- The play and the yearbook: Yearbook production officially wrapped about two weeks later than our original deadline, but I maintain that that wasn't really my fault :) There were a lot of kinks to iron out in the month before we finally handed it over to Amrat, our publisher, but I feel pretty good about what we put together. I'm very excited that I'll have some returning YB staffers back next year so that we can build upon what we started this year, and the class is up from 16 students to 23 or 24, so that's pretty incredible, too. Should be smooth sailing next year.. so hopefully I won't end up having to recruit a bunch of teachers to come in and help me out on weekends with fixing stuff that kids didn't get done well. That's the plan, at least.
And the play finished up well, too! I can't tell you what an enormous joy/relief it was to sit in the back of our dinky little chapel (my assistant director and I were on light-flipping duty because we don't exactly have a light or sound board) and watch my newbie thespians totally kill those performances. Totally proud of them. I was exhausted by the end of three and a half months of rehearsals and kids getting pulled out for sports and/or just not showing up, tracking down props and costumes, and organizing teacher "cameo" roles. And I'll admit that I was a bit concerned that we wouldn't be able to pull it off. But after some finishing touches to our set and some makeshift "footlights," programs, and kids all dressed in costume and makeup, I was completely surprised at how well things came together. Next year, I requested that I have theatre arts students in the class just do performance projects like a night of one-acts or monologue/dialogue scene "portfolios," while the full-scale production of a play would become an extra-curricular activity first semester. WNS students haven't really had to make a choice like that before--between sports and the Arts. But I'm hoping some dedicated kids will come out of hiding and decide to be a part of it.
- End-of-the-year stuff: Well, having my computer stuck in IT Limbo for the past month was pretty frustrating. The worst part is that there's nothing really wrong with my laptop itself, it's just that the power cable and jack got all mangled and sad from the past year of living in Africa. I was planning on purchasing a replacement this summer, anyway (my little Gateway was a real trooper through four years of college and a year abroad), but it did make things tricky towards the end of it all. Made the mistake of offering students three different options for their final. Never again will I want to deal with projects, presentations, and exams all in the same week. To be completely honest, I felt like a pretty lousy teacher for about the last five weeks of school. Between nearly losing my mind during the play and yearbook productions, no longer having access to my e-gradebook, and all of the daily demands that teaching makes, I had a tough time getting grading done. I was really disappointed in how stressed out I was all of the time. I gave out university-style course and instructor evaluations the last week of school, and was pretty bummed out when a few of my freshman students rated my "Empathy towards and understanding of student concerns" as "Below Average" or "Poor." I know that class well enough to know that some of that was just kids complaining that I gave too much homework and didn't allow them time to socialize in class, and it's not like I went home and cried about it, but it was still a bit disappointing. Other evaluations gave me a good start on things to improve for next year and a few even handed me some "Excellents" and gave me some definitely-appreciated-though-not-sure-quite-deserved praise. I'm pretty sure that it's about impossible to be a perfect teacher right out of the gate, and so I'm pleased to have heard that some things went well, but happy to also have some specific direction for improvement.
- Last day of school: I never realized as a student what an incredible amount of work closing down a school can be. I spent the last few days of school collecting final projects, watching kids' presentations, and giving a grand total of 5 juniors an exam (I spent about six hours writing that sucker, too!). And then there was the endless task of cleaning out desks, taking down posters and bulletin boards so that the room can be repainted this summer (you'd be amazed at how orange everything gets here.. this film of dirt is absolutely everywhere), organizing materials, cataloging textbooks and novels, cleaning up/throwing out old student work, and then grading everything the kids turned in in the last two weeks. Whoa. But when Friday came, it really didn't feel like the year was truly over. After months of chaos--and occasionally praying for the end to come--I was surprised at how strange that last day felt. It's been such a full, frenzied, exciting, and ultimately fulfilling year--and in some ways, it was difficult to see it come to an end.
