Thank you!

This is what happened to me today, and it made me so grateful for everyone who has supported and shown me so much love in the past 13 months! I spent the past 5 weeks as a trainer for the new group of education volunteers in Kampala and making final arrangements for Camp Kuseka with my awesome co-directors in Fort Portal; making me a perpetual busy lady and I loved every minute of it. These past 5 weeks were rejuvenating, inspiring, and encouraging. I felt like such a boss with my iphone in one hand, emailing and my Ugandan burner phone to my ear, organizing, all while modeling how to teach literacy and mentoring the n00bz. It also meant that I spent A LOT of time with westerners. This means resorting back to familiar customs and culture, not having to change my accent and speak another language, and most importantly, not being the token white person in my village and all the stress that goes with that. Today, however, was the first time away from all the excitement and familiar interactions. I’m back in the village, back in Butiiti, back to just me and the Ugandan clergy I live with (whom welcomed me back with lots of love). It’s always strange to leave a place where you blend in to enter a place where you so clearly stick out. For me, making the adjustment leaves me with a feeling of isolation/loneliness. For better or worse I am now used to this after 13 months here, so I planned my day to distract myself from feeling ‘alone’. This is how it went. Luckily, I needed to clean my room. I’m sure you can imagine what a pigsty it looked like with 5 weeks of dust, spider webs, and gecko poop about. So I did that first thing in the morning (we’re talking 7am folks). Between [hand] washing my clothes, sweeping, dusting, then moping all while singing Christmas songs, I managed to distract myself until 2pm. Phew, half the day behind me! Continuing with my plan of distraction I walked to the local trading center to pick up some food for the next few days. It’s important to note that I will be back in town (Fort Portal) on Monday for camp meetings and to begin celebrating Christmas. I just have to make it through the weekend. I was really craving an avocado sandwich, but of course there were no avocados at the three shops I have to choose from. Plan B; simple tomato sauce and spaghetti (thanks Mom!). In case you were wondering I also bought a pineapple and some bananas. Aright, so I’m cutting up and sautéing garlic, onions, and tomatoes with a bay leaf and oregano. Loneliness is the farthest thing from my head; I got my Italian comfort food! After my late afternoon lunch it just felt right to lounge and watch a movie. Heck, the electricity is on, I might as well use up some battery life! Then it hits me, an hour into the movie I feel this blanket of loneliness cover my body and stay there until the end of the movie. goddamnit, I was doing so well! This impenetrable blanket then triggered my anxiety of “Night time is approaching, it’s gonna be a long one if I don’t deal with this. Oh my goodness, where the heck is the closest volunteer… gahhhh, everyone is away. One comes back tmrw, but can I make it through the night? What would I even do if there was someone close… I’m not about to walk 3k to then get on a crowded taxi to get to them. I’d call another PCV but I don’t want them to get worried. I don’t even know what I’d say to them… ‘Hey, it’s Rachel, I’m alone in a village. Oh you are too, right.’ PCMO? Just start crying? Take a bunch of melatonin & hope for the best?” You get the picture. Post-downward spiral of irrational thoughts I remembered that I’ve had lonely times before; I got this! I text a few friends, brother bear included, and they respond back. I also received a lovely message from the True-Frost’s that made me so happy! Great, I’m now able to pull the loneliness-blanket down below my eyes, but I know this is only temporary. The sun is setting, and I have a Nat-Geo view of it from my front yard so I head outside with my kindle and chamomile tea. Didn’t even turn the kindle on and guess who just happens to call… none other than Best Mom Ever, Angela Ceruti. This woman has a sixth sense; she always knows when something (the good, the bad, and the ugly) is going on with me. I see her name pop up on my phone and that blanket is rapidly sliding away from my body. We actually only talk for a minute or so, bad connection, but it was catalyst to my 180. I return back to my original plan of distracting loneliness from my thoughts so I read for a while, then, my kindle dies. Curses! But I don’t lose hope… the strategy of combating loneliness with interactions is now my course of action! I call up Best Dad Ever, Joe Ceruti, and it’s like he knows to just shoot the shit with me; and honestly, that’s usually what I want to do when I talk to people back home. This guy is really good at just talk to me like I’ve only been away for a few days. I only bought 10 minutes of international calling but we could have filled the air with bullshit for much longer. (You should also know that I saw the coolest shooting star while on the phone too) I say goodbye to Joe, stare at the stars, take a huge inhale and exhale all feelings of loneliness. Now I’m here writing my first blog entry in 6 months because I wanted to share this experience with you all as a thank you! Although this is a very specific situation I just wanted to thank everyone for all of your support and love. Every email, Facebook comment, letter, donation, etc. really means so much to me, way more than you know. I cannot believe that I’ve been away from all of your for over a year. I attribute this year going by so quickly to your encouragement. I feel that my time here has gone by so quickly and smoothly because I have you all as such a solid foundation back home! I don’t want to get all sappy but you know who you are and you should know that I’m super appreciative : ) Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! I get to spend some time with my bro & sis VERY soon and I’m SOOOOOO excited for that!

