What a great day this has been for me and the St. Lucy school. I first met up with the teachers. I was so happy to see everyone. Froweine screamed when she saw me. I was swarmed by the children. We were all so happy to see each other. All of them wanted to kiss me and hug me. I have forgotten how rewarding it is to be surrounded by these children. The teachers, I couldn’t have been happier to see them again. Safia, all of the children and teachers send their love to you and miss you.
After morning ceremonies, Froweine and I, holding hands, walked to her classroom. I walked right in, the students stood up and greeted me with a big “Good morning teacher Celine.” “Good Morning class, how are you?” “We are fine thank you.” Then we burst into song, singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. The children remembered all of it. I was impressed.
After lunch I went to see some of the teachers before their break was over. I can’t get enough of these teachers. I walked with Gebrejohannes to his class and we also sang “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” It was pretty funny because his classroom is now in the kitchen. St. Lucy’s demolished his room because they are building a new addition to the school. Needless to say, you can only imagine what it is like to see almost 60 students crammed into a kitchen. I think this man is a saint.
As I walked out from his class I could hear one of the other 3rd grade teacher’s class singing “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” I walked across the courtyard and when I walked into the classroom the children screamed a big welcome. I mean they screamed. We sang “Head and Shoulders” followed by “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” I bet all of you at home are thinking these might be silly songs, but it is a great accomplishment for these children to sing these songs with good English and pronunciation. The English is especially difficult for them to speak and it takes a lot of work to formulate the words, let alone sing them in a song. The children are very proud they learned these songs and they just love to sing.
Sr. Reggie and I worked on our program for the English/Music classes I will teach. I spent my evening writing lesson plans for tomorrow’s classes.
At 4:30, I got to hear the flute students. This is the former 6th grade A group I taught last year. Surprisingly they have not gone much further than when I left them but their counting is excellent and all played with a good sound. Posture still needed some corrections and I worked with their hand position for the pitch C. I could see that several played with some tension so I spent time with them working on breath intake, control of the air and their support. I gave them their first assignment for next week’s class. Thank you to all the donators, the students can practice without having to be seen everyday. Each student in today’s class can take a flute and practice it all week long with out any worries of disrupting the next class. Thank you so much. They really appreciate the donations.
Tonight after supper I walked out into the courtyard to look at the star riddled sky and the half moon. The moon is so bright here that is lights up the entire courtyard. Stars as far as the naked eye can see. It’s breathtaking to sit down and just look. I always gaze too long and end up with a kink in my neck.
I’m anxious to begin tomorrow. I can’t wait to see the teachers and start working with the children. This time around I also get to teach music to the kindergarten. I feel so lucky with all that I’m doing, I can’t tell you. Being here to me is a blessing.
I must go, I’m very tired tonight. I think my jetlag has caught up with me and I’m calming down from all the excitement. I can’t wait to share more with you tomorrow so stay posted.
Love to all,
Celine
P.S. Safia, I really miss you. I miss our nightly chats. Promise me you will never skip a trip like this again.
Also, I keep forgetting to tell you that Sr. Mary has a new puppy. His name is Jackie and he is two months old. This dog is the cutest thing. He is a white fluffy ball. He is very mischievous and is always getting out, making Sr. Mary have to chase him down. While they are in Chapel, Jackie howls super loud so that he can get fed. He seems to think that if he hears Sr. Mary then she can come out and feed him. It is so funny. I will try to get a picture for you. But currently my flash card is not downloading to my computer.
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