Kids Say the Darndest Things

I know I'm too young to really know anything about that show, but it's true! Sometimes my kids say things that are flat out funny, some cute, some a little sad, and some bordering profound. One thing that is school-wide is the tremendous struggle to identify me and say my name correctly. I am often, very often called "Miss Boggs" or "Miss Rosenboggs". A few of my co-workers call me Julie... or "Miss - um, Miss-um... uh, Miss" "Rosenbaum?" "Yes, Miss Rosenbaum." On parent calls me "Rose", another calls me "Miss Rosebaum". This week I was called "Mommy," "Grandma," "Auntie," and one girl called me "Miss Abraham" (our first grade teacher). Maybe someday I will get to be myself.

My story of triumph for the week. A second grade girl asked me if we were going to have silent reading time or if we had already had it today. I told her, no, we had wasted too much time during math and had to use our reading time to catch up on our work for the day. She looked at me, crestfallen, "Oh." Perhaps my kids are starting to realize what a treat it is to have 15 mins of time just to sit and read, whatever it is you want. I certainly loved it in grade school, and while my kids are reading, so is the teacher...

My giggle story for the week. This happened at 7:40 on Friday morning, as my kids are coming in for the day.
     Girl: Do you have a husband?
     Me: No.
     Girl: Oh... (sad face)
     Me: Why do you ask? Do you want me to have a husband?
     Girl: Yeah.
     Me: So you want me to get married?
     Girl: Yeah.
     Me: Why?
     Girl: I just gotta dance!
     Me: You just have to dance? (very confused)
     Girl: Yeah, I just gotta dance! Are you gonna get married in America?
     Me: Well, it's not going to happen for some time and I can't promise you anything, but 
     I will probably get married in America. Do you want to come?
     Girl: Yeah.
Honestly, it was all I could do to keep from bursting out, laughing. Then I stepped outside to greet a student who was wearing a jacket I would contemplate wearing in December in MN... all because it had rained in the wee hours of the morning and she was "really, really cold." Then I did start laughing.

Studmuffin: Judah Sternhagen, 3

Good news! Judah Sternhagen and mom Kristen are back in Antigua. The causes of the seizures are unknown, so it was explained that 1 in 200 children have seizures with no apparent cause. Most children grow out of these. So! He has medication to stop the seizures and we'll reassess in two years. Both Judah and Kristen are glad to be home and looking well. Thanks be to God!

Aida, Judah, Sienna... kicking it on the beach       

Epicurean Adventures

For you philosophy and world religion scholars, you are probably wondering why I would title a post "Epicurean Adventures". Isn't Epicurus a man associated with the purported axiom "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die"? Friends, you will be pleased, yea, even relieved to learn that Epicurean is the name of the large supermarket here in Antigua. It is possibly the most "American" venue on island. This grocery store competes with another called First Choice. When we first arrived, Julie and I did all our shopping at First Choice, a smaller, slightly more local supermarket. But now we shop almost exclusively at Epicurean. Why? It's location is much more convenient for our gracious drivers. The prices can be a little more expensive, depending on the fare, but the selection is bigger and the location, desirable.

Like many grocery stores in the States, Epicurean has a rewards card. Now, initially, Julie and I thought to ourselves that it would be silly to get a rewards card because we would so rarely patronize the establishment. Then, as we found ourselves at the store more and more (and as Cindy Johnston kept saying, "Hey, have you gotten a card yet?") we thought perhaps there would be a benefit to signing up for the rewards card. There is no cost (always a bonus). The rate of point accumulation is nothing to write home about - I believe you earn 1 point (1 cent) for every dollar you spend. So if we want to get $10 in rewards, we have to spend $1000 at the grocery store. But! we are already spending the money for groceries, so maybe we'll earn a little back. Who knows?

An important prayer request to my readers: Judah Sternhagen, 3-year-old son of one of our pastors, had some serious seizures Wednesday night. Routine tests came back negative. So mom Kristin and Judah have traveled to the US, are staying with family, and will visit doctors and specialists to see if they can't determine the cause of the seizures. Please keep the Sternhagens in your prayers, as well as the doctors and nurses who attend to Judah. We are confident the Lord will carry out His will for the good of His children.

The Final Term

Hard to believe I have been in Antigua for over 7 months... I do believe I am a very different person, reshaped, squashed, sanded, polished, chopped, glued, welded, refined by all my experiences here. Each aspect of my life teaches me something almost every day, everything from interpersonal relationships (thank you, Prof. Paustian) to life lessons (Mom says sometimes life isn't fair) to characteristics of children (just why 7 year olds fall out of their desks at the drop of a hat?) to humility and fairness (with good lessons, prospectives, and guidance from Dad) to the beauty of creation (cross reference the country of Antigua) to pan rhythms (6 songs to learn in 6 weeks!) to the amazing, immeasurable vastness and riches that are God's mercy, personified in His Son.

