...It's too late to be up
As of now, the children are back at school (again, their home) and
classes are set to start in about a week. This year we welcome our
first Form IV class, our Form III students having done well last year.
With some students moving up in Forms, HOCET Secondary School also
received new Form I students, including three children from our City
Center (in addition to new children brand new to the HOCET family).
Teachers are preparing their plans and construction continues
full-steam including the new kitchen, multi-purpose room (which will
serve also as the Meals Hall for now) and an additional classroom. The
eldest children are currently helping with construction by painting
and supplying water for cement and even Hezekia and our headmaster are
painting all the new walls.
The weather had cooled just a little, tiny bit as rain made it way
down perhaps once a week in the morning but it seems the respite was to be short-lived as it's been hotter than ever the last couple of days. It was the wind blowing the clouds around that really provided the relief though; as nice as rain is, I'd give anything for the breeze to come back...
This morning I watched Sesame Street in Kiswalhili with the watoto; it was wonderful. Although some segments were obviously dubbed, there really were original skits and original characters. I knew Sesame Street did this but it was something to see here in Tanzania. The kids really were into it; they seemed to know just about every segment, every song. The theme of the show was "Over, Under, Through and Around". I think I only remember "through", "katika". Even some of the older kids couldn't help but smile while watching the program. I didn't snap photos or video of this but it's one of those things I think I'll remember for quite a while. This particular show was brought by the letter B.
That's all for now. I may be leaving for school tomorrow for a few days to work with the founder who's there guiding construction and take some photos of new buildings, new students, etc. It depends somewhat on the outcome of a meeting with a doctor (not for me); I'll fill in a bit about this later.
For now, usiku njema!
~A
