Sport's Day

Our school had a Sport's Day event today.  It was held at our city stadium downtown.   Each student was assigned to a team called either the green, blue, red or yellow house.  The houses all represented a Historic location in our State.  I was in the green house.  Each grade level had one event and there were also running races for staff and parents.  I was the judge's assistant for the green house so I stood at the finish line to write down who finished first, second and third for each competition.  It was a good thing there were several of us assisting because we occasionally had a difference of opinion.  I find it amazing how worked up some people get with competition.  People were yelling so loud and getting so angry.  I made the comment that the students were watching us and I wondered if we were being the best role models for them.  We had students from age 2 to 16 in the dance competition.  The nursery kids did not have a race but all the others did.  Our school invited other schools to come and they competed in one relay race and we had a prize for them.  Before the day got started there were some athletes using the track.  They were amazing runners.  I wondered if any of them were Olympic athletes from Nigeria.

I was with the Green House Team.

The first competition among the houses was a dance routine.  It was a lot of fun learning how to do some of the traditional moves.  Our house didn't win but I know they really had their heart in it.

My class getting ready for the ball relay race.  They were divided up between the four house color teams.

The male teachers race.  Clint was in blue.  I think our teacher from Jamaica won.

The blue house team won the overall competition.

Individuals won medallions for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

We had some celebrities: Mickey, Minni and Pooh Bear.  Even with sunscreen my arms were sunburned.

100th Day of School

We celebrated our 100th day of school on Monday, February 18.  The 100th day was actually two days later but the Early Years coordinator wanted to do it first thing Monday morning.

This is my class getting ready to lead the Count to 100 by 1's song with the Pre-K, Pre-School and Nursery classes.  For every decade you do a different exercise move for each number as you say it.  I heard about this song from a kindergarten teacher I worked with in Barrow, AK.  I found a video to go with it on You-Tube.  My class begs me almost everyday to do it with them. My student in the pretty dress had a birthday that day so she was not in uniform.

The nursery students on the left are only 2 yrs old and they counted to 10 for us.  It was so cute.  After this we went back to our classroom.  We did some additional counting to 100 activities and then started our regular routine for the day.  It is so hard to find supplies for projects.  The kids had fun but I wish we could have done more of a variety of activities.  I would like to have sent them home with hats with 100 stickers and a certificate. 

100 Gum Balls

100 Cotton Balls

100 Foam Blocks

100 Rocks

100 Seeds

Remembering my Uncle Leslie

          This past week, my Dad lost one of his brothers.  Uncle Leslie had just celebrated his 89^th birthday.  A few days before his birthday he went to the hospital with pneumonia and a couple days after his birthday he was gone.  This was the first time he had ever been a patient at a hospital.  Not too many people can say that.  He was a strong man all his life from the hard work in the great outdoors.  Uncle Leslie received his degree from Washington State University and went to work for the Forest Service in Oregon. 

          I loved hearing all his stories about trees, fire fighting and living in a lookout at the top of a mountain.  My uncle was a kind and gentle, Christian man who would do anything for his family.  After retiring at an early age he did a lot of volunteer work and sang in several choirs.  Interestingly, he also really resembled my father.  I was told as a child I had mistaken him for my father on more than one occasion at a family gathering.

          Uncle Leslie had one daughter, my cousin Kathy.  Kathy and I are many years younger than the other cousins and most of our siblings.  We were both late arrivals to our families.  My Dad’s siblings made a point to get-together at least once a year for a reunion camping weekend.  We all spent the weekend playing in the water, looking at each other’s pictures and chatting until late in the evening.  I have such fond memories of those trips from the time I was a pre-schooler until after I had my own first child. 

          Uncle Leslie’s wife Phyllis always brought freshly baked pastries to the reunion.  I couldn’t wait until I got a chance to sneak over to their campsite to get a maple bar.  My mother made a good breakfast but oh how I loved Aunt Phyllis’s special homemade breads and treats.  My parents let me ride the bus from Portland, OR to Bend, OR one summer for a week-long visit with my cousin and her family.  I had so much fun learning how to make bread.  Aunt Phyllis made it look so easy.

