We put the ZZZ's into Zanzibar!

This will be the most boring blog post yet.

Which is AWESOME!

We went to Zanzibar this past week in search of some rest and that is exactly what we found, in abundance (Oh, the sweet abundance of it!)

We landed in Stone Town on Sunday, went on a spice tour (wow, who knew we could spend four hours talking about spices, the use of spices, the medicinal use of spices and also the history of spice). I was very happy to head on up north to the beach at that point.

Then we found Kendwa. Sweet, wonderful Kendwa. With her unassuming ways, her restful bandas and her lazy, lazy days.

We slept, we ate, we...well actually that's about it!

Then we migrated to Jambiani...another beach...only to repeat the therapy.

Check out the pictures on Lisa's Facebook page. I know I will be to relive the...mmmm.

Drama, Drama, Drama....

Last week of a thirteen week term! I should have known there would have been some grand finale's. Here are a few...

Monday-Wednesday not to bad. Did the Insanity workout video that Scott, Lisa's brother sent. I literally thought I was going to drown in my own sweat!

Then Thursday hit!

I sent a student to our local clinic because she was complaining of headaches and chest pain...not uncommon for this time of year. In the mean time, I was getting ready for our new woodworking club (which is always fun...but a mess when I'm involved!), teaching and doing other stuff at the school. I had had a lot of coffee on Thursday, but when I saw Ben drinking some in the afternoon, I thought I needed another cup. Oh, what a bad idea! You know that "twitchy" feeling you get when you have too much coffee...well I was there.

Just as we were about to begin clubs, we had an unexpected visitor show up, handing out gifts, but throwing off the flow of things a bit. No sweat, I've become used to interruptions.

Then, as clubs were ending, I had the typical 54 students around me. "Teacher can I have some seeds for my garden." My saying, "Oh, yeah....I forgot about that...". "Teacher may I keep this thing we just made?" "You betcha" (which I am always convinced really gets lost in translation). "Teacher, teacher, teacher....." It's fun for reals. That "buzz" is part of what I like about teaching here. Or was that the last cup of coffee....

Anyway, in the midst of all the end of day stuff, one student said..."Teacher, you're needed outside. A student is passed out there." Crap.

So, I ran out and sure enough there was a student down with a few others around. We loaded the student up, took her to the local clinic and then on to the district hospital. This is when I got really angry.

This was my first experience with the Monduli District Hospital. Let me just be succinct in saying I would not feel comfortable going there for many procedures. What really struck me, though, was the ARROGANCE I perceived from the staff. We spent more time talking about who was the "big man" amongst all of us who accompanied our student than we did trying to fix the problem! I got yelled at to get out of the way...but only after they discovered I was "only teacher." "I am not!" I thought about saying. "I'm the chief medical officer at Orkeeswa...." Oh shut up, Seth! One more ego in this mix isn't going to solve anything!

Friday was the last day. Last days are hard for teachers. They makes teachers all over the world want to drink. I did enjoy our end of school party...we had a whistling contest and even gave away two of our very own chicken eggs as a prize to the top whistler amongst the teachers. Personally, I thought the maintainence guy should have won, but you know what they say about art, and all that... We even heard there were elephants near the school. One student came up to me and said "Teacher, I almost had to say goodbye to my parents. I walked between two elephants on the way to school today." You gotta love that! Anyway, we survived and were celebrating after school with the teachers and other folks. That's when we got the call. That student was still sick and needed to be seen to know if we needed to go to a different doctor. So, in the car I go...bouncing through the bush. The student lived WAY out there. We loaded the student in the Land Rover and off we went to Arusha. After some blood work and a couple more IV bags (man, I ought to start taking some of those IV bags instead of coffee...) the student was good to go. Unfortunately since it was 12:30 AM, I wasn't. Plus, I realized I had lost my wallet in the mix.

Finally, we dropped off the student and returned home about 2 AM this morning. I still havn't found my wallet and thank the stars above noone was attacked by elephants. Lisa had made some chocolate chip cookies...so I ate them by myself at 2:30 this morning with some tea. Don't get me wrong... I love this stuff! But, sweet, sweet beaches of Zanzibar, I hear you calling my name next week!

I Would Take It All Away

I would take it all away.

The mud. The mud that our students walk through every day to get to school. The mud that binds to their shoes and clothes and instantly covers everything. The mud the mamas must wash out of the kitchen and classrooms every day. The mud that coats the Land Rover and threatens to pull us off the road at a moment's notice. I would take away the mud.

The hunger. If there is no food at home, kids don't eat. I am naïve enough to think that most of our students eat at home. I know that some don't. I know that until morning breakfast, they don't have much, if anything in their bellies. I would take away the hunger.

The stress. Everything is geared toward these high stakes tests. If they don't pass these tests, they don't continue this education. End of story. The kids know this better than anyone. Add on the realities of life too. Relationships. Family. Work. All of it adds up. Our kids handle it pretty well, but I know stress is a constant companion. I would take away the stress.

The sickness. As the medical guy, I look at some weird stuff. It's escalated since the rains began. Waterborne illness. Infections. Coughs. No problem if you can get in right away and see a doctor and then get the proper medications, right? No problem… if it were possible to not walk in the mud every day. But of course…it's not. I take it hard when they are sick. I don't like it. I'm guessing they aren't that fond if it either. Still, some things I say "I just don't know what to do about that…" I would take away the sickness.

The hard life. Sometimes I look around and see these struggles and it does make me sad. I don't like to see my students walking in the rain. I don't like to see my students having to grow up so fast. I would take away this hard life.

I would take it all away.

But I don't get to make that call.

We had an all school show and tell about the clubs students participate in. Each group stood up and shared a bit about their club. Everyone was in a good mood, respectful toward their fellow students and teachers. Afterward, each student received a lollipop from their club advisor. Unfortunately, during the event one girl got sick and I was trying to attend to her. I gave out as many of my lollies to my woodworking club folks before looking after the sick girl, but I managed to miss one of my club members. I was busy with the sick girl and had quite a few "helpers" standing around which seemed to add to the chaos of the situation. I was feeling a bit stressed by everything. In the midst of things, my club member found me and quietly tapped me on the shoulder and said "teacher, I didn't get my lolly. Could I have one." It wasn't one of those snotty "I didn't get…blah, blah" retorts you might get from a teenager. Nor was it demanding. It was a simple request for something that was hers. And it was so innocent that it caught me off guard.

Maybe God gives us mud so we can learn perseverance. Maybe we get sick so we can care for one another. Maybe what I see as a "hard life" is just developing the character of someone in ways I am too limited to understand.

Or, maybe it's just mud.