Day 88.....Last day being 22

Let me just say that today was a fantastic day! My kids were great, the weather was perfect, I got cards in the mail from my parents and grandparents, an early birthday email, and the funnest package I've ever gotten from my special little friend Andrea Hehr. Thanks Hehrball! It made my day and it was so fun to open! Tomorrow is technically my birthday but like I said to my mom, if tomorrow is a bust, I might just pretend that it was today:)

So I realized that I missed some very important events at St. Peter Claver in my last entry. Here's a little update:

Burning of the Hands:

Since St. Peter Claver is a Catholic school, we have a school mass every month, and because this month is during lent, they did things a little bit different than usual. For this month’s mass, all of the students were required to make two drawings of their hands. In their left hand, they were supposed to write 5 of their sins that they wanted to repent for. In their right hand, they were to write down 5 things that they were going to work on to be better people. During the mass, they collected everyone’s left hands, and then as a group we went outside and we burned all of the sinful hands. The picture to the right is of this ceremony taking place. It was actually a very neat visual for the kids and I think they recognized its worth.

Food Fair:

On the same morning as the mass, the town was having a food fair. At the fair, there were a bunch of booths set up that had a variety of different cultural foods that you could taste and buy. It was about a 15 minute walk from the school, and the fair itself was quite busy so I was worried about losing some of my kids as their behaviour is pretty unpredictable. However, they were really good and we had a great time. We even found a couple pigs that my kids were eager to name. Right away they yelled, ‘Miss! It’s Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web!’ Unfortunately I regretted asking what we should name the other pig. We all had quite a laugh when one of the kids said, how about Miss Trisha? Oh how I love the things that come out of children’s mouths. So we spent quite a bit of time with Wilbur and Miss Trisha, and the kids were heartbroken when we couldn’t keep him as a class pet. I think papier-mâché pigs will be next on the art list.

Scouts Initiation Ceremony:

Our school has just recently started a scouts program. It’s a really great extracurricular group because they teach good values and it gives the kids something to belong to. Boredom is a problem in Belize. They need more programs for kids, and our school does a pretty good job of offering a number of after school activities. Our scout group was fortunate enough to be welcomed into the World Scouts Organization. Our school had a big ceremony that the Governor General of Belize attended. It was a long and hot ceremony, and my class was getting pretty antsy after watching for over an hour, but it was nice for these kids to receive some recognition for their efforts. Katie, Melissa, and I were actually invited to have lunch with the Governor General, which was considered a big honour. This little scout to the right is in my class, and he was the youngest boy involved in the ceremony. He felt pretty special that day.

There are lots of things going on this week, as it is the last week before our Easter break. We are having a ‘Miss Sport’ competition on Wednesday, as well as a sports day on Thursday. Report cards go out on Friday, and it sounds as though the parents are allowed to come into our classrooms throughout the day to discuss their child’s progress. This is an area that I feel a little bit nervous about. I have not had enough practice working with the parents of this community, so we’ll see how things go. I will try to put a blog entry up on Friday, but if I don’t get a chance, I guess I’ll have to update you in a couple weeks. Melissa, Katie, Katie’s friend Steph, and I are off to Guatemala for our two-week break. Have a Happy Easter!

~Dear God, for my birthday, can you please keep the cockroaches and scorpions away~