Forge Ahead!

This past Friday night was the RFIS Carnival, hosted by the students. Each class was responsible for setting up different booths (cake walk, relay races, zipline, etc) and running them throughout the night. The report right now is that there were more people than last year, and indeed, it did seem like a popular place to be on Friday night. My 11th graders were in charge of several things like food and a Dance Dance Revolution tournament. But their most famous (and favorite!) booth was the Jail. The rules of the jail were that you could pay to have a friend or family member "arrested" and put in jail for 5 minutes at a time. There were several boys whose job it was to chase people down and cart them off to jail. Some of the men who were being arrested put up quite a fight, and the poor boys were exhausted by the end of the night! Here I present Evidence A:



In an effort to show me just how much I'm loved by my students, they paid to have me incarcerated 6 different times! I was definitely feeling the love! Here I present Evidence B:



All in all, it was a great night and everyone had a wonderful time. Hopefully, the 11th graders made some money to save up for their senior trip next year. But no matter what, it was great to spend more time with my kids.

My to-do list runneth over. Wait... maybe that's not how that saying goes. :) But it's true today anyway. There are only 8 weeks left of school before EXAMS!!! are upon us. Yes, that word must be capitalized, at least according to my students who are currently having increasing amounts of panic attacks as the IGCSEs approach. IGCSEs are exams that would probably be the same type of thing as Iowa Test of Basic Skills. They're essential for getting into universities or secondary schools in Europe and the UK.

My English 11 class has begun their second Shakespeare unit of the year (we're reading "Taming of the Shrew"), and they seem to be loving it. Especially when they get to read it aloud in class and get into the parts. They wander around the halls calling each other by their character names, and the boys compete to see how many insults they can memorize to use on one another later. Now, I'm sure there are English teachers out there who are cringing at that thought, but hey... if I can get a 16 or 17 year old boy to quit trying to sneak his iPod into class and actually enjoy reading Shakespeare, then I say that's a pretty good thing.

Tomorrow is another day, full of possibilities. So I'd better go sleep and brace myself. :)

Hi everyone!

Thought you might like to see my 11th grade English class. This is a photo of us that we took for a Flat Stanley project. We received a Flat Stanley (flat, paper version of a child in the States that is supposed to travel the world) from a girl named Sydney, and we took a picture with her Flat Stanley to send to her. My students had fun with it. So here you can see the crazy, lovable hoodlums that I get to spend time with every school day.



This is the largest class at my school, and apparently the loudest, as I've had several teachers poke their heads in and wonder what the commotion is all about. :) There are at least 5 languages bandied about my classroom, and 4 different nationalities represented. Their parents are linguists, translators, teachers, politicians, farmers, and doctors, among other things. I get to teach them how to write well, how to read and (hopefully!) understand Shakespeare, how to look at a written work and swim through the language, metaphors, and verbosity to discover it's meaning and impact, to be inspired by great writers and orators, and to stretch and challenge their brains to reach for, and achieve, the impossible. Each day is a challenge, a frustration, a blessing, a reward. I am so thankful God has brought me here, and for all your prayers and support that make it possible for me to stay.

Blessings,

Anna

Sorry it's been a while. Being on spring break means no easy internet access for me. But I promised pictures of the kids at the school drama, so here you go.






That's the whole cast and stage crew, with me dragged into the middle. :) They were a great group, and I was so proud of how hard everyone worked. We had a great time together, and the play was a hit! I might even be willing to be stage crew manager/makeup & hair lady again next year. Maybe....

The first portion of my Spring break has gone well so far. I've been spending time with one particular family lately, and the parents went out of town on Monday to visit friends up north, so I got to hang out with their 14 year old daughter, Molly, until they got back on Wednesday. Molly is so much fun to hang out with, and she's taught me how to play Dance Dance Revolution! Her mom, Lisa, is really great to talk with. On Thursday, we went to the French club together. The French Club is like a country club with tennis courts and pool, but definitely Cameroon style. :) But we had a great time playing tennis and lounging around the pool for hours. And yes, Mama, I am sunburned... it's hard to avoid sunburn when you live on the Equator, no matter how much sunscreen you slather on. But we had a great time anyway.



Next week is our mission branch's spiritual retreat. There will be worship times, a speaker, and potlucks and such. It will be interesting to meet new people and hear the speaker. But I'm hoping to work another trip to the French club into my schedule. :)




<---- Molly and me after the play. She was part of my stage crew, and was a huge help!