You may or may not already know, but both Julie and I have decided to return to the States next year, put our names before the Assignment Committee, and wait prayerfully for whatever the Lord has in store for us come May 19. My Dad is currently holding a Call to serve as principal at WLA in Wisconsin, but I felt almost like I was holding a Call for nearly 5 months! I believe the good Lord was given me a very long lesson on prayer and seeking godly advice from others...

So, the final term. We have begun Term 3, my final academic term here in Antigua. 3 days in... not too bad. I have decided to reward student who complete and turn in their homework every day by giving them something on Friday afternoon - a new pencil, 5 extra minutes of recess, etc. Unfortunately for me, I know this will result in crying, screaming children who don't get the reward. I'm going to try the system for a month, see if I can take the negative reactions... Of course, it's my fault, mean teacher that I am, but Lord willing, these children will be taught lessons of responsibility and the reality that you don't always get what you want.

A Visitor!

Well, 2, actually...

1) Joe Lindloff, fiancée to Miss Julie Boggs is on Spring Break from MLC. He made the long trip down to visit the beautiful island and his even more beautiful bride-to-be. They have been enjoying their time together, spending time at resorts (compliments of various church members), scuba diving (again, thanks to a church member), and frequenting the beaches. He arrived here on Friday afternoon and stays until early Saturday morning.

2) Professor Jonathan Roux, Director of Education at MLC came down to teach a class for the SJL staff. On Monday (a teacher in-service day) we had a 4 hour class for Teaching Spelling. Most of the material I had already studied while up on the Hill, but it was a nice refresher and I got some new ideas to help some of the children I am tutoring. On Sunday, the Johnstons, Joe, Julie, Prof, and I went to Half Moon Bay, a beach on the east side of the island, up to Shirley Heights to listen to a steel pan orchestra, and out to eat. I ate a burger. It was delicious! I am always eating chicken, so this was a very welcome return to an old American favorite.

Today was the day for report cards and parent/teacher consultations. I am rather pleased with how things went today. I was much more prepared than last time, remembered all of the notes I wanted to pass on to parents, and only 4 parents did not show up (an improvement from last term's 7). One more term and I should have it down pat.

~Shout out to my new baby cousin: Elijah Joel Free born to Joel and Cathryn Free Monday morning. Welcome to the family, Elijah!

Why Mosquitoes Buzz

Have you ever wondered why mosquitoes buzz? You may be familiar with the award-winning children's book based on a West African folk tale called "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears". (Or you may not be... no matter.) Grades 1, 2, and 3 were up to put on a play this year. Julie and I perused the books in the school office and found a musical written for children. Its title? "Why Mosquitoes Buzz"

The story is cute and short: a mosquito came to an iguana and told a largely exaggerated story about a farmer growing yams almost as big as the mosquito. The iguana, annoyed, put sticks in his ear and stomped off, grumbling. He passed by a python who thought he was planning mischief, so the python goes into a rabbit hole to hide. The rabbit is scared off and races out, startles a crow who sounds an alarm, frightening a monkey who carelessly leaps through trees and accidently breaks a branch, killing a baby owl. The mother owl is heartbroken and does not wake up the sun. A large council of animals convenes a trial, step-by-step discovering the chain of events leading back to the mosquito.

Face painting was huge! Children who
didn't get their faces painted were a
little sad...

Gr 1 boy, sporting his insect

Gr 2 boy, showing off his
bird face painting

This play is just narration and song - something Julie and I saw as a big bonus. We didn't want all the chaos and confusion that seem to come with big programs. There were 9 "characters" so each grade had 3 children pantomime the story during the narration. Gr 3 and 2 each had a class song, and the other 3 songs were sung by all the children. We purchased a CD that had tracks with children's voices to help us learn the songs as well as performance tracks with just the accompaniment. The teacher's book even had suggestions for actions for each song. Julie choreographed a dance for girls belonging to the dance class offered on Saturdays to our students.

