We Have a Senior

Blog Post about November 2021

Did I wait until November to take "first day of school" pictures?

Yes, I did.

Does anyone know why?

No, they do not.

Do we have a SENIOR this year?

YES, WE DO!

The current academics presently living at home

Since it was only 10pm in Nashville, our distant academic joined us.

Our fourth grader at the French School

Our very tall Sophomore

AND....OUR SENIOR!!! 

Karis is amazing, and this house will feel a void when she is gone.

She is funny, kind, smart, caring, clever, and she is such a hard worker!

She has plans to pursue an education in dance science, working toward a degree in physical therapy.

First and Second Days of School

Blog Post About September 2021

September 5th, Keira started the fourth grade...for one day.

Then the internet for the country...the COUNTRY...was shut off for EIGHT mornings in a row so students who didn't pass the government exams last spring could try again. Because of the internet being off, no one went to school.

 (I don't understand the news. I just report it)

September 5, 2021

The government doesn't want cheating to take place, and since students all over the country are taking the test at the same time, they feel like cutting the internet off is the smart thing to do. BUT...they have to actually cut it off a few hours BEFORE the test starts because one year, when the test was posted, employees in the Ministry of EDUCATION copied the test and got it to certain students before they took it.

Corruption, anyone?

Aoife was ready for school, too, however, the second day of school didn't occur until NINE days later on September 14th!

Maybe Aoife wanted to go to school where they have days with full electricity. 

It looks like she's trying to get in front of our swamp coolers to get some air.

Two days before Keira went back to school for her second day, some rockets were targeted at the airport. 

You could tell Karis (17) has lived here awhile and dealt with situations unfamiliar to many, because when we were listening to the rockets going off, and she looks at me and says, "I'm going to bed."

All the adults in our fellowship were texting each other to make sure everyone was okay, and Karis calmly says she's checking out :) Granted, when we first moved here, they did in fact scare her.

The rockets started around 9:30pm, and they were aimed (poorly) at the U.S. base near the airport. Three of the 14 rockets hit the base, but the rest hit residential areas and civilian facilities near the airport. Thirteen people were injured, and two people were killed; one of them was an American. Rockets had not been fired at the airport since April 2021.

A Mad Race to the Finish Line

Blog Post About June 2021

The girls and I planned our departure to the States after all the end-of-the-year dance performances; however, things kept being added that we weren't ready for.

Keira had two ballet performances at a local hotel arts and crafts fair. 

Karis also performed a solo.

June 18, 2021

The next morning (Saturday), I had a "goodbye" breakfast with two friends at one of their homes.

June 19, 2021

After breakfast, Doug and I had to rush Keira to another local hotel where the gymnastics class was invited to perform at a Kindergarten graduation??

This is one of those events we didn't plan for.

June 19, 2021

Then that Saturday afternoon, there was a "garden show" at the dance studio for the parents to attend. It was outside and smaller because of covid.

The girls repeated their performances from the day before and Keira added gymnastics.

June 19, 2021

When the show ended, Karis had to leave, and as Keira and I were getting ready to call a taxi, my friend who lives RIGHT ACROSS THE FENCE from the dance studio, called me and Keira over.

Her daughter was having a 16th birthday party in her garden with a few friends, and she wanted us to come.

It was a beautiful night! The teenagers gladly let Keira hang out with them, and I visited with the mom and aunt of the birthday girl, helped bring out the food, and became the official photographer of the group. After the food was set out, they spent FORTY-FIVE minutes taking pictures of the food and each other before we ate :)

We had a lot of fun, and I'm so glad this impromptu invite happened.

June 19, 2021

The next day (Sunday) at the same hotel as the kindergarten graduation, there was now another arts and crafts show where our girls performed (which we had not planned for either).

June 19, 2021

After the performances, we went home, showered, finished packing, left for the airport around midnight,  and flew out at 1:55 in the morning.

Keira didn't get to finish her last two weeks of school, but this is a picture of her 3rd grade class.

Whew!  Now on to America!