Well, I guess I'd better get offline and do something productive. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

My Spring newsletter is finished! If you'd like to receive it, or you know of someone who would, just leave me a comment with your email and I'd be happy to email it to you! (comments will be screened to keep email addresses private)

This week, the drama production is in full swing at school. Our first show is Thursday night, and things could not be more insane. As stage manager/set crew director, and hair/makeup lady, I'm running around in forty different directions at once. We have to get the set done today, but the only time we can finish painting is while the actors are on stage doing a rehearsal. Not ideal, but we work with what we have.

Spring break begins a week from Friday, and I don't know who's more excited - me or the kids. :) My mission branch will be having conferences that I'll need to attend for several days during break, but then I fully intend to find something relaxing to do. I'll keep you posted on what I come up with.

So if you think of me, send up a quick prayer that everything goes smoothly with drama and set crew, that I'll be able to manage my classes and time well in the next week and a half, and that I can get progress reports written by Friday!!

I'd love to hear from you. Shoot me an email or comment here and let me know what's going on in your life.

This semester, I started teaching an elective history class, Mythology. It's kind of a comparitive religions/history class in which the students are studying different cultures and their myths and beliefs. We've already studied Greek and Roman mythology, and we've just finished our Norse unit. This week we're starting on Asian myth (Babylonian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai). I'm making them actually read the Enuma Elish. Aren't I nice?

Anyways, for each unit of study, they have to complete a project of their choice from a list of options I've given them. They did such a great job on the Norse unit projects that I wanted to share pictures with you.

The first is a Viking burial ship model, complete with "dead body" in the tent, extra clothing, food, and weapons.




Next is a 3D poster of the world according to the Norse.





There are currently only 2 students in the class, but there's already a list of kids who want to take it next semester. We always compare what we're learning to Christianity. I'm really enjoying this because it's helping the kids look outside of what they've always believed and understand just how much what you believe shapes the way you live.

Hope you enjoyed a little insight into my teaching life. Today I'm starting the Canterbury Tales with my 11th grade English class. I plan to fully confirm my students' opinion that I am a total nerd by reciting the General Prologue in Middle English. :)

Fellow teacher, Amy, and I "borrowed" a student's camera, and this was the result -->




Later, that student decided he needed a picture with me too! I'm so popular! (and I'm not mad... we're supposed to be looking "cool") --->




Some of my boys being boys-->



and a totally non-retreat photo, but a cute one nonetheless- me and my nephew at the airport before I headed back here in January --->




(ps- Mother, did you notice that almost all of those have ME in them???) :)

On Friday, I returned with the high school students from a week of retreat at a place called Rock Farm in Cameroon. It was so much fun spending time with students, building relationships, being crazy, and just exploring more of Cameroon. It was a jam-packed few days, with nearly every moment full of activity (including the night, when I had guard duty!). But overall, it was a really encouraging time of helping the students to build each other up and meet God in a new way.








The last night we were there, myself and four other teachers put on a "Whose Line is it Anyway?" game show. I was the hostess, and they were the four actors. I have never seen my students all laughing that hard! It was great! The teachers were hilarious, the games were perfect, and so many kids came up to us afterward and told us how fun it was. At the end of the "show" the "winner" had to do the 90 second alphabet game with me, which was between me and my friend Amy. I think we surprised some of the kids, who didn't believe we had such great senses of humor!

So I'm thankful for times like that to enjoy, that kind of break up the monotony that school can become. Now it's another 5 weeks until spring break, but I think everyone's ready to hit the books again.

This week, I'm hostel-sitting at one of the student hostels while the hostel parents are away for a conference or something. There are 12 students, grades 8-12, in the house, and they are all so unique and fun, and full of mischief! I think we'll have a good week. But I'm sure it will be a challenge tomorrow when we all go back to school, and there's the matter of making sure that 12 people have lunches, homework, books, and sports stuff all ready to go by 7 a.m.! So if you think about it, say a quick prayer for me and Janelle this week. Oh, and don't worry - the puppy is staying here with us. She's getting to spend time with her mom and dad!

Well, it's about dinner time, and soon about 5 sweaty soccer players will return home looking for something to eat! Better get to work!