          As a young adult I lived in Spokane, WA for a number of years.  My Uncle Leslie had moved his family there after he retired.  Since my own father was quite a distance away, Uncle Leslie came to my rescue a few times.  I will always remember his lesson on where to take your car for service.  He also helped me fix a few things in my first home.  I knew I could call him if I ever had a problem.  I wish I would have told him how much I appreciated his kindness.

          My heart is heavy being so far away as my family prepares to gather to celebrate my Uncle’s life.  I want to give my Dad, my Aunt Phyllis and my cousin Kathy a hug as well as several other family members.  I want to hear more about all the great things my Uncle did in his lifetime.  I know he was a great man and I loved him dearly.  It gives me great comfort knowing he was a man of God and he is now with our Heavenly Father.  Uncle Leslie has now reunited with his own Mom and Dad and the many members of our Christian family, including my brother Rick who are already in Heaven.  Until we meet again Uncle Leslie, I love you.  I cannot wait to see the beautiful forest lands I undoubtedly know God has put you in charge of.

God's Lessons

          Accepting this teaching job in Africa, not just Africa but Nigeria, Africa, took an act of faith and obedience to God.  I know in my heart God did not give me the opportunity to obtain my teaching certificate to just admire it.  He did not give me a teaching job where I make my home in Oregon because I still had lessons to learn. I am just like most people, I learn best under pressure when everything is not going perfectly.  When things are perfect I tend to sit back and get complacent.  I was and still am so honored to be teaching children in Africa but I have really been learning some stressful lessons. 

Many years ago while attending a church in Eastern Washington my husband and I sought marriage counseling with our pastor.  He had some training in psychology and asked us if we would be interested in finding out what our personality traits were.  It turns out we are quite the opposite but really we were not surprised.  Our pastor said I was a concrete sequential, a kind of type A personality.  I like to be in control of everything.  I am an organized planner and get things done in advance of deadlines, I prefer to do things in a specific order and I rarely consider thinking outside the box.  I lock onto themes and ways of doing things and have a hard time with change.  In some respects these character traits have served me well but in others they have not.

One of my biggest lessons God has been trying to teach me is to let go of my reigns and let him lead my path in all areas of my life.  I really get out of my comfort zone when I don’t have my future plans nailed down.  This could be anything from how I plan to make my next mortgage payment to how I plan to teach the next subject in my class and everything in between.  I am getting better at staying calm and being flexible but sometimes it feels like I accept changes like I need an act of Congress to do it.

This month marks the anniversary of when I learned I was not being retained for a third year in Barrow, AK.  I had received good evaluations and everything was going well in my classroom.  It made no sense to me and the HR director said they were not required to give a reason.  I had really settled in and was totally enjoying my adventurous life in the Arctic.  I had spent a large amount of money mailing my favorite teaching materials and personal comforts to this small village after getting retained for the second year and then suddenly I had nothing figured out for my future.  I cried so hard it hurt.  I was completely broken hearted and disillusioned about teaching.  My fellow coworkers were mystified by the school districts decision but they all assured me I was a good teacher.  God didn’t answer my prayer quickly but instead waited until I was nearly at the brink of despair before he told me I could stay in teaching and where I was headed next. 

At this same time I had been saving money for a large upcoming medical bill.  Someone in my family needs an uncovered surgery next summer.  I had to use most of what I had saved already by the time I left for Africa.  I was angry God had allowed me to lose the best paying job I have ever had.  I made more alone than Clint and I have ever made together in a year.  Why was this job taken away from me at what appeared to be no fault of my own when I so desperately needed the large income?  God knew I was ready to accept any job by the 1^st of August.  He knows me so well.  It is a kind of romantic notion to teach in Africa but it also meant I would lose my sense of security.  Clint and I took large pay cuts to come here but God knew it would be okay because we would be able to still put money aside in our savings for the upcoming medical bill.  Living in a Third World country does not usually lend itself to places to spend money.  We are living a pretty simple life here so our income for the most part can be sent home to Oregon.  So what appeared at first as an overwhelming fear of how I could save thousands of dollars ended up not being as big of a problem as I had previously thought.  Little by little we are getting there barring no further big financial burdens.  Of course this is when when God decided to test my faith again.  First the gas fireplace which heats my house in Oregon where my son lives broke down, and then the truck my son drives needed new brakes, then my husband lost a front tooth and then got seriously sick all in the month of January.  But God unexpectedly blessed us with a good tax return to replace some of this and got us back on track for this summer.  I just needed another lesson on trusting in the Lord.

