Painting Class!

I woke up and had coffee with Janice on Tuesday (10/18) and showed her prom pictures. She connected me with Alex, the art teacher, and I met with him later that morning. I showed him the art supplies that I had brought, and he was thrilled. I don't think that they paint very often because they don't have the materials. He asked if I'd teach a painting lesson, and I told him that I would try 😂. I said that I am no teacher, but I do like to paint. He asked if I was free that afternoon, and although that sounded like a pretty late notice to tell someone that they are teaching a class, I have a pretty hard time saying "no"😂. I agreed and went back to my room to plan. 

I planned out a lesson, replied to two of my new pen pals, Patience and Priscilla, and chatted with Fabiano about his two daughters when he brought lunch. Fabiano always has the biggest smile on his face and has the warmest and kindest demeanor. His two girls are Florence (8) and Dorothy (6), and I think that they go to boarding school, as many kids do in Uganda. Fabiano also got my stove working, which was nice because it had been broken for a few days. I could make coffee again with the teapot and french press. 

I went to deliver my letters to Priscilla and Patience and saw some of my little friends who were hoping that I would take their picture. The answer is always "Yes!"😊.

Sometimes I ask for smiles, and sometimes I ask for sillies, but sometimes it doesn't matter what I ask for😂.

Below with her class is auntie Alice, one of the primary teachers. She is a saint. 

I found out that every Tuesday morning, the primary levels have chapel. They are so fun to watch and worship with! The video below is a song that is very popular to sing during worship in Africa. Part of the refrain is: "He turns my life around. He turns my life around. He makes a way when there seems no way. Jehovah has the final say."

As I was walking to the secondary school to give the art lesson, I walked by one of the mamas. She was very sweet. She said that she was happy to see me and thanked me for singing in church💛. Even though the things she does at RG are way more important than singing in church and deserve more than just a verbal thank you, I thanked her anyways for raising all these kids into wonderful young adults and for being so welcoming. 

I taught my painting class at 3pm to a small group of smiley and attentive s3 students. I wanted them to have most of the hour to actually paint, (and if I'm being honest, I have no idea how to teach art) and so I taught them about the different types of paints and paint brushes, blending and a few other techniques, and how to mix colors. We grabbed all the supplies and walked to a table that overlooked the Nile. They each picked a spot on the Nile to paint. I had a total of four students, two of which had never painted before. Karen and Olivia were painting for the first time, so that was kind of special!! Soyugi, whose real name I don't even remember, had only painted once before. Soyugi means money trash, and the students would always laugh when I would call him that, even though that is what everyone else calls him 😂. 

Even their real teacher decided to paint with us! This was definitely a huge highlight of the day for me.

This is Jimmy. He is a very talented artist, and he showed me some of his paintings of animals. They're incredible! We talked while he painted, and he seemed to get more and more comfortable as our conversation went on. At one point, Alex started playing really strange music that wasn't popular, and the students were all laughing. I had a lot of fun 😊.

I went to the basketball court, only to get smoked by Denis and Owili. Denis has an older brother, Daniel, and a younger brother, Owili. I kept slipping the ground, even though I had tennis shoes on. I have no idea how they played in crocs!

I walked back to my apartment, and Fabiano brought some delicious beef tortilla things for dinner!