4th of July

…ah, it was the 4^th of July and we started a new training time. Our group of 39 has been split up. I am not a part of a 5 person training group. Jon , myself, and three others. We meet in a location which is closer to where the 5 of us all live. We are training at a local secondary school now. It’s all Swahili learning and teacher training at this point. The students of the school have been on a short break and their first day back was yesterday. They all gathered in front of the school for a speech. Then, the five of us Peace Corps trainees introduced ourselves to the students. The students all sang songs. Starting on Monday of next week, I will be teaching 3 times a week to students who are in grade 9. My class consists of 74 students. Their English teacher went on a maternity leave and they have not learned English since May 2. So, for the next month, I will teach them 6 periods of English per week. The periods are combined, so my lessons will be 80 minutes long! We’re all a little nervous about 80 minutes. I will be evaluated by Peace Corps on ways I could improve my teaching before I have my real assignment. On another note, the students are busy cleaning up the school. The students “mow” the lawn by using machetes to cut the grass. 

It’s so interesting, check out the picture! They also all wear uniforms and the girls have to keep their hair cut very short. Imagine that, in America. It would never happen!