Leah's Packed and ready to go

Leah and Jecy

Sweet Climbing Structure at the Zoo and Park

Joseph and Jecy getting a Ride at the Zoo

The Orphanage at the Zoo

Thanksgiving Away from Home

So Nigeria does have butter ball turkeys, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, corn, pumpkin pie and apple pie. Leah and I stayed in Abuja for the Holiday to just catch up on things and relax. We were able to attend a Thanksgiving feast with a lot of other teachers and school staff with families. One of our co-workers has a stash of balloons that you twist and bend to make swords and funny hats. So he brought those to the party and we started making hats for all of the kids, which was a lot of fun. Afterwards we went to our neighbors apartment and played a game similar to catch phrase. It was guys first girls and it was ugly. The girls beat us every time. They would get a word like flu and then our team would get double hung windows. (Matt is exaggerating- their team just wasn’t as good) It was a lot of fun and an enjoyable to relax and have such a huge feast.

Thanksgiving weekend we also had an opportunity to go to a German compound for a Christmas bazaar which was a lot of fun in that they have a shipping container with ac and warm spiced wine. It was probably upper 40’s or so in there but it felt so cold it was great!! We had wurst with bread. They also had different ice tables and chairs for people to use which were really cool to see. Doesn’t compare to Jon Ciatti’s 2010 Ice bar with Christmas lights in it, but it was still fun.

The temperatures here are in the 90’s today is supposed to be 97 degrees. We haven’t had any form of rain now for at least a month and won’t until February for sure, most likely it will be march when we see rain again.

Cool things that have happened since Thanksgiving:

We got a Christmas tree!! Our first one. We went to this market to buy a tree and because we are white we asked our neighbor’s Nigerian cook to come along and help us buy a tree. Leah and I are never really sure how much we are getting ripped off when we buy stuff from a market. Often the vendors will jack their price up two to three times what the selling price would be. So we get to our market and ask about this little waist high tree. The guy tells us that the tree is 25,000 naira which is about $170.00. We couldn’t believe what they guy wanted so the cook said we should go to a different spot because this guy is way off base. We walk down the road 200 meters and find a nice little Cedar tree (they don’t have pine trees here) and ask the guy how much a similar sized tree cost. He asked for 1,000N and settled on 500N which is about $3.50. We bought it back home planted it in a bucket and decorated it. We hope you like the pictures of it.

We have gone or done different things with the orphanage three times. We went there last Saturday and had a blast playing with the little kids. I had my camera and they all wanted to see it and take pictures of others. We had them come to our school to scrimmage our 8^th grade soccer team. They killed us 5-0 which was really good because our team has told me they don’t need to run and they don’t think soccer is a team sport! Surprise it is! While the older boys were playing soccer Leah took a bunch of the girls and younger kids to her classroom and made some Christmas decorations with them. One boy is Joseph , 1.5 years old, went hog wild in Leah’s classroom. She teaches 4^th grade and doesn’t have her classroom baby proofed. He was grabbing scissors and anything he could get his little hands on and running all over her room. Anytime Leah would take something from him he would throw this huge fit. He would drop his body to the floor screaming and yelling. Leah said it was something else.

Yesterday we went with the orphanage to the children’s park and zoo which was interesting. There were some really cool things and then some really sad looking animals, but we saw African Buffalo, wilda beasts, crocodiles, a huge tortass, one giraffe, a couple Zebras, and some other animals. Leah was giving me crap and saying we don’t have to go on a safari anymore! Don’t worry we are still going. There was this really cool rope structure that I’m going to have to build someday back home because it was so cool. You’ll know what I’m talking about from the pictures.

Leah and Beth with Kids at Orphanage

Merry Christmas to All

Thanksgiving Hats

Loi Cratone Thai New Year/Water Celebration

Matt with Kids at orphanage

German Christmas Bazaar

Only in Nigeria....