projects

Hey everyone!

 

 I happen to have super good interwebs right now so despite the lack of pictures I still wanted to do a post.  SO I decided to talk about the various projects that I'm working on right now.

 

 I have to admit I really hit the ground running with all of my projects because

1.     I’m no longer a n00b.  I’ve been here for 6+ month and I’m ready to do my thing! (actually a new peace corps group just came to Uganda a few days ago!)

2.     I just have so many ideas

3.     It’s time to start what I’ve came here to do!

Now I am a busy lady! (For the record I'm currently in the capital, Kampala, for two reasons 1. Training on Tuesday at headquarters (because I’m a VAC representative) 2. Meeting the Ugandan national girls lacrosse team because I was asked to be their coach [!?!?!])

 So let's get into this...

Primary project

 My primary project, the main reasons why I am here, is to be a literacy specialist.  Which include working with small groups of grade 4 pupils to improve their reading skills. Not only can the pupils not speak English but when they (barely) read they are just reciting words they have memorized.  (Example: if they see any word that begins with 'wa' they'll just say water) In my reading groups I've started teaching the pupils letter sounds, starting at the core so they can eventually decode words.  It's been going pretty well; I won' lie, it's challenging, but I see a lot of potential coming from this.

 I'm also working to implement alternatives to corporal punishment.  It is technically against the law but you would never know that if you visited my school.  Having said that I've got my work cut out for me to convince a bunch of teachers that have been canned and therefore are canning their pupils to stop and try something else. It’s a vicious cycle.  A lot of them aren't buying it.

Library

This project I'm SUPER excited about.  Uganda doesn't have a 'reading culture' which is mainly due to the lack of reading materials.  I never realized how I took the school library growing up for granted, not to mention library class in elementary school.  Probably about 1% of my school has held a book, and I don't even want to know how many of them HAVEN'T been to a library.  The average class size is 75 pupils at my school so it is out of the question to have a text book for each pupil.  When my school receives text books (which is rare) they come in sets of 10 : /.

 Having said that I've started a library project! I put together a committee of teachers, community members, a contracting company, and pupils to get a library at my school!

 We've had our initial meeting about 'Why a library', 'What is a library', and budgeting, which is where we’re currently at. There is a two-room-dilapidated building at my school which everyone thought would be a great library and study room space when renovated.  However, the contractor took a look at it and it's infested with termites to the point of no return.  So we decided that we would demolish the building and use some of its resources to build a new building!  So we're currently working through the budget, which at the moment is around $10,000.  I'm working with the head-teachers to bring that number down in any way possible. 

Peace Corps has grants for volunteers for things like this that are up to $10,000.  You're probably thinking, "That's great, it's just enough.  Why are you looking to bring the cost down?". The answer is that building the library is only half the battle, both financially and physically. Once the library room is built we need desks, chairs, shelves, cupboards, etc. built the stock.  & not to mention, we need books!! All the building and paying for books needs to be paid for.  Luckily, myself and a few other volunteers have looked into various book donation organizations and they're super cooperative (i.e. Books for Africa, The International Book Bank, etc.)!

So that's that, certainly a work in progress!

 

Girls Math Club

 I'm starting a math club for girls! As many of you know one of my majors was Math and it's something I really enjoy.  I truly believe in the magic of a good math teacher because I'm a product of some.  I've been EXTREMLY fortunate to have a handful of good math teachers that (especially) believed in me.  Without them I would have never discovered how AWESOME math could be, and what I could do with it!

Girls + Maths = Super Girls!!

That is a picture of my counterpart, Jacinta, and I & it says 'Girls Can Be As Good In Math As Boys'.