God is also working on my ability to be flexible in my classroom.  At the beginning of the year, I discovered we had no construction paper or really any art supplies at all available to use in my classroom beyond white paper and crayons.  I could not print all the fabulous colored documents I had created over the years to use for my classroom management and teaching aids.  I was lucky to print in black and white and I just learned once the toner cartridge runs out there is not a new one to replace it.  My department in Early Years is the only one left with a working printer right now.  The copy machine broke down this week and I was told there was no plan for fixing it right away.  I could not even make the copies I needed for our curriculum.  Next week is the 100^th day of school so some of what I had planned to do had to be scrapped.

I continually have a mouse problem in my classroom now.  The photocopies I had of the songs I sing all year were eaten and the corners of my big books for science and social studies were chewed off as well.  Will our story books be next?  The generator at school broke down and we were able to get a borrowed replacement from the government because of the founder of our school; however, within a few days we were out of fuel and then we were told the battery was broken.  I didn’t think a generator had a battery but I accepted their answer.  The rains have started which means there are a lot of cloudy days now.  While I am enjoying the slightly cooler weather the light coming in from the window of my classroom is diminished.  When the power is out I can barely even see my student’s faces let alone read a story to them. 

These challenges don’t make me want to scream anymore but I do still feel my blood pressure elevate at times.  Overall, I am taking it one day at a time and accepting each change I need to make.  I was happy to give almost all good reports to parents at the parent/teacher conference this past week.  I had at least been successful at getting most of my class beyond the mid-year kindergarten benchmark.  I know the one little sweetheart will get there.  She needs to believe in herself first.  God made me her teacher for a reason.  I know I can help her and that makes all the daily challenges I personally face seem unimportant in comparison.  It will all work out if I let go and let God lead my path.

Medical Crisis

         Last weekend Clint started feeling sick.  He was having some intestinal distress and was overall not feeling well.  It progressed to severe constipation and then severe pain to the point he could not sit.  On Monday he went to the Unicem Hospital which is across the street.  Thankfully on January 1st he had received health coverage from our school.  We are so grateful God is in control of our lives because if this would have happened last fall I don't even know what we would have done.  He stayed at the hospital all day both on Monday and Tuesday and after working just a couple hours he went back to the hospital on Wednesday too.  The principal drove him to the hospital on Wednesday.  The doctor took blood, a urine sample and a stool sample after a lot of drugs to try and get things moving again.  He also put him on an antibiotic because after an attempt to do a physical exam it was determined he had an infection.  All this time he was not able to sleep because of the pain and discomfort trying to use the bathroom. 
          Thursday morning he dressed for work to try and go in for awhile again and on the way to the van he realized what he thought was sweat running down his pant legs was actually blood.  He went right over to the hospital again.  I had been going to work each day and checking in by cell phone with him.  At work on Thursday the principal and our school director pulled me out of class.  They were really concerned Clint was not getting the care he needed here in Nigeria and we should probably fly home.  The director drove me to the hospital and met with me, the doctor and the surgeon who was brought in to try and do another physical exam.  The surgeon said Clint had an abscess which had burst that morning passing the bloody discharge.  With the swelling he still was unable to really successfully exam Clint but he did put him on a stronger antibiotic.  He was able to take a swab culture of the infection to test to see if he was on the correct antibiotic.  The director and I sat outside of his room during the exam and we could hear him practically screaming during the exam.  When we went into Clint's room he was shaking uncontrollably and had a high fever.  We were pretty shook up and the director said she would look into flights.  By evening he looked better after getting the first dose of the stronger antibiotic so I took him home again.
          He slept a little better Thursday night and was not running a high fever Friday morning.   By Friday evening Clint was finally not running a fever at all and was able to sit more comfortably.  His energy level was still really low.  Today, Saturday, we were to hear the results of more of the tests but so far no call and it is now evening.  He was at the hospital for the antibiotic shot yesterday and today.  The last of his prescriptions run out today.  The doctor said he will still need a thorough exam of his colon and a colonoscopy to determine the cause of the abscess and to know if there are multiple ones.  Our employer is still pushing us to make a trip home and they will hold our jobs for us.  Although we have the funds to do so we just don't want to incur this expense if it was just an infection.  We are trying to decide if he can wait for the colonoscopy until we return home in June or if he should risk getting one done here.  We were warned the equipment is not as sterile and the doctors not as well trained. 
          We met with our principal this evening and Clint told him he thinks he can go back to work on Monday.  We told him we are waiting to hear from the doctor and at least get the thorough exam done early next week so he may need a half day off.   We are trusting God and waiting for his guidance on what to do next.  So for now we wait and give glory to God for getting us this far and for his blessing of health coverage for Clint.  I am so glad he is no longer in extreme pain and the worst may be behind him now.

