From June 24

Its been almost two weeks of trying to connect to the Internet and only getting a busy signal. The only thing that makes it ok is that with the satellite tv I can check the news on BBC and CNN to stay updated at some level. The last week of teaching went fine, we lost Friday completely because the school got the polio vaccine from 8:00 – 9:15 in the morning. I wish we could have resumed school after the vaccination was complete, but some teachers decided to go to town so we were left with imprisoning the kids in their register classes for the last few hours of school. Its better though to focus on the good things about the school like grade 9 and 10 boys wearing bright pink coats because when its cold, it doesn't matter. Or when an older boy brings his younger brother to the library for movie night, pays for the little one to enter and then goes off for another activity. It makes you smile. This week a grade 7 teacher has been making some arrangements for an educational tour during the August holiday, some volunteers spend a fair amount of time organizing trips for their learners but I've decided not to move into that realm because teachers here have ideas about where they want to take their classes and they know how things work in terms of arranging transport, lodging and meals. I end up being a typist and offering occasional encouragement and asking about how things are as a stimulus to more planning. Also this week I found out that in two weeks we might finally get the basketball goal set in the ground, its only taken six months, but it hasn't been a unilateral effort by me. Thats the goal, see things happen but don't do it on my own.
This morning I offered a study session for the grade 10 classes and had 4 boys come for a while. I told them that the study time was completely optional so I didn't expect to see very many kids, but that I would be able to identify the ones that were serious about learning physical science so that I know who to focus on these last few months. I worked with three boys for a while then another showed up a while later, we did some homework then had a nice talk for half an hour or so. He is a boy that all of the teachers immediately recognized as one of the best and we play on the same soccer team. Hopefully I'll be able to work with him some more as we prepare for the exams in October.
Since I missed out on completing a bracket for March Madness it seems appropriate to try to predict the results of the knockout stage of the World Cup. Admittedly, I am writing this after Germany beat Sweden, but I assure you that I would have picked the Germans to win that one. I won't write out every match-up, but I like Argentina over Italy and Ecuador over Spain in the semi-finals with Argentina prevailing as the champions. Ecuador is my Cinderella pick and Spain would be the nice upset over Brazil. Watching the World Cup has been fun, and it is extremely educational. Hear me out on this one, several times in the last weeks students and teachers have commented on the ethnic makeup of the teams from America and France among others. The worldwide nature of the event is a good showcase for the diversity present in many countries and helps build a bit of understanding. And the commercials are pretty good too. Adidas put together several to rival any Budweiser in the Super Bowl and the other American contribution? Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey.
Argentina just finished Mexico and before I shut down for the night I checked ESPN as is my habit and what do you know, ESPN is showing a rodeo straight from the Tulsa Convention Center. I lost an hour of sleep but it was worth it to see the big driller statue, too bad they didn't show the skyline. Small world.