A Day In The Life.....

Sometimes it's hard to think of things to write about because life over here in Yako has become so normal. I wake up and eat my cereal with the locally made yogurt that is delicious, drink my tea, read my Bible, and talk with Nichole. I make it outside around eight-thirty or nine. It'susually closer to nine. And I hang out with the toddlers/preschoolers for a while. We play with blocks, draw, and color pictures. Lately I've been getting out books for our kids to look at. None of them can read, but I think that this exposure to books is good for them. Books are rare in Burkina. Most of the books we have are expensive and are shipped in from France. Most people, even adults, don't know how to take care of books (which is strange because we are all taught from young ages how to take care of books) and because of how many people handle things here and the dirt, things tend to get ruined more quickly. So we keep all the books in the office, and I get out six or seven (I have adifferent helper every day to help me choose) and I'm trying to teach them how to take care of them. They are doing pretty well. The first few days they didn't know what to do with the books, but they are learning. One boy inparticular, Ferdinand, has begun to make up a story that corresponds with the pictures. Which is what kids at home do that can't read. It's what is supposed to happen. It's good for their little imaginations.

Imagination is one thing that we need more of here....the people are not taught to think outside the box or to use their imaginations which is hard for us to imagine. Beginning when we are little we are taught that we can do anything we want..."reach for the stars!" but not here. Here you do what your family or the government tells you to do, and it's not questioned. We have some kids who are very smart but only have vague ideas of what they want to do because they think that #1 it's unattainable or #2 they've never even considered what they would want to do.So all that to say, I'm glad our little ones are using their imaginations.

After playing with them for an hour or so, I spend some time with our"big" babies (the ones older than a year). Jeanette is doing well. Her leg is healed, although not correctly so we are going to put her in traction. Isaaca is walking a lot. He smiles all the time, and loves to tell stories. He talks a lot. Lydia lets you know what she wants. She smiles and laughs when she is happy, but if you do something that she doesn't like, she starts screaming! Serata is fat, and it's good to see fat babies here. She doesn't move a whole lot because she is so fat...and she's mostly a happy baby...she's still young. Ibrahim was sick and sad and had no personality when he came about two and a half months ago; but because of the love and attention of Nichole, he iscoming around. He's getting healthier and he's smiling and walking some now...whereas before he could walk but refused to and was mostly lethargic. Alfonsine is not normal. She's beautiful beautiful beautiful, but she was abandoned in the Ivory Coast along with her twin brother, Alfonse, who has since died. Some days she is fine, happy, smiling, laughing, talking... but all of a sudden, for no reason she FREAKS OUT - screaming like someone is torturing her. She grabs and pulls on anything and everything. If you put her in her crib, she rocks herself violently. We've started praying for her because her behavior is a little worrisome because it's so not normal. Since we started praying, she has had some days that have been better and some that have not, but we'll just keep loving her and praying for her. The most recent addition to the big baby room is"gross" Ibrahim (which just means fat Ibrahim...he's not actually gross). He moved up from the tiny baby room. He loves to move. He crawls everywhere and loves to smile and loves to drool. He has two thumbs on one hand and it's one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. He also hasa HUGE belly button. Over here belly buttons are huge in general..no oneseems to know why. But his is extra extra huge. One of these days I'll have to take a picture and post it. When he crawls it drags on theground. It's pretty funny, but I feel bad for him too.

After the babies, it's time for lunch and sieste. The afternoons vary from play with the preschoolers again to reading books/hanging out with the school-agers who love and need one on one attention. Some afternoons I have French class. Night time is for hanging out with the older kids, or the school-agers, watching movies, playing games, praying with the school-agers before bed, and making sure they go to the bathroom and brush their teeth. That's a "normal" day...although every day is a little different.