As we have been reflecting on the last 3 ½ months we have been in Nigeria we have been thinking about how different our lives have been. Many things were such a gradual change and so constant that we don’t even think they are unusual anymore. There may be more to come, but her e is a list we have come up with

Only in Nigeria…

1. We see people driving down the wrong side of the street almost every time we venture out.

2. It also seems to be alright to drive on the sidewalk…..both directions

3. The public restroom is the middle of the road/highway…yes both number 1 and number 2

4. They made a cinder block square outside of our compound that is about waist high- Apparently it is an outhouse

5. People are EVERYWHERE on the streets/highways…day and night -Instead of deer we must watch for people crossing the road

6. We could go grocery shopping by just driving home…people will try to sell items as we are in traffic…. The items on certain streets are always similar….one day they will be selling vegetable oil, the next day they are selling packs of gum and nuts

7. There is at least one car broken down every 50 yards.

8. There is at least one speed bump every 50 yards.

9. It is common to see 5 or more people on a motorcycle- a 8 person van holds 20+

10. Sunday is known as Happy Sunday and everyone expects a tip…we are asked by many entry guards and police for a Happy Sunday gift- we like to give out peanuts!

11. Young children are sent out by their parents to beg on the streets….we give them peanuts too!

12. Cell phones are all prepaid, many people sell cell phone cards as a living- every time we are out they will follow us to and from our car insisting we need a card- almost everywhere we go!

13. People sell bananas everywhere as well, bananas and phone cards are a hot commodity

14. We are known as Awebos ( Ahhh-we-bows) apparently it means peeled…. To them we have peeled skin….because we are Awebos they use kissing noises to get our attention everywhere we go…. Fruit venders, cell phone sellers, taxi cabs, etc.

15. Because we are Awebos everything is more expensive…. A local would be charged 200N for a bunch of bananas…we are told they cost 700N

16. We need to soak all of our fruits and vegetables in a bleach solution for 15 min before we can eat them

17. Our fruits and vegetables only last about 3 days before rotting….if we are lucky

18. The last Saturday of the month you must stay locked in your house until 10am, and you are expected to be cleaning. If you are caught on the streets you are fined.

19. There are two seasons in Nigeria…the rainy and the dry….also known by Matt as the hot and the hotter

20. A bottle of ketchup costs $10

21. The average church holds 3000 people

22. We attended our very first opera….and probably our last :)

23. We sang karaoke at a Thai New Year Festival!

24. We have learned many new terms….. the word small is used in many instances… if something is a good deal the price is ‘small small’ if something is close by it is ‘small far’….if it far away it is ‘far far’

25. When you turn something on you…..”on it”….if you turn something off…you “off it”

26. Deodorant is a foreign concept….remember that it is hot

27. Seller Tactic – when we are shopping…sellers will often give us an item and call it a gift…. Then they will demand for money for it

28. Seller Tactic- apparently every vender is our best friend and have they have known us for a long time- if we don’t tell anyone they will give us a small small price…in this market we have a lot of close friends!

29. Seller Tactic - When bartering with vendors they will often listen to our offer and say..take it…then demand the full price

30. Seller Tactic- If we ask for a deal to buy two items instead of one, the vendors will often raise the price way more than just doubling it…. I don’t think they know that I teach math

31. Seller Tactic- If we are looking at something…just looking…. It gets but in a bag before we can even ask a price….

32. People will often just put their hand out the window for a blinker…. They believe that this saves gas….. this becomes an issue at night

33. The electricity goes about 5 times a day

34. The national minimum wage is 7,500N a month…. about $50 dollars

35. A shipping container –similar to the back of a semi- is the home to millions of people.

36. The only bowling alley in West Africa is located here in Abuja

37. We see many people with winter hats and jackets on… it is in the upper 90s…..?

38. Many people dress in Nigerian national clothing on Fridays…no casual Fridays here!

39. Our garbage is taken to local villages where they will take it apart and find anything useful- what a recycling system!

40. Cows and chickens feast on the garbage…we are not fans of local meat

41. Cows graze right next to the highway…the shepherds will often stop traffic to have them pass

42. People will walk down the street with astronomical amounts of items on top of their heads….we will need to get some picture to show! .... They will have bags full of who know what that are three times as big as their bodies…we will often see people with generators on top of their heads as well!

Happy Birthday

Today is my 26^th birthday and it has been a great day. For reasons I cannot quite place yet 26 feels great! I am sore from playing ultimate Frisbee yesterday and had a harder time getting up today after going to sleep at 11 PM. I often forget some of the simple things (Leah will attest to that) but 26 feels great! I think it has become that turning point year for me where I have a full time job I am with the woman of my dreams and taking advantage of great life experiences.