I'll be honest, I've never been too concerned with work-place-feminism because I believe the true female roles models are the ladies who are killing it at work and in their relationships, not the ones who are constantly fighting the man (literally).  Thanks to some amazing women before us we're able to make the choice for ourselves to be a stay at home mom, CEO, part-time employee, doctor, muscle builder, student, etc.  We're making our mark as proactive women and now there is no other place to go but up.  But here in Ugandan the women don't have the opportunity to be 'killing it a work' nor to make their own choices.  So my idea of equally isn't even possible for the future ladies of Uganda at my school. Therefore, as an American female, naturally, I'm making the choice to do something about it!

 Enter: my Girls Math Club for girls at my school and the neighboring teacher's college.

 One of my favorite jobs was being a math tutor at a local middle school [that my mother happen to also work at ; )].  I was working with students struggling in math to improve their basic skills.  An amazing, yet overlooked, method, for example, since you can't do algebra when you can't multiply.  My main goal was to invoke a fondness towards the subject.  This was easy for me to do because I am a math nerd and will always get excited when math is on the menu. So when I taught I built energy and passion into my lessons and without my students knowing it they were getting excited about math (What?! Yes, it's true). *Lead by example: "Miss Ceruti likes and enjoys math so it's possible that I could too.", said at least one of my students [I imagine ; )].

 I'm going to take the same concept to my math club.  If I model a GIRL, who LIKES, MATH I'm hoping these girls will think it is possible for them.  Then, like a cherry on top, I'm going to give them the encouragement they are seriously lacking. Girls + exciting math + encouragement - boys  = confidence to excel!

Okay, I could talk about math education all day, but I won't, so I'm going to sum this up:

 The pupils from my school and the students at the teachers college will meet once a week, separately.  At the meetings I’ll present the math curriculum (from the beginning) in a fun and entertaining way (games, puzzles, hands on activities, etc.).  Then, once a month both groups will get together giving the older ones an opportunity to practice new teaching methods, and the little ones a positive female role model to look up to.  BOOM

Girls Lacrosse Coach

Continuing my mission of Girl Power I’ve jumped into my secondary project:

I have been asked to be the Ugandan national girls lacrosse coach. Yup, you read that correctly, and I am PUMPED! In case you were unaware I dabbled in the game of lacrosse throughout middle and high school.  I played defense and I won’t lie, I wasn’t too bad. Yes, it’s true I stopped playing after junior year but that’s because of the stupid politics that went into SHS school sports.  As my dad would say, “It’s only a game.” (I wish more people had that mentality)

Let’s start from the beginning: Fields of Growth introduced lacrosse to Uganda is 2010.  http://fieldsofgrowthintl.org/  I met a volunteer that coaches the boys team, and he’s far more qualified than I.  He’s actually taking his whole team to America in a month to compete in the 2014 World Lacrosse Championships! They’re the first African team to enter. When I told him I used to play he mentioned the girls team is looking for a team. I figured this would be an awesome secondary project and asked him to get me in touch with the girls.  A few phone calls later and I’m on my way to Kampala to meet to meet the girls and have our first practice! They’re some great girls and they’re A LOT better than I thought they’d be. Fields of Growth is very excited about the girls team because it’s provides another option for girls to show Uganda what they’re made of and for them to play they only need a stick (they just brought a bunch of donated ones too!!).  I’m very excited to start this project.  Sorry, I don’t have more to tell because I just met with the girls yesterday.

 
Alrighty, hope all is well with everyone, enjoy the weekend : )

Actually found these pictures from a little picnic hike I went on with some friends near my village!
#TeamLeo xoxo

Team Leo!!

My friend Pamela & I.  Those are the Rwenzori's in the background

6 months completed!

So, I turned 24 a few weeks ago!! I'm super excited to spend this next year of my life in Africa!

 

Also, for the record I am having horrible internet troubles right now.  There are more picture but they're just not uploading : /

Rachel & I going out for my birthday!!

The month before my birthday we had school break.  The public schools in Uganda have 3 terms, which last about 3 months each, then a month in between terms for school break.

 The first week of school break was spent at a training near Kampala.  This was for all the volunteers that came with me in November an their Ugandan counterpart (the local teacher they work closest with).  The workshop focused on the work we will be doing for the next two years.  This includes but is not limited to implementing small reading groups, building/improving libraries, using alternatives to corporal punishment, and developing secondary projects.

