School scramble...

 Well, the first week at a new school is history for the children. I now realize no matter what country we live in or what time they need to leave for school it's always that last minute scramble to get everything together and everyone out the door. Since they used to leave the house at 7:15 and now they don't need to leave till 8:15, I thought school mornings should be a breeze. Not so. They were all a bundle of nerves that first day and along with that comes tense irritable children. I sure hope no one was watching us too closely on our walk to school as they would have wondered what for family moved in! Carter was so not impressed to be forced to take a pink water bottle. He was sure everyone's gonna make fun of him. On the walk to school he said "Even the cars are making fun of me! They're all staring at me!" After we got to school I was talking to a teacher about it and she remarked that around here color is not a big deal. Boy's carry pink back packs all the time. After I told Carter he visibly relaxed and started smiling again. They have about a 10 minute walk to school. So far I've been walking with them to school as the road is busier in the mornings. On my first morning back I swung in at the post office. One of the business administrator's responsibilities is to get all the mail for this location and distribute it. After I came out of the post office I headed up a long steep hill, which is mostly of what Grenada consists of. I'm convinced if I could iron it out it would be 5 times as big. But anyway, back to my big hill...I trudged upward getting hotter by the second. A few men were standing out at a house and I greeted them with the customary Grenadian greeting, "G' morning!" Around here it's not, "Hello", it's either, "G'morning, g'aftanoon or g'night", depending on the time of day. But anyway, back to my big hill...I steadily plodded up it but after surveying the scenery I was convinced I was headed up the wrong hill. There was a pile of junk in one yard that looked very unfamiliar. After a few more unfamiliar sights I headed back down again only to be stopped a few feet later by a some people in a vehicle. "Pray for me! Pray for me!", the guy in the passenger seat yelled. A women, that I assumed to be his mother, yelled out, "Yes! Pray for him! His name is Theda and he has a very evil wife! Yes, a very evil wife!" ( I sorta had a feeling she may have been a jealous mother-in-law) After assuring him I'll pray for him I continued my downward trend. Again, I greeted the men with a "G'mornin!" I was almost back to the post office when I realized that I had indeed not taken the wrong road but in our haste to get to school in the morning I must have missed a large part of the scenery. I don't know if there is anything like direction dyslexia but if it is, I am sure I am afflicted with it. It's not so bad when you can just turn your vehicle around but when you have to manually rewalk your route it is much more annoying. So, with no other options, I turned around and headed up the hill. Again. And this time I pretended I didn't see the men standing in their yard. And vainly hoped they thought it was a different white women trudging up the hill with sweat dripping from her brow...

                                          Of course, we have to get pictures on the first day!

                                                Carter and his despised pink water bottle!

                                                       On and on we walk together....

                                               Meeting their classmates for the first time

                             Having chapel before class. Kaylah's sitting beside her teacher, Mr. Moses

                                           Carter's teacher is in the foreground, Miss Eberly

                            Kaylah's temporary classroom till the school's addition is finished

                              Kaylah is in a class with 5 boys. I would say she is having the
                              hardest time adjusting.  There are not many girls here her age
                                                         and she really misses her friends.
                
                                   Fourth grade is taught by the same teacher and there are
                            a few girls in that class so I'm thankful she at least has them.

     

                      Christi coloring a picture for a resident in the nursing home we sang at

                            Getting ready to leave to sing at a nursing home last Sunday afternoon

 Carter taking a snooze on the way to the nursing home. I can't believe he fell asleep with all the bumps & turns in the road! Mark Brubaker from Canada is beside him. He is here for a few weeks to help out. Chris had served with him in Texas so he was glad to see him again!

                                                 Christi and Celina getting crazy together

    Having worked at a nursing home in the States it is always interesting to me to see other homes.     This one was not quite as modern as the nursing home I worked in but was neat and clean.

                                                        Kaylah and a very sweet girl Nya.