I never dreamed that I would be teaching in Africa or have done as much travel as I have so far. I am blessed with a great family and friends. Out of all of things I have experienced I believe that the most rewarding things in life are the relationships that we develop with one another. I talk to a lot of other teachers here and everyone is here for their own reasons, but it is very fulfilling to Leah and I to know how blessed we are with the family and friends we have at home and how we look forward to being back in less than two months.

This past weekend was a very busy and fun one. Leah and I went with two other teachers Friday night to a Spanish festival at the Hilton hotel. We watched a Flamenco dance show which was great! Then afterwards they had free food and drink which was even better. Saturday Leah and I volunteered for a charity cultural food fair and it was great! They had music and food from all over the world. I have a brat and a half because Leah had a hard time with the spice. Some French fries, German cheese cake, Canadian beaver tail (a flat pastry with some chocolate topping), and some Israeli chocolate. All in all a great time. We were able to meet some new people and talk to some of the acquaintances we have already met. We have been talking to this Aussie family who are just a delight to be around. They are always so happy and excited every time we see them. They have reminded me of a good life lesson, no matter where you are, you can have fun and enjoy life. I have been enjoying myself, but this weekend was a bit of a turning point in really getting out a bit and meeting new people.

On Sunday one of the other teachers and I went and shot archery at a German Compound which was great because I had just talked to Kare about hunting and he was heading out to hunt last Saturday. The German guys we very interested in what I hunt back home. They even let me take a few shots and I hit 2-3 bulls eyes which was a sigh of relief because I didn’t lose anyone’s arrows. They had a Fletcher release which is the same one I have back home and they shot Hoyte bows which are some great American made bows.

After Archery Leah and I went swimming, then we met up with some other teachers and played some ultimate Frisbee at the school and it was awesome. I have been swimming quite a bit and running a fair amount but playing ultimate showed me how out of shape I am!! Hopefully it will come around though. Then we had a get together at our apartment which was a lot of fun we had about 25-30 people over and we had made some homemade pizza, pop corn, and carrot cake. It was great! We had barrowed a projector from our upstairs neighbors and I played some slide shows of different pictures of family, friends, and trips I had taken. They really enjoyed them and a few said they were going to go fishing with Kare and I. I had some of Kare’s musky pictures and everyone was quite impressed. They also liked the kayaking video from the summer and of course all of the nieces, nephews, and parents.

This week has like the rest been a busy week! We had four days of school and now parent teacher conferences, which Leah is in right now, but as many know not too many parents care to talk to the PE teacher so I am using this time to work on curriculum, lessons, assessments, and cue sheets. It is really nice to just have some time to work on these items that I haven’t really had time to work on prior.

This Saturday the school is having a Halloween carnival for the students so Leah and I are volunteering to work the scavenger hunt. It should be a good time. The German camp where I shot archery is supposed to have something called human kicker this weekend which is human fools’ ball on a tennis court. It sounded like something you have to see. I hope we get a chance to watch a game or two. Well I don’t want to bore everyone anymore so I’ll stop here and when something else exciting happens I will post again. Take care until then.

Matt and Leah

Check out this scaffolding!

This is the secondary school at the orphanage- no chairs and s0 small!

1st Quarter is officially DONE!!

Wow, it is so crazy to think that we have been here for so long. The time has gone so fast, and yet it feels like we have been here forever. We have finally adjusted to most parts of living here. We have invested in more stabilizers so we can plug our lap tops in, in 2 rooms now! Before we hade to lug this huge box around. We also have gotten used to most of the streets, and don’t rely on the map as much! Still so many differences from small town Wisconsin. We are looking forward to restocking on all of our favorite foods when we get back in December. There so many things that are hard to find here or are really expensive!- tortilla chips! Many thanks as well to those that sent us pictures of fall…really helped! We printed off some and hung them up in our living room J

School has been keeping us really busy for the most part. We are going through accredidation, grades, and Matt is redoing the PE curriculum. Parent teacher conferences are next week so there always seems to be something. We have discovered the movie theater in the area. They have a discount night - on Wednesdays, so it is our new favorite thing to do after staff meetings.( last week was the first week but I think it will become a ritual) We have also been swimming a lot as the wet season is ending and it is getting very hot! We are so busy, but are also trying to find some time to do fun things. We bought a Norway puzzle and that has been taking up a lot of our time lately! Matt has become a victim of the " I will just put in 1 more piece " syndrom. Its quite hilarious.

