Visiting Eleanor Roosevelt at 'Home'

     So I've done some 'home' visits before.  This can be confusing.  "Wait, aren't they orphans?" some friends ask. Yes, or selected for extreme vulnerability, (remaining parent is sick or unable to give care, extreme poverty, abuse in the home.)  Also Rwanda's social system is very different than the US.  Everyone has some guardian, assigned by the government. It might be an uncle you hardly know, some distant cousin, a stepmother.  This guardian might be pretty unhappy you've been assigned to them.  Or not.  Maybe they care for the student the best the can.  Regardless of the situation everyone has to leave the village during school vacations, so they maintain some connection with where they came from, and so they have somewhere to go when the time is up. This stresses me out, seeing them going back to vulnerable situations they were selected out of, However, for some of the kids just being in the village and having other people call to check up on them can improve how their guardians treat them, or how they are perceived for the future.  If you think your house boy is going to turn into a well educated earner you might be a bit nicer to him.  So it's possible the situation they are returning to isn't quite as dire as the one they left.

     Some of my girls live entirely alone, or only with other siblings.  Some live in homes with a surviving parent who has remarried.  (In Rwanda its pretty common for this new spouse to be openly hostile to the previous union's children.  This of course seems crazy to me, but is cultural.)  Some live with Grandparents or 'Granduncles'.  Many live with aunts or uncles that have plenty of their own children to care for.  Many work as house girls / domestic servants for their guardians during the break. 

After the *end* (brief break? halftime?) of Application Boot Camp, I went to see everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt I hadn't been to see yet. 9 more girls.  Every visit was wonderful.  All the girls were glad to see me and I was always shown Rwandan hospitality and treated like royalty.  Below are a few photos and a few notes from the visits.  For some of the longer visits, I was afraid I would get lost and took Yvonne with me as my tour guide.  She was amazing and is the best travel companion one could ever hope for.

Agnes, Me, Her Mom

Visiting Agnes was nuts! We took a bus two hours south to Nyanze.  Then a 1 hour moto ride to Busoro city.  Then asked around for her at the local government because she does not have a phone and her mom doesn't have a phone.  We finally found someone who knew where she lives and took us to a bike taxi to take us, for another 1 hour ride.  When we got there she was so surprised. She said she didn't think we could ever find her. It was great to see her.

Travel team starting a journey in Nyambugogo Bus Park

Friend and Ornella

Improbably, on the way to visit Josiane, we bumped in to Ornella in Remera bus park with a friend.  Doesn't she look all grown up with braids in?

Josiane's family and Me

Josiane lives in Muthenderi, in the East, not too far from Kibungo.  I met her mom at the baptism recently at ASYV. She has two younger brothers and a younger sister. It was a long journey to find her and there was no mobile phone service, so Yvonne had to work extra hard to track down where to go by asking anyone nearby.  When we finally arrived it was great to meet the whole family.

Brother, Cow, Me, Adelphine

Ancient Granny, Aunt, Me, Adelphine, Brother

Adelphine lives with her aunt, 2 brothers and an ancient Grandmother who insisted on walking me up the steep train back to the dirt road they live off.  Her family was super nice and super generous.  Her brother had set up a solar panel so the family could charge their cell phones.

Solar set up in Rugobabgoba

Violette and her Family

 That same day in the afternoon I visited Violette. Her aunt had a little baby girl named Chance that cried a lot.  This photo is Violette's aunt, self, Aunt, cousin and laughing Grandmother. Violette showed me around her village.  She took me to a community animal share where these pigs are starving.  The photos are terrible, they were moving constantly and the light and angles were all wrong, but trust me starving pigs look weird:

This is a pig,  In Runda.

Yvonne and Josiane sample the fresh cassava root 

Yvonne and I travelled to Butare to visit Josiane, who lives alone mostly or sometimes with her half-brother when he is around.  I met her neighbors and saw the fields she cultivates.  She harvested some cassava root for me right there and we ate some fresh from the ground. Yes, she is wearing a Plaisir shirt, one of two competing condom brands here in Rwanda.  Okay, this didn't delight me, but I do support condom use.

