See? I am working.

Here are some more posts from by-gone days. I'd like you to note that I did do work - I lead the memory verse and spoke at a literacy class. I don't spend all my days goofing off and watching the birds. :p

Day 11:

Something very adorable and heart-warming happened today.

Before I tell you, though, I have to tell you about a custom here. Whenever you greet someone, if you are friends with them, or even friendly with them, then you have to shake their hand. It is not enough to just greet them. And if you are really good friends, you’ll shake and slap hands a few times. It can be fun, especially when you shake a baby’s hand. Oh yeah. Babies know this tradition. All the ones who can walk will hold out their hands to shake, and I’ve had a couple instances when a little bitty baby will hold out his or her hand. It is cuter than you can even imagine.

I don’t know if you know how adorable it is to shake a little kid’s hand. You should go do that, right now, and tell me if your heart doesn’t melt a little. Sure, it means more here, but it is still so cute.

So, I was at VBS, sitting in the pews during the lesson and this little boy kept trying to sit next to me. He had been too shy to sit next to me at the beginning, so he just kept sliding closer and closer while we sang and did the memory verse. And he was almost there when these two other little kids came in and just sat down between us. Poor kid was pretty upset. Of course, these are little kids, most of them aren’t more than 4, and they get bored, so they move around a lot. Long story short, the boy eventually ended up sitting next to me, and he put his hand in mine.  And just left it there. I was so honored. And okay, I think some of it was to study me, because it kind of looked like he was comparing our skin, but still. I also had a little girl sitting in my lap, and she had her hand in mine, too. It was touching. When the little girl hopped down and moved somewhere else, the boy sat in my lap and held my hand again. Tomorrow I will learn his name.

I also went to a literacy class today and spoke to them, briefly. I tried to encourage them and tell them what they are doing is amazing (this was a teacher’s class, where primary and secondary school teachers were learning how to better teach their students Lamnso’ because they work at a school where it is actually taught). I tried talking about Spanish and English and how it’s better if the kid learns their mother tongue first and then the other language, but I got a little confused and I’m not sure if I got my point. One lady understood what I was trying to say. She clarified what I said and explained some of what they were doing, so that was good.

The literacy class should have been the most exciting… It’s what I came here for, but the VBS has just spoken to me so much more, with the little kids and the lessons… Don’t get me wrong, I find studying the language to be very interesting and the literacy progress is such a good thing. But when I had to leave VBS early to go to the class, I felt a little twang in my heart.

Day 12:

I lead the verse today! That went well. I think. It was a memory verse, so it’s kind of hard to mess up, anyway. Then I went to literacy class. I learned some stuff about Lamnso’. It was on conjugations.

I have some sad news. Tomorrow I am being moved out of Little House. Someone else is coming in, so they are kicking me out. I have to go to a different room. Tonight is my last night in Little House.

Day 13:

VBS and then literacy class again today. In class I learned names for wild animals, domestic animals, mathematic signs (and I’ll have you know I did all the problems correctly, which was amazing considering it was in a different language and I can’t even do basic math in English.). In VBS the little boy, Andy, was back. He was there yesterday, too, but today he sat with me and every time I moved to quiet down another kid, he followed me. Aw…

I’m in a little bitty room with two beds, now. It’s really not bad. It’s just not Little House. I don’t have a kettle, though or anything to make my tea in, so that’s really sad. They said they could bring some hot water up, if I asked. I feel like I’ve been demoted, though. I went from having my own little cottage to being in a room smaller than my dorm. Oh well. It’s only one more night and I have no reason to expect any different from the other towns I’m going.

I leave tomorrow afternoon to go to Bamenda and then I will either stay the night there and travel to Pinyin in the morning or go straight to Pinyin. I think I’m supposed to decided, but I have no idea. It should be fun!