Our students playing water polo for the first time in ISM's pool. ISM, the same International School that hosted us for Track & Field last month (more later on that), also invited us yesterday for an afternoon of swimming/water polo in the shallow end, ultimate frisbee and dodgeball. All 30 of our students selected to go had perma-grins. Water polo in the shallow end was the perfect way to reduce real fears amongst our students of water and of swimming. It's like football in the water, their teachers explained. Yes, just like football....only a little different.
Angelo and I, the fearless Social Workers, not afraid to jump in the pool too.
Kalolo playing dodgeball, a new game for him.
Shawna, the coordinator at ISM, and I, relieved that the first of four events went swimmingly. We hope to come once a quarter for activities like this, to use their facilities until we can build our own over the next several years.
Our accomplished teachers, boasting their certificates after our recent Teacher Training over September break. Elimu oyay! Thanks Dr. Marty.
Peace House students at their very first Track & Field event. It was a momentous day. Lots of students placed in the top three for their event, kids who had never done the high jump before in their life, for example, won the high jump, and many of our students who were viscerally afraid to sign up, performed really well and I hope, felt accomplished. They certainly deserved to.
Peace House runner Haikeli who ended up winning her age group in her race, the 1500 meter. I was most proud of her this day. I could almost drink the ounzes of self-esteem she gained that day, that moment.
Leaving for the big adventure in my car...which, if you've been reading my previous blogs, turned quickly into misadventure :(. Hunter and brother Peter are sporting their best first-day-of-school expressions. Turns out they had reason to be apprehensive!
Hunter, sitting in my "salon" on my porch,after his best haircut yet. Thanks to Anne for the professional haircutting kit. My salon business is out the roof now. Kudos nyingi to Pamela Levine, fellow PCV haircutter extraordinaire, who really taught me everything I know today in regards to the art of cutting hair. And it is an art.
Hunter always complains that I post too many embarassing pictures of him on my blog. I don't know what he's talking about. Anyway, these are his latest spider bites. Yes, you can say it: GROSS. Welcome to Africa living. You never know what's inside the mosquito net as you sleep.
Hunter and my co-worker from last year, Boniface, teaming up for a mean match of 3-legged race at a Rotary event last month. Peter Luis, wherever you are, that shirt is brilliant! Thanks again for your solid consulting. Keep up the good work.
One thing I'm most thankful for is our great friends and nextdoor neighbors' successful adoption of this precious one, Zara Grace. Radiant she is. Zac is here saving her body outline for posterity with street chalk. How she's grown already...
I'll close w/ a fun pic from our Christmas day. One of our neighborhood guys came over that morning to ask Hunter to help him tie his tie for Christmas service. I guess he doesn't wear them much :) More hilarious is his pilot-style shirt. Lots of pilots live around us as we're very close to the Arusha domestic airport. I'm sure that's how he landed [pun intended] this sweet one
