Blog entry – Linn – 29 April 2012
Bula van der Zandens, Macdougallies, and my dear Kiddo!
An unexpected opportunity arose to greet you in writing, so here comes a short account of my adventure so far…
The first three weeks have flown by, a very mellow few days during orientation with campfire and guitars on the beach and an awesome volleyball competition during which I gained the nickname ‘The Flying Dutchman’ were followed by very busy and tiring days in the village but incredibly rewarding and full of fun and learning!
The kids are the highlight: little balls of energy bouncing around the village, high fiving you, bowing for you as you walk past, grabbing your hand, calling you ‘madam’ I have loved the teaching, both in kindergarten and school, from reading ‘Sleeping Beauty’ to 4 year olds to teaching Maths to 13 year olds. They are very eager to learn which makes it all the more enjoyable.
All the locals are very friendly too, inviting you to come in and have lunch every time you pass a house even though they know you’ve already eaten! I haven’t been hungry once! My Fijian family is very caring and look after me well, a couple of days ago my Fijian mum spoke to me in English for the first time, which was great.
The grog and hophop (non alcoholic drinking and dancing) are good fun, it’s like the school disco all over again with the Fijian women laughing and pointing and the men dancing some hilarious moves!
Other favourite moments include: playing ‘Guess Who’ with an old Fijian man, the beautiful school assembly singing by the kids, my little Fijian brother opening his gifts and showing all the kids in the village, a trek through 4 villages, a bunch of the kindi kids hanging out the window shouting my name on my way to school, our Fijian team leader’s laugh, drama games outside on the pitch, visiting the plantation, being welcomed by singing and flowers in our hair on our first visit to the island, drinking milk from coconuts, playing sardines in the dark, watching sunrise on Caqalai.
Surprisingly, another highlight has been the sport! The coaching was great fun, me who has never played hockey or netball before showing the school kids how it’s done!
As you can see, I’m a lucky girl and loving life!
Love to all, you are in my thoughts every day. See you soon, Linny x
Blog entry – Linn – 29 April 2012
Bula van der Zandens, Macdougallies, and my dear Kiddo! An unexpected opportunity arose to greet you in writing, so here comes a short account of my adventure so far…The first three weeks have flown by, a very mellow few days during orientation with campfire and guitars on the beach and an awesome volleyball competition during which I gained the nickname ‘The Flying Dutchman’ were followed by very busy and tiring days in the village but incredibly rewarding and full of fun and learning!
The kids are the highlight: little balls of energy bouncing around the village, high fiving you, bowing for you as you walk past, grabbing your hand, calling you ‘madam’. I have loved the teaching, both in kindergarten and school, from reading ‘Sleeping Beauty’ to 4 year olds to teaching Maths to 13 year olds. They are very eager to learn which makes it all the more enjoyable.
All the locals are very friendly too, inviting you to come in and have lunch every time you pass a house even though they know you’ve already eaten! I haven’t been hungry once! My Fijian family is very caring and look after me well, a couple of days ago my Fijian mum spoke to me in English for the first time, which was great.
The grog and hophop (non alcoholic drinking and dancing) are good fun, it’s like the school disco all over again with the Fijian women laughing and pointing and the men dancing some hilarious moves! Other favourite moments include: playing ‘Guess Who’ with an old Fijian man, the beautiful school assembly singing by the kids, my little Fijian brother opening his gifts and showing all the kids in the village, a trek through 4 villages, a bunch of the kindi kids hanging out the window shouting my name on my way to school, our Fijian team leader’s laugh, drama games outside on the pitch, visiting the plantation, being welcomed by singing and flowers in our hair on our first visit to the island, drinking milk from coconuts, playing sardines in the dark, watching sunrise on Caqalai. Surprisingly, another highlight has been the sport! The coaching was great fun, me who has never played hockey or netball before showing the school kids how it’s done! As you can see, I’m a lucky girl and loving life! Love to all, you are in my thoughts every day. See you soon, Linny x