Tomorrow morning, I leave with the high school students and staff to go on our High School Retreat for the week. We'll be staying at a "retreat center", which I've been told is nice, and the room I'm sharing with another teacher supposedly has air conditioning. At least, it does when the power works, which I've been told to not count on the power all too much. The schedule of events include a speaker for several sessions, small group times, pool time, games, and some fun evening talent shows and "rock star" nights. So I think it will be a lot of fun! I'm really looking forward to the chance to hang out with the kids more outside of school, and to just relax. It will pretty much be like being a counselor at summer camp, so yay! How fun is that? :)

This past weekend was full of time with friends and students. I spent all of Friday evening at one of the student hostels, eating pizza and watching movies with the kids. On Saturday, I had fun cheering on the boys' soccer team in their final match, and having my house invaded by some of those smelly, dusty boys that evening (they proceeded to eat ALL of my homemade granola, and polish off one of the 2 pound bags of peanut M&Ms, in addition to all of Janelle's peanut butter crackers!). It's really been great getting to know some of my students outside of the school campus. They're all a bunch of fun, interesting, and great kids who are teaching me more about life in their own way. So I guess retreat will be even more of a learning experience for me, continuing this process of forming relationships with my students and fellow staff.

If you think about it, pray for us this week as we travel, have speaker sessions, small groups and games. I'll take pictures and be sure to have lots to upload and talk about when we get back.

Dry season has hit with a vengeance. My skin, hair, and eyes are consistently dry, no matter how much lotion, etc. I try to slather them with. The panes of glass on my windows are covered with a film or reddish-brown dust, and every bit of water in my puppy's bowl evaporates within an hour. In the mornings, what appears to be morning fog is actually dust in the air.

Another aspect of this dryness is the temperatures. In the morning, I am literally shivering and so thankful for a warm shower. Today, in fact, I've had goosebumps for about an hour and am trying to think of ways to warm up. Sure, the temperature is in the 70's, but hey... that's cold, people! During the afternoons, it gets downright diabolically toasty in the sun, though. So I've just got to hold out for a few more hours and I'll warm up.

I've been asked to run the stage crew for the school's upcoming drama. It's a challenge, since I've never run a stage crew, or created a set for a play before, but the kids are good, and they're having a good time getting everything ready. I'll try to post pictures as we go, but we begin painting the floor today. Hopefully in the next week or so, we can begin painting our scene on the flats. Getting paint and supplies is proving to be interesting around here, but hey.. it's just another growing experience. :)

Even with all the dryness and challenges of this season in Cameroon, God has been blessing me with refreshing times. Yesterday, I rode to church with a friend downtown, and it was a nice change of pace. I spent several hours chatting with another friend on Saturday, learning about each other and sharing what's on our hearts. I'm looking forward to starting a new small group Bible study in my home in the upcoming week.

So maybe I need some lotion, and my hair is sticking off my head in 50 different directions, but otherwise... my cup is overflowing.

ps - here is a picture of my crazy puppy, Kimia (which is a Lingala word for "peace", named by some of my students). She has decided that our shoe shelf is her favorite nap location. We'll see how long that lasts.

One of the gifts that I received from my mom for Christmas this year was a little travel alarm clock from L.L. Bean. It's all cute, folds nearly flat, is purple, and lights up when you push a button. I know what you're thinking - it's sad that I'm so in love with a little clock. But the cool thing about this clock (in case it's just not cool enough already) is that it also tells you the temperature of wherever you are. So it's on my little nightstand with the piles of books I'm currently reading, along with journal and Bible. And just because I'm a nerd like this, during the night I will frequently make it light up so I can see the temperature. My room has been staying at a consistent 81 degrees Fahrenheit for the last 6 days and 5 nights. But last night, it went down to a cool 79 degrees!

Tonight, as I'm sitting in the yard with my new puppy, (pictures to come soon, I promise) and trying to coax the wireless signal into actually connecting, I checked my brother-in-law's website. (http://openswitch.org) And what do I see on his twitter status but that he's watching it snow. SNOW!!! IN MY HOMETOWN!!! For the first time in about 4 years.

Ok, seriously..... I live in a place where, when it hits 75 degrees, people put on long sleeves and add blankets to their beds. And it has the audacity to snow exactly one week after I left to come back here?

As Stephanie used to say on that show "Full House"... How rude!! :)

Just wanted to share a few photos from my time with my family at Christmas and my birthday. Enjoy!







Somebody got a bike! :)





So... good times with friends and family. Can't believe all the ways God blessed me during that time. Just relaxation, being refreshed and renewed and being able to be with the ones I love. Can't really say much more than that except how thankful I am! Hope your Christmas was just as lovely.

Hi Everyone!

Well, after many hours in the air, I've made it back to Cameroon. Dove headfirst back into teaching this morning with a double period of English class, but so far so good. My body keeps telling me to go sleep, but I'm trying to avoid jet lag, so am making myself stay up until tonight.

