Busy Busy Week

     What a hectic week it has been! The play is over and it went off without a hitch. For each performance I spent an hour and a half painting the grade one's animal faces. It was fun to have a little production line with all of the Mums that came to help. Wednesday's performance was for all the Granny's in Grahamstown and then Thursday we did the play for the whole Kingswood junior school, and Friday we did one performance for other schools in the area, and then Friday night all the parents came. Four performances for children grades one through three is pretty impressive!



One of the Leopard's. He was all about his cool teeth I painted.



     My job during the play was to sit back stage and turn on the Christmas tree lights after the Green Gang defeated the nasty Grey Gang-it was a pretty big responibility.

   

Me and some of the Green Gang: Rain Forest, Con Servation,
Rene Wable, and Oz Ozone Friendly



Everyone in their costumes and makeup

    After the play on Friday evening, April, Leah, and I headed to the Wyvern with Debbie, one of my cooperating teachers. The Wyvern is similar to a country club where parents, staff, and alumni come for dinner and drinks. It was quite unusual to see parents and staff members watching a cricket game and enjoying a drink at the same time!

    On Saturday, Cheryl (Leah's cooperating teacher) fetched us at a quarter past nine and dropped us off at Kenton on Sea (about a forty minute drive from Grahamstwon) so we could spend a few hours at the beach while she visited her parents. The beach was amazing! While I was looking out at the landscape and turqouise water I just kept thinking to myself that I am looking out at the Indian Ocean and I am in South Africa-Ahhhhhhhh!! Though the scenery was a lot different than in Michigan, April and I both agreed that we are vey fortunate to live in a state with such beautiful beaches. We stopped in Port Alfred for lunch and some shopping at a very nice outdoor/indoor mall. The restaurant we went to was called The Big Apple and all the things on the menu were places in New York, so we felt right at home! After lunch we went into Woolworths which is a department store that also has groceries! Both Port Alfred and Kenton were beautiful places that I would love to see again!

Kenton on Sea!

   Today Leah and I went to chapel at ten for a Remembrance Day Service, which is like our Veterans Day. It was a nice service and all the students looked so smart (cute/nice) in their uniform blazers. When we got home Grandma mentioned that her and Jean were going to see a friends house that she is building out of mud! At two we all piled into the car and drove over to Lusanne's house for tea. What a cool house! Lusanne has been working on this house for five years and it is made out of cob which is a mixture of clay, sand, and straw. It sits on a hill with an amazing view! The house is no where near completed, but Lusanne is living there with no running water and just a little stove and refridgerator- by herself with three dogs. She decided to use an alternative building material because something like brick would just look silly with that kind of landscape-which is pretty logical and admirable.

The beautiful view that makes you want to sing
"The hills are alive with the Sound of Music"

   Tomorrow April and I are teaching my grade three students a lesson on 'respect' due to some pretty sad circumstances that happened on Friday that has to do with inclusion as well as bullying. I am looking forward to co-teaching a lesson with April and I am praying that this lesson will hit home for students and that there will be some major attitude changes among these students!

Thank you for following!

Cheers