Life is still rollin good on day 68!

Good evening everybody! Here's a short update of our adventures.

This past Friday was the annual running marathon at St. Peter Claver School. It’s more like a race around the block in 35-degree heat, but 'running marathon' sounds better. This event was a lot less chaotic than the bike race, although children were still collapsing at the finish line. Most of the kids were running in bare feet, and the pavement was very hot that day. I couldn’t imagine doing that myself. Katie, Melissa, and I were the judges as usual, and things went pretty smoothly.
Saturday was my teacher’s birthday, so Friday night she had us for dinner to celebrate. We had a traditional East Indian dish that was very good, and her birthday cake was a Belizean traditional black cake. It’s not nearly as sweet as the other birthday cakes we’re used to having down here.
Saturday morning we got up bright and early to go out to the set of The Enemy God. Some of the makeup crew came and found us last Tuesday night to ask if we would be able to come out and give them a hand. They were feeling very short staffed apparently. It was a neat experience, but after leaving, I was rather happy that I chose to pursue education instead of drama. The actual process of filming is not nearly as glamorous as it looks onscreen, and they call it drama for a reason…..because there’s lots of it between cast and crew! It was a really neat experience, and we’re very lucky to have gotten the chance to participate in some of the ‘behind the scenes’ action. I especially enjoyed learning some new tricks! The film is about "Shake", who is a powerful shaman of the Yanomamö people. His desire is to use his power to heal and protect his people. Tracing his life and the life of his community over 40 years of their history, Shake tells how he and his people grapple with new ideas that come from the outside world and the challenging decisions they make in order to maintain their identity and survive as a people. We'll be looking for the finished product!
Saturday night we went to a football game (soccer) under the lights, and we spent the rest of our weekend swimming, relaxing, and doing a bit of work too. 9 weeks down, 5 to go! (Here are some more pictures below, and an update on my professional development project.)

This little girl was used as an extra in the film. Katie and I got her all ready to go. She was pretty shy.

Oh the joys of having so many little creatures. This little 'friend' was found in our bathroom the morning before we went on set. Luckily, it was the first we've seen, and hopefully the last.

This was another little creature that was just chillin outside of our favorite local restaurant.

Professional Development Update:

So far things are going very well with the project. My teacher was just telling me yesterday, how she’s noticed a big difference in the kids’ English since I’ve been there. Besides all of the reading, she says that it helps that I do not speak Creole, because the kids are forced to speak English to me all the time.
The reading program is going well, although not as many students are participating as I would like. I am hoping that I can change that this week. The picture to the right is of the reading chart that I have made and put up in the class. Each child is encouraged to read at least 15 minutes per night. Their parents are supposed to sign a sheet indicating the amount of time spent reading. This was a challenge in itself, since some of the parents cannot read and write themselves. The chart helped to motivate the kids more because they get to measure their progress. Each box that gets colored in is equal to 75 minutes of reading (15 per night for a week). I have been approached by a few parents who have told me that the reading program is really working for their child. Apparently that’s all that some of my kids want to do now. I can tell that their writing is improving as well.
In addition to the program, I began a novel study with my class a couple weeks ago. We are studying the classic, Charlotte’s Web. The kids really enjoy the book, and their comprehension seems to be improving. I have found a script version of Charlotte’s Web, so I am hoping that we can perform it as a reader’s theatre piece once we are finished the book. For art each week we have been making a costume piece for the characters in the book. Last week we made spider ‘caps’ to represent Charlotte. The kids who play each role will get to wear the appropriate piece that they have made. The picture to the left is a little dark, but the kids are wearing their spider caps in it. They loved the activity! As many of you probably know, Charlotte’s Web has now been made into a video, and it is available at one of the stores here, so I am hoping to show it to my kids.
The picture to the right is of my class holding a thank you sign intended for the school who donated the books to us, and the company who financed the shipping. I hope to send them a copy of this picture.