There is so much that I wanted to accomplish while I was home - people to catch up with and spend time with, places to go, things to get taken care of, etc. And in many ways I feel like I was able to do most of it, but I know there are people that I didn't get to spend time with, or enough time. So if you are one of those people, please know that you are loved, missed, and prayed for continuously. I hope we can stay in touch.

I'll try to post some pictures of my time at home on here over the weekend. For now, it's back to lesson plans.

Here I am sitting on the couch in my parents' house, enjoying warm sweaters, hot chocolate, and being surrounded by family once again. :) It's a wonderful feeling. God is so good to provide for all our needs, emotionally and everything else.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Hope you have had a blessed day and get to spend time with loved ones.

This is the view of my messy desk as of about 2 weeks ago. ---->



The view from my bed on a rainy laundry day. --->



My awesome substitute folder! My director made me show it to the teacher's at our monthly meeting as an example of what they should be doing. I was embarrassed, but pleased too. --->



Sunset out my front door --->

Rainy season is coming to an end here in Cameroon. Instead of raining every day, it rains maybe 2 or 3 times a week. It’s still a torrential downpour when it does rain, but it’s less frequent. You can feel the sun on your skin more when you’re outside now, and I can’t tell if the darkness on my feet is a tan line, or a permanent dirt mark from the dust that I have to walk through. The temperatures are also beginning to rise, hitting the upper 80’s and lower 90’s.
In addition to changing climate, the ants are out in full force. I should take a picture, because the ants here aren’t just your typical little black ants. They’re HUGE!! And the lines they make going from one side of the road to the other are thick, 100’s deep lines. You have to jump over them, because if you step in them, your feet get attacked. I speak from experience here… it’s not fun.

So all of this combines to make it difficult to believe that it really is December and there are less than 20 days until Christmas. And 15 days until I wing my way over the Atlantic Ocean once again to see my family. But no one’s counting, right? :)

My English class has just finished reading “King Lear” and are all trying to convince me that we should just have class parties for the next week and a half. It’s hard to cajole them into working when I would like it to be break already too!

It’s a flurry of activity for me this weekend and next week. Since my return flight gets back two days after school starts back in January, I am in the process of finding substitute teachers for those two days and writing lesson plans, syllabi, and just in general making things ready. This weekend is a Faire (pronounced “fwahr”), which is where all the local artists and merchants come to a central location in the city to sell their wares. I’m hoping to go with a couple of friends and get the remainder of the Christmas presents on my list. Sunday is the school’s choir concert at the Palais de Congres, and it’s a pretty big deal around here. Then it’s back to school and getting grades finished and progress reports written.

Tonight is the second of my Foods classes’ final exams. Each class has to host a dinner, which they budget for, cook, serve, and clean up. They each have to invite one guest from the teaching staff, and then be solicitous and hospitable all evening. Tuesday night was the first one, and it was an Italian dinner, with candles and Chicken Parmesan, and Tiramisu! It was wonderful! Tonight will be Mexican night, with enchiladas and empanadas. It means a lot of work for me and the students, but it’s also a lot of fun.

Well, the bell is ringing and I guess that means I have to get back to work. Maybe I’ll hum some Christmas songs as I work, to convince myself that it really is that time of year.

I'm back!

The internet has been down in Cameroon for a few weeks, believe it or not. So it's nice to finally see a little bandwidth making its way through. There has been a lot of activity in the last few weeks, teaching, exploring, and just living life.

Thanksgiving is coming up quickly, and I know I have much to be thankful for. I'll be spending the afternoon and evening with some friends, having lots of food and fun times. We still have school until noon that day, but perhaps I can bring some goodies for my students? :)


There's a pile of papers on my desk that I should grade and class starts in about 15 minutes, but I wanted to say hello out there. Hope you all have a blessed week and a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are.

Here are several pictures from the Barn Dance. Enjoy!

