Puppet Show and Swimming! (by: Alyssa)

Hey!

Today marks "one week left" in Africa :( It makes me really sad to think that all of this is soon coming to an end.

Em already told you about us going to see that family again. :) It was really special - they gave us their email and said that if we're ever back in Uganda, we should contact them. We brought some of our leftover food with us when we went to see them, and one thing was a package of rice. When we gave it to them, they we so grateful and said "Should we boil it or steam it??" They thought we brought it to them so they could cook it for us! And they were totally willing! Obviously we told them that they could keep the rice for later :P

Yesterday, it was raining a bit in the afternoon, and the volunteers were stuck with no ideas of what to entertain the kids with. We tried watching a movie, but the DVD didn't work, so Em suggested we do a puppet show! It was HILARIOUS - not really for the kids, but for us! haha! They kids were midly entertained, and Em and I were killing ourselves laughing :P First, we tried to make a little play about a bunch of kids at Amani who learned that it's best to listen to their aunties, haha! Then, we reennacted the Lion King, using lion puppets, giraffe puppets, and a bunch of others. Finally, we attempted to do the story of the three little pigs, except we didn't have any pig puppets, so we used a cat, a sheep and a little doll. Definitely a memorable time.

This morning, we went on a big group outing with most of the preschoolers, each volunteer responsible for one. It was our first time going to the pool with them (we use the pool of a nearby hotel) and they absolutely loved it! Some of them were a bit scared at first, but they warmed up to it eventually. The little girl I took was pretty much fearless - she wanted to swim on her own, even though she didn't know how! And she was jumping without hesitation into my arms off the side of the pool. There was also some kind of graduation ceremony happening at the same time and there was some really loud music playing that the kids were dancing to. They are SO funny when they dance. Like Em has written in many blog entries, music is in their blood here in Africa, and even the little ones understand rhythms pretty well. :)

Tomorrow, Em and I are going to try to go to two church services, as it's our last sunday and we want to experience as much as we can!

To HIM be the glory!
Much love,
Alyssa