My ccounterpart, Jacinta, accepting her certificate

 My counterpart is awesome! Her name is Jacinta, she is about a year older than me.  I'm super lucky because she's progressive, smart, and an all around cool chick!  She also has the most adorable little boy who just turned 1.  His name is Gabriel, but we call him Gabby and he's really warming up to me!  He and I kick the soccer ball around during school and he's taught me 'samba omipera' (kick the ball).

The next week myself and some friends went east to Jinja to see the source of the Nile River. We stayed at a cool place that look out on to the Nile, it was beautiful.  One of the days a few of us went kayaking on the river with a local guide, Abraham.  We started off paddling against the current, next, we went into a cool cave, then poured some drinks/opened some beers and lazily floated down the river back to the site.  (FYI there are not alligators in tis section of the Nile : /)

Our view

Getting into the kayaks

Us and Abrihim (note the cooler!)

After our little excursion on the Nile we continued more east and little north to Mbale.  This town is right next to Kenya near Mt. Elgon.. We met up with some other PCVs and basically chilled by the pool for a few days.

 Okay now you're probably wondering... "How did you get all this free time?  I remember you saying you only had a few days off a month!?!". My answer is loopholes!!! Before traveling to Jinja I stopped at a friends site and made instructional materials with her for her reading groups. While relaxing by the Nile I met with another member of VAC (Volunteer Action Committee) to discuss what we'd present at the upcoming meeting.  Then finally in Mable, well in Mable, I just utilized one of the 'free weekends' we get and, like I mentioned earlier, chilled ; ). (We are allowed two weekends a month to be away from our site, it's a nice luxury advocated for us by our country director!)

So after Mable school break is a little more than halfway finished.  Myself and my friend Rachel decided to go to Masaki to help clean out another volunteers science lab (loopholes baby!).
 A little background: 75 student in a classroom is considered small in Uganda. This makes buying books/materials/etc. for each student nearly impossible.  So when a school receives materials it's stored away in closets, shelves, head-teachers offices, because 1. There is not enough for all the students, thus planning a lesson around them is difficult 2. The teachers (especially with science equipment) don't know how to use the equipment 3. The teachers don't trust the students with the equipment.  These reasons are just more verification for a PCV to be at these schools. 1. We can train teachers to use whatever equipment they have despite their class size 2. We can train the teacher how to use them 3. We can develop initial lesson to teach the students about lab safety/how to use equipment/etc. to familiarize them with the equipment.
 Anywho, we spend about 4 hour going through two closets of some pretty awesome science equipment; of course we had to battle the infinite cockroaches, dead bats, gecko poop, and spider webs first!

Now, correct me if I'm wrong but I think that feat deserves a mini vacation!? (that's what we thought).  So us and a few other PCVs met at the islands in Lake Victoria.  Myself and 3 other girls traveled to the Sesse Islands via the WORST roadS I've ever been on.  Our trip to the islands sounds so glamorous but our actual trip was comically horrible.  We mockingly called our trip 'Sex in the City 3: Sesse Islands', identifying each of us as one of the main characters, me being Charlotte ; ), and made mocking jokes throughout this excursion. I'd also like to add that a few days before this I was violently ill, and my stomach wasn't performing at it's best.
 SO, the 4 of us crammed in the back of a little van meant for 7 but actually had 12 AND there was jerry-cans of gasoline in the back (we were off to a good start). In this car we drove an hour of the bumpiness road I've ever been on that lead to the CREEPIST dock I've ever seen; it didn't help that it had just stopped raining.  From there we waited for the ferry that would bring us to the island.  (surprisingly the ferry wasn't as shoddy as your probably picturing).  Once we got to the island all 12 of us got back in the van and got on another bumpy, curvy, swerve-y dirt road.  About 30 minutes into a young girl threw up, so that was nice.  A little while after that we had to stop for 20-30 minutes to wait for a rock to be blown up so we could pass. FINALLY, we got to the little town, Kagalangala, where our little resort was waiting!
 We stayed there for a few days (using the second and finally free weekend), lounging, canoeing around the island, and eating PB&Js (remember volunteer "salary").

 

On the way back to my site I stopped and met friends in Kampala and we went out for my birthday, having a lot of fun! I was able to enjoy a delicious burger, a whiskey sour, and a mimosa!!

