Thursday morning 6:20am

Ramadan made me sick. Not the Muslim observance but the young man. He missed class one day last week and showed up the next with a handkerchief and a head cold and now I have it. Laura missed class this week with the exact same thing. I am fine other than a lot of coughing and nose blowing. I don’t sleep well and have been up since 5:00 and this has been going on for a week now. One morning, I just finally got up at 2am and ordered a pair of pajamas on Gap.com. I fell asleep around 5:00 only to have to get up at 6:00, waking in a fog and wondering, “Did I just buy pajamas?” My alarm will go off now in a few minutes and I will begin my morning routine. 

Classes are going incredibly well. We have taken a small break from production of our table linens to make pinafores for the preschool. I am impressed with my students for picking up on how to make a new item so quickly. We are in desperate need of our own space and outgrowing our little hut. The Vocational School also wants to offer computer courses but simply lack the space to do it, despite having 12 laptops (1 thanks to you!).  It is going to happen, it is just a matter of time. I also just purchased Rosetta Stone Levels 1-5 thanks to all of you! This will be a beautiful resource for our students to use. They can work at their own pace and without my full attention in the classroom. I am always looking for ways to multiply myself. I am amazed by the students who have found us and all that has been created. I am undone by this little sewing school and praying for wisdom into how to run it as a small business. Our students are doing amazingly well in their internship at Kauri. And, Andrea and I just submitted an application for a full scholarship for one of our students to attend university in Maputo, the capital city.

Yesterday, I went to the dentist. One of the cusps on a bicuspid was driving me insane. I had no idea what to expect. Well, I did have an idea what to expect and that scared me. The dentist is at the provincial hospital, a place I would not wish upon my worst enemy. But the dentist office was quite nice. It was clean despite not having running water and each time he squirted water in my mouth I was quick to spit. He sanded down my extra cusp (this tooth had 5 instead of 4- odd, I know!). Then he cleaned my teeth with Colgate. Afterwards he took me down to X-Ray where they quickly and efficiently took an X-ray of my entire head, no lead apron. We took a look at my upper wisdom teeth and determined they weren’t going anywhere. Good to know. The X-ray technician asked me to marry him and I just tried not to roll my eyes. I should be use to this by now but it still comes as a total shock every single time. On the way home, I ran into Ana my Slovenian friend at the roundabout. Both on our scooters, we yelled at each other under oversized helmets and waved. 

Dates keep changing for my return. It will for sure be either October or November, but that is all I know at the moment.

Veronica just arrived to clean and do my laundry. It is sheet washing day. 

Luis. I call him The Gentle Giant. He is such a