November 9

Hello again everyone!!

Holy crap I don't even know where to start. I've settled in quite nicely and I'm loving it here. The kids are awesome.

I set my alarm for 6:30 or 7am, but I rarely need it because I'm usually woken up by a rooster or the neighbor's cow. I brush my teeth and have chai tea and breakfast. Breakfast is usually some sort of fried thing with eggs and bananas. There are bananas in almost every dish here. Then I get dressed and walk to work.

This week I've been teaching kindergarteners at St. Vivian's English School. They're so freaking adorable. The teacher and I take turns teaching different subjects. She's thankful that I'm there because there's a big school wide exam at the end of the month, and she works on preparing that while I'm teaching. I took some pictures of the exam with my iPhone and went home yesterday and made the kids a little study guide/reference to have. On my first day there I was pretty upset to see that the kids were all using these nubby sorry little excuses for pencils. No one had an eraser, and they were sharpening them with loose razor blades. I freaked (because they're 6 year olds) and took all the razors away. That afternoon I went to a stationary store and bought them each a brand new pencil, eraser, and pencil sharpener. They were pretty psyched.

I leave the school at 1 and then walk back home for lunch. I sit in the living room and read (I'm halfway through The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) or play with the kids in my host family until the maid comes in and says "Chalupa!" which means "Food!" It's almost always rice, beans and spinach, but today I had a fun dish that was made with cooked bananas and potatoes in a tomato-ey type of sauce. Then I read some more or go for a walk or work on some stuff for the kids until about 4pm, when I head over to the Orphanage.

When I get there, the kids are just waking up from their nap. I help them out of bed and help them put on their shoes and then we walk across the orphanage to their little school house where they do their homework. Then we play until 7pm, when they are served dinner (usually thin porridge or beans) and then we sit around the table and sing songs until it's time for bed at 8pm. When I'm not here, they do all this by themselves. There is a matron on the grounds, but she's rarely around, and she doesn't play with the kids. At first this made me feel kind of bad, like it didn't really matter if I was there or not, but then I realized that these kids desperately need attention and reassurance and confidence and a whole lot of love. Some of them just need a big hug. Fortunately, that's the kind of stuff I'm good at.

The kids at the orphanage are 3-5. There is one 7 year old boy named Mudy and an 8 year old girl named Miriam. Though they're just kids themselves, they act like a mother and father to the other 20 kids. It's beautiful but heartbreaking at the same time. I've become pretty close with Mudy and Miriam. I let them play with my phone and I let them take some pictures with my camera. The other day Mudy leaned over and simply whispered "I like Sprite Bublish." and then he walked away. Bublish is bubble gum, and there's a bazooka sort of flavor, a Fanta flavor, and a Sprite flavor. I took the hint and bought him and Miriam a piece of Sprite Bublish the next day. The day after that, Mudy gave me a beautiful picture of a house that he had drawn.

When I get home I eat dinner and read or chill with the host family. The family thinks my Nook is the coolest thing ever. Everyone at home calls me "Dada," which means "Sister."

I'm running low on computer time, so I'll have to stop there, but I absolutely love your texts, keep 'em coming! I've gotten positive responses o the daily picture texts, but it takes up a lot of messages for me. Annie, if I send the picture to you, would you be able to forward it along to everyone??

I've been sending it to Ray, Jene, Grandma, Mom, and TJ and I'll text you the phone numbers so you can add Ron, Rosa and Mack to your list.

I think about you guys all the time. Mom, today the kids finished their morning lesson before their porridge was ready. After we said the alphabet three times and counted to 100 twice, the teacher asked me to teach them a song, so I taught them "Open, Shut Them" and they LOVED it! Annie, the other day the kids got a big plastic bag filled with old hot wheels cars. It was sent over from a family from upstate NY that contributes to the orphanage. They each got to pick one out. Miriam, the older girl, let all the little kids pick first before she chose an ambulance. She didn't know what it was, so I told her all about it and it's function. She laughed when I told her that all the other cars get out of the way when an ambulance drives past. Then she freaked when I told her that my aunt used to drive one. Jene and Rosa!! The kids always ask me to show them "Tata Lala Bella" (The sleeping baby Bella) when they want to see a picture I have of Isabella asleep, and they ask t see "Tata Viatu Charlie" (Baby Charlie Shoes) when they want to see the picture of little charlie with big charlie's shoes. Caroline, you won't believe how often I think of you when you used to make us play The Lion King with you when you were little. The phrase I use most often here is "Asante Sana" (Thank you very much) and i walwys want to say Asante Sana, Squash Banana!

I'm going on a safari to Arusha National Park on Saturday and then I'll write again on Sunday.

Love and miss you guys!! Thanks again for all the texts!


-Katie