Things are going well here! Rose arrived here two nights ago and we’ve talked with her a bit about her experiences in America! It’s interesting to hear her talk about the culture shock in America, when I’ve just experienced the complete opposite. It’s very nice to be adjusted now.
Life here is so different but so good. The pace is slower and more relaxed, the kids are ready to sing and dance at all hours of the day, and nature is everywhere you go. Seriously, there’s no place to escape from the wildlife here. You just gotta embrace the constant presence of mosquitos, flies, and lizards.
Really, I think the most challenging thing I have on my schedule is helping out in the nursery. Like I’ve said before, the kids are so so cute but also extremely prone to hitting each other at all times. If I bend down to give one a piggy-back ride, at least five others jump on top of them attempting to do the same. My shoe literally broke because so many of them were walking within inches of me that someone tripped and ripped my shoe. It’s totally fine, and I fixed the shoe easily, but they all want my attention at the same time! And when they start learning a lesson, things slow down by 10x because someone starting fighting and someone else is crying and someone else is running outside and someone else is grabbing chalk to draw on the board and someone else is falling from their chair and someone else laughing at me for no reason (that would be Steward, the jokester who thinks he’s so cool). In the moment, it’s absolutely crazy and I can’t believe Scovia is able to handle them like this every day! But in retrospect, the kids are good kids and they’re a heck of a lot of fun to be around. It just wears me out to be with them for the first half of my day!
I also think it’s funny that little Steven, the same one who bit my hand when I was walking him home last year, won’t let go of me and is always sitting right beside me. He’s adorable, but I’m always so paranoid he’s about to bite me again! So far, so good.
Sorry about the lack of pictures, I’ve been trying to leave all my technology in my hut so it doesn’t distract everyone or bring too much attention to me. I guess having pictures to post requires actually using the camera when things are actually happening~~ But I think that tomorrow will give many chances to get good pictures!
Tomorrow is the kids’ athletic competition in Kiryandongo, and have some friends competing so I’m tagging along! That’ll be an adventure! And I’ll make sure to get lots of photos 🙂
{Haley}