First week of volunteering

So overall this past week was pretty good. I started volunteering on Monday. This week I helped with the informal education program. There are two classes, called phase 1 and phase 2. Phase one is mostly kids who would normally be in first through third grade. Phase 2 is kids who would be in fourth through six grade or so. This makes the teaching difficult because within one class, many of the kids are at different levels. I spent most of my time with the Phase 1 class. The teacher asked me to teach an English lesson on Tuesday morning so I taught body parts and we played Simon Says. It was fun, but hard because a lot of the kids don't understand English well, especially the really little ones. Tuesday afternoon I went with the kids to play soccer, but I didn't actually play because I didn't know what was the plan so I was wearing sandals and a dress... hardly soccer clothes. They thought I should just play barefoot, but honestly the "field" they were playing was a little different than what I'm used to. I would have had a hard time WALKING across is barefoot, let alone playing soccer. Wednesday and Thursday I did more observing than teaching. I mostly have to speak to the kids in my broken Swahili because speaking English is not happening.

Overall, I am excited about working with Pandipieri. The only issues I have are the lack of communication and the seemingly disorganized ways. Things are just different here. Efficiency and speed are NOT part of the work environment. The pace and structure of American ways is nonexistent here and that is hard for me to adjust to. Two different times this week the teachers told me that we were taking the kids fishing in the afternoon. I was obviously excited about this and couldn't wait to go. Both times I would come back to the center after lunch and somehow the plans had changed and no one had thought to inform me... Just a bit frustrating. Oh well.... Next week I will be spending each day with a different health program so I'm really looking forward to that, even though it will be challenging to see people in the conditions they will be in... malnourished children, teenage mothers, HIV positive people who can't afford the ARV drugs, etc.

Still pretty hot every day but luckily it has been raining in the evening and cooling down at night. I wear SPF 50 sunscreen every day and I reapply like crazy and I still got burnt the other day. To get around, I pretty much try to take boda-bodas (bicycle taxis) as much as possible. I love them and it's definitely the cheapest means of transport. Not too much else to report... I was proposed to the other day which is always fun. Today is a national holiday so I'm excited for the three day weekend... yay!