We have also continued to go to the orphanage and it has been such an amazing experience. We feel like we are getting to know the kids there better, and we hope that we are filling there Saturday afternoons with love. It is so hard sometimes living here because we know how much more we have then those around us. We can’t help them all either…. We often pray that we are making a difference in the children that we teach. Many of them will be the future leaders of Nigeria, and we hope that they can make a bigger change than we can.

We will put some pictures up of a recent visit to the school electricians house, as well as from the orphanage!

Tomorrow will mark 2 months sense Matt and I left to come and live here. It has gone so fast, but it also seems like so long ago. In many ways we both have changed and grown so much as people and teachers that it has been truly amazing. I also find myself growing more and more homesick as the days continue on.

The dry season is rolling in and with that it is becoming SO hot. We have a pool at our compound, and without that I am not sure that I would get much exercise at all. Matt will sometimes teach outside, but the weather makes that difficult as well. I am spoiled in my classroom with two air conditioners. And then I think of back home, with the fall colors and the cool air. Matt and I made chili the other night to remind us of back home. But the meat here tastes a lot different, so we made Chicken Chili and it was definitely not the same!

Last Friday was Nigerian Day, they are celebrating 50 years of Independence so it was a pretty big deal. For a town that is usually filled with litter, they started cleaning up about a week before the big event. They even patched some LARGE pot holes in front of our compound and painted the sides of the curbs throughout town. We were told to generally stay away from the celebrations on the actual day because of the large crowds. We tend to stick out, and this could cause a scene because we are seen as rich. The advice was fortunate for us because there were bomb threats and bombs that actually detonated in the area of celebration. It is scary to think of something like that happening so close to where we live, it is a little surreal. In most respects, we don’t feel afraid while we are here because we live in a secure compound with a guard. And security at school is very extreme. They even search our car every time we come to school. Danger just feels closer now that something has actually happened in the city.

On Sunday we travelled to our school electrician’s house. It was a little ways outside of the city near one of the large rocks in the area. The landforms here are so amazing to look at. There rocks are hundreds of feet tall, and flat all of the way up. It is so different when we get outside of the city. People live in conditions that we would deem uninhabitable in the U.S. The man that we came to visit is working to build a house. Right now his family lives in two small tin shanties. There toilet consists of the bottom part of a toilet and a piece of tin roof that you place around yourself when you go. To flush they pour a bucket of water down. The power supply in the city is so sporadic and people go days and sometimes weeks without power if they even have it at all. The 4 hours that we were there, they had power for about 10 minutes and that was impressive. Pretty ironic for the electrician to not have electricity! The generosity of the people here is so amazing. Even though they have so little here, this man went way out of his way to see that we enjoyed our visit. He bought us garden eggs (they are like cucumbers) and oranges, and peanut sauce. His wife cooked us an amazing meal, and they even sent us home with leftovers. We felt so blessed to be there in the company of such giving people.

Today was one of my hardest days of teaching yet. My students have French class two or three times a week in the classroom, and this teacher died in a car accident this past weekend. It was with sadness that I needed to inform my students of this tragic event. This is something that I had never prepared myself to face as a teacher. After a long morning of crying a grieving, the students put together a memorial outside the classrooms. This teacher was a light in our school. He was always positive and went out of his way to greet you each day. As a staff we mourned his loss, and vowed to keep his positive energy alive in the school.

As we move through the weeks, they all seem so busy and packed together. I am hoping this is just the combination of living in Nigeria, and a first year teacher. Even now I have way more free time than in the beginning of the year. Next week marks the end of quarter 1! ¼ of my way into my first year of teaching!

A Breath of Fresh Air

So I have more fun information for people to read, but tonight I'm only going to say a little bit. I hope you enjoy the new pictures that were posted. Most of them are from last weekend when we explored a sweet waterfalls. Anyways, what I wanted to write about tonight is the staff that we work with and how supportive they are. We have been very blessed to have such positive and helpful people here. We are very different from each other, but all look out for one another too. It has been great getting to know the veteran teachers here and hearing about all of the great things they have done and are doing.