Worst of all were the goodbyes, though. We've got some high school students permanently leaving WNS to head to Colorado, the Netherlands, and Istanbul, among other places, and the high school students were an absolute wreck by the end of the day. We'd had a final assembly for the whole school and parents, and afterwards, under the baking sun, I watched as these kids completely lost it as they gave farewell hugs and words of encouragement to one another as they parted ways. I realized that in my entire K-12 schooling experience, I said goodbye to one close friend. One. These poor kids have to wrestle with the leaving and goodbye process all of the time. I can't even imagine how difficult that must be. But it's exciting, too--because as these students and families leave WNS and Nairobi, they're going out into the world and embarking on new journeys, building new relationships, and experiencing new things. You've got to celebrate that, right? I even had one student, who's headed back home to the Netherlands, say as she hugged me goodbye, "Well, if I don't see you here, see you in Heaven!" Totally adorable.
We're also losing Joan, our darling director who celebrated her 80th birthday here in Kenya this year and will be headed on to Bolivia next year to return to her old school. Incredible lady. We're also saying goodbye to our Kindergarten teacher, Melanie, who has been at WNS for seven years now, and our first-grade teacher and my former roommate, Amy. The toughest goodbye was definitely letting go of Peter, our Athletics Director. I met Peter and his family at PFO this summer (his wife, Amber, is such a delightful, spunky presence around here, and their kids, Noah and Abby are absolutely precious), and although I realize I have nothing at all to compare this to, I really believe that over the past year, Peter Kim has brought about some incredible change. As a former administrator, his attitude towards students, families, and fellow staff was always professional, but deeply personal as well. What a terrific guy. I know for certain that he has forever touched the lives of student athletes at this school, and he's going to be so missed. Peter, I'll be praying that you and your family experience more of God's exciting plan for you in this next season and I thank you for your encouragement and all of the blessings you've brought to me and this school this year. It's my sincerest hope that I might become one day the kind of inspirational educator that I see in you. God bless.
- Heading home: So with the completion of this first year in Kenya, it's officially time for me to come back to the States! Wow. I leave Nairobi late Wednesday evening and arrive at Port Columbus late afternoon on the 4th. Can hardly believe it. I'm anxious to come back to you all and share stories and hear how you've been, and, a la my fellow WNS teacher Julie, experience the following:
- Driving again--and the absence of crater-sized potholes, matatus, maasai cow herds, donkeys and carts, dump trucks filled with people, invisible pedestrians, stray dogs, and police checks
- Chipotle, Tommy's pizza, and Jenni's ice cream
- A real haircut
- A visit to the dentist
- New clothes. Especially jeans. Kenyan hand-washing and line-drying have absolutely destroyed most of my wardrobe. Holes, faded lines permanently drawn into my knits, and bagginess have been my constant companions for months.
- LCC and small group fellowship!
- The dollar movie theater
- Exercising and walking at night
- Target and Wal-Mart
- Cleanliness. No more trash fires, water truck pollution (can you believe that the "Clean Water" trucks are the worst?), and red dirt everywhere.
- Organization, people following rules/laws, and an absence of corruption in general.
- Spending time with all of YOU
But I know I'll also miss:
- Fresh pineapple, mango, and dirt-cheap veggies at markets
- Friendly Kenyans
- Knowing that a safari is only a few kilometers away
- Our pretty WNS campus, Acacia and Jacaranda trees, hummingbirds
- Our never-smiling gate guard, whom we've christened "Serious Frank"
- Pointing out various little oddities as we drive down Ngong Road. Men wearing silk women's pajamas, matatus with misspellings or outrageous pictures/slogans, street-sellers wearing their entire collection of items for sale, giant iron sculptures of safari animals, and "No Dumping/Hooting" signs on compound gates
- Standing up for the Kenyan national anthem when we go to the movies
- WNS and Nairobi buddies
It's been real, folks. I'm excited to see what the Lord's got in store next. Can't wait to come back to you and get back in touch. Love you all!
Kate
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