Skip to main content

"Anything you can't control is teaching you how to let go" - Jackson Kiddard

This week I feel like I made some progress in moving forward at school.  I think I have finally made peace with most of the things that are beyond my control and I'm feeling better about how to deal with these things.  I also had some forward motion on two projects--"lunchtime literacy" and a reading incentive program.  Based on the literacy assessments that I did with our grade 2 students, I've identified a cohort of students who are far below grade level.  So starting this coming week, I'm going to have intensive lunchtime interventions to try to close that gap a little.  The students will still get 30 minutes for lunch, which is more than enough time for them to eat and have a little play break.  The reading program is all planned out, but not quite ready to launch (things beyond my control). 

 
Creole month is coming to a close, and it does so with big celebration.  We had Creole snacks on Wednesday and a full day celebration on Friday at school.  Today (Sunday) I went with my principal (with me in the photo) to a celebration in a nearby community and the one held at our gap (this is where the road into our village meets the main road).   They reminded me a lot of a block party--folks set up with food and drink and music playing.   In the photo the upper right has some darker colored things that are "jams"--very sweet and very delicious.  The lighter thing at the top is "tablet coco" which is coconut, sugar, spices--also very sweet and delicious.  The lighter thing at the bottom is pemee, a sweet cornmeal with spices and fruits that gets steamed (like a tamale).  The bottom left picture is a mixture of farine, sugar, and coconut.  It was also really delicious--you eat it with your fingers, and for kids that means that they basically stick their entire face into it.  So you can imagine the scene with kids running all over with faces covered with this white powder--LOL.  A note here, if I may.  A couple people have asked for photos from school on the blog.  I don't post photos from school here for two main reasons: 1) it feels really awkward for me to pull out a camera during school time; and 2) I don't have consent from any of the parents to post pictures of their children online.  In earlier posts where I had pictures from school parents had signed consent forms for pictures to be posted online.  

One last note in closing.  In the last few weeks, I've come to realize the emotional and mental cost of the work I've been doing.  I'm only 2 months into my service, which means that I have 22 months to go; I need to be able to sustain myself and my mental health.  I've made the decision to cut down my blog to every other week.  I thank you all for continuing to read about this journey, and I'll be back on 12 November!  💗💗

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"This wasn't a strange place; it was a new one" -Paulo Coehlo

 Thanks again to everyone who submitted questions.  A couple notes about this video: 1) my voice is a bit scratchy and crackly because there was burning happening when I recorded and the smoke messes with my voice 2) In some of the slides, it sounds like a teapot is whistling--my apologies that was the fan getting picked up by my headphones (its not too loud, I promise) 3) In the slide following my intro, I state that the "ministry of health" was involved when I meant to say "ministry of education" (the error is actually quite obvious, lol)
Post a Comment
Read more

"allow it to end with grace and an open mind for a new day" -Brendon Burchard

 Full quote:  It's official--my close of service (COS) date is July 5, 2025, which means I have less than 6 months left!  I know that a lot of volunteers talk about how hard it is to think about leaving and returning home.  I am definitely not one of these volunteers.  Don't misunderstand me--I am deeply thankful for this experience and I remain glad that I did this.  I have learned so much about so many things, including myself.   But simultaneously, I am feeling very, very ready to be done.  There are a multitude of reasons, most of which are best left unsaid in this forum.   I remain deeply commited to being present and finishing my projects.  There are still roadblocks beyond my control holding up a big part of the library project.  While I really want to see these pieces come to fruition, I've also made peace with the fact that they might not get done before I leave.  It's the reality of the situation and I've do...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Sometimes you gotta take a break from all the noise to appreciate the beauty of silence" -Robert Tew

We have made it (almost) to the end of term 1 at school.  Students finished exams last week and after exams instruction stops.  So for the last week and a half of the term, its a bit more of a free-for-all than usual at school as teachers are trying to do their grading and the kids are left mostly to their own devices.  I was hoping to use this time to make some big leaps forward on my library projects, but there's been another bump in the road--and that's a whole story that I'm not going to get into right now.  What I am going to get into is saying goodbye for a few weeks.  I'll be back here sometime early in the new year.  I'm going to be traveling to WI for most of break (as many leave days as I could spare).  My plan is to relax, sleep with a blanket (!), run in the cold, cook, bake, eat, and drink.  I need this trip to be a chill one, so I'm just hanging with family.  To all my WI friends--I miss you and will visit you when I return to t...
Post a Comment
Read more