Chantal, her Brother and some kids who live nearby

Chantal lives in the Western Province, in a house alone with her brother who is 1 year older than her, Placide. They do have some aunts and uncles nearby.  After a 2 hour bus ride to Ngororero, a 30 minute moto ridge to Gatumba, she met us near a market.  Then we hiked 1 hour straight up to the house where they live.  Mountain goat style.  The house is adorably decorated and impeccably kept.  It's hard to imagine what this house would be like with two American teens living there on their own.

Chantal, Yvonne, Placide and a friend, about halfway up to their house

Noeline, Her Aunt, Uncle, and 4 boy cousins

Noeline and 2 cousins in front of her house

I visisted Noeline in Cuminagatanu (15) about 20 minutes outside of Kigali town center.  She lives with her uncle, aunt and their 4 sons.  Her uncle is an interesting guy who told me Anne Heyman could not really be a woman because she was so intelligent. Thanks.  Noeline was so glad to see me and made me a special card.

The visits were all bitter sweet because it was so good to see the girls, and also for most of them this will be my last time seeing them, at least until I come back for their graduation in 2016.

Eleanor Roosevelt: The End of the First Year

Eleanor Roosevelt went home on November 7.  It was heartbreaking hugging the girls as the got on the busses that will carry them across Rwanda. They won't come back to Agahozo until January 4, so this is a long time for them to be in the vulnerable homes they were rescued from.  I understand the need for these girls to maintain relationships with their community, and to have place to go in 4 years when their time at Agahozo ends.  On the other hand, this is such a dangerous time for them, knowing some of them with be without adequate food and shelter, some will be without medications they need, some will be with guardians who don't love or care for them.   Hopefully what they have learned in this year will make this time more bearable.  Since I won't be here when they get back, this was excruciating for me.  I will be visiting a lot more of the girls in the coming weeks, so it wasn't goodbye for everyone, but it was still very hard.

 **************

After a year in the village, Josiane is healthier, but still has her persistent, hacking cough at times. She enjoys singing with the choir and will continue this next year.  She was placed in the most remedial of the academic classes this year, but she made the biggest progress in her entire grade and got the highest grades in her entire class.  

Violette drastically improved her English this year.  She has found her niche with the student led, 'Genesis of Creativity' a fashion and modeling collective.  You saw her vamping on the runway in a recent post . She's excited about coming back for next year.

Ornella started and finished the year strong.  She did well in school and performed in debates, village quiz, basketball, science day, the school-wide chess competition and pretty much every opportunity that came her way.  I have challenged her to keep pushing her English outside of class with a current events discussion group made up of mostly Sr. 4 & Sr. 5 students.  She is a leader for her entire grade.  She already has a job tutoring English over the vacation, which should keep her busy.

Honorine worked hard at every opportunity she had.  She seeks attention at every turn and will continue to perform poems at Village Time.  She learned a lot socially this year and I expect that development to continue over the next years.

Adelphine is always a joy.  She still has her trademark broad smile and ready laugh for anyone. Still, she was sadder than most of the girls about the other cousins leaving. She is taking the separation pretty hard. I am looking forward to visiting her at her home in Kamonyi.

Chantal spent a lot of the year worrying about her brother who was home alone without a guardian.  The joy of being here can turn to guilt if someone you love is hungry and alone.  She was so excited to leave the village to go and see him and care for him.  She was very strong in her language classes and the school tagged her a 'language leader'.  She is planning to teach her new English skills to her brother when she gets home.  She will always be my attitudinal north star.  She was so positive with every challenge and such a delight to be around.

