19 March 2009 (DAY 3)

I had my first full day in the school today. I had decided that by the end of the day I would have learned at least half of my students’ names, and I think I’m doing well so far. I also met the student aide today. She’s doing her student teaching here, basically. She’s in our class on Thursdays and Fridays and teaches two lessons each day.

Today one of her lessons was about homes, and she talked about houses/flats/shacks/caravans. Then we sang a Sunday school song about houses. We also pray at the end of the day and before lunch in the public school, which is definitely different than the States.

She also taught a PE-type outdoor lesson, which was nice because the weather today is much better! It’s sunny and warm, so I tried to stay out of the sun as much as I could, since I only applied sunscreen at 6am. I took some pictures of the kids playing outside today. They have an hour of outdoor recess! I took pictures of them playing, and a couple of videos. They have a small playground next to their room, but for toys all they really have are old tires and some sticks with wheels on the end. I got a lot of cute pictures, though.

After school, Heather and I invited Emily, Jeff, and Jessica over to lay out and swim. Jeff and Jess decided to go hiking (with Jake, heyyyy alliteration), but Emily came over for a bit. We vegged on the couches by the pool for a while, then Genove came home. She decided to go swimming, but the water was way too cold for us.
My favorite part of today, though, was after dinner. Phoebe, Heather, and I were cleaning up and Phoebe had sent the girls up for their baths. Heather and I stepped out onto the back patio to look at the mountains, and commented to Phoebe on how beautiful the light was on the mountains as the sun set. Phoebe then proceeded to call the girls down before they could start their bath, and herded us all into the car. We then drove very quickly up into the mountains before it got dark. It was so beautiful! We could see very clearly where the fires had moved along the mountains, and even up to the roads. It was sad.