Not Your Typical Thanksgiving

Yes, I had school on Thanksgiving, Black Friday as well. How did Julie and I celebrate one of America's most esteemed holidays? Let me tell you...

Feeding the sheep at
 Wadadli Nature Park

Because we were lamenting the fact that our classmates would be having days off and many would be traveling to spend the holiday with their families, Julie had the great idea to schedule a field trip for our classes. This way, we could get out of some class and still do some learning. She did all the leg work, I wrote a note to send home to parents, and Thursday morning, we headed out to the Wadadli Nature Park in 2 buses chartered from the National School Bus Service. 56 students, 2 teachers, and 4 parent chaperons walked through Antigua's version of a zoo (more like a petting zoo than the famous establishments in Omaha or San Diego).

Who wants a cute and cuddly tortoise?

We saw goats, sheep, tortoises, snapping turtles, a cow, a donkey, a horse, monkeys, parrots, parakeets, love birds, peacocks, chickens, geese, ducks, guinea pigs, rabbits, pigs, and fish. The kids were able to feed the goats and sheep, hold a tortoise, pet the horse, geese, and rabbits, and get up close a personal with the pigs and snapping turtle. Not sure how much they learned about the animals, but Miss Rosenbaum certainly learned a lot about managing a field trip, that's for sure!

Our "home-away-from-home"
 Thanksgiving dinner

Friday night, we were invited to the Johnstons' to celebrate Thanksgiving with them, the Sternhagens, Pastor Richards, and his fiancee. We split the food prep; Julie and I were in charge of bringing a salad, cranberries, and a bottle of wine. We also brought a bottle of sparkling grape juice (one from Celebrating Teachers) so the kids could have something special to drink. Everything was fantastically delicious! The most pleasant surprise of the evening was the rhubarb pie baked by Kristin Sternhagen. Rhubarb is my favorite! And to have it so far from Grandma Rosenbaum in Saginaw... what a special treat!

Just another day in paradise, compliments of the Heavenly Father. God is good! All the time!

A Time to Be Thankful

Hard to believe that the time for Thanksgiving has arrived, and yet here it is all the same. The Lord has truly given us more than we could ever ask for or imagine (Eph. 3:20). Luther summarizes things well when in the explanation to the First Article, he speaks of God preserving us by providing us, "clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, spouse and children, land, cattle, and all I own, and all I need to keep my body and life." This week in chapel as we were reciting this passage, I couldn't help but smile to myself as I mentally adjusted, "clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, Julie and kids, lawn, goats, and all I own, and every adventure God sends my way."

Here in Antigua, they do not celebrate Thanksgiving; instead they celebrate Harvest: a time to be thankful for the food we have to eat. Churches conduct food drives for those in need; the sanctuary is decorated with the food stuffs and with sugar cane. In the 8:30 service, the choir sang and my pan group played (with me on the 4 bass... might be a favorite). In the 11:00, grades 3&4, grades 5&6 sang, and one of the Kids' Pan groups played. And appropriately, Pastor Sternhagen's sermon highlight how blessed we really are.


Last weekend, our faculty participated in an event called Celebrate Teachers. Every year our Zone (kind of like a school district) puts on a dinner to recognize the teachers of the school in the zone. Everyone gets dressed up (we borrowed dresses from Mrs. Greaux), gets their hair and make up done, and looks forward to a good meal. Interesting contrast in formal/informal ways of doing things. Awards were given for everything (including to Julie and me for being new to the district) and each reward was accompanied by handshakes from 3 different people. (formal) There were also door prizes and a dance contest. (informal) It was a long evening, but it was enjoyable.

The playground that was donated to SJL, courtesy of LWMS, has finally been completed! Unfortunately, it has been rather soggy, and Miss Rosenbaum made the mistake of letting the kids go out to recess without checking the state of the grounds... so Wednesday was a very muddy day.

I continue to learn more and more about my kids, myself, my profession, and most importantly, my Savior. God is good! All the time!

Just a Short Post

• Had a nice short week of school, only Wednesday to Friday.
• Were short of water at school on Wednesday and Thursday.
• Were short of electricity at church this morning when it cut in the middle of the first hymn. Thankfully we had someone at the steel pan to continue accompanying us until Pastor Sternhagen got the generator turned on.
• Mrs. Sternhagen called me ‘little girl.’ Usually my mom calls me that. I know I’m short and look like I’m 17, but come on!
• Our lawn is NOT short. Our lawn care guy has not been here for over a month and our yard looks horrendous!
• Yesterday took a short walk into town to pay our electric bill. Purchased a painting (at a short price, courtesy of a church member) for our wall.
• Looking forward to a short call to my youngest brother who turned 18 this past Friday.
• Was reminded in church to say a short prayer of thanks for the grace God has given us.

Flexibility: a Teacher's Best Friend

The cousins, enjoying StingRay City

Last weekend I had the tremendous pleasure of hosting my cousins James and Jon Free at my home here in Antigua. We had the time of our lives! Highlights of the trip included a barbeque with the pastors and their families, a tour of the island that featured stops at Betty’s Hope (a restored sugar mill), Stingray City (see the picture), and Devil’s Bridge (again, see picture), church at St. John’s, Spanish service at Pigeon Point beach, a walk through Nelson’s Dockyard, and a visit to Shirleys Heights. Just a fabulous weekend!

               Holding 2 stingrays

Devil's Bridge

The countryside of Antigua is simply beautiful! I just know James and Jon loved their trip down here. Julie's mom was also down here this weekend. Too bad they could only stay for a few days. Perhaps our next visitors will be able to stay on this beautiful island just a little longer...
So about that flexibility...
Today is Independence Day in Antigua, celebrating 30 years of independence. This past week, there were various festivities occurring. Thursday was the annual Youth Rally when schools have off and some of the students march and salute the Governor General and the Prime Minister (or the acting prime minister if the actual Prime Minister happens to be out of the country on business). We had an Independence Programme put on by our children on Friday evening. Here's where the flexibility begins.

Some of my grade 2 girls, in national dress for the
Independence Programme

• Monday: my class is practicing for singing for church this coming Sunday, 30 October. At 8:30, I get the memo that the school will be having practice for the Programme at 9:00. Could I please send a note down to Miss Boggs so she knows? Sure...
• Tuesday: today we are going to have 2 practices because we should have started practicing last week and we need to make up the time. Unfortunately some classes showed up late and slowed things down for a bit. Then in the afternoon, I am told that I can take my class back while other classes and smaller groups practice. (In the faculty meeting we find out we will not have school on Monday! Fun, but there go some lesson plans...)
• Wednesday: throw a little bit of rain into the mix. Each run through is still taking about an hour. I have cut some classes to fit the most important things into the day, jumbled recess, snacks, and tests.
• Thursday: Youth Rally
• Friday: Chapel and practice for the programme takes a good portion of the morning. Recess, snack, and math bingo finish off the morning and we dismiss at noon. The programme is scheduled to start at 5 (though island time takes it to 5:30). Seating is completely different from anything we rehearsed during the week. We get home just before 8.
• Sunday: My class is singing. I am preparing the CD that will accompany us. The player is refusing to read the disc. Thank God for Mrs. Sternhagen! She quick grabs her husband's computer, hooks it up to the church sound system and has things ready for when my kids sing after the 1st reading. We sang the verses in the wrong order, but we made it with smiles on our faces and praise in our hearts.

And as today is Independence, I will be enjoying my freedom in Christ. God bless!