Noeline's transformation this year was quite substantial, though it might not show in the photos.  She got to be a kid at least a little bit, and this was something totally new for her.  She also got to have a few possessions for the first time, so started doing girly things like fretting about her outfit and accessorizing.  It was great to see her laugh and joke and dance.  Noeline was an absolute star all year on ASYV news, reporting regularly on the news around the village.  I think she'll continue to write and take steps to pursue her dream of being a journalist.

Alice has much better English than she lets on.  She made a lot of friends this year and is a very social girl.  Maybe she's not taking school that seriously, but everyone can't be valedictorian and I'm not that worried about it.  She's a confident girl and I think she's going to be just fine.

Adelaide really struggled to balance her interest in sports and dancing with some pressure she got from female Rwandan staff to stay at home and do fewer activities.  I tried hard to counterbalance this that she should do everything in the village and take advantage of as many opportunities as possible.  She's a very thoughtful girl and we'll see how this turns out of the coming years.  I really hope she sticks with the basketball team because she enjoys it and it's a great way for her to build confidence.

Agnes' self confidence grew by leaps and sounds this year.  She started to think about her opinions of things and to challenge things instead of accepting everything.  It was amazing to see her presenting a book report on Malaysia in English in front of her entire class when she had been too shy to speak many words even in Kinyarwanda at home when the year started.  She is well-liked by the other girls and is serious in her studies.  

Samila did well in school all year. She started the year a little more sophisticated and maybe a bit standoffish from her sisters but by the end she was a well-integrated part of the family.  She wants to continue pursuing drama and sketches and likes to watch movies.  At her behest, after everyone finished their exams we watched Twilight 1, which I had heard so much about of course, but never seen.  While I can't recommend it, the girls enjoyed it and we all had a good time.

Yvonne is a shining light.  She is so direct, and so positive at the same time.  "Cousin, you are dirty! (me coming back from running).  Go and wash!"  Said with a laugh and huge grin that makes it seem like a nice suggestion not a criticism.  Thanks, Yvonne. She had some back aches and headaches this year that are usually a sign more of stress than anything, but I think she'll be okay.  She is going to accompany me on some of my travels to visit the other girls and keep and eye on me.  I'm in good hands. She was very excited to go home and see her grandmother and her younger sister. She works hard at school and enjoys dancing with the other kids.

Grace found her voice this year in the theatre productions and sketches.  She learned to be loud and confident to express herself.  It was a lot of fun to see her on stage. Being an Adventists separates her a bit from the family.  She never does farm or muchaka with us, instead she goes to church on Saturdays with about 20 other kids and then does these activities by herself on Sunday.  She was a serious student who did well on her report cards, and I can't see any reason she won't continue to thrive in and out of the classroom next year.

Josiane was written up in the Village Times (a newsletter for friers and donors at ASYV) for her transformation this year.  She really benefitted from being in a safe place where she didn't have to fear physical harm or punishment.  When she started out the year I didn't think the muscles in her face could form a smile, but by the end she was laughing and teasing me with all the other girls. She improved so much in school. (It's a lot easier to learn things when you're not having a panic attack, apparently.)  She enjoys hanging out with her sisters so much.  She wants to study languages and maybe be a translator one day. 

Happiness became a 'Village Super Star' this year.  She is an amazing singer and it was clear she has one of the top voices in the entire village.  She worked with other singers and musicians to write and record her own song here in the village recording studio. There is an elaborate video with backup dancers and about 15 costume changes. She did all this on top of her choreography for the dance group.  It's clear she'll continue to be active in the performing arts and be a regular at Village Time.  She's classically shy offstage, but in her element and confident on stage.

*************

I'll miss them all so much, and it' so hard to think about family time next year without my being there.  They'll be fine, they have each other, but I'll be a mess without them back in the US. I think the village gives them so much, from basic needs like food and clothing to mental health care and arts enrichment, to a top quality education, but I think the most important thing the village gives them is each other. They are told and taught to behave like a family and for their whole lives they'll have 14 other girls who love them and can help them find shelter and work and care and between them there isn't a problem they won't be able to solve.  It's hard to go home and accept that I won't be with them any more, but I know they have so many other caring adults in their lives at Agahozo.  They are in good hands and they are being given every opportunity to succeed.