Porches are for People

Blog Post About May 2021

Our front porch area doesn't have a ton of room for activities to take place, but Keira does manage to go around in circles on her scooter, Doug grills some amazing meals for us, and visitors greet us at our gate.

Sometimes a beggar knocks asking for money; sometimes our neighbors bring over some of their food to share with us; sometimes a man representing the water company or the generator comes by asking for payment (there is no mail system here - it's door-to-door); and sometimes a salesman will try to sell books, soap, beauty products, etc. (remember door-to-door encyclopedia salesmen)??

Anyway, one night, daughters, nieces and cousins from a house down the street came knocking for Keira. 

The girls don't know English except a few phrases: 

How are you?

What's your name?

Where's Keira?

Most of the time, during the day, my answer is, "Keira la muxtapa" (She's at school), but this night, she went out to see them, and they were so excited. 

May 27, 2021

It makes me very aware that I have never seen any of these girls in a school uniform, and I have never seen any of them coming from or going to a school. 

I don't know how they are educated or even if they are, but it is a good conversation topic for Keira and I about how appreciative we should be that she is allowed an education.

It's the little things.

One day, Caleb was washing the porch for us, and he and Keira decided to play in the water after the porch was clean.

I don't know how Keira's knees could handle it, but she would run and slide across the tile. Ouch!

Caleb would spray her as she went, and she loved it. 

I stopped cutting up a watermelon to video her, and then they both wanted watermelon.

Caleb suggested I video Keira in slow-motion sliding across the tile, eating her watermelon.

I took some still shots to show you, but the video is so much better (and I have no idea what Caleb's hands are doing). Maybe he's praying she didn't get hurt as she slid into the wall each time.

I wish you could see the videos :)

May 29, 2021

I like that they find fun things to do even though we don't have a yard or grass.

Life is what you make it :)

Side notes, if you're curious: the propane bottles to the right are what we use to run our oven and heat rooms with individual propane heaters. 

And across the way, is a house to the right and an empty lot to the left. Our neighbors have a pick-up truck they use to drive around to neighborhoods and sell fruits and vegetables out of the back. This lot is where they store their empty crates until they can haul them off.

*Karis took some of her senior photos this year in front of the crates, and they turned out so good ;)

I was so thankful Kylie said she could take Karis' senior photos. 

These were taken two weeks ago when she was here:)

January 5, 2022

Breakfast to Beautification / Valentines & First Day of School

Blog Post from February 2021

My friend invited me to breakfast one morning, but she had other things up her sleeve that I didn't know about.

After we finished breakfast and tea and more tea, she asked if I would like to go with her to her threading appointment.  

"Uuumm...ok."

As we walked into her salon, she said, "You should get your face done."

I was SO nervous, simply because I had never done it before, but I allowed the lady to thread me. 

I asked that she would only thread my forehead and eyebrows and not my cheeks.

My friend thought I should get my whole face done, but I giggled and laughed enough through what I did get done, that I'm pretty sure this nice lady was glad to be done with me.

As a side note, SO many women here get full body waxing/threading done each month. 

It is quite the booming business.

February 3, 2021

For Valentine's Day, Doug and I decided to try a new restaurant that had just opened. We went early enough that we didn't have to have a reservation, but we did get to take advantage of the live violin music and unique menu.

The menu was set (salmon or steak), and so we just got what they were serving.

This was our soup with cold vegetables on a piece of toasted bread.

This was my salmon with some dyed, red, crunchy, coral-looking, edible decoration.

Doug, on the other hand, had a black coral-like decoration stuck into red, heart-shaped mashed potatoes.

The food wasn't great, and we haven't been back, but it was definitely an interesting experience.

While we were in America, it was such a blessing that Keira's French school was online because the teacher recorded the classes every day, and Keira could listen to them all and keep up with work after she woke up each day.

When we returned in January, they were still online, but on February 15th, Keira went back for the first day in-person. As per tradition, we like to take the kids out for ice cream on the first day of school, so when Doug picked her up, even though it was freezing outside, they went for ice cream!

She ended up only going face-to-face three days a week, but it was certainly better than nothing!

 First Day Physically in 3rd Grade (February 15, 2021)