The administration is also very positive and enjoyable to work for. For instance the school does this sports day event where the PE department organizes a huge track meet thing and the parents and kids love it. Well I'm not much of a track guy sorry Laura, so I mentioned how I have helped organize an event called Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up and how I think it would be a great event for our school to participate in because it is about HIV/AIDs relief in Africa and it puts the focus of the event on other people rather than the student and it would be a great way to get people active and outdoors here. The administration received this very well and seemed even excited to have this new event. One of the goals of the school is to promote social responsibility and what better way to do that than this event. So I'm really excited to really be the head of these two huge events (sports day in the spring and CUSKCGU in December).

Countless times we have been told about the staff from last year being very negative and really a drag to be around. People really didn't like going to work because these people made the day miserable. But this year with 14 new staff members everyone has this energy and excitement about being in Nigeria, at school, and life. There are 3 other teachers around our age that we have bonded well with and then a slew or veteran teachers that have all sorts of wisdom and experience to make up for our in experience. It is really a good combination. I have more to say but I need to get some zzz because last night was an unexpected late night which will be a new post in the future. Take Care and God Bless,

Matt and Leah

Eid Weekend

So Leah and I have a four day weekend this week which is really nice. We were going to go to some cultural festival, but it ended up not working out so we are relaxing around home, doing some cleaning, little school work, swimming, and shopping. It’s nice to just have a few days to slow down. The weeks go by so fast it’s unreal.

Another fun thing that happened was I finally was able to find a CD player so I made a CD and now every time the students come into class they just move around and start dancing.

Leah and I had been told that we needed to get some Nigeria material and get some traditional
Nigerian clothing made. About two weeks ago we went to a market and found some material. The next step was going to a tailor to get everything fitted and made. Leah had some green flower print with a brown background and I had found some grey with leaves and berries. I didn’t really realize that I could get an outfit made with just a solid color and they would embroider a design on it for me. So this week our clothing was done and so we went back to pick up our stuff and I saw my fabric so I opened it up and definitely saw that my material was a dress and Leah’s material was a pair of pants. I started to freak out because Leah didn’t like my print and I liked Leah’s but it was definitely feminine. My outfit looks absolutely ridiculous. I don’t’ even know what to say other than maybe someone back home will get a traditional Nigeria outfit from me. Leah luckily had a second dress made out of a friend’s leftover material that turned out well. The lady didn’t charge Leah for both dresses so it was kind of a wash for Leah, but I still have only a flower print outfit and nothing else so I need to try and find something else before Nigerian Day which is October 4^th.

We took a trip last week to a pottery place and I bought two beer mugs that are really cool. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Fun things that happened this week. I was working on school stuff in the library and one of my little kindergarteners came by didn’t say hi, but sat at my table with a book and starting reading /watching me as I colored in pictures of certain muscles that the students would need to know. As I was doing this his little three or four year old sister came up to the table and jumped up into a chair. I have never seen this girl, but she just started chatting with me and asking all sorts of questions. I was using our Ipod to cross reference something’s and so it was on the table and she looks at her brother and says Ipod touch and grabs it. I had to pull it out of her hands and put it in my pocket. She then proceeded to tell me how I should color in the muscles because I wasn’t doing it right. Then she asked if I could write my name so I wrote it in cursive and she gave me the funniest look. So I rewrote it in capital letters then she could understand. She then asked to write her name for me so she wrote her name out with two inches of space between each one of her letters and gave me a huge smile. I couldn’t really tell what she had wrote, but I guessed her name (Angel). It was just a funny situation that I enjoyed. The joys of talking to little kids is amazing. There are so bright for their young years and they say it the way they see it. I had a chance to skype with my brother Kare and seeing his kids was great. Mason who is only one and half just gets this huge smile when he hears my voice from the computer and then has to check every five minutes to make sure I’m still there talking. Sawyer who is three and Grace who is five are also great in how he would say hi to me and tell me about different things happening. I can’t help but smile.