Catching up on some Photos

Hi there.  Just checking in with a few photos from the phone.  

Crystal Cola is popular in Rwanda and you can buy it for take away in most of the tiny shops around:

IMHO, Our friends at Crystal may have some copyright and trademark discussions around their choice of font.
They are real, check them out here.

This sign is at a sports club in Kigali.  I was terrified for a while, but now I think it is a typo for a 'cap'.

Eleanor Roosevelt lives two houses away from my house, but right next to the boy cousin's house.  About 10 feet apart. All my girls are in love with the boy cousins, in a cute way.  (Mostly Avi & Miki.)  It's possible someone in the photo below has a little crush:

Adelphine and Avi

Remember the first day of school?  Here's some of Eleanor Roosevelt on the last day of school, getting their report cards.  

Yvonne, Josiane, Violette, Grace and Samila

They were also assigned combinations (like Math, Chemistry and Physics) or (History, Economics and Geography) and these are the only subjects they'll study for the next three years of high school. I'll be honest, there were some tears.

Doing laundry during grading week after exams:

Yvonne, Josiane, Josiane and Adelphine

After you wash your clothing you can just spread them on the ground to dry.  It works just fine.  It really does.  Also, as I assume I've mentioned before, you can wash your shoes after every wearing just like clothing.

Remember Immaculee?  She's finished with secondary school now, and she is glad:

Immaculee after her last National Exam

So, the kids are done with exams and leaving or left and I am working in the village for a few more weeks with a select group of Sr. 6 kids on TOEFL prep and university scholarship applications.  It's crazy and stressful and pretty amazing.  More on ER soon.  

I played pick up in Kigali the other day.  The girls are amazing. Like really aggressive on D and can put it.  It was awesome.  Also, I am old and out of shape.

Hope you are doing well.  I guess the global warming scientist can say I told you so now about the super storms for the Nth time (Sandy, Katrina, Hayian).  I wish that were worth a dern.

My Absolute Favorite Thing in the World

Eleanor Roosevelt Sings:

Mana Nkuko Wafashaga

Mana nkuko wasfashaga

Basogokuruza

Niko natwe uza dupacha

Mumyaka iri mbere

Umuyaga wi shuhe ri

Urawuturinda

Uzatubere ubuturo

Budashira iteka

Ker abo kwiringiraga

Bari mumohoro

Tugupite ntitwifuza

Undi murengezo

Yes, I know you can't see anything.  This is the lighting in the village.  It's light without light.  I can't explain it, but Rwandans can see by it.  The point is just to hear it.  They sing like this a lot, especially before we pray and it's beautiful and amazing and easy and not given a care by them.  This is my favorite song they sing and I asked them to sing it to me on our last family time together as a family this year.  I cried and cried.

We also discussed some great memories from the year, and they gave me beautiful handmade cards and an incredible clock that you'll be sure to see if you are ever in my home.  The girls danced for me, and sang and gave speeches of thanks.  Everyone.  I gave farewell remarks as well, but I can;t remember what I was saying, only trying to talk through the tears.

It was a sad night, but my thinking on it now is that it's really great to have a sad night that was planned and expected and not a trauma of any kind.  It's life.  It's natural. Comeza.

Visiting Honorine

I have so much to tell you.  It's been a while since we had time to talk.  This is the start of the third term and everyone made it back safe and sound this time to the village.  I can't believe I'm 2/3rd of the way done with my year at Agahozo.  It really has flown by.  I feel like it's almost time for me to go back home and there's still so much I haven't achieved.

Let me tell you about my visit to Honorine's home in Gisozi, a Kigali suburb near the Genocide Memorial.

