March 15, 2006

We actually had rain last night, and a pretty good amount. It was refreshing to get up and find things moist. I know, by now, you are probably tired of snow and rain, but they haven't had much rain here at all. Even when it rains in nearby areas, often, they tell me, we hear the thunder and see the lightening, but that is as far as it goes, so yesterday was a blessing. The flowers are just magnificent. They seem to be shouting out their colors. They are so vibrant. If I ever get a free moment during the school day to get to the computer teacher, I may actually be able to send pictures. But, as you know, I am in the midst of interviews. There are three of us working together on this. We do 30 a day and have completed 210 so far. Just think, only 490 to go!

This morning I had to go into the 4th grade class because their teacher was late. They were working on writing a letter to a newspaper. Children are children everywhere, with all the same kinds of writing. There were future Pulitzer Prize winners, those who never touched the topic, those who used no punctuation, or used it incorrectly, and, yes, even two who handed in the exact same letter. The culture and language are different, but the game is the same.

I have certainly had many "firsts" in terms of food. Mostly, it is pretty good. The sisters always warn me to steer clear of the really spicy food, so I haven't needed the fire department yet. There is a dish called dahl (not sure of the spelling), which is made with lentils. It is pretty tasty. Many of the foods I either have forgotten the name or never knew it, but we have mostly vegetables and starches. We do not have meat every day, which is fine with me. We were invited to the priests' house on Sunday and had goat meat. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't the greatest either.
I have finally learned to say the Sign of the Cross in Urdu. In case you are interested, it is: Bop, Bitay, Ruelkaduse kay nam par. Amin. (Phonetic spelling as best as I could figure it out. I am also learning a few things to say to the children when they come for their interviews, like: "What is your name?" "Sit here." "Come." "Good" "You are finished." Of course, right now, I am keeping a cheat sheet nearby to remind me of the right words.

The children are sometimes very serious, and sometimes funny---often without meaning to be. One child who really had no idea of how to do an activity that I asked her to do, after she was finished, wanted to tell everyone else how to do it. Sometimes siblings come, and you can clearly see which sibling rules the roost and which is just along for the ride. Some children jump right into the task at hand, whether they know what to do or not, and others simply stare at us like we were from outer space and asked them to build a rocket and join us there. One just plain walked out in the middle of his work. He had had enough and was not about to do any more. His younger brother, however, finished everything.

In case you are wondering about having both younger and older siblings in these interviews, mostly the schools do not function solely on age, but rather on readiness (sometimes the parents' readiness) for school. You could have a wide variety of ages in one room, but all on the same educational level. In our Dominican Convent School, we do try to keep the ages similar, and I think parents know that, but they are not above lying about the child's age in order to get them into the school. Usually, it is pretty obvious when you look at the child or see the kind of work they are capable of doing. Some children tell us that they are in 1st grade in the public schools (which don't necessarily have a good reputation), and they are coming for an interview for kindergarten in our school. I guess the parents do not think the children will tell us. WRONG!!!!!

It is getting close to prayer time now, so I have to go. Will write again when I get a chance.

Anne