This Wednesday was the Sakeji birthday party, and in a moment of lunacy Beth and I agreed to MC it. The theme was Veggie Tales, so we have been making veggie art, singing veggie songs, watching veggie movies, and generally doing as many veggie things as we could think of. Beth and I made a backdrop that looks like a counter, and designed some clever costumes that made use of red fabric, a green mosquito net, and two mosquito net hoop. We told the kids that their skits had to be one of the “I wills” for creativity, the current character quality we’re emphasizing, and we set up the show to be as like a Veggie Tales episode as we could. There were skits, silly songs, some veggie karaoke, and the teachers got up and sang the very popular, “Teachers who don’t do anything.”

After the party, Beth and I had girls dorm, so there was much tucking in of children, checking to make sure teeth were brushed, and then even some singing of songs to rooms that had settled down and were quiet. It was nice to be involved in a different aspect of the boarding school—I do a lot of getting on kids cases as a teacher/supervisor/activity coordinator—tucking into bed was a welcome break from hounding people about homework or marking papers!

This coming Monday and Tuesday is half term, so the kids will be getting a break from school, the staff will have a little time off, and I will hopefully get fully caught up on my marking. Birthday party took up a lot of my time, so I’ve fallen a little behind where I want to be.

The weather is lovely this time of year—cool (and even cold!) in the mornings and evenings with nice warm afternoons. The skies are clear blue except when they are smudged with smoke, and there a gentle breeze blows most of the day. I don’t know if I can ever go back for a Texas summer again!