Futher adventures of Urban Third World TeacherFarmerDad

by Jimmy

The garden is begun. Compost is composting. Seeds are sprouting, and the rain is falling. We have even gotten our first crop of lettuce. Thinnings, but it still tastes good on tacos.


With "Take 3" of the garden going, I have decided to do another take on the Goat Front. The lawnmower idea did not pan out so well. Buying goats just before the rainy season, and finding out that goats are picky eaters, did not work with my idea of a nice cut lawn for the school. After working so hard to first break up and haul off concrete, spade it up, plant grass, and water, with only marginal results, I came back to Haiti, expecting the worst. The grass has grown in most areas of the yard, but is still a little thin too. I did come back with a now-favorite tool, however --- my Scythe.

And it works! Now I can cut the grass, quickly and easily, without expensive lawn mowers needing gas, and use the cuttings for mulch, compost, even hay for the goats. I like it.

Of course I did get a lot of ribbing from my father, and wife. But they accept my idiosyncracies, and love me anyway.

So back to the goats. The herd of three has increased to a herd of eight! How does that happen? Triplets and twins is how. The babies are doing great. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them. And while I contemplate that issue, I am now shopping for more goats - milk goats. I am probably doing this whole goat thing wrong, but you live and learn. I have just appealed for help from an expert, and will find out more this week. Maybe I should have done that in the first place.

With milk at about $10 - $12 per gallon, and tasting TERRIBLE, I figure I could save quite a bit on milk, if I could raise it on my own. I have managed to succeed with eggs, so why not milk. (Plus, I love my French Toast. If I could only figure out how to raise a good crop of wheat, I would be set.)

On to other topics - Teacher



It is such a joy to teach in a small school. Getting to thoroughly know the kids is so much fun. Funny things these last couple weeks -
   Issac - as always learning so many new vocabulary words and using them correctly now. He is keeping a journal of all the funny things Abbi does. Or in Livesay lingo - all that "Abi-baby-gail" does.

Here she is sitting on the teachers desk, playing with, and losing a marker.

   Lydia - as documented already by Tara, has a little sibling rivalry going on with her slightly older sister. When Phoebe mentioned that she disliked stretching during PE, Lydia exclaims, "I LOVE stretching." I knew she was going to say that.
   Jackson (age 3) spontaneously getting up to give a presentation like all the other kids. "Uhmm, uhmm, uhmm, baseball, uhmm, my dad, uhmm, uhmm..." Adorable and Awesome! Got a video of it as well!

Phoebe took the cake this last week however.

She wandered a little bit going in between rooms in the school, and somehow managed to find herself outside. Paige saw her out in the front of the school. She asked her what she was doing out there and she calmly replied, "I want to kill a chicken with a rock." Wow! Was not expecting that.

And the following day at lunch, Phoebe finishes eating and is running around playing. She slips and falls, and scraps her knee. Being just a bit of a drama queen, she bursts out hysterically crying. Becky, trying to calm her down, tells her that she is fine, and to settle down, asks her what happened. Through her loud sobs, and wanting a bandaid, she practically shouts, "I was chasing a chicken and just want to kill one with a rock!"

I have always heard, (and have always been told myself) that you have to watch out for the quiet ones. You never know what they are thinking. Case in point. Why she hates chickens, we do not know. I suppose them lounging under the trampoline is a capital offense.

On a hopefully unrelated side note of strange happenings - Paige and I were outside working on Physics, and Paige noticed a chicken head just lying on the ground close by. No body, just a decapitated head. Weird. Such strange things can happen in Haiti.

Let the adventures continue...

First Week of School

by Jimmy

Our first week of school has started. Being that we live in Haiti, we do not necessarily observe Labor Day. Seeing as the kids are so excited to start school, they would be sorely disappointed if their first day of school were postponed.

So here they are...

Our students starting School Year 2012.

With their teachers.

Starting class time.

Notice the socks and bare feet. We were blessed with new tile just in time for school to start. It rained the night before, so we all had to take off our shoes so that we would not track mud everywhere. They all did very well.

It is such a joy and privilege to teach these kids. The difference that we are able be a part of is stark. Going from 30 students per class period in the public school system, to 4 to 6 at a time here, makes us very grateful. Even throwing in a hot, fussy baby, still does not close the gap. 

Abbi has been a little needy over the first couple days of school. I personally had it in mind that she would just sleep and play on the rugs or in her crib, and we could teach as normal. With it being so hot and humid, her naps are limited, and she wants one of us to be right there. I think we will get into a routine, but it may take a little doing. We just have to figure things out. 

This is our second time through this curriculum, so we hit the ground running. The younger ones have their older siblings to help them, and we now know what we need to do from the beginning. Staying on top of things will be so much easier from the get go. I am very excited about this new year.