We learned from another teacher that there is this fruit seller under a tree and he has fair prices for fruit and we don’t have to haggle and feel like we are getting ripped off. So today Leah and I found the guy under the tree and loaded up on some fresh fruit like grapefruit, oranges that are green, passion fruit, limes, cucumbers, and carrots. The other day we were at another market and paid 1000 niara for some beans and carrots, which we thought was a good price and then we got all of this produce for 800 naira which was great. So kudos to our amazing colleges that spread the good news and help us adjust to Nigeria.

We love talking to people from home or getting emails from home even though they may be short and to the point but It’s nice to hear that things back home are pretty much same O same O and that fall is around the corner. Every time I see the temperature for home on my computer I can just feel the heat from the sun and cool crisp air of fall. Even though we’re not home we do miss a lot of the simple things from home. Every time I go somewhere new I get to find out something more that makes home more amazing than anywhere else.

Something else that makes me smile is the fact that I could possibly Skype home during the Packer games and watch the game!! Thanks and take care Love you all,

Matt and Leah

Sanitation Saturday

Today is Sanitation Saturday. The last Saturday of every month they close the entire city down for cleaning from 7-10. If you are caught outside you will get ticketed from the police. One of the students in my class told me that his driver was out once on Sanitation Saturday, the police then took his car and he had to walk home. He got the car back later with a fee. You are expected to be in your house cleaning during this fiasco…. We have a community pot luck breakfast instead!

It was one of my students birthday’s this week. Apparently Birthdays used to be a big deal. Parents would all want to outdo each other and create a bigger celebration. The parties would last all day including huge meals, gift bags for all of the other students, gifts for all the teachers, and hired entertainers. In the spirit of education they have stopped all that. Parents are now told that a small treat is acceptable. My student brought in a huge box on cupcakes, and a HUGE cake. With only 21 students in my class, I invited the other 4^th grade class over to eat with us because of the amount of food. Later I was talking with another teacher about the crazy mess in my classroom. She informed me that it is custom for Nigerian parents to buy a treat for the students, but give a cake to the teacher! Who would have thought!

We visited the tailor yesterday to get our very first Nigerian outfits made! It is a custom that every Friday many people wear the traditional Nigerian dress or caftan. Nigerian Day is coming up, and it is their 50th year celebration so it will be HUGE! We need our outfits for then. We went to the market to barter for our fabric last weekend, which was an adventure as well!

Overall, we really enjoy life here! There are so many differences that we have become accustomed to. Matt and I went shopping last night and the power went out, no one even bats an eye. It happens ALL the time while I am teaching… I go right on teaching. The driving here is crazy, but it almost seems normal now. I don’t drive though- Matt does! It will torrential down pour for 20 minutes and then go right back to being crazy humid.

We are making muffins for breakfast so I’m off to bake… hope everyone is doing well!

First Week of Teaching!

The first week of school went by so fast, we were crazy busy everyday trying to make lesson plans and get used to the schedule and learn our students! The diversity in this school is so intense. I feel that we learned so much about diversity in school, but I never really experienced it until now. The majority of my students are bi-lingual and are learning French at the school! I sent home a parental information form and many of the parents indicated that the students visited 20+ countries. I really love my class and we have been having so much fun. Sometimes is it is hard to believe that I am a real teacher already!

Life here has been an easy transition. We have been so busy that sometime we even forget that we are in Nigeria. We have been very creative with our cooking and we make dinner with 3 other teachers every night. This week we made banana oatmeal cinnamon pancakes…boy they were good! J It is a lot of fun. We have also made an effort to swim on a regular basis in our compound for exercise. We even had our very first lizard in the apartment this week!

Every Friday there is a TGIF party at one of the staff member’s houses. It was in our compound so we partied there and swam for a while. Then Saturday we went to an open air market and bought some Nigerian print fabric. We will go to a tailor sometime this week to make our very first Nigerian wear! We also spent a long time working on more lesson plans, and had dinner and a movie with some friends. Sunday was our adventurous day! One of our coworkers took us out to a dam bright and early in the morning. It was a little ways out of Abuja, and boy was it BEAUTIFUL. We saw so many trees and plants it was amazing. It was really nice to get out of the business of the city. There were men that used hollowed out trees as canoes and we met a young man that said they fished for perch there.

