we really appreciated our midterm break of 3 1/2 days with no students on campus! Ahh, silence . . . except for the local church filming a music video on the basketball court. Imagine the same song, ALL DAY LONG. Hilarious. But that was the day I was out tearing up 20 miles so I missed most of that. I might wax eloquently on running at a later time . . . it's kind of a big deal and it's while I'm running that I compose blogs in my head so I should do some sort of tribute. We'll see.
Anyway, midterm included my LAST trip to maasai market to get my African curios, a long long run, another trip to Kitengela, and some quality time with Chuck. No, not a new friend, the TV show that some of us like to watch. When the Nagles and Anita and I couldn't finish it Sunday night, we got together for a pancake breakfast and the last three episodes. =) So, a wonderful relaxing time. I am so thankful for these friends! I think I've scored a couple of life-long ones out here. Unfortunately I have no pictures of them at the moment. But here's a few boring shots from Kitengela . . . the glass place . . .
funky giraffe statue
bizarre and HUGE live pig.
the glassblower working his magic. Seriously, magical.
Scientists: Dissecting a huge ox heart and 4 little sheep hearts was a highlight this month. It's evident who are the surgeons' kids. They were SO into it! This week we talked about smoking and actually lit up some cigarettes and "smoked" them with a bottle contraption to look at the tar that collects after just one smoke.
Historians: We've started studying the American Revolution, which is slightly odd since half my class isn't American and we live nowhere near there . . . so interesting frames of reference are used, such as the fact that Kenya used to be a British colony, just like the 13 Colonies. They wrote hilarious letters to the Queen yesterday petitioning for a right they thought was important. I was thinking they'd go for staying up later or extending Titchie bounds or something like that. I typed up their letters to read at the end of the post. Such darlings, they are.
Chicken pox: only 2 of my students have succumbed thus far. It's still trickling through the school, taking out teachers and students slowly . . . I'm expecting a couple more to fall prey to it as their siblings have gotten it. It's kind of old news now but it's still around. One of my boys has it. His mom came from TZ to stay with him and has taken on another girl. They have their own house - the "itchy Titchie" zone.
Party lovers: Last weekend was midterm, which means PARTY in Andersonville. What good is a half day if you're not eating popcorn? My kids always bring in the best snacks, and this time we took it a step further and had SOUP at 9am in honor of our novel, The Tale of Despereaux. Which is a wonderful book, and next Friday we get to watch the movie and have MORE soup (their idea, I promise I'm not trying to NOT be fun. They love it). Yet another wonderful use for the crockpot.
So that's a little fourth grade update. Still LOVING them to death, they constantly amaze me. Yes, they are normal kids, but I think they are so special. It is a priviledge to be their teacher.
And, to finish up, some letters to Queen Elizabeth:
Dear Queen,
Please let the people in Kenya have the right to shoot and ill game.We need the privilege to use the meat to feed our families and the poor.We also need the meat to help feed and save the orphans.Please let us have guns, too.
Sincerely,
Team One
****
Dear Queen,
We want the right to drive on Kenyan roads without getting stopped by the police because they stop us all the time for interesting reasons.It is really annoying if you are in a hurry and you get stopped for writing in red pen on your license. It is annoying to get stopped for the weirdest reasons.
Please allow us to cross through countries freely, so we can help people in need of help.And to give water and food, to make churches, houses, orphanages, hospitals, and farms.They are in desperate need of support.
Sincerely,
The Government of Titchies, Lead Judges
I'm not saying anything for their grammar, just their dramatic flair and their little tender hearts. :)
It started with one case, a Titchie who was home in Nigeria over vac. He is already better and over it, but today they started dropping like flies. 3 Titchies, a Titchie teacher, and a dorm mom were all condemned to home/student health/sent away by chai time today! That's 10:00am. And by the time school was out, a senior was admitted to student health and we just got an email confirming 9 cases.