The Hospital Menu

A Nigerian staple - favored rice but at least you know what that is.  Some of these things we have no idea what it is or it is nothing he would be willing to eat.

Oh yum, hospital food again.

The Market

You can purchase live goats or butchered goats both at the market.  This is in addition to the chickens and all kinds of seafood.  I wonder if he will put that goat in his trunk like the lady did with the live chicken I saw in December.  I don't feel comfortable eating the seafood here because of the dirty river water with the visible trash and oil drilling platforms. 

The man below is selling a butchered goat piece by piece.  The severed head is on the right side of the table unskinned.  I don't even want to know why it is still on the table.  Did you notice the pineapples for sale right next to the raw meat?  My camera did not capture the fly but they were everywhere. 

The man below is carrying the books he is selling all on his head.  In addition to the booths in the open air market there are also traveling peddlers for everything.  We even regularly see men carrying sewing machines in case someone needs something mended.  Knife sharpeners, snacks, watches, phone cards, peeled oranges, etc are just to name a few.

I haven't seen a vehicle here that has not been in some sort of crash.  I saw the bumper below in the market parking lot.  We have personally witnessed several accidents.  Even though the busy arterial thoroughfares have lane markings people drive on the lines, on the shoulder and the sidewalks.  A two lane road usually has three lanes of automobiles traveling on it.  They honk to let you know they are coming close rather than use blinkers.  There are no speed limit signs and everyone ignores the few traffic lights and even fewer stop signs.  We personally know of five people who have been killed since we arrived associated with our school.  I believe traffic accidents are the number one danger here.  We have been in so many near misses.  Most teachers refuse to sit in the front seat of the van.  It is just too stressful.  Our driver is amazing how he can weave in and out of close corners and thread a needle with the school van.  We thank him everyday for keeping us safe.  But even more importantly we thank God for watching over us.  This is a dangerous place but we know we are in His merciful hands.

Little fellow you can run but you cannot hide.  He likes to think we don't know he is behind the curtains.  We tolerate him but he is going to have to grow before he can hunt cockroaches.  This little gecko is only about two inches long.  His body is nearly transparent.  I watch for him with my eagle eyes so he doesn't startle me.

What A Long Day!

          On Thursday, January 31 my class was scheduled to perform at the weekly assembly.  I wore my new traditional Efik gown.  I received the fabric from Her Excellency and another mom of one of my students arranged to have the dress made for me.  I was so nervous that morning both about the performance and the dress.  I felt like Marie Antoinette in it.  I wasn’t sure how the dress would be perceived.  Would people think I looked ridiculous wearing an African style or would they feel honored that I wanted to wear it?  What I felt like was a bit of a princess which was appropriate.  This style became popular when Great Britain occupied this area around Calabar.  The Efik people here wanted to look like royalty.  You can read more about it by going to Calabar Attire

          When I arrived at school and entered my classroom I heard a strange sound.  It sounded like a rodent eating paper.  My teacher partner came in and had the same thought.  I went to get help and she went looking for it.  Students started arriving and so we asked them to sit on the tables.  I stayed out of the way as well and my teaching partner managed to scare it out of hiding but it simply ran behind a different bookcase.  Of course all my students saw it run and started screaming.  I was not too thrilled either.  I have one little bully who immediately capitalized on the situation and did his best to make things worse.  Thankfully, the assembly was at the start of the day so we did have somewhere to go.

