Dear Friends

Things I'm thankful for:

• Batteries & my water purifier
• 100 Calorie pack chips A'hoy fudge drizzled cookies! Need I say more? I will anyway- they are the best treat ever!
• Peanut butter
• Dove chocolate :)
• Bug spray & mosquito coils
• Bleach
• Family and friends, of course!

My field director came to Kaben to work out my host family situation (I think/hope I mentioned that), missed her boat home and is stuck here for at least another week & a half. She is good company and I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to speak in English & be understood. I guess I missed talking (imagine how much I'll have to say when I get back next summer!) cause that's all I do now!

In my non stop talking I mentioned how impressed I was with my junior high teachers who taught mixed 7th 8th and 9th grade classes. Split classes are tough (who would have thought?) Angela kindly pointed out they had a curriculum, book, collegues, copier, internet, they weren't isolated & spoke the same language as their students. Yeah, their job sounds a bit easier now! They were still amazing even if they had all of those things. I like my students more every day. They are eager to learn and excited to come to class! It is fun to watch them scurry in & out of my class;always in such a rush because they don't have any time between classes. When the bell rings (which is a little kid with a hammer hitting a big metal bar) it's chaos! Kids scamper out of my room while others run in to get their cherished notebooks & sharpen pencils. My room serves as a classroom, lockers, library, sometimes a playground and the pencil sharpening spot. My $5 pencil sharpener, from Walmart, was a great purchase! Sometimes the chaos is a lot to handle but I manage to survive.

I've eaten tuna hamburgers with Bona as my new mom. It was just tuna shaped like hamburgers then fried & of course eaten with rice. Not bad but it reminded me of all the things I would put on a hamburger.

Yesterday my host brother wore a hoddie all day! I didn't think it was that cold, but I did get the chills a few times.

My Marshallese seems to be at a stand still. Maybe people started talking faster, but I sure have a hard time understanding everyone right now. It will get better.

Much love, Heidi