7:45am: Jump a bus to the Peace Corps office to retrieve the mural drawing.
8:00am-8:30am: Wait for bus outside office. This time of morning every bus is full and I'm not one to sit on the conductors lap. I've seen it happen.
9:00am- Arrive at school to see students running rampant (schools starts at 8:30) and no teachers in sight.
9:05am: Locate teachers in staff room huddled around a cake.
10:00-12:00: Young Authors assembly. The students have been preparing stories to present at the exhibition for weeks. Getting 1st graders to write more than "My pet's name is Blackie" is hard to do. So 5 minutes before exhibition, I am quickly filling in the gaps in children's handwriting. Hey...don't judge, it worked! After hearing 25 students read their stories in front of the entire school, I was glad it was over.
12:00-1:00: Students chaotically leave the assembly hall with chairs on head (as pictured), eager to eat lunch, as am I. Thankfully I managed to inhale some trail mix before students started hanging on me. I love this part of the day, but man was I hungry. I got to watch some students play dodgeball and cricket until a hear a student wailing in pain. I go to investigate and find one of my students finger had been smashed in the door. It was missing the top knuckle, not something my First Aid training could handle. Off she went to the hospital with three teachers.
1:15: Realize my counterpart teacher had left with Raziel to the hospital and I now have 20 students to myself. Uh oh. Here we go...
1:30: Manage to get 20 students teeth brushed with their new kits. This is their favorite part of the day, so I couldn't say no. Watching little kids brush their teeth is HILARIOUS. I successfully had all their pearly whites clean with only one student eating toothpaste. SUCCESS!
1:45: No lesson plan in tow you ask? Of course not. Plan B? COLOR!!!! Thanks to the bestest friend Tressa, we had new Mickey Mouse coloring books to tear in to. The way to a 1st graders heart...coloring, cutting and gluing. By the end of coloring session we had successfully broken two pair of scissors, one student had green crayon on her white uniform shirt, two students were fighting over glue which ended up on the floor, an attempted hair cutting and FINALLY new book covers, Mickey Mouse style!
2:30pm: "Please ring the bell, Please ring the bell, Please ring the bell!" RING RING RING RING RING! Thank sweet baby Jesus the bell rang. After a quick prayer they were out the door with new colored pictures and smiles on their faces. Now my day could start...
3:00pm: Run the last students off and begin painting our school mural with the help of Brice, another volunteer, (whose blog is here: www.briceandspice.blogspot.com) but not without watchful eyes through the windows.
3:00-5:15pm: Paint the coolest shipwreck and shark you have ever seen! Bam!
5:45pm: Walk in the door and collapse in bed. But not for long, I have food to make for the new volunteers official swearing in ceremony tomorrow. Twice baked potatoes in the oven and I finally realize "I have only had a handful of trail mix today." I shall settle for cheese and tomatoes, I'm to tired to cook.
9:00pm: FINALLY laying in bed, thinking to myself "I wouldn't want to be anywhere but here." And its only Tuesday.
I love my life!!!!!