Of the 15 girls in Eleanor Roosevelt family, only two 'went out' (left the village) on this 'break'.  As mentioned in a previous post, due to changed academic requirements for sitting for the leaving exam, 9 of the girls in my family had to stay through the break and study for what will amount to be a Junior High graduation exam.  Four others stayed and participated in an amazing 2 week theatre program that they absolutely adored.  Honorine and Agnes were the only two to have already completed the required exam and were not in the theatre program.  

I visited Honorine at her home on the first day of the vacation.  She has an amazing adoptive mom who would be the subject of a CNN Hero documentary or at the very least an episode of Extreme Home Makeover anywhere but Rwanda, but in Rwanda her story just blends in, as not that extreme.  Josephine has no biological children, but has 16 adopted children with no other family or guardian.  They all live, when not at school, in a very modest, tiny home.  When I visited most of the other kids were still at school, so I met one younger brother (8), one younger sister (15) and Josephine.  She speaks no English but smiles and hugs a lot and was happy to read to me from her Kinyarwanda Bible.  The family has no income and lives entirely on donations (mostly informal).  Josephine was a baller and when the kids turned on pop music on a tiny radio to dance, she got up and danced her heart out with them.  (Of course I had no choice but to join in.)

I couldn't believe how small the home is and there really isn't space for everyone to be inside at once, but somehow it works.  They really enjoyed the photo session so I took quite a few.   Below is a small fraction. These are taken in a common courtyard area a few paces from their home.

Josephine

Josephine, Honorine and two of her siblings

At one point Josephine literally ran back into the house and came back with this ID card.  No one could explain it to me but they all asked for it to be photographed and to be photographed with it.  I think this is someone who has passed, but I don't know the relation.

The document

Zoomed in on this ID card at their insistence

Family Portrait?

Honorine takes a photo

Josephine, Honorine and me

In some ways this was a tricky visit, because Honorine doesn't speak that much English and she was the only one who could translate.  There was a lot of smiling and nodding and hugging, but not to much to say.  I could tell that Josephine was a gracious and welcoming host, that Honorine was proud to have me there and that everyone was very friendly.

When Honorine came to pick me up at the designated meeting spot, she was so excited.  Then the whole way through the dusty walkways up to her neighborhood, about a 30 minutes walk, she held my hand and smiled and giggled while the residents stopped what they were doing to see what the Muzungu was doing in the area.  I was glad to see the type of living conditions she had and honored to thank Josephine for taking care of so many abandoned children.  She is a true inspiration.

Checking Back in with Eleanor Roosevelt Family

It's been a busy term and the girls are so much more relaxed and integrated with the rhythm of life at the village.  Here's an update on everybody at the close of the second term.  I don't know if you'll notice a change from before, but they are like totally different kids to me after just a few months here at Agahozo.  For better or for worse, they are really in to modeling and all posed for their photos like I was shooting the next cover of Elle or something.

Josianne has continued to struggle with an allergic cough, but she loves being active in her church choir and sings whenever she can.  She has a beautiful singing voice.  She led our family in the songs at the gravesite rededication.  A genuine homebody, she likes hanging out at the house and spending time with our family mother, which to be fair she has never been able to do before in her life.  She sang gospel songs in English for extra credit in her English class at school. 

Violette is always happy to greet me with a big smile. She has been working extra hard this term on studying to catch up a bit at school. She loves playing volleyball with the other girls.  She worries a lot about the future and seems to especially miss Jeannette.  She is especially upset about having to stay at school over the next vacation.  [So imagine this, the government has just retroactively made an exam required for college applications, like your 8 grade exam. So for all the kids in the village who did not take that exam it is now required.  The village decided the kids that need to study for that have to stay over the next break, and just announced that the school holiday was cancelled for about 2/3rds of the Enrichment Year kids and their staff 'parents'.]

Honorine has really blossomed this term performing at Village Time several times in front of the entire student body.  She has read an original poem and also performed a rap song (in Kiswahili.) She really enjoyed practicing for and performing the sketches at school in English class.