Rachel and I, again before going out, again

So now I've been back at site for a few weeks, and I'm starting a lot of projects I'm excited about.  I've implemented a 'Teacher of the Week' to motivate my severely underpaid colleagues. I've also developed and implemented 'English Speaker of the Week' to encourage all the students to use English (that's the language they are assessed in, so knowing it is helpful). I've started my small reading groups, and more teacher trainings.  The project I'm most excited about is the building a library at my school!!  There is SO much going into this project so I'm just going to dedicate another post to that.  Be on the look out because this is going to be an awesome project and I might need your help!

The pupils excited to see who gets the award!

The recipients from each grade!

Calling out the names!

School



Some info about my school pulled from some of the reports I have to write.

St Augustine’s demonstration school in Butiti, Kyenjojo opened on Feb 1, 1905.  This was the same day that the ‘great teacher Pere Acte’, a missionary, died.  The St. Augustine was a teacher in North Africa.  The demonstration school is affiliated with St Augustine’s PTC and moved next door to the college on September 13, 1955.  This demonstration school was set up for four main reasons; the first two reasons ensuring the students at the PTC had a school to conduct demo lessons and carry out school practice at.  The other two reasons focused more on the families of the tutors.  St. Augustine’s provided a school for their children to learn and their wives to teach. The motto of the school is ‘Towards the Light’.  When St. Augustine’s moved to its current site in 1955 their total enrollment was 208 pupils; however, now the current enrollment is around 700 pupils.  The head teacher, who attended this school from p1-p7, has been trying to organize an alumni group from the school to generate funds in addition to other things, but says it has been difficult, thus it has yet to happen.  The main reason for this being that many pupils don’t make it out of the village.

The head teacher (principal) is Master Basiliza, and the deputy head teacher (vice principal) was Master George; unfortunately he was recently killed in a motorcycle accident.  There are 12 other teachers employed at this school.  All the teachers take on many other roles in addition to be a classroom teacher such as art teacher, teacher representative for PTA, and school practice liaison.

              The campus is on ‘Butiti Road’, next to the Primary Teachers College it’s associated with.  It has 5 buildings, one of which is dilapidated and deemed unsafe; therefore it is not being used, nor are pupils allowed to go in it.  There are 7 classrooms, one staff room that also acts as a library, one room is allocated to storage, and the head teacher has a small office. Students have their own latrines, as do the staff; however it was locked over the holiday and no one can find the key yet, so staff uses staff housing latrines which are right outside the campus. The school has a lot of agriculture, such as matooke, cassava, cabbage; but theft is a major issue as there is never any security at the school so they’ve never incurred profit or food from them despite them being created to generate more funds.  There are also two water sources, one relying on rain water.  Finally, there is no kitchen, and the students are fed sugarcane. #poor

Sugar cane lunch : /

St. Augustine's Buttiti Demonstration Primary School

One of the classroom blocks.

So now about me ; )

What’s your job at the school?

 At Buttiti Demo I am a ‘literacy specialist’ aka I develop the students reading and writing skills in English.  I work mostly with the P4 (4^th grade although the ages range from 9-14).  This is the first grade that instruction is in English, prior to P4 they use local language and English is a subject taught once a day.

So do you teach?

 Yes & no.  I teach ‘model’ lessons for the teachers to observe and learn from, I co-teach with the teachers, and I teach the teachers new methods, techniques, alternative punishment techniques, etc. through workshops, conferences, etc.

FOR EXAMPLE: The other day I held a ‘Encouraging Learners to Use English’ workshop in which I discussed what teachers can do in their classroom (i.e. a ‘word wall’) and what the school can do as a whole (i.e. “English Speaker of the Week” award).

Okay, how do you develop the pupils’ (primary students) English?

Great questions, which can really only be answered through examples.  I work with teachers to incorporate literacy into all of their lessons (science, math, ect). This includes develop vocabulary, reading, spelling, writing, in English.

I will also carry out one on one literacy instruction to 100 P4 pupils.  I just finished the pre-assessment so I will implement the actual instruction next term (ps. There are 127 pupil in my P4, and the room is about 25x40).

Co-teaching

Look at all the literacy in a math lesson!?

Is that all you do?

NOPE.  Despite the recent law banning corporal punishment I see/hear at least one pupil getting beat every day; it’s sickening. SO, I will work with the staff to develop alternatives to corporal punishment such as Positive Behavior Systems (positive reinforcement kinda stuff).

