Wednesday, January 13, 2010

And the big news is...

I have a puppy!

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday, January 12, most of the children arrived and started to settle in. And, on the noon flight, rather sick and stinky from being sick, were the two puppies we had requested from Kitwe. The Ronald kids sort of chose theirs and my puppy came up to me first, so I think all things considered it worked out for the best. The newest member of my household is a rotweiler doberman cross named Ceili (Kay-lee). She is a little over two months old, and very, very cute. She has great big feet (she’s going to be a BIG dog!), a very long tail, and large ears. Beth and I kept her in the kitchen last night, and then in the closed off porch today. We gave her a bath last night (which she was not happy about but she STANK) and then let her dry a bit on the porch. She has been very good about only going outside except overnight last night. When I got up this morning, I found three piles and one puddle and a very excited puppy. We’ve decided that the kitchen is as far in the house as she is allowed, and that she will primarily be an outside dog. I took her to meet my 5th and 6th grade class this morning, and then down to the pool this afternoon while the kids swam. She is very friendly with them and seems to enjoy having them pet her which is very good. It takes a lot of energy to look after a puppy at the best of times, but she has sure been a lot of fun in the day we’ve had her. Plus, having Beth here means that there is someone to help me keep up with her.

Today was the first day of school, and on the whole it went well. We had a bit of excitement down at the river with one of the new students who did not know the rules, but it all turned out happily in the end. I am the homeroom teacher of the 5th and 6th grade students, so I went over expectations, schedule, and passed out the workbooks they are going to be using for my classes. I remember some of those kids when they were in 1st and 2nd grade—how they’ve grown! I look forward to getting to know them all better as well as getting comfortable with the rules again!

I know you all want to see pictures, so here they are. They’re small because I’m trying to save bandwidth, and these will be the only ones for awhile because I left my camera cord in Texas somehow and haven’t found anyone with the same camera yet. Beth’s laptop is a newer one where there is a slot for cards, and we put my card in there, but it was too small, so some of the guys ended up having to take apart her computer to get it out... So, more pictures of Ceili will follow, but I’ll have to get them from Beth’s camera.

This is a picture of the road we drove up—this is after Mwunilunga where the pavement ends. There is no ways for pictures to do the roads justice—they must be driven over to be believed!
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Here are some pictures of my little house, Valley View. These were all taken that first night, so there isn’t much of our stuff out. This is the kitchen,
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Through the door and to the left is the dinning room area,
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And then round to the left again is the living room.
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This is my room with the mosquito net that was in the house to start with—I have since hung mine which is much prettier. I actually enjoy sleeping under a mosquito net—its a little like being a princess and it makes me feel (somewhat irrationally) more secure. Funny how the thought of creepie crawlies in the night is so disturbing...
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This is my classroom as it was when I found it. I have since re-arranged the desks and re-done a lot of the bulletin boards—once again, more pictures will follow.
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This is Ceili with Beth,
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She is such a cutie! More pictures to follow--trying to not crash the internet!

Thanks so much for all your love and prayers—this week is full of challenges because everyone is getting into a routine, but so far it has been a good start of term. This weekend Beth and I hope to go to Ikelegne to pick up a few things such as umbrellas (yes, we are both that stupid! We didn’t buy umbrellas in Lusaka when we KNEW it was rainy season) and cell phones (which would have been nice during the excitement today!). Thankfully this weekend is our weekend off (the staff are one two teams which take turns doing weekend duities) we we’ll have a little more time with the puppy. Hope you all are doing well, and thanks so much for all your prayers and e-mails. I’m trying to get back to all of you—if you e-mailed me and I haven’t gotten back, I’m working on it in my spare moments!

4 comments:

  1. Lina! I'm so glad you're settling in and everything!! I'm so proud of you, I love the pictures! Ceili will be a wonderful companion :) I'm looking forward to hearing more!

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  2. Your kitchen looks very nice--and you have a piano! You may find that when Ceili is a little older and less excitable, you might like having her curled up by your feet in the evening . . . I see the classrooms and desks have not changed much in forty years.

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  3. You are on your way, and how exciting. Love the pictures. Those desks are sure different that ones I am use to.. Good luck with learning the language. Italian came easy for me when I was 22 yrs. old, but think that was a lot simpler that what you have to learn.
    May God give you strength for each day. Hugs,
    Aunt Gertie

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  4. Lina, so great to see your new digs -- and a puppy too! Praying many blessings upon your new life there!

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