I miss my kiddies!!

So I have given up on the hopes of being a faithful blogger. But I figured it would be good to give an update of what I’ve been up to! Well I just finished my last week at my first project. My last official day was on Friday, but I went on Monday as well as they were having a Christmas party that day! It was very hard to say goodbye to the kids, I was trying really hard to be brave, but I almost lost it once. But other than that, I managed to keep it together until the kids left. I didn’t realize how attached I was going to get to them. One thing I should have done earlier is told you a bit about each kid.

Well, better late than never!

Michaela: the cutest girl ever. She has epilepsy, but is so good about taking her medicine, never makes a fuss. Often in her own little world. Loves to dance, and loves to have pictures taken. She’ll always say, “And me, teacher, and me!” when I pull out my camera. Whenever I flip the kids on the playground, she’ll always try, but only go halfway, then jump off, but she loves doing that!

Tarryn: also the cutest girl ever, very different from Michaela, Tarryn’s has a small defiant streak that comes out now and then, but she's still very sweet. She’s very observant, if I get a small new scab on my foot, she’ll notice, and say, “Teacher, why are you sore?” Loves to be picked up and carried around. 

Kaitlin: very energetic, she doesn’t understand English very well, most of the time we have no idea what she’s talking about!

Nobless: more on the quiet side, she is a very good drawer. She misses a lot of school unfortunately, but is still very smart despite that! (The one on the left)

Payton: future head cheerleader potential, she always has her hair braided differently, her mom has some mad skills! Likes to talk about her cat, Leo. She loves to chew gum in class, and hide it under her tongue haha. Also a very smart girl. 

Nicole: definitely one of the smartest kids in the class. She is a very sweet girl, she loves to do my hair more than anyone else in the class, if we’re inside she’ll use a block as a hairbrush, or if we’re on the playground, she’ll use a rock. “Teacher, I’m going to make your hair nice” is something I hear a lot!

Shameerah: was very shy at first, but opened up over time, also loves to chew gum in  class. For the first month of practicing our California Girls dance, she wouldn’t dance, she would just stand there. Refuses to eat apples! 

Mushfeeka: always always has something coming out of her nose. She is also a very good drawer as well, misses a fair amount of school. 

Nawaaz: such a sweetheart. He told Ditte he was my boyfriend after a week or two. Very competitive, always likes to be first in line, will always let me know if someone is doing something they shouldn’t be. Always runs to me the second we get on the playground to do some flips. Loves to sit on my lap. 

Kholisa: a very nice boy, who unfortunately stopped coming the last month or so. He loved to repeat the same thing over and over and over again. Such a sweetie. 

Torique: also stopped coming about a month in because his parents owed R20 (about $2.50 CA). I would have loved to just pay the fine and have him come back, but it doesn’t work like that unfortunately. He was a sweetie though, I miss him!

Sange: such a little mischief maker, but I love him. Has a lot of energy, loves to compete with Nawaaz. Would always try to sit on my lap whenever possible, loved to climb all over me. Has such a adorable face when he really smiles, or when he gets embarrassed for doing something good. He loves it when I pretend there’s something under his arm, then sneak up and tickle him. He’ll then go around the class, bringing me kids with their arms up, so I can do the same to them. 

Lungesani: Sange’s cousin, but they live together. At first he seems a lot darker, but if you give him attention, he lights up. The other day, when he got a present, he started chanting his name, it was adorable. 

Ashen: the tiniest little boy, he gets very attached, would start crying if he was sitting on my lap and someone else tried to sit with us. Loves bread, loves to ask for it. Also loves to hide under the table if things aren’t going his way. He's so cute!

Grigory: makes the funniest face ever, he kind of spaces out a lot! We always try to give him more food when we can. Has a very short attention span!

Banza: such a cute child, was shy at first, but not after a bit. I always pretend to shake his hand, and then we tickle each other’s wrists, he gets such a kick out of it. 

Mani: a tough kid, but very sweet. Very honest, if he’s been fighting, he’ll say he is, but if he hasn’t, he’ll say “Teacher, I didn’t fight.” Loves to wrestle with the other kids. 

Courage: the mischief maker of the class for sure. He doesn’t really listen to me. He can be sweet if he chooses, which he does now and then. He doesn’t smile as much as the other kids, but when he fully smiles, he has a huge big smile! 

Inam: he was shy at first, but now is one of my favourites. The other day he was telling me about how he’s going to the big school in January, and I’m going to go with him. Got really shy the other day and then he gave me a hug and told me loved me and gave me a kiss, then ran away. Just such a nice boy, a really good heart. 

Yve: the FUNNIEST randomest kid ever. He loves to pretend he’s Spider-Man. He would literally just start yelling something, then slap his knees, and raise his hands. I wish I had recorded him because I got such a kick out of him. He looks so cute sometimes in ridiculous outfits, with his rubber boots, or his hat that I think might be made from an old pair of boxers and a shoelace? 

Kwanele: also a big mischief maker, but he’s a sweetie too. I think he is such a beautiful child. Loves to drive his car (a frisbee) around the classroom. Loves to throw sand on the playground, which drives me bonkers!

Exoce: he missed a lot of school, but he is a really good kid. Has a beautiful smile, is a generally very happy kid. His dad would always pick him up before nap time. (He's the one in the middle)

Iqel: this is the kid that would sit there biting my pants during class, or picking at my feet, or something haha, loved to sit in front of me, got very possessive during the last week or two, and would just follow me around the whole time!

So that’s my class! I miss them so much thinking about them, but they’re on Christmas break now, so I couldn’t even go visit them if I wanted. 

There's a couple other kids that I've spent some time with on the playground who also have a special place in my heart!!!
Here's a few pics of them :)

I am now on my week off, housesitting at a GORGEOUS house with Tim, it’s definitely the nicest house I’ve ever stayed at. It’s crazy having a TV again! It worked out really well actually because I’ve been really sick the last week (tonsilitis & bronchitis), so on Saturday I went to the doctor’s and got some medicine, then moved into this house, and  watched TV for six hours straight! I watched the Lakers play the Bulls (Bulls won :) ), watched a bit of Scrubs and Will & Grace, then watched something on the World’s Deadliest Animals! I’m feeling a lot better now, I just have a cough that I can’t seem to kick! 

Yesterday I got to visit my mom’s World Vision sponsor child, Lehagen. That was a really cool experience! I went to the World Vision centre in Atlantis, and then a woman drove me into the community where he and his family live, I actually got to meet his parents, and his two brothers as well! The children were very shy, and didn’t speak English really, but the father spoke English, so I was able to talk to him and use him as a translator as well. I thought it was really awesome that I had the chance to meet him face to face! 

Next week I will be starting my penguin project for six weeks, interested to see what that’s like!

So that’s a bit of what I’ve been up to! It’s been hard saying goodbye to my children, but also to my friends, as most of them are going home now for Christmas. It’s going to be weird being away for Christmas, not really looking forward to it, and there’s no snow!!! But apparently at Canal Walk there is a fake snow hill or something, I’m not too sure, I have to further investigate, but I may have to head over there and check it out!