Sports

I think I mentioned before that we teachers are not allowed to teach the core subjects here in Kenya. It kind of left us with little to do other than play games with the kids. We have had a lot of fun doing that, and we have made some good friends among the student body.
But there is a sense that the other teachers look down on us. I think that they are very conscious of their position, and don't want to do anything that might take away any of their dignity, or allow the students some familiarity. There is a hierarchy among the teachers, and the higher the grade you teach the more people you can look down on. It reminds me of the way the Koreans order their society, in a way.
The teachers do have a lot of pressure on them to get through the curriculum. They are good at their jobs, from what I have seen. But they have exhibited some stand-offiishness when it comes to opening their classrooms to us. The only times we've been allowed to teach is with kids of grades 1 - 6 and no higher.
Another way they remind me of Koreans is the way they are all wrapped up in parkas all the time, like it's very, very cold. I've been told that May, June, and July are the coldest months here in Kenya, and it's even colder as high up as we are. I need to wear a light jacket at night to keep warm, and I'm glad of the extra blankets on my bed, but during the day I am fine in short-sleeved shirts. I would wear shorts if I could. It rained for a good long while yesterday, and it's been fairly humid, the past coupla days. It feels like what I expected Kenya to be like, hot and humid.
Yesterday, June 7th, was our last day to be involved with the school as teachers. I substituted for a first grade teacher, and then joined the others to put on a "fun day" of games, face painting, and crafts. It was a lot of work to prepare, but I think it paid off for the most part. I think most of the kids had a good time. The high school kids were very stand-offish, and not willing to participate in the games at all. They thought sack races, three-legged races, and games of that sort were too childish. The high school teachers, continuing their nose-in-the-air attitude, were absolutely no help at all. Leighton and Kelvin were so exasperated, they gave up and walked away from the games field.
Throughout our time here, we have taken the opportunity to play sports with whatever kids show up at the field about 4:00 in the afternoon. It has developed that we usually play frisbee soccer with the high school girls while the boys play regular soccer. The boys look down on frisbee soccer as beneath their great athletic prowess.
Well, we have done what we could to bring some enjoyment here, and have tried to maintain a positive attitude. Sometimes people respond, and sometimes they don't. Their problem.
During the fun day, I was doing the face painting. It was the first time I had ever done it, and it was too big a task, There were just too many students for me and another teacher to take care of. Eventually, some of the kindi teachers took over and set up a kind of assembly line where one teacher would paint one thing and send the kid down the line.
And a lot of our stuff went missing by the end of the day. The craft materials, stickers, the face paints, they all got... um... appropriated for the school's own use at a later date or ended up in the kids' dorms or something. The director was upset about it, but he understood it. These kids have had so little for so long, they can't resist the opportunity to help themselves when things like that come along.
We also served lunch to the kids. They get a cup of juice and a plate of food which is usually rice, beans, and maybe some meat and green vegetables if they're lucky. It's an assembly line kind of serving, and the tables get fairly messy as lunch goes along. I noticed some students eating with their hands. Other students get spoons from their teacher, which they have to hand back. otherwise they go missing. That having so little thing again.
But that was our last official day at the school. Saturday is turning out to be a day of rest combined with pre-packing so as to make sure there's enough room for everything. I think I'm doing pretty good. At least it looks like it'll all fit, anyway.
Sunday will be a day of worship both at the school and at a place called the "Happy Church." The pastor, whose name is Masharia, was the one who took us to the seniors fellowship last week. he was wearing this gold and purple jacket. I'd never seen anything like it, and I'm hoping he'll wear it tomorrow so I can get a picture.
And then Monday it's off to the Masai Mara game park for our safari. We are all super stoked and looking forward to it. I'll be sure to let you know all about it, if I don't get eaten by a lion.