          My students sang “Our World’s Family”.  It is a song I learned from a teacher in Barrow, AK.  The song teaches geography starting with your school, then city, state, country, continent and finally planet.  The last verse is about how we can all live in love and peace.  My principal really liked it.  I love using music to teach concepts.  I used Google maps to get a map for each part and printed them for the kids to hold up as we sang the song.  I made one mistake.  I had my student who is learning English hold the continent map.  When we started to sing about the country she must have been nervous and heard the /k/ sound and so she raised the continent map.  Some kids in the audience laughed.  I felt so bad.  I had hoped the kids were too busy worrying about what to sing next to hear the laughter but of course you know who heard it and said something back in our classroom.  Why do some kids delight in making others miserable?  He owed some recess time for that.

          The maintenance man said he took care of the rodent problem while we were gone.  During reading we heard the sound again.  It was oddly loud and I was so surprised it didn’t appear to be afraid of us being in the room.  I took the students outside for a writing lesson and my teaching partner found the maintenance guy again.  Thankfully we went to lunch right after that so it all worked out for us to be out of the classroom again for an extended period of time.  This time when we returned everything was away from the walls and a mess.  I think he must have had a chase on his hands.  I still doubt he caught it even though he said he did because the next morning two rodents were on a sticky pad in the nursery.  He had put down one in each classroom.  I was very glad to see ours was empty. 

          When we walked to lunch we walked past the outdoor play equipment for the older grades.  We usually don’t see kids out there during this time of day.  I noticed there were no adults. It was one of the 1^st grade classes.  I asked where their teacher was.  They told me the specialist teacher left them there.  I had my teaching partner take our kids to lunch and I stayed with the 1^st graders.  After 5 minutes I asked them all to sit in a row on the ground.  One of them said he had gone to the snack shack.  This is our school store.  I walked over to it and there he was.  He said he was giving them a break.  I said it looks to me like you took the break and it is not acceptable to leave students unattended.  I was so angry I could hardly speak.  I saw the class’s substitute teacher coming to get the class so I was able to return to my own students.  There is no way he could see them from where he was sitting inside the snack shack.   It was probably 50 yards from the playground.  Teachers need to be trusted to always keep students safe.  If he had gotten right up and come out I would have let it go but he actually gave me an attitude about it and didn’t move so I reported the incident to our principal.  As a parent I know I would be really concerned if I knew a teacher was doing this. 

          All day I received compliments on my dress.  People said I looked beautiful and I was described as the pale African.  I had several people taking photos of me.  It was kind of fun.  The dress was not as hot to wear as I thought it might be.  It was lined but was made with all cotton and because it was not really fitted tight it felt pretty cool and billowy.  It was interesting trying to sit on the carpet in it.  My lesson plans for math was to do some attribute sorting with shapes.  I needed to get down onto the floor to show them first by example.

          After school it was shopping day.  Clint was not feeling well so he stayed home.  I went in the van with the others.  I had to pick up a pair of shoes Clint had left at the cobbler in the open air market.  I was with him when he dropped them off for repair.  The man recognized me right off.  It is so funny everyone does because we are so unique being white.  Anyway, he asked for double the price he had told Clint.  I said no I was pretty sure it was half that.  He tried to tell me it was not.  I said I will come back with my husband another day.  He chased me and said he would take the money I had brought.  I feel bad but we just cannot give charity to everyone.  I know there are so many people in need here but we already pay the higher white price for everything and so I am not about to get swindled for more.  I feel a lot better about giving my donation to the orphanage where I know it will be used to benefit children.

          The teachers in the van shopping with me were both originally from the Caribbean.   We were talking about what we had to do for all the end of the quarter stuff.  I am under the Early Years director but they are both secondary teachers.  I was required to turn in all my stuff early and was given a new list of things to work on during our work day at school the next day without students.  It was then that I said the worst thing I have ever said in my life.  I still cannot believe it came out of my mouth.  I was profoundly sorry and just sick about it.  I actually said, “My slave driver . . .” As soon as I said it I apologized for my poor choice of words.  Words however cannot be taken back once they are said.  Here I was in a van with a black Nigerian driver and two male black expat teachers and I said that.  I haven’t used that phrase more than a few times in my life but it never hit me until that crushing moment when I used it what it really meant and why it should never be used.  I kept talking after my apology to get my real point across but it never left my consciousness and I doubt it did theirs either.  I was trying to avoid the awkwardness of the situation.  Both teachers smiled when I said it and I knew they knew what a grave mistake it was but they gave me grace I sure didn’t deserve.  I couldn’t wait to get home.  I just wanted to crawl in a hole because I was so ashamed of myself.