Cute Kids!

After having no kids to play with for so long I decided that this week I would spend as much time in the daycare as possible. So on Monday morning as soon as we arrived I headed over to see what the kids were up to. I arrived just as they were starting their English lesson. They were learning the letter K. There are about 30 children in one room ranging in age from about 5-13 (I’m never sure if the kids are telling me their real age, or if they really even know it). The older kids were working on writing the letter K and the word king, while the younger children practiced tracing the letter in their workbooks. The room was quite chaotic and I’m not sure all the kids know the letter K now, but eventually everyone turned in their books and it was time to go outside and play! I enjoy outside time a lot, my favorite game is playing football (soccer) while giving a piggy back ride. I’ve missed being able to workout, so I figure this makes up for it a little bit. After outside time was up it was back inside for another lesson, maths! Again the little guys worked on one thing, writing or tracing the number 8, while the big guys worked on subtraction. In all the madness they somehow are able to accomplish something. It’s quite impressive. After maths finished it was time for the kids to have lunch, so I headed across to the hospice to rejoin Nancy and Tricia and have some nshima (pronounced shima, I think I’ve been spelling it wrong for a while now) and then trek back to Chachacha.

We decided to make a trip to Arcades after quick showers. It’s always an adventure bargaining and then riding the mini buses. Very unlike taking the COTA or other mass transportation in the states. After a short trip up Great East road packed into the bus like sardines we headed over to do a little shopping and check out the movie options. We decided to just grab some groceries and head back home for the night.

Tuesday the morning went pretty much the same way, except instead of starting with English the kids had science in the morning. Their teacher gift was telling them about malaria. He was advising them on the three ways one can avoid contracting malaria. The first one he taught them in English: “sleep under a mosquito net” the next two I was unable to make out because I’m pretty sure he was telling them in Nanja (one of the local languages). They were all instructed to draw mosquito nets in their little books and color them green. Not a lot of room for creativity, but what are you going to do? The kids then had a quick snack of tea and bread and headed outside for some fun running around.

When the kids went back in Tim arrived and it was time for rounds. Tricia and Nancy presented the few patients that needed to see him and then he headed out. We enjoyed another lunch of nshima and then a hoppin going away party put on by Dominique and Antoine. There was some fantastic cake and even more fantastic Zambian dancing. A good time was had and then we headed back to Chachacha so we could make it over to the pizza place for Terrific Tuesday, buy one get one free night! We had a nice dinner and then spent the evening relaxing at home.