Paz!

Peace Day was this month  and we decided to spend it with our best friend at site Sophia, her husband and beautiful daughter Xanazia. They treated so well and fed us amazing matapa. They were really happy we spent the holiday with them and I am glad we spent it with them. Also I learned how to make really good chicken and other fun recipes that day (BE READY MOM, so many recipes we are going to make) These two treat us like family and it's so nice to have a best friend like Sophia who really watches over us.

Sophia's husband,Xanazia,Sophia

All of us together

Xanazia with her father

This is by far my favorite month because we get to celebrate Dia dos Profesores (Teachers Day)! This falls on October 12th every year and my school is always excited and plans a big party to celebrate. Haleigh and I like to think we are so lucky that we have a wonderful school and director of the school. They all get along well and treat each other like family. Right now Haleigh and I are not allowed to leave site due to elections (don't worry there is no violence we are safe it is just a precaution). So our colleagues and director were concerned that we wouldn't be able to make it to teachers day. They decided to do the celebration local so we could also celebrate which was amazing. Not many volunteers can say they have friends like ours at school. We all celebrated in a really nice location with a pool! Yes a pool, which was perfect because it's been blazing hot! Except we didn't go into the pool we just stayed in the shade meanwhile all the other colleagues went swimming with their kids. It was like a huge family picnic and good food. The teacher that organized the whole teacher day event had a son the year before on this day and couldn't participate last year. Our colleagues did a sweet thing and bought a cake for his child and surprised him during the ceremony. I am telling you our school we aren't just colleagues we are family. It was really sweet of everyone to make sure the child had a little celebration. It was so much fun, I literally danced the night away and eat chicken off a stick. I actually even taught my colleague how to salsa…everyone was impressed. By far my favorite holiday and I have to say my site is by far the best place to live it's a PC dream site.

School is slowly coming to and end and it's really hard to keep the kids motivated. They were doing so well but third trimester, there seems to be a holiday every other week and with elections many professors are campaigning or sometimes students are to. So since professors don't show up the students don't either. It is actually really frustrating because too many students are missing school and missing the point on how important it is to go to school. So Haleigh and I like to say this trimester doesn't exist. Atleast our good kids show up even though it's 4 or 5.

My students are actually doing presentations right now about biology topics. It is quite interesting to see how many students don't know how to present because they have never done a presentation before. Yet some are so good at it you would think hey were the professor.      

So we hired a student a few months ago to help us cart water so she can make some money and wouldn't drop out of school. She hadn't showed up for a couple days and we weren't sure why. This girl is a great student, one of our friends, part of our juntos group, Never misses school, always on time for work, such a strong independent girl. We found out her father had passed away. We had found out by a couple of students from her class that went to go visit her at her home to pay their respects. All the students from her class all went to her home. This being the third time I've been to a funeral, no matter what if you were known in the community people will be at your doorstep. So much support and kindness from the whole community. This is a student's father and everyone from teachers to students all gather to pay their respects and be there for her. Something you would never see in the united states. Some of these students may not know her or the teachers may not either but everyone in the community doesn't think about it and drops what they are doing to go sit with her and be a support. My roommate and I sat in this hut with her for several minutes without saying a word and we knew she was grateful for the support. As I sat in the hut I thought some more in how back at home besides close relatives and family, would any American drop what they were doing like working, cleaning, anything just to sit for several minutes to support the person that just lost someone special in there life. Lifestyle may be different but it's the kindness of ones heart that makes a difference.  

Haleigh dancing with our colleagues 

It was a little boy's birthday that day too and with my colleagues everyone is family!

Sigaque(English teacher), Catique(neighbor), ME, Our director's Wife, Haleigh and the school secretary 

Me with some of our other Colleagues

Sigaque and me

Xinazia and Eva playing

Kids preforming 

Primary school teachers sang a song

My favorite kids! Xinazia, Gaelle, Eva, Panshe

Xinazia

Gaelle was dancing

Our teachers singing a song about teachers

The kids performing made me nervous

Sophia!

Our director Ped director and french teacher Elijah

Students holding up dia dos profesores  poster

More singing!

Kid cam

Best friends!

more kid cam

All of those that were wondering about elections this month, everything was peaceful! Exams are now going to start up and the school year is finishing up….crazy I am done with my first year of teaching.

Sadly this month we also had to say goodbye to one of our staff members who will be moved to a different province. We were sad but so happy that he received a promotion. We will miss you Osvaldo!

Some people that were campaigning for elections

Saying goodbye to Osvaldo

Central Volunteers and staff 

Last but not least the end of this month meant Haleigh was finally going back home….I was sad to see her packing up to go. I missed her despedida (goodbye party) this month because I became ill and had to go to the big city….good thing was I could at least still give her a big goodbye hug and send her on her way because she was going to be in the city as well.

to end on a happy note:

MY library is making progress kids love it!

I also have a great goodbye gift for haleigh! I worked with her English club kids and practice the Beatles song, here comes the sun, so they could sing it to her. hopefully the video works. This is them practicing.