This past week began rather unpleasantly, with discouragement and strife. But each moment with my students brought joy and a clear reminder of why in the world I’m living somewhere like this in the first place. It’s hard to explain, but throughout all the discouragement, there seemed to constantly be a reassurance from the people and situations around me that gave me comfort through it all.
The week ended on a rather high note however. Friday night was the Barn Dance, hosted by the senior class. There was a professional square dance instructor, and a line dance instructor. It was so much fun to see so many of the students having such a great time and just enjoying being together. I got to dance the Boot Scootin’ Boogie with everyone, a two step with Collin, a boy in my English class; a circle pair dance with Kati, another 11th grader; and the polka(!) with Jean Paul, a Cameroonian friend. There was so much laughter and excitement in the air! We learned how to “bow to your little lady, now give her a swing, tallest couple – rip and snort!” Watching some of the staff and students attempt the Virginia Reel was rather hilarious, and there was not a single face that didn’t split into a grin at some point, not a single voice that wasn’t raised in laughter by the end of the night.
Saturday there were soccer and basketball games at a local school that several of us made it to the last half to see. We left from there to go to the university downtown and watch the Cameroonian basketball championships. We went because Jean Paul’s team was playing, so there were plenty of teachers and Cameroonian guys all together. Somehow, when we arrived, I and Julia, and a man named Burt were escorted to the VIP fenced-in canopied seating. Don’t know how that happened, but since we were early, we were able to sit through the women’s championship game without roasting in the sun like everyone else. We were seated two rows behind the Minister of Sports, which was rather interesting in itself. As soon as the women’s game ended, we were able to go back and join all our friends in the general seating. It was definitely an experience. The stands were packed with people; there were three different bands playing different songs continuously, and the half-time show made our risqué half-time shows during football season look tame! It was crowded, hot, and noisy – but so much fun! Instead of the usual game fare of popcorn, hot dogs, and Italian ice, we had meat sticks (which are exactly what they sound like – meat on a stick), boiled peanuts, and oranges to suck on. The chairs were plastic lawn chairs. We were there from around 3 until after 8:30, but it was worth it, because Jean Paul’s team won!! BEAC are the Cameroonian men’s basketball champions!
Heading back to a friend’s place for late-night pancakes, and then walking to church by myself on Sunday morning, being able to figure out bits of what was being said in French, singing “How Great Thou Art” in French, and spending Sunday afternoon relaxing – all of this made the weekend so worthwhile and wonderful.
I’m hoping there are more experiences like that, more wonderful memories. I’m sure there will be, and in the meantime, I’ll just keep remembering that the Lord is my strength.

Here are a couple of pictures to tickle your fancy. Write me if you want more.

Well, life here in the rain forest continues. School is in full swing, keeping my days pretty jam-packed with activities. Weekends fly by, and although Mondays can seem rather long, the weeks go pretty quickly as well. There are only 10 weeks of school left before Christmas break, and each of them will have busy-ness of their own. Next weekend, the senior class is hosting a Barn Dance to raise money for their senior trip. It’s funny to get emails and announcements about “home cookin’ and knee-slappin’ fun” when I’m the one that everyone calls the Southern belle. Ok, so they call me a hick, but I like to take that as a compliment on my unique qualities. : ) I can’t help it if the southern twang kicks in every once in a while.
This past weekend, a couple of friends here and I took two visiting girls our age downtown to experience the markets and shopping that Yaoundé has to offer. Almost as soon as we parked and made it down one side street to a little fresh produce market, the skies opened up and dumped big, fat, gumdrops of rain on us. It was amazing to see just how quickly the Cameroonians could cover their produce and scramble for cover. We quickly made our way into a shop, where I got to help show the two girls around. It was so much fun to feel like I was the one who knew things and could help the new people figure out what in the world “levure chimique” actually is! And where you can find the best breads in town, and the hidden treasures, like ice cream. I still have so much to learn about my new home, but it’s beginning to feel like I can make my way here somehow.
This coming weekend, my two roommates (yes, there are two of them now!) will be gone for the weekend. One will be staying at one of the student hostels to help out there (that’s her job) and the other is travelling to the north-west part of the country for a New Testament dedication. After a couple of hectic weeks, it will be nice to have a quiet house all to myself! Those introvert tendencies must be kicking in!
Another student teacher arrives this weekend, and the current student teacher leaves to return to the States in about two weeks. There are people going on furlough and people coming back from furlough. Visitors come and go, and I’m beginning to see just how transitory life can be when you work overseas. So I try to make the most of every opportunity there is to talk to someone new and spend time with friends. It makes you more thankful for the things that are constant in life.
One hitch in getting adjusted and feeling more settled here is that, now that my mind has had time to adjust to changes and begin to process things, I have more time to be homesick. I think about my room, my car (man, my car!), playing on the trampoline with Thomas, sitting at the dinner table with my family, and picking up the phone to call anybody, whenever I feel like it. I met a friend who had once called it “after-grieving” and I think she’s right. But the most important thing about it is that it’s healthy for me to miss those things and dear people, because those connections bring strength and comfort. Those dear ones I miss, those connections, give me a foundation that keeps me steady. And trusting that the Lord has led me this far, and isn’t it the business of abandoning people, gives me the assurance that I can stay here and do what needs to be done, despite homesickness or those chaotic days. I can live here, live in the life and connections I’m making here, knowing that each new connection will only enrich and bless.