The weird thing about it is that most of the people have had chicken pox or the vaccine! So this Nigerian strain seems a bit more hardcore than the typical virus (if it even did come from Nigeria and if there is a Nigerian strain . . . speculation). I'm not really nervous, I think I'm invincible, I had SUCH a bad case in 2nd grade I think I would be reduced to Job-status of misery if I got them again. So far there are cases in 3rd, 5th, and 6th, but none in fourth. I'm most concerned about the babies on campus and pregnant women . . . that would not be good.
a bit of this . . . and a little bit of this . . . I am SO THANKFUL for modern technology . . . pingo so we can talk often and my new wireless modem that gives me slightly better internet capabilities (you noticed I'm back in blogging world!) and sometimes even skype video chat! But of course that's not the same as actually being in the same place . . . country . . . continent . . .
Just throwing that out there. It's been a Matt-less blogging world for too long. :)
I have a confession to make:I’m planning to run a marathon.CRAZY, I know. I don't really know what I was thinking when I registered . . . it was peer pressure. My friend Linda, the one who carried me to the car after my LAST race, and her husband were the initiators. And then my friend Todd signed up. And so . . . I did, too.
It's a unique opportunity, which is why I let Linda and Phil talk me into it. Last June when we got here, we saw runners tearing through the Kenyan savannah on TV. The Safaricom Marathon is held on a wildlife conservancy in Northern Kenya. This site gives a good description of it, and has some pictures of people running with animals. It also uses some of my favorite catch phrases like "one of the ten toughest" marathon events in the world. I know, I'm reaching lunatic status . . . but our reasoning is that we are already training at 2,000 feet higher than the race and our "roads" are probably similar to what we'll be running on. Plus, who can pass up an opportunity to run with the animals? Especially since last year's race was delayed by a lion sunning itself on part of the circuit.
So, training. Being back in the states was great, I tore it up in Oklahoma, down at sea level and on sidewalks. I clocked 13 miles in Charlotte on my old stomping ground, the greenway. The weekend I got back we were supposed to do 12 . . . but the altitude! I felt all buzzy and light headed and could hardly do 7. Defeated. BUT . . . last weekend, Todd and I did 15! Which is the farthest either of us have ever run, and an accomplishment for Todd, who you'll remember . . . passed out during the half.
Today we set out to do 17. SEVENTEEN. Probably not the best idea, since I've been sick this week and spent almost every afternoon flat out on the couch instead of training. So let me just describe to you what that was like. First of all, we quit at 16. Because running that far is like aging three decads in the course of a few hours. I guess it's different for everyone, but for me . . . first, my stomach started to betray me, after 30 or 40 minutes. Then my hips started to fail. And then my knees started aching. And then the feet . . . and back and neck and butt and . . . well, everything. By the end it was all I could do to lift each foot . . . and so we quit a mile early.
Currently trying to put my body back together. Mind over matter. Tips and encouragement welcome.
Rugby is the sport of 3rd term. The big rugby tournament is called Blackrock and RVA has a history of winning or at least placing very well. So spirits were high and I was psyched for my first Blackrock. I even made a t-shirt. So, the day arrived, the whole campus emptied out and made the exodus to Nairobi, with high expectations.
Well, it was a bit anticlimactic. So many teams didn't show and/or forfeited that the first time the varsity guys played, it was in the semis. They played a 20 minute match and . . . lost. So after 20 minutes of play time, we packed up and went home. Sad.
Fortunately, the season's not over yet. Rugby is a fun sport to watch.
Part of Blackrock psyche is the team-bonding activity of head shaving. Intimidating.
It's been raining a lot this term, which is great. I left it brown and dusty and came back to GREEN! And often it rains at night, which is really perfect, because it's fun to hear and then wake up to fresh air. One drawback of the rain is the plague of flying ants we experienced one night last week. I can't really describe the sensation of seeing an entire wall full of fluttering wings. They are attracted to the light and will try to fly in at every opportunity, even squeezing under the door or through cracks in the windows. The other gross thing about them is that they lose their wings, which are long and remind me of those 'helicopter' seeds that would twirl around . . . except they aren't nice leaves, they are BUG WINGS, and I'm still finding them in my classroom. Also, I think I've mentioned before how kids and grown ups like to eat them. Not me, though.
Fortunately I had my lights off so the ants passed over my place . . . but when I got home, I did have my own visitor . . . this large, disgusting garden slug, who I assume crawled up and over the door.
funky giraffe statue
bizarre and HUGE live pig.
the glassblower working his magic. Seriously, magical. 
