Eight Weeks Down, Two To Go...

We had some exciting moments in Primary Three this week!  First of all, there isn't a clock in the Primary Three classroom, so I brought my small digital clock to school with me.  After being here for seven weeks, I should have known the kids would be ecstatic about the new item in their classroom, but once again they never fail to amaze me with their curiosity and interest in what I perceive to be the smallest, simplest things.  A genuine cry of surprise and delight circles around the room whenever the hour changes (i.e. 1:59 changes to 2:00), and the kids have really become strict timekeepers and keep me on my toes.  If they are writing in journals and I tell them, "Five more minutes" at 9:38, then at 9:43 you can bet I'll be hearing several voices, "Teacher! Time is up!  It has been exactly five!"  I'll also come in to the classroom after lunch or break to see the chalkboard dotted with random digital clock times that the kids have drawn in their free time.

Anticipating the number change on the digital clock...

I have been trying hard to establish small routines in the few weeks I have been in the classroom, one of which has been daily journal writing.  Thanks to some literacy inspiration from the Canadian team (who sadly had their last day on Tuesday!)  the journal writing allows the children to write freely without fear of receiving bad marks or corrections.  It is a far cry from the direct instruction they are used to receiving, and the first few journal entries were timid – only a few sentences, each sentence written like it was recited directly from a textbook, and lots of questions about what to write, or about whether or not what they had written was correct – but even in a week I have seen children begin to fill up their entire notebook pages with writing.  I told them over and over again, the only way you get better at reading and writing is if you practice, and I think they are also beginning to see some progress themselves.  One of their main frustrations comes when they can't think of the English words to describe what they want to say, so we have started coming up with "Word Lists" together before or during journal time, where we brainstorm a long list of words we might want to use in our stories.  I write all the words on the chalkboard, so if a child becomes stuck at any time during the writing period, they can look up and read the list of words to maybe help them think of an idea.  They can also add words to the list at any point in the journal time.  The only difficulty with this is when I misinterpret what they are saying because of their strong accent – for example, one little girl asked me how to spell what I thought was "coffee table," so I wrote "COFFEE TABLE" on the chalkboard.  It wasn't until I read her journal until I understood what she was trying to say.  She wrote, "After eating bananas and drinking water, I was feeling satisfied and coffee table."  Comfortable.

Semeritah, Doris and Natasha stand in front of our Word Wall from the morning journal about Sports and Games Day

Also this week, for the first time actually, we have been receiving letters from a few children that are addressed to President Barack Obama.  Most of them just ask him to be their friend, maybe pay for their school fees, and one child even requested Obama buy for him a "small car."  This letter, though, is by far our favorite.  It reads:

"Hello Obama,

I am Thembo Amon.  Obama please I am Thembo Amon in Uganda please give me the school fees and give me the clothes and build our home please.  I am in Rwentutu Christian School.

If you need to, give my things to Evan."

We are thinking about actually mailing all of the letters, either that or personally delivering them ourselves.  Contrary to the children's beliefs, we are not, actually, best friends with Barack Obama and we don't know him personally…but this could be our ticket in to see him!

And finally, I don't know if I'm realizing my time left at the school is limited, or maybe it's just something I've seen all summer and have neglected to write about, but the children and teachers at Rwentutu are so incredibly happy and full of life.  When they laugh, they really laugh.  They laugh with their whole bodies, and you can practically see the joy bursting from their faces.  Our friend Katy, who visited for ten days, pointed this out to me and I am so grateful because it is something that is absolutely true.  The excitement, the laughter, the joy…is all so incredibly real and strong that it inspires me to live passionately as well.  This is a picture I took this week of one of my favorite kids, Jetridah, who has one of the best laughs I have ever heard and seen in my life.

With two more weeks to go, I'm getting really excited to come home.  I miss my family, I miss my friends, I miss Diet Coke and I miss paved roads.  I miss carpeted floors and actual bathrooms (not just holes in the ground like we have at school).

But I still can't bear the thought of saying goodbye to these children and these teachers.  We have really become a part of their community; the children and teachers not only feel comfortable with us but we all genuinely enjoy each other's company and have grown to love and care for each other.  It makes me wish I could push the continents closer together.

As one teacher put it this week, "Having you here is as natural as the blood running through my veins."

2 weeks...

Walking home from school.