Sunday, September 1, 2013

A new beginning...but still patiently waiting !

The first week of a new school year is complete!  Well at least 3 days of the new school year.  I am learning many things by living here in Tanzania, but I think the two main things I have had to work on are patience and flexibility.  When I left in late June for the States I was aware that the soccer field, basketball court, and swimming pool, were having repairs done to them.  I left with a sense of excitement, but also with a bit of concern as those are my major teaching areas and areas of responsibility for sports.  I had great hope that they would all be finished when I returned, but also had a sense that I needed to stay realistic about it all.  I knew that some patience and flexibility was probably going to be needed when I returned, which I prayed that God would provide, you just never know how much until the day comes!

This is what I came back to...

My P.E. storeroom is somewhere behind
was somewhere behind those stage blocks
The basketball court with no roof






The swimming pool with tiles starting to be
put in the day I arrived.







The place that put a smile on my face..
The soccer field was covered in nice green
grass...just needed an extra week of
students staying off of it.



 


I must admit it was a bit hard to stay positive!  This is not the ideal way to start the school year, but it is reality so I might as well make the best of it.  So in the week that I have been back it makes it really exciting when I see great progress being made each day! ( especially since I was told that a lot of these projects were left sitting most of the summer because the materials needed were just not available)! Unfortunately I only have a picture of the progress being made on the basketball court.  A path to my storage room was created by the cleaners almost immediately after I asked :)  The bottom of the swimming pool is completely tiled after one week of work.  The soccer pitch will be opening up this week. 


This is the basketball court roof after only
a day and a half of work !
 One thing that you learn after living here awhile is how to think outside the box.  Our basketball court is the only "covered" place that fits the whole student body.  We typically start the school year out there with a school wide assembly.  What happens when that area is no longer covered and is "under construction"?  You think outside the box and set up assembly outside underneath some shade trees.  Yes, the students had to sit on the ground...even they are learn about being flexible. 

My homeroom (8th grade) waiting for assembly to start.

 

Ben Snyder, the director, starting off the
2013-2014 school year.

 

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