Two Endings

This month has brought the end of two things, the soccer league and Whitman's kindergarten career. 

To wrap up the soccer league, John, with a great deal of help from a couple assistants, put together a tournament and awards ceremony. 

As with all events here, an event tent was ordered and set up. 

No special equipment aside from the truck to assist in tent set up. 

John scooping cow manure off the field the day before.

A friend helping to put up the goal nets.

The Final Game

The event tent, complete with the traditional 'nice' seating (couches), and snacks, covered with fancy covers. 

A speech was given by a foundation head.

John awarded a trophy for honesty to a kid who was honest about not scoring a penalty kick,
though it cost his team the game. 

The Winning Team



The 3rd and 4th place game
John made sure the teams learned how to congratulate each other at the end of each game.

A couple neighborhood heads in attendance.

The week following Whitman graduated from his kindergarten that he has attended for three years, with an 8 months break while we were in the states.  The week began as usual until we were informed the day of that Whitman had music practice that afternoon.  It wasn't until music practice started, about 45minutes late due to the flexibility in time here, that I, Erin, began to slowly piece together the parts.  Whitman, with 9 other kids, was to play music as part of his graduation ceremony.  The week turned out to have another practice and another performance on Saturday.  I was also asked to speak at the event on Saturday, which as much as I can gather, was an individual school graduation and parenting celebration, of shorts. 

Whitman in traditional dress at the joint graduation celebration.

Other children dressed and ready to play music.

Children from various kindergartens performed at the joint graduation ceremony.

Whitman's classmates, he is on the far right

Playing traditional music and singing in Barat.



Erin sitting next to the Mayor's wife, who also spoke at the Saturday celebration. 
She is considered the 'head' of all kindergartens in the county.

Refreshments

A Lovely Birthday

We decided to spend the week in the big city.  It was a blessing to me it coincided with my birthday.  For my 36th birthday we went out to breakfast at restaurant that offers the best western breakfasts in town.  We spent time at the hotel pool where we're staying, then had hamburgers at the best hamburger place in town.  For desert we found an ice cream cake at a Baskin and Robins.  It was a really nice day, but the highlight, other than spending it with my family, was opening 36 birthday cards I recently received in a recent package.  I saved the cards and a bar of dark chocolate for the special day.  It was such a treat to receive so many birthday wishes from friends far away.  Thank you all!

Ice Cream Cake!

So many cards and well wishes!

New Normals

The other day I fried up some bananas for a snack.  Though I rarely fry bananas, it is a common snack here, usually dipped in palm sugar while eating.  The locals fry a great deal of food; bananas, fish, chicken, tofu, tempe, cassava, and corn or cabbage fritters being the most common.  Though we truly enjoy fried bananas and chowed down, I can’t bring myself to provide my family with frequent fried foods.  Maybe that is why it was an additional treat. 

Whitman dipping the bananas in palm sugar

So many types of bananas.

Frying bananas on the top and little bananas on the bottom. 

We eat the little ones most often as they are cheap and easy to come by. 

Though many things have become ‘normal’ to us here, not all ‘new’ things have.  Just the other night while reading the boys a bedtime story, Caedmon noticed a cockroach on the mobile that hangs in the middle of their room.  Did you know cockroaches fly?  They do! And yes we have cockroaches.  We finished the story then I thought about the best thing to do.  I didn't want to fill the kids room with bug spray right as they were to go to sleep, but the mobile was too high for me to reach.  While as I was thinking, John reach up and swatted the bottom of the mobile causing the cockroach to either fall or fly off.  We saw it fly to the wall, then scurry towards a corner of the floor we could no longer see.  Unfortunately this greatly disturbed the boys.  Thouogh I couldn't blame them, that night Evangeline slept by herself in the bedroom.  Both boys, regardless of how much we reassured them, would not sleep in their bedroom.  They traded their own beds, in an air conditioned room, for a couch on which they both slept, together, in front of a fan.  I thought for sure one at least would get up and move to their bed during the night, but neither did.  The next day I sprayed under everything and in all corners.  I didn't see the cockroach, but after a lot more reassuring, we convinced the boys to return to their own bed that night. 

Uniforms and a 7:30 start to school have become normal. 

They boys wake up by 6am on their own, no problem.

Black and White: a common phrase, often said in English, used by people when they compare their skin with ours. 

I, Erin, have not gotten use to this as we use black in a different way in English and white skin is not as beautiful in our home culture as everyone thinks it is here (too much culture attached to the words for me).

Evangeline with a neighbor's son, who was born 1 month to the day before Evangeline.

A baby girl in the house! 

We have definitely gotten use to being a family of five and have fallen into a good rhythm with naps, picking up small toys, and keeping an eye on her as she now crawls proficiently.

Riding a motorcycle

Though I have become comfortable driving a motorcycle, I still feel slightly stressed every time I go out as traffic moves so differently here than in the States.  John compares it to a sporting event that just finished.  Everyone is trying to move through the same two doors at the same time - ordered chaos.