Moses studying in the hammock and Lydia reading on the porch of the schoolhouse.
This is an active volcano that happens to be in the DRC. You can see it smoking!
I thought this lily was beautiful. There are so many here. Makes me want to watch the movie Lillies of the Field. (Sidney Poitier is the coolest.)
Today was a rather eventful day. I channeled my Italian sister and headed to our local Italian restaurant with the other teachers and some visitors. These visitors are two ladies from Texas who have been here for the past two weeks working with some Rwandans on English reading skills. They have been so wonderful. Whenever Ms. Diane greets me, she says, "How are you doing, sweet girl?" It is such a kind a familiar greeting that feels like home in words. Lunch consisted of homemade noodles and homemade sausage involved, and it was delightful. You may be wondering why we have an Italian restaurant. It just so happens, that there is an Italian man here and he started it. One can even get gelato there, so write that down as the best thing on a hot day.
My massive plate of pasta and bolonagese sause covered in a top layer of cheese was followed by a jaunt through the market with the visitors so that they could pick up some last minute pieces of cloth to take home. I wish I had had my camera so that I could show you what the rows and rows of bright fabrics stacked four or five rows high. The colors are the most vibrant you have ever seen. The fabrics themselves often have many geometric shapes all fitting into one another. Some fabrics have everyday items in their patterns, like the ones with high heels, toothpaste tubes, or windmills. I know those don't sound like they could be beautiful, but between the colors and the ways that the items seem to swim across the fabric make them pure works of art. It seems like the stalls of fabric last for miles, but I'm sure that they just all start to blur together and you lose yourself in the middle.
I was walking to the schoolhouse this afternoon, and this group of Rwandan kids saw me from about a block off. One of the little boys flung his arms open wide and started to run straight at me. I thought he was going to ask me for something, but I knelt down all the same and threw my arms wide open hoping for the best. This little boy ran straight into my arms and gave me a massive hug. And once you give one hug, you have to give a lot more, so they all ran up to me in turn to get a hug. It was great.
The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent back at the schoolhouse where we had a fall festival with the kids and families. One of the moms made caramel and there were cut up apples. There were fall cookies to decorate as well as pigs in a blanket, deviled eggs, samosas, and wassel (don't worry, I'm eating just fine here). I played some games with the kids. One of my favorites is Giants, Wizards, Elves, which is like life-size Rock, Paper, Scissors as a team game. It's amazing. Then there was a fire and some marshmallow roasting, and now we are home watching The Sword and the Stone before bed. Really, the perfect way to end the day.
If you have any questions, please send them to me or through my parents to me because it may help me have something more to write about.
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