My class!!!!

One of the MANY geckos that hang out in the corners and walls to catch all the bugs. This one was cool though. Its the first i saw with a yellow head! They made me a sign!! :-)
My picture on the wall and door. We get to go to the rainforest in January!!!!!

I have all the desks lined up ...here is my corner where I TRY to stay organized. Please notice on the wall....an AIR CONDITIONER. Thats right! Some of my bulletin boards. You have to piece smaller pieces of paper together to get the background, but it was worth it to make a colorful print rich environment....teacher talk.
Look at all my books....and we have a HUGE library. It is amazing how many resources have been brought to this school. Thanks to the many supporters and missionaries that have been sending money and supplies.
The view from my classrom window. Just behind that building is the inground SWIMMING POOL. It is so nice to swim after a long hot day!
The 1-3rd classroom block.

These are my 25 angels. No, I definitely did NOT bribe them to sit so still and look so innocent. Okay so maybe i did a little...
Kemi had her birthday during the summer. So we celebrated on the 2nd day of school. And yup...that is a Kim Possible cake. Who knew you could have a Kim Possible cake made in Africa?!?!
So far teaching has gone well. It is an adjustment to the new curriculum and resources. but most of the material is the same thing that I covered before.

The hardest part is all the new vocabulary. As in a period is called a full stop..an eraser is called a rubber. most days i lose the kids as I start a lesson. they start looking at me like I have 5 heads because i am saying funny things. But its because Britian and America use very different names for things. It is amazing how many motions or small words hold VERY different meaning in the cultures. coming to an Enligsh speaking school is harder than I thought! haha

but above all, it is fun to learn from each other and accept the new vocabulary. we try to stay with the policy that you say the word that is most comfortable to you. So that no one feels like they have to change what they are used to. i like the openness.

My students are very loving and for the most I don't have many problems. They always leave with hugs for the day. most of my girls are sweet and love to come and chat with me during breaks and free time. Its fun to get to know them and see how happy they are with all their friends. I have a very accepting class. So Praise God for good behavior and supportive families! It is amazing to see how many families have TWO parents and a stable house.

Tour of our House

So here is the stove. The only gas stove in the place. which is good because when the power goes out, we can still cook! So we invite over the other 5 houses of people and take turns cooking our meat before it goes bad! Ahh...the adventures of power outages. This is the other side of our kitchen. in the corner is our water filtration system. basically you have a hose on the counter and pour water into the top bucket. It has a filter in it and the water drains to the second where we get it from. Have to keep an eye on it that it doesn't run out cuz it takes a while to filter.

Don't laugh...its really really bright outside!! That is why i'm making that funny face. our bonda on top of the house. Its kinda falling apart because of all the termite damage. but still good. Hence why all houses are built out of cement here.

This is our great dining room. It faces the gate so everyone comes up to this window and chats with us when they come into the compound. we have had 20 minute conversations through the window. Its quite funny. We always invite them in...but for some reason...its just easier to talk through the window.
This hard to imagine, but its looking from the ground up the center of the staircases to the ceiling. My "artist" ability is coming out! haha
This random corner was kind hard to decorate. the sink is for the bathroom around the corner, but the sink in in the dining room...humm. I have been told is so that you can offer a sink to your guests to wash before you eat, but still...in the living room.

I know you are excited about this....Here is my beautiful bathroom. haha. Now I have to tell you that I got a new roommate, so not all the junk in there is mine!! But its PURPLE YEAH!!
Here is our really open breezy living room. We got to pick the colors and make it look more like home. The two mattress are going to (at some point) be cut to new cushions for the couches...when we get around to it :-)
This is Delicia hanging in her room! We like to call it a princess room with all her fancy things. Its not really fancy, but she did a nice job of pulling it all together.
These are the winding stairs that head up to the roof. Our entire house has the winding staircases. it really is a chore to go from downstairs to the roof. You are sweating before you finish! haha

So here is tour around my room...

First I have my bed...the net around the outside is mosquito net. At first it kinda felt like a jail, but its not bad now. Please note the lamp next to my bed....definitaly giraffe print!!!!

Then are my gorgeous...huge windows. most windows are big here to let in as MUCH breeze as possible. Also tends to let it a lot of dirt..but whatever. when you are really hot...it doesn't matter how much dirt comes into the house. haha

This is my door....I included it so that Grandmom can see her HOPE doll has made it to Africa.

so that is my house! Hope you enjoyed the tour. Everyone is welcome to come see in person!!! haha :-)

Here is my desk. covered in the usual junk, but whatever. It has a great view of some of the Papya trees that surround our house. Unfortunately I HATE papya!! haha

I also have some nice closets...thankfully. most houses here have NO built in closests. so we were very lucky to get the ONE house that has them in a few room. It definitely shows how different it is here. Tanzanians don't think to have closets because they don't buy extra stuff they need to store...just in case....as Americans tend to. Plus...no winter clothes to store. haha