Mid-week update

I know it’s only the middle of the week, and I’ve already posted this week, so this may seem unusual coming from me.  Don’t worry, I’ll be back to my regular once-a-week self soon.  I have just had a busy week so far, and have some fun things planned for the weekend, so I wanted to break it up for you all.  That way, you wouldn’t have a novel to try to get through on the weekend!  Really, I’m doing you a favor!

To begin with, there has been another (slight?) change in my position at CAMS.  I went to school on Monday excited to begin my second week in Standard 2 when there was an announcement during the staff meeting.  My friend Sarah, who I went on the safari with, decided very last minute to make a trip home.  Her mother is in the hospital and not doing well.  It was a tough decision for her to make and she had been weighing the options all weekend.  When I had last talked to her on Sunday, she still wasn’t sure of what she was doing, so the announcement in the morning was a surprise to me as well.

During second period, the deputy principal walked up to me with a new copy of my timetable.  This one has me in Standard 1 (kindergarten in the states) for most of the week, with the spots where I was in Standard 4 still there, and one period a week in Standard 2.  Even with the sudden move into Standard 1, I couldn’t be happier!  This week has been so much fun so far!  You can’t help but fall in love with those little guys. 

One of the highlights of the week so far has been the start of the swimming lessons in PE.  All of the primary students in CAMS go to swimming lessons once a week, taught by CAMS staff, at the hotel down the street.  The Standard 1 kids were extra excited because this was their first time.  Swimming was at the very end of the day, but they started asking about it from the beginning.  Second break couldn’t go by fast enough for them.  I had to remind most of them that second break was for eating lunch, not for standing by the bus waiting for the driver.

I look forward for another couple of weeks in Standard 1.  Even though I pray for the best outcome for Sarah’s situation, and for her to be able to return to Tanzania and to CAMS, it may be hard for her to get her class back from me.  I have fallen in love with their smiles and their humor and am excited to be with them for as long as I can! (Even if it meant an accidental nap after school today. J )

 

Sarah and I enjoyed our visit to the Maasai village.  Pray for her and her family as they go through this tough time.