Day 27: teaching, Joseph rehearsal, youth club, bye Isaac

Monday 2nd August:

It's 8:30 and the basket ladies are actually here! That's record time, (even though it's technically still late) :p

The school kids came one by one to read to me- books like Biff and Chip which brings back memories. It's amazing what improvement I've seen just in three weeks! I feel like a proud teacher, or 'madam' as they call me.

I then took charge of the first proper rehearsal of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat which went well I think, despite me not having the script I'd spent ages writing, cause Yohan the barman lost it. I also taught them Any Dream Will Do, and surprisingly they picked up the lyrics very quickly, however pitching is something I may need to work on with them... Not sure if they realise they're all singing in different keys! Haha!

After lunch AJ took the first session with the new HIV group coming in, where she educated them about the virus and then stamps out any false ideas, and also helps with nutrition, etc.

I took Youth club, which was good fun even though only 10 kids showed up, as opposed to the usual 30. We played hide and seek and I have piggy back rides to the kids while the others chased us. We played a bit of splat and make-believe role play games, then finished with a cooking contest making things like mud pies and leaf soup, etc. Thankfully the contest was judged aesthetically and didn't in any way involve tasting the exotic 'dishes'...

 The Butterfly Bake-off finalists



Which turned into a photoshoot:

   

Came back to find three adorable 5 week old puppies.

Then Isaac came over and said goodbye and told me he'd miss me , which admittedly got me teary. He's been such a good friend to me, acting like my brother, and has really made me feel at home here, especially this last week. He was explaining to me yesterday why the fight at chikale beach nearly happened and said he would've won it because he was a good fighter, but the reason he stopped himself is because I was there and he respected me. I was glad to have stopped him in the short run, but I don't know if I've had enough of an effect on him to stop him fighting so much when I've gone. I hope so because he's a really bright lad and a really good guy.

Sidenote: every time I walk up the path to the dorm I get at least two or three cobwebs in my face. Cobwebs are always at face height...!

 Later that day my kids from Youth Club came up to me and gave me this flower as a thank you present!

Friday dedicated dinner to me tonight, asking me what my favourite meal here was so he could cook it for me- Friday, what a sweetie!

Dave waited while I had dinner and then tried to take me to meet his father but he wasn't there so instead took me into town where Isaac was playing his last snooker game before leaving for Mount Mulanje. Said goodbye to Isaac for the actual last time, and then walked back with Dave, Winston and Stan.