My Online Journal Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30 | ||
 | | |
Today was a great day in school. The high school students do "singing valentines." This year 300 songs were ordered by other students and staff! What a great fundraiser! So all day the high school students wend from class to class and delivered the songs. Quite the ordeal. Then they put one heart on the person to whom the song was sung, and a that person is given a kiss, which leaves lipstick on his/her cheek! Two songs were ordered for me, both by students. I also got five valentines, in the form of cookies! Again, these were from five separate students. Last, I was given a jar of pre-made brownie mix, as a valentine (from a student). All I have to do is add the liquid ingredients. All this blew me away! I never expected to get anything: (A) because I'm so new here and (B) because I didn't think junior high students did that kind of thing. So, it was neat to see! Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30
Youth group! Tonight at youth group my friend John gave the message. He talked about repentance. He felt that God was directing him to speak on that topic, and his talk went well. I think that the kids listened and really got something out of what he said. Afterward the kids played a "nice" version of musical chairs. The chairs were lined up like they always are, but the game was played differently. Kids were to sit in empty chairs as soon as they could. To get someone out of a chair, one simply had to shake his/her hand. The person in the chair would then get out, and the person who initiated the handshake would sit down. This process continued until the music stopped. At that point, whoever was still standing was out. I liked this format better than the usual one because when the music stops people are not running to grab chairs and force others out. Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30
Hello French Guiana! My friend John (and his wife Patricia), and a few other teachers from the school all headed for French Guiana for the weekend. Even though we are issued one year visas when we before we enter Suriname, we have to get it renewed every three months. Sometimes the immigration people will refuse to renew a visa until the foreigner leaves the country and comes back again. This seems very odd. We have a one year visa, but it's only good for three months at a time. Well, all we can do is live with it. So, we drove three hours along a dirt road to get to the river that separates French Guiana and Suriname. At that point we got into a long boat and went across the river and into French Guiana to have lunch. I was surprised to see that French Guiana is using the Euro! Sadly, we had to come back immediately. The border was going to be closed all the next day (Sunday) and was closing early today (4:00). So, we were only able to stay in French Guiana for a bit. The good news is, my friends can now get their visas renewed and stay another three months! In the afternoon we swam in the river that separates the two countries. The water was warm, and there was even a bit of san! The riverbank in Paramaribo is all mud, so the sand was nice. Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30
Today we got up and went to lunch at a Christian restaurant. The man is friends with the person who took us to French Guiana, the husband of one of our teachers. It was a neat place to be, and we had traditional Indonesian food: bami kip. Basically "bami" is a type of very long noodle about as thick as spaghetti but yellow in color. The word "kip" refers to chicken. Chicken legs are mixed in with the noodles (bones and all). It is a pretty good dish. After lunch we drove the three hours home. We stopped at the town of Moengo along the way. That town serves as a settlement for people who work for Suralco, an American bauxite mining company. It was a nice little self-sustaining community in the middle of nowhere. Most homes were trailers. It was quite a contrast from the wood huts with palm leaf roofs that we passed along the way to and from Moengo. I'm told that the road we traveled on is dangerous at night. Bandits lay in wait and try to rob motorists. During the day, however, it is quite safe. Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30
I finally moved to my own house! Today I packed up my bags and moved out of my principal's house and into my own place. My new place is only about ten minutes by bike from the school, but in the opposite direction from where my friends live. I wish I was closer to my friends and the other teachers, but this is fine. This house is only mine for this year. The people who own the house are missionaries who went back to the United States on furlough. I'm house-sitting while they are gone, since they will not be back until after June. The house is quite big, and I'm told it is one of the nicer ones. I have two bedrooms, a completely furnished kitchen, an office, bathroom, and family room. Downstairs there is a washer and dryer. Most homes do not have dryers, so I'm quite lucky. I was hoping that this house might have hot water, but it does not. Looks like I'll still be taking cold showers. There are a few quirks though. Apparently I'm the last house alone the electricity line for this block. As a result, there is less power for me at night (when people are using the most electricity). That explains why I cannot turn on my kitchen light at night. My water pressure is also quite bad. To take a shower I have to turn on the sink and wait for the water pressure to rise (the water comes out forcefully when that happens). At that point I can turn on the shower and get enough water actually bathe. Odd, but these things make me appreciate how easy we have it in the United States. I wonder... if I only have cold water, do I still have to separate my laundry into lights and darks? Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30
At Bible Study today we began to look at the book of Revelation. This is the last book of the Bible, one that I was told not to study unless I had a good teacher. Revelation is packed with symbolism and figurative language, so reading it can be difficult, and passages easy to misinterpret. John, however, has a book that is the equivalent of "Revelation for Dummies" that we are using to study Revelation. I'm excited about that, as are the kids. I think people have a natural curiosity about what will happen when the word finally comes to and end and Jesus returns. One thing is for sure though: when the end does come only the Christians will be saved. Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30
For youth group we joined up with a local Suriname youth group at another church. They were going to be watching a Christian movie that is the most expensive Christian movie ever made. Since movies are always fun with more people, they invited us to join them. The movie, Megiddo, was actually very appropriate, as it parallels the Bible Study that John and I are doing. The movie is all about the book of Revelation, and depicts the end of the world taking place in the present day. The way in which they portray this event is so realistic, it's scary! Some scholars actually believe that the rapture will happen during our lifetime. There are seven ages of the church. Each age represents a different kind of church. We are in the last age now. Theoretically, at the end of this age, the rapture comes. I'm not worried though ; I'm a Christian - I know where I'm going. Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30
Sports Day at ACS! Sports day is an annual event and always takes place on Saturday, rain or shine. There are a variety of events that take place, all of which are "field day" kind of events. Activities include: egg & spoon race, three legged race, dressing race, giant red ball throw, sack race, jump rope contest, obstacle course, and others. It's a fun time. Every student has to participate in a minimum of four events. At the end of the day awards are given for first, second, and third place. Every student gets a participation ribbon. Today's weather was fantastic, and the day went off without a hitch! I got to meet a few parents and even talk with some students. I was surprised to find that when I sat down to rest, students came over to sit next to me! In most schools students don't want to have anything to do with the teachers. Here, though, they want to talk with their teachers and get to know them. I like that. Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30
See the Bakaaboto section of this website. Jan 28-Feb 10 | Feb 14 | Feb 15 | Feb 16 | Feb 17 | Feb 28 | Mar 9 | Mar 13 | Mar 14 | Mar 23-26 | Mar 27-30
See the Galibi section of this website.
| ||
| | |