Later then in the afternoon we visited a local farm. Another teacher took us to meet him. He was so kind and giving, he does not sell his crop because he believes that you shouldn’t have to buy food, it is for everyone. Instead they create art and music in which they sell. He takes his crop to many local hospitals and provides it for the patients there as the hospitals here do not have food in them. While we were there they were filming a music video. We got to be part of it singing the course! We have only been here 2 weeks put we are already famous…lol. It was very ironic because this man lives in a small 1 room hut, but has a cell phone and wireless internet.

We miss you all so much and hope that everything back home is going well! We think and pray for you often!

First week of School

Hello Everyone,

Well Leah and I had our First, First day of school as teachers!! How exciting it was. The whole day was quite surreal for me in many ways. I`m sure a lot of other teachers or friends can relate to starting a new job and having a great first day and thinking this is just surreal, I`m getting paid to do this. We arrived early to school with a different couple. How early you might ask well how about 6:10AM early. Now you are wondering what time does school start? 8:00 AM. Talk about being early. For all of you who think I can’t be early for anything, eat it!! HAHAHA. Leah went to her room I went to my office and tried working on different things. I had already transferred the equipment I was going to use to the gym and was excited to get in there and set everything up. One catch, the gym is not just a gym and I have no key for the gym so I had to wait until 7:30 to get into the gym. Good thing I was early right. My first class was a bomb. First grade- they showed up 10-12 minutes late and one boy was crying his eyes out. I tried doing a name game with the students, but they were all so shy I couldn’t hear anything they said. Being a reflective person, I decided maybe I’ll do a fun activity with them that will loosen them up. I tried doing the name game bopiddty bop bop. Again the bombs fell. I can’t tell you how happy I was for the first class to be done. My second class was a third grade class with many returning students and they were a ball of energy. I had a lot of fun with them and was thankful that something I planned went decent. I have a short 20 minute break then another two classes. My 5^th grade class was really chatty and didn’t want to listen to each other. They have the reputation of being that group that all of the teachers cringe at. I made it through that class without any major problems. The next class was Leah’s 4^th grade class and what a delight they were. Really the type of kids where you can give them a challenge and they will work together to complete it and there are a couple of kids in there that understand how to sacrifice something so the group can succeed. They were my last class and a wonderful way to end my teaching for my first day. After teaching I have back to back recess duties which can be a little crazy. I ref the 5^th and 4^th grade boys soccer on the first recess and then teach first and second graders different tag games they can play. They really enjoy chasing me! I then get lunch around 12:35 and do prep stuff for the rest of the day. I really like my schedule, at least so far. Well I got to go, but I’ll make another post soon.

Abuja, Nigeria

Hi Everyone!

We're here! We made it into Abuja on Friday evening and spent the night unpacking in our 3 bedroom apartment! It is huge! They are all marble floors, which we had lots of fun mopping! We need to buy some rugs. On Saturday we went shopping at a local store called Grand Central, they had a lot of groceries, electronics, and household things. Most items are a lot more expensive here, but we are learning the cheaper stores to go to! As an example a box of granola bars was about $7. Good thing Matt brought 20 boxes worth!

The weather here has been beautiful. Many days were actually cooler than back home, but it is humid here. It rained for the first time last night, and it has been rainy of and on all day. Not to bad for the rainy season!

The people from the school have been amazing to us and we have made some new friends already there are about 5 of us that are new or only have two years of teachign experience. So we have all bonded well. There are some really cool features of the city, but you can really tell that it is still being developed. There is construction all over the place. There are a lot of american items here, but like Leah said you ahve to pay for them. Like we found a Wii the other day and it was only $500.00 dollars or so.

We hae been in meetings all day today and are getting more information that will be the nuts and bolts of how the school functions. There is a lot fo good PE equipment here, but during the rains I'm not sure where I will teach or what I will be able to teach because there is only on e little classroom for me to use and one multipurpose gym to use between three PE teachers. It's really crazy because the high school has about 10 students and there are 400 students here. So I figure that I will have at least 300 students to teach which is kind of overwhelming. The names are not the easiest to remember here. I miss hearing the name John for every guy you meet and emily or sarah for every girl! It is fun though. We are working on getting our internet so as soon as we do we will be skyping people and adding pictures to our post.

We have decided to start a blog to keep everyone updated on our Africian adventure! To start here are some pictures from things that we have done this summer.


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