 Uganda is also one of the few countries who have seen an increase in HIV/AIDS cases so I will be promoting HIVAIDS awareness.  Many of these people in the village have never had Sex Ed, so myths about transmission, prevention, even treatment (there isn’t a cure) are passed down and unreal.  For example:  I also held a workshop about different ways to teach the pupils about HIV/AIDS transmission.  One myth that the teachers either believe or heard was: if an HIV+ person has sex with a virgin they’ll be cured . . . yikes.

 I also work to improve teaching techniques. To give you a quick example, the other day I brought up ‘brainstorming’ to the P2 teacher.  She had no idea what they was and when I explained what it was she was fascinated.  Ugandan education is VERY dated; the pupils just memorize what the teacher tells them.  There is actual very little teaching and learning. So teaching techniques such as brainstorming, ‘popcorn reading’ (when there are books available: /), and educational games are so new and interesting, not to mention much more effective.

 

Do you like it?

HECK YES!  My school (staff, pupils, and the few parents that care about their child’s education) and my community WANT me there. This is a huge reason why I’m loving life and will continue to. On my 1k walk to school I get stopped and thanked for my work all the time.  The staff is SO receptive and willing to try everything I throw their way.    Not to mention I love teaching!

But wait, do the pupils understand you?

  Another good question, again yes and no.  I learned the basics of the local language so I’m able to do a little instruction; a teacher is always with me when I’m instructing so they’ll translate.  HOWEVER, I am getting SO much better at the language from interacting with the pupils so in no time I won’t need a translator.

I don’t think I have any more questions but I think I might later… how do I ask?

Email me! I love emails from home, especially curious ones! rmceruti@gmail.com

 

Post HIV transmission workshop!

1 of the 100 assessments I did.

Thanks for reading : )

PS This past Friday after school I organized a futball match between my staff (The Nets) and the student teachers (The Mosquito Killers).  It's World Malaria Month and it's the #1 killer disease in Uganda so at the match I had Malaria awareness all around.  Let's just say it was DOPE!  That'll be my next post, look forward to that!

 



Mt. Sabinyo!

Hey everyone!

 Recently I've been hiking up mountains in Uganda.  It's great because I live in the west/south west region which contains the Rwenzori mountains, which are no more than an hour taxi ride away. This is a beautiful mountain range and I have gone up two different trails. 

 This post, however, is about a beast of a mountain I climbed, My. Sabinyo! This is located in the southwestern most area of Uganda; this when I was at the summit (the top) I was in 4 different countries, Uganda. Rwanda, and Congo! It was an intense hike with wild animals (hence the armed guard, to fire 'scare shots' to scare away buffalo and mountain gorillas), ladders the entire last part of the hike, and 3 peaks! We started at 8am, summitted at 1, then got back down at 5! A long, but amazing day.
Also the pictures uploaded out of order so work with me!

Staring our descent

Picture catch up!

Hi, again sorry for the incredible delay, internet in this 3rd world country is not reliable (who would have thought?)

Well, first things first:  I am finally at my 'site' where I will be for the next 2 years & I'm officially a Peace Corps Volunteer!!!!

I have pictures for the ceremony that I hope to post later this week (and include more info about my site)  but I have a bit of catching up to do.  To sum of up I finished up my time with my host family and I passed my language test!!
Below are some pictures from the end of homestay in Hoima.

Docus, me & Frank! My awesome neighbors at the top of the mountain

Walking down

Another climb up the mountain.  This time with Ravi and this stubborn cow.

Sunrise from the top!

Rhino trekking in Masindi. There are only a handful left in the world, we saw about 6!

There are some of them

Rachel, me &Sarah at a crater lake near Fort Portal

Rachel & Ravi cooking in his kitchen

Ravi & I went to the Mabale Tea factory, a few kilometers from where I live, with some of my colleagues.  It's really good tea : )

Bag o'tea

Mike at the first peak during our hike from Karagutu to Ntandi.  SO PRETTY

Ravi in the middle of our hike.

Me as we started our descent.

 

So that's that.  I finally got to town with my computer, which is now cracked : (, to upload this.

Soon I want to upload pictures from my swearing in ceremony.  Then I'll take some pictures of my house and the village I live in so ya'll can see where I live!

 

I've also started teaching and I really enjoy it.  I'm getting better with the language because that's how I communicate with my students! I'm also getting along very well with my colleagues and people in the community!  Still loving life : )

 

Peace & love xoxo