Too much humidity....

The other day I looked in my smaller luggage for something, I think it was my other pair of sandals.  Anyways, I quickly realized something as very wrong.  I had 3 pairs of shoes/sandals just stored in my small luggage, just to keep them out of my way.

So I pulled out my white flip flops and they seemed a little dusty.  I thought that was strange, because they were inside the luggage and zipped up.  Then I took out my black sneakers and they were polka-dotted green.  I very quickly realized they had grown mold! Ewww.

Then, I pulled out my other sandals, which are Birks, so they have a leather sole.....and they were absolutely disgusting.  The soles are covered in mold.

Someone has lent me some shoe shampoo.  I will try it out today.  I'm not sure how it will turn out.  Apparently the humidity during the rainy season will do that.  Especially if you haven't worn your shoes for a while.

The only good part of this story is, I had a science class the next day and we just so happened to be learning about microorganisms including mold....so I brought in a shoe and we made a wet prep and looked at it under the microscope.

Here's what my shoes looked like when I pulled them out.

Half term Feb. 4-5, 2013

Hello all,

This Monday and Tuesday was our first half-term of the term.  It went pretty well. The weather was perfect on Monday, but Tuesday started with rain in the morning.

We had a lot of fun.  The day starts with free time at the playground and the kids all get some candies, then we head down to the river for swimming and more playground time.  Here's some pictures of some kids playing.

Then we had lunch at the river.  Nshima is always a treat for the kids.  Not so much for me, I skip the nshima and get rice instead.  For dessert we had guava, mango, and bananas. Here's some pictures of the food.

And we rinse our dishes in the river:

Tuesday was rainy in the morning so I think the kids just played in the dorm. Some were rollerblading in the hall.  Then I played soccer-baseball with the senior kids (Grade 5-9).  It was good fun.

In the evening after supper the ids watch a movie for about 1 hour.  They've been loving the new Tom & Jerry episodes we have. It's also funny to watch them watch it :)

Well that's all for now.  Cya!

School: Term 1, Jan. 2013

Happy Groundhog Day everyone! It's technically Feb. 2 here in Zambia, but not yet in Canada. So I'm waiting to check the news about the groundhog. I need to know what I'm coming back to!

Mylon and I have been keeping very busy this term. It's been very fun and I can't believe it's already February. Where did January go? Time goes by so fast here at Sakeji. Only about two months left and the term will be over.

This term I've been busy teaching grade 8-9 science classes. It's quite fun. We've been learning about cells, all the parts of the cells, and functions and all that jazz. It's fun to teach. The kids are so smart! We've been doing a lot of experiments too. The microscopes and scales ore so ancient, it's kind of funny. They still work for our purposes though!

I'm also doing a bit of work with the Grade 1's. They are just starting to learn how to read. So I've been teaching them syllables and sounds. They are so cute. They have the cutest giggles! I will definitely miss them when I leave.

I'm also doing a computer class with the grade 2's, reading groups with grade 2-3 and 4-5, phys.ed with grades 7-8, and after school games, crafts, piano lessons, swimming lessons and Sunday school lessons. This must be why time goes by so fast. I'm nice and busy!

Mylon is also teaching a lot more classes this term. He has picked up Grades 8-9 History. He's made up his own course on the 20^th century. The kids seem to really enjoy it and are really doing well. And obviously he loves it too. He also teaches Grade 3 computers, Social Studies with grades 2-3 and 4-5, and a few phys.ed classes.

Last week for Social Studies with grades 4-5 Mylon and a local worker from Sakeji went on a field trip. To learn about the agriculture in Zambia . So they went to a pineapple field. The women gardening and the local worker showed the kids (and Mylon) how to plant pineapples and they also picked fresh pineapples and cut them up and ate it. Mylon said it was the most amazing pineapple he's ever had. The locals claim to have the best pineapple in the world. I believe it, because it's by far the best pineapple I've ever had.

They also went to a casava field. The woman also showed them how this was planted and grown. It's quite interesting. And hard work it seems. Casava is used to make nshima, which is a Zambia staple. (You get it with your meals at KFC). It's like grey dough-y stuff they eat with different relishes. It's pretty weird, but it sometimes tastes o.k.

So from the casava plant, they use the roots. They cut off the root and soak it in the river for about 4 days, let it dry, then they mash it all up and soak it some more x2, then it's ready to make nshima with.

So here are some pictures of the field trip. It looked very interesting but I couldn't go because I had another class. But Mylon brought home 3 pineapples to share with me. Yummy!