Two weeks from now we will be on Canadian soil. It feels like time has flown since we’ve made the decision to come back for the birth of Zambino. We finally told the boys about our plans this past weekend. When asked what they are most looking forward to, tractor rides at the farm and going to “Old McDonald’s” topped the list (yep, it’s great parenting when a fast-food restaurant is a top priority, but I’ll be honest, I’m looking forward to it too!).

I have one week left of teaching and am trying my best to stay plugged in, despite being sick and not sleeping well these days. The boys are continuing to enjoy school and life on campus and I pray they will adapt well to Canadian life. Joel has been incredible taking on pretty much all the duties of domestic life and allowing me to rest as much as possible. We are grateful for my parents who are opening up their home to us for the summer. It’ll be nice to have a comfortable place to bring our baby home to while someone else is living in ours.

I’ll be honest, there’s a bit of dread with the thought of 33 hours of travel being almost 35 weeks pregnant with two kids. I don’t really sleep on planes and am often uncomfortable on the best of days.  We are hoping the boys will sleep on the long flight to London. Micah was the only one who managed any last time. Here’s our general itinerary for those interested…

June 10 – Say goodbye to MICS and travel to Livingstone with the Sanfilippo family, stay overnight
June 11 – Fly Livinsgstone to Johannesburg, overnight flight to London (6-hour layovers in each airport)
June 12 – London to Toronto

There are a few things we are looking for that will make our lives a little easier when we are back on Canadian soil. If you can help us out in any way, please get in touch…
1. A cellphone for Joel to borrow. We’d prefer he has a way to be connected to his wife that could go into labour at any point 🙂
2. A vehicle. We no longer own any vehicles and while we will sometimes be able to borrow from family, it would be nice to have or own to get around. If you are going away at all and will be leaving one at home that you don’t mind lending to us for any period of time, please let us know.

With one Facebook post I was able to get almost all of the baby items we need since we passed all of ours on to prepare to move. I’m thankful for the generosity of so many friends so we won’t have to lug too many things back across the world.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers as we finish up at MICS in the next week or so. This feels like home and while we are excited to return in a few months, we look forward to being back in our other home for awhile. And most importantly we can’t wait to meet our newest family member. See you soon Canada!

We had a great experience today connecting some students here in Zambia with a class in Canada. A friend back home who teaches grade four asked if his class could Skype with some of the students at MICS so they could learn more about life in Zambia. We chose three students who speak English well and who wouldn’t be too shy on the computer. They received the questions the day before and seemed excited about the opportunity. Being a totally new experience for them, they did a great job. Technology is a pretty amazing thing!

Life on this side of the world isn’t all about adventures, game drives and encounters with snakes. Ever wonder what keeps us busy on a daily basis? Here’s a small glimpse into my world…

Students at MICS are only taught in English (besides Tonga class) but virtually every student has another first language. It’s pretty much the perfect place for someone who specializes in ESL. Since we settled here in February I’ve had the chance to work with a small group of students who are struggling with their English language skills. I love my job. I hadn’t taught ESL since I went on maternity leave with the boys so getting back into it has felt like returning to my sweet spot.

I have three groups throughout the morning with students from grade two, three and four. There are so many students I could be working with but with my current energy levels and pregnancy it’s been a good place to start.

For two of my groups we do a variety of activities each day. We review days of the week and shapes. We talk about how we’re feeling while trying to avoid the word “fine” (their favourite response here!). We read books and poems and learn new vocabulary. We work on letter sounds and putting them together to make words. We work on writing proper sentences. We learn through playing games and having conversations.

I am working one-on-one with my two students in grade four, teaching them how to read. Although the progress felt slow at first, they are starting to make steps forward and it is incredibly rewarding. One of my students is in grade four but he is fifteen years old. That is not uncommon here as students are often placed by ability rather than age, repeating grades if necessary. Some children do not have the opportunity to attend school in the early years but are still eager to work hard when they do. Part of my job is to help them catch up with their peers and give them the extra support that is difficult for a classroom teacher to provide.

This past Friday all of my students shared a poem we had been working on with the whole school and I was so proud of them. It’s a big deal for many of them who are early readers and something that I hope has boosted their confidence. Next week their classes will have the chance to learn the poem and they will get to be the ‘experts.’

As time goes on I also hope to work more closely with the classroom teachers, helping them learn new ways to teach the curriculum effectively. At the beginning of the term I had the opportunity to lead a short workshop on strategies to reinforce multiplication skills. Teaching adults is not my strong point but it was fun to watch them trying out the games I had introduced and now seeing some of them start to implement the strategies with their students.

While I don’t claim to know much about international development, I do agree with Nelson Mandela that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Each of my students has a very unique story, some of which are heartbreaking. I hope to share some of them as time goes on. The chance to get an education will no doubt give them hope for a better future and is changing their lives. I love what I do and it’s an honour to spend my days with these students. And we wouldn’t be here without the support of so many of you. Thank you for partnering with us and together, helping to make a difference in the lives of the kids we serve at MICS. Twalumba!

First, let me say that not all posts in the “What’s Different?” series will be about animals hiding in things. But this one certainly is.

A few weeks ago we discovered a snake skin on our veranda. Our veranda is covered and screened in, so it felt more like finding a snakeskin inside our house than outside. Snakes periodically shed their skins, so this was just a little calling card saying, “Just so you know, I was in here.” Locals told us it was a green mamba. If you want to learn more about them, you can do so here. But let’s just say when I looked them up, it was words like “highly venomous” and “fatalities” that jumped off the page.

Fast forward to this afternoon. Our friend Japheth, who is doing some carpentry work for us at the house, came into my kitchen and asked if he could have a long stick. “There is a snake outside. I want to kill it.” It turns out our little green mamba friend had been living inside the fencepost in our backyard. Japheth had found him with his head poking out.

Japheth provided the bravery, and I provided the broom. He held the broom high above his head and swung it down as hard and fast as he could. Got him on the first try.

 

Editor’s Note:

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. “Joel, that does not look like a green mamba. It looks an awful lot like a philothamnus semivariegatus, otherwise known as the spotted bush snake.” Well, you would be right. After I posted this, a friend in Zimbabwe who knows his snakes quite well emailed to reassure us that we did not have a green mamba in our back yard for the past few weeks. Turns out this little fella is not even poisonous.