The play went very well, though not without its, ah, bumps. 3 school moms were amazingly wonderful in making and setting up the decorations. One tricky part of getting the church ready to be a jungle was finding some way to hang a backdrop we borrowed from a dance center. A school dad came in and put it up for us. Costumes were interesting to figure out. We asked students to wear jeans, and plain t-shirt (different classes had different colors), and a mask (different animals per class). 3rd graders were elephants, 2nd graders were birds, and 1st graders were insects. As an alternative to making/purchasing a mask, we contacted someone to come and do face-painting. Over 40 children signed up! Two ladies began painting just before 3 and didn't finish until 5:15. The play was supposed to start at 5... It was a small blessing that the face painting went long because one of the main characters didn't show until 5:17. All of the kids looked really cool. Some had simple  masks, others went all out! Another hitch we ran into was our narrator. I had asked Kenny Phoenix, a youth from church, to narrate. He is habitually late to most things, so I knew I was taking a risk. Unfortunately, his phone went on the fritz this week, so I had no contact with him until it was too late. So guess who got to be the narrator? You have one guess...

A few birds and insects, milling about after the play

The teachers who put the play together - Julie Boggs,
Veronica Abraham, Nicole Rosenbaum

Highlights from Valentine's Week

Happy Valentine's, All! Hope your week was a splendid one. Mine was quite unusual; not at all what I would have imagined my first Valentine teaching experience to be.

Tuesday: Kindergarten through Gr 4 took an outing to see a movie at the theater in town. We squished 150 children plus teachers and chaperones on 4 buses and nearly filled the theater on our own. We watched Alvin and the Chipmunks (the most recent one, for those of you wondering). My biggest frustration while we were there was the fact that, though my 30 kids had used the batheroom minutes before we got on the bus, 4 children were asking to go 10 minutes into the movie. An hour in I finally cracked and said whoever needed to go could, and at least 20 of my 30 stood up to use the 3 stalls at the theater. Ah!!! Then when we returned to the school compound, my door was jammed, and I could not for the life of me get the door open. Had children sobbing because they were hungry... but there was nothing I could do! After 10 minutes, Pastor Johnston came to the rescue and got us in the classroom.

Wednesday: I met with a parent regarding one of my students. I have been frustrated with this student for some time now because of a blatant lack of respect and obedience. The parent was very understanding and is very willing to work with me to help the student work on giving respect at school. It is such a blessing to have Christian parents who work with me to bring up their children in the way of the Lord!

Friday: Antigua's only living national hero came to the school compound! Sir Vivian Richards, a famous and accomplished cricket player, has a niece in Gr 4. Gr 4 was celebrating Black History montha and Sir Vivian Richards came to speak to the class. The poor man was mobbed by almost the entire school (260 children) at once. Ms. Abraham told me I should get my picture with him, but in the chaos, I opted out. I did take Julie's picture with her class, though. Pretty crazy!

Saturday: Gr 1-3 are putting on a play this next Friday, so we had a work day to make decorations and set pieces. We scheduled the work day to start at 10am. Julie and I showed up a minute before, Ms. Abraham arrived about 10:10, and the first parents didn't come until close to 10:30. After a bit, we had a good crew working. 2 third grade moms stayed past 3! Julie and I have decided that all the decorations are coming to our house after the play to decorate our walls. =)
That night, Julie and I mapped out the practice schedule for the week as well as typed up the programme. (Yes, programme - British spelling) Wish us luck come Friday!

Sunday: Gr 1-2 sang for church. At one point we had 50 children smooshed into 4 pews. We really like to pack things down here!

Hermitage Resort as seen from Yuptons Beach

Sternhagen kids in the water

Miss Boggs and Miss Rosenbaum

Yuptons Beach

Grill-out at the beach

This afternoon, the Johnstons, the Sternhagens, the Richards, the Landwehrs (Mr. Eric Landwehr is our school visitor from St. Lucia, this time he brought his family), Mrs. Cindy Holman (ECE director, visiting SJL for a few days), Julie, and I had a grillout on the beach. Yuptons Beach (Mom, this is for you) is on the western side of the island, south of Jolly Beach. Beautiful place! Pastor Sternhagen found a seastar and a sea urchin, and I found many brightly colored pieces of shells. Lots of nice sun and I don't think I got burned! Perfect...

Steel Pan



Kenny Phoenix on the drums

One of the highlights of my week is steel pan. Every Saturday from 3:00-4:30, Genesis Pan practices in the balcony of the church. We practice 2 songs a month to play for church. Some of the members show up late. (One member who will not be named often arrives nearly an hour late each Saturday, yesterday arriving at 4:15!) Yet, we always enjoy one another's company as we prepare our music for church. 

Kareem French goofing around with the pan sticks

Kareem on the 6-bass

There are several different kinds of pans: lead, double tenor, guitar, double second, cello, 4-bass, and 6-bass. I have played guitar, lead, cello, and 4-bass. This month I am learning how to play the double tenor. I have so much fun! The members of the group vary in skill and ability, but all share a love for the Savior and desire to serve him with music

Cindy Johnston playing cello