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Kindergarten Grace

So this is really a grandparent post.  For those of you who are not Grace’s grandparents, forgive me.  But since I also make this blog into a memory book each year, I want this stuff recorded. 

So if you really are not interested in the details of Grace’s kindergarten year, then please go back to your previous activities.  🙂

One more week of school left….and my sweetie will be a first grader.  She has had such a great year! 

 

Grace had the teacher on the far right until Christmas, and then HOPAC’s regular kindergarten teacher (who had been on maternity leave) took over for the rest of the year.  Both were fantastic, dedicated, talented teachers.

Outside the kindergarten classroom

 

One of the things I love about HOPAC’s elementary school is that each class puts on three assemblies each year….full of singing and dancing and presenting.  I remember when I was teaching at HOPAC, I thought, You’ve got to be kidding…you want me to do what each term?  But I got the hang of it and loved doing asemblies with my class.  So it was so much fun to see Grace do assemblies this year.  One of the major advantages is that the kids get so used to performing that they have no stage fright by the time they get to the upper grades.

 

Grace was a break-dancer in this assembly….oh yes, she was! 

Assembly #2 

Grace and three of her best friends, wearing their “outside” hats.  All elementary students are required to wear hats outdoors.  I think this idea came from Australia.  Who knows?  We are an international school! 

The day our puppies visited kindergarten……

The day the fire truck visited kindergarten…..

 Grace with her kindergarten teacher for the second half of the year, on Sports Day.  This teacher is British, which means Grace comes home with all kinds of expressions like, How sensible!  and Well done!  and I put a full stop on the end of my sentence! 

I love it (full stop).   

 When I was little, Sports Day was my worst day of the year.  I would cry every time.  I would be last in everything. 

Not this sweetie.  She was running against the first graders, and was the only kindergarten girl to place in any of their races. 

 

Second Place in the 400 meter!

She’s reading and writing like crazy.  This story made me particularly happy because she did it at home, in her notebook, totally on her own.  I discovered it one day and am not even exactly sure when she did it.

Here is the translation, with fixed spelling, but everything else hers:

The Turtle and the Monkey

Once upon a time there was a mean monkey.  The monkey lived in the tree.  And a little turtle that lived in the
water.  The monkey be so mean to the
little turtle.  The turtle had an
idea  he wanted challenge the monkey to a
race.  They raced.  The monkey was going so fast one of the
branches broke and the monkey fell in the water with an AAH and with a
splash.  Turtle was still swimming until
he saw the poor monkey.  He felt sorry
for the [monkey].   The monkey was
sad.  The monkey said he was sorry that
he had be mean to the turtle.  He
promised to never to be mean again. 

 The
End. 

aaaand….the illustration. 

But this is what made my whole year.

Yesterday was the Kindergarten Awards Ceremony, when each child in the class was presented with an award.  Grace received hers for “kindness and thoughtfulness towards others.”

Not much else I would rather her to receive an award for! 

Onwards to First Grade!

How To Buy a Car in Tanzania

Step 1:  Decide that you are tired of four children (our three plus Sam) plus backpacks plus other assorted children stuffing themselves into your mini-mini van.

2.  Decide that it’s time to upgrade to an actual mini van. 

3.  Contact middle man.  Tell him what kind of car you want.

4.  Middle man sends you lots of websites for car dealerships in Japan.

5.  Spend a couple weeks looking over all the cars on all the websites.

6.  Choose car.  Base a huge part of your decision on how much ground clearance the car gets. 

7.  Take a deep breath and wire the money to Japan, taking a leap of faith that this dealership actually exists, the car actually exists, that it runs, and that it will make it to Tanzania in one piece. 

8.  Wait a few weeks as car is shipped to Tanzania from Japan. 

9.  Wait for two months as middle man works to get the car cleared from port and registered in Tanzania.

10.  Get the call to come pick up car! 

11.  It’s a 1999 Toyota Noah.  Never heard of it?  Well then, you obviously don’t live in East Africa. Or Japan.  This is like the Odyssey of Dar es Salaam. 

 12.  Notice this sticker in the window.  Not really sure how to feel about it.

13.  When you pick it up, take the car immediately downtown.

14.  Get the darkest tinting possible on all the windows.  This is to prevent racial profiling by police, and prevent thieves from being tempted with what’s inside.

15.  Get alarm system installed.

16.  Get every light fixture, every piece of rubber, everything that could possibly be stolen off the car, bolted down. 

17.  Secure side view mirrors.  Get license plate number etched into every window and every light.  This also deters thieves. 

18.  Buy a fire extinguisher and reflective triangles, since every “random” (see #14) police check includes a request to see these two objects.  Mount the fire extinguisher onto the windshield so that you can just point to it every time you drive by a police officer. 

(I do, however, wonder what exactly I would ever do with such a fire extinguisher, should my car ever catch fire.  I think “run and duck” would be a better strategy in that situation.)

 

19.  Be very thankful for car!  Runs great!  Lots of room!  Great ground clearance!  Thank you, Japan! 

20.  Begin process of selling previous car.  A whole other adventure…….

It’s the Little Things

My life has become so much better now that I can buy these on a regular basis:

And these.  Especially these. 

Imported from Spain.  I love you, Spain. 

And since we have always had these in abundant supply, well, you can see what I am eating for lunch these days. 

The Kind of Day that Makes All the Other Days Worth It

Our Team

Tanzania has an amazing soccer stadium that was a gift from China.

(Or rather, I should say “gift,” since I’m sure there were a great deal of strings attached.)

Gil has taken students to games many times before, but this was my first time.  Tanzania vs. South Africa, Women’s teams.  South Africa won, 5-2. 

Afterwards, Gil was surprised I knew the score, because really, for me the afternoon was about the time I got to spend with these two ladies.  Lauren (on the right) and I have worked together at HOPAC for three years.  Alyssa and I, Lord willing, will be working together in the next season of our ministry. Both are with our mission and are here long term.  Both are kindred spirits.  Whenever we are together, we talk about what God is teaching us and the problems teenagers face and African politics and poverty.  Both have experienced one of the hardest years of their lives, and both are living testimonies of the goodness and sovereignty of God.  Truly, their friendships are one of the biggest blessings in my life. 

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