For Ornella, it would really be easier for me to tell you what she's not up to!  She's been a finalist for our grade for the village quiz, played on the district champion girls basketball team, joined a group that creates service projects themselves for the village (currently working on making and installing black board trays at school to catch the chalk dust), joined a village fashion collective, appeared several times in the village video news magazine, "What's up, ASYV!"  (Think E! or extra extra for your high school) and hosted village time as the emcee.  She's working busily on her sketch-up drawing for an architecture contest being held in the village.  She's a busy girl and really doing well adapting to the village.

Adelphine is a gamer.  She tries hard at everything she does and gives it her all.  She might have the loudest laugh in the family.  She also might be the 'girliest' girl in the family, when it comes to doing makeup and worrying about what people are wearing. I am always embarrassing her with my dirty shoes.  (Rwandans wash their shoes between each wear just like you might clothing if you were a cleaner person than me.  This lasts for about one minute on the dusty dirt roads in the village, but then the kids just start washing their shoes again. Since, my shoes just get dirty again right away, I don't bother with the shoe cleaning loop, which drives Adelphine a bit batty.)  She really surprised me at the gravesite insisting on singing her own song without the family.  She cried and cried while she sang and it was very touching.

Chantal is doing just great.  She has been working so hard on her English and is now one of the strongest speakers in her class, which is a big improvement. She is often called on to have the larger roles in the sketches the English teachers are always assigning the kids to put on.  She still enjoys to sing and to dance at the Boom!.  (Boom! is a dance party that happens on the patio of the dining hall on Friday's after dinner.  Bertrand (Sr. 6) spins the hottest Justin Beiber, Chris Brown and P-Square hits and all the kids dance.  I go and chaperone shady corners where too much 'dancing' occurs, and also dance a bit myself.  Chantal is not afraid to dance with me, which is really saying something.  She is still almost always smiling and so positive and I use her attitude as inspiration almost every day.

Noeline is still the most conscientious and hardest working kid in the family.  When we do chores she starts first, stops last and doesn't take any breaks.  I sit next to Noeline in the dining hall and she says grace for such a long time before she eats that I am often sitting there waiting for her to finish, brimming over with questions.  (How was school? What are you doing this afternoon? etc.) She is an absolute dear and works hard to track down plates and forks for me when I come to meals late, which sometimes happens if meetings run long.  Noeline is a correspondent for ASYV News and is her stories can often be heard at Village time.  She recently covered our family trip to Rugalika and a story about a football match between Sr. 5 and Sr. 6 that ended in a controversial forfeit.

Adelaide continues to be a leader in our family and in our grade.  She recently came in 4th in a school-wide English spelling bee, beating out the all of the kids from Sr. 5 (juniors) and Sr. 4 (sophomores) and was the highest finishing girl.  She played basketball well all season and was a very coachable asset at practices.  She has a confident voice and speaks up a lot in family time.  She loves the Justin Beiber / Chris Brown song 'Right Next to You' and can often be found humming it.  She has performed a number of times at Village Time in a Christian modern dance group somewhat misnamed "Drama Club". 

Agnes is starting to open up a little.  She was sooooo quiet first term, and English is still a struggle but she is starting to find her voice in Kinyarwanda and talking more with her sisters.  She has also started play-fighting a lot and will sometimes greet her sisters with a playful pinch or punch, like an older sibling might.  The girls have started telling me Agnes is a "beast" but with big smiles and lots of laughs so I'm not too worried.  I think the joke is that she is such a quiet, timid girl and is finally asserting herself some small way, by engaging in a playful physical skirmish. She's not actually a bully, just the one you'd least imagine playing this way.  When the girls are chasing each other around laughing, I can't help but think they are getting comfortable with each other and getting closer.

