The children and spiders of Gatundu

I have successfully moved into my new home at the Icaciri Secondary School, about 4 kilometers from Gatundu town, a place of red clay, cold mornings, fresh air, happy people, banana fields and mountains! I have been blessed with many new friendships and have already learned how to cook a one-pot-meal (as we only have a one-burner gas tank in the kitchen.) My life in Gatundu is quaint and comfortable, though very, very quiet...well, most of the time.

The first time that my roommate and I decided to make the four kilometer trek into Gatundu town was an experience I will never forget. We left the school compound at about 4pm, right after our last class of the day. As soon as we exited the gate we were greeted by a wall of about 150 screaming primary school children who were walking home for the day. So for the next 40 minutes, my roommate and I were taunted by a long line of giggling children who really enjoyed hitting my ponytail and saying "Leshel, Leshel, where are you from?" (Leshel being the kids' best effort at "Rachel"!) There is nothing more humbling than being laughed at by 150 7 year-olds for almost an hour!

I am very happy to say that I have begun teaching Form 1 and 2 English (freshmen and sophomores) and Form 1 PE, which is now officially a dance class! I have started to really connect with my students, and I absolutely love teaching! The school is very small, though the classes are very large (about 50 students/class). Being such a small school, news (and especially gossip!) travels at light-speed. For example, yesterday morning we had a Math Competition for all grades. I was monitoring the Form 2 exam when all of the girls in the room stood up and backed away from a desk in the middle as fast as they could. It was then that I saw the translucent, orange, ugly spider (that was about the 5 inches in diameter!!!) crawling on the side of a girl's desk. Before one of the boys in the class could smite the beast, my roommate (who was monitoring the exam next door) came in asking, "Where is it?!" News travels quickly! Though this is somewhat off-topic, I must note that this particular spider is extremely dangerous, and in the words of my co-worker, "That thing kills. It kills!" I should also mention that most of the spiders that I have seen in Gatundu are no larger than the tip of my little finger. In fact, for a few days there was a small spider residing on my wall, whom I named "Charlotte" (after Charlotte's Web, naturally.)

I am so thankful to be living in a place where every person I meet greets me with a warm smile and a handshake. I am so thankful for the beautiful view of the sunset over the mountains outside of my living-room window. And, I am so thankful for a warm place to live, where I always have enough food and water to make it through each night. I miss you all, and God bless you where ever you may be!