teacher! teacher! wqesfyuhugikjgf

Is the above a typo? Or maybe I fell asleep on my keyboard as I typed and forgot to delete it from the title? Nope. This is kinda what it sounds like when my boys start talking to me. They still don't quite get that I'm not fluent in kinyarwanda, let alone understand enough to know what they're saying. They'll just walk right up to me and start sayin' stuff in kinyarwanda and then point some and then wait for my response, which is more or less an awkward silence as I shrug my shoulders and say: "simbiyumva ikinyarwanda (I don't understand kinyarwanda)." But then they'll KEEP talking to me in kinyarwanda. Silly kids. It reminds me of Finding Nemo where Squirt is giving Marlin and Dory a rundown of their exit route--- "Look, you're really cute and all, but I don't understand anything you're saying!" Yeah, my boys are cute, but I don't understand anything they're saying. Praise the Lord for translators.

Buuut, you aren't reading this blog because of my language woes. You might be wondering what a typical day is like with these little guys. Well, lemme tell ya, days with them are a hoot; there's never a dull moment and I'm never quite sure what's coming at me every day. I go into the day with some sort of plan, but within a matter of minutes it's disintegrated.

They come in to where I work (there are a couple classrooms next to my office) in the mornings and we'll have class until noon. I've been working with the lower grades, so we've being going over things like letters, numbers, shapes, colors, etc. They'll eat lunch at noon and then come back to class until 2-3 in the afternoon. After lunch we'll normally work on English and play a game of sorts (they're rather fond of musical chairs and Simon Says haha). After lunch I'll also read a Bible story to them, talk them through it, and have them ask questions.

After class is over I take care of their medical issues i.e. their cuts, bruises, gaping wounds, and infections. I swear I'm going to leave Rwanda as a medical professional. You wouldn't BELIEVE some of the stuff that these kids come in with. I've been an athlete my whole life and have had my fair share of bruises and gaping wounds, but the stuff that these kids have make ME nauseous.

As I said before, every day is a different day and there is never a dull moment. I teach the lessons that we don't think twice about, such as the importance of not stealing, not lying, and not fighting. Then there are the classroom rules that I have to establish here that would never be a rule in a classroom in the US. For instance, this morning I walk into class where the boys are waiting for me. One runs up with a water bottle full of GRASSHOPPERS. Now, mind you, these things are bright green and are about as long as your finger. I had one fly into my face this past week when closing my curtains at home, so, naturally, when I saw a water bottle full of creepiness, I screamed and about ran out of the classroom. Of course, the boys thought it was hysterical, so everyone started pulling grasshoppers out of their POCKETS. I screamed again and tried to get the boys to throw them outside. That's when my translator explained to me that they had caught them so they could eat them later (no joke). It was quite the predicament; do I make the boys throw away their food or do I suck it up and let them keep them? It's Africa, so I made it a rule that the grasshoppers that are to be eaten later MUST be kept in their pockets, NOT in their hands during class, and AWAY from my face at all times. And water bottles full of grasshoppers must be kept on the opposite side of the room. Save it for snack time, boys.