Alice is her own woman.  She's not that worried about lectures from anyone at the village.  She does what she wants, and when she gets tired of that she does the next thing. She endures a lot of lectures for this fairly atypical* attitude, and is often called out in family time, but honestly I can't blame her. The 100th time you sweep your room with a hand made 'broom' (bundle of twigs) maybe it gets a little old.  Most of the girls stare straight ahead like zombies while they receive daily lectures on concepts like 'integrity' and 'time management' but Alice goes ahead and rolls her eyes and makes bored faces, so at least there's two of us. I think she'll be okay.  Alice holds court in the family in Kinyarwanda, telling long stories while the other girls gather around.  I have no idea what she is talking about, but the other girls laugh a lot so maybe she's a skilled story teller, a gossip, or both.  (*Atypical for the incredibly well mannered Rwandan teens but pretty much standard for any other teenagers I've ever met.)

Samila has gone and written a movie script!  It's a little soapy honestly, with a plot that revolves around a man with two wives and their respective children not getting along, but I think it's great that she, entirely on her own, saw the opportunities at the village and decided if there were cameras to film things and kids to act she could make a movie, so there.  Samila always makes a point to ask me about my day, which is really sweet and I appreciate that she comes to find me and talk to me.  She is getting along much better with all the other kids this term and the village is a lot to take in, so I can totally understand taking a little while to open up.  She's still one of the more sophisticated girls in the family and recently asked me to download a zombie movie to show to the girls.  Any suggestions?

Grace is doing so well in school. She has really stepped it up a notch this term.  She studies hard and I am very proud of her.  Grace is a Seven Day Adventist and recently chose to be baptized in Lake Mugasera in a full on dunking in the lake ceremony.  She was very excited.  When my birthday was observed in the village (all the June Birthday's had to go sit on the stage) I was embarrassed and frightened because all the instructions were in Kinyarwanda and 'birthday parties' here are tortuous.  (It's a typical Rwandan ceremony with lots of protocol and lengthy moralizing speeches.) I made Grace come and sit with me and hold my hand.  She did a great job keeping me calm.  

Yvonne is just the cutest thing ever.  I may have to post a YouTube of her talking just so you can see her personality because there are not words to capture it. She is confident and sassy and will just tell it like it is. Her face is an amplifier for her mood and you can tell from a mile away if she is happy or not. I am always giving her a hard time about spending too much time on Facebook and she argues right back with me.  She likes to dance on the Drama team with Adelaide and Happyness.  I downloaded Toy Story for the girls to watch and also Planet Earth. They hated both of them.  They think all cartoons are for babies and animal programs do not interest them.  I was trying to think of movies where my poor English speakers could still follow along.  (Toy Story, for the record, does not resinate if you never really had any toys.) The family nominated Yvonne to give me a real tongue lashing about bringing a movie with "people, real people" for them to watch.  She's so emphatic.  I think that's what make's her stand out so much.  Some people might be tentative in a second language, but Yvonne uses her volume and expressions to convey what her vocabulary will not allow.

Happyness has been suffering from a lot of stomach issues this term and missed a fair amount of school. This does not stop her from singing with the Isheja traditional dance troupe.  Happiness is an amazing singer and sang the lead parts of the family song at the gravesite rededication.  She also choreographs many of the dances for the Drama dance troupe.  She also sang an acapella solo in English class.  She has the softest speaking voice in my family, but she always has interesting things to say, so when she speaks everyone quiets down, like EF Hutton. 

Josianne got her first pair of jeans this term and it was a big event.  Josianne likes to have me read her English homework to her and enjoys that I do a lot silly pantomimes.  She cannot believe how frivolous and silly I act because she's never seen any adult act this way.  Academically, Josianne is really blossoming.  She was not in the greatest school before coming here (read no books but plenty of corporal punishment), and the first term was a huge change for her, but this term she has shown the biggest improvement in her grades of any girl in Eleanor Roosevelt. You can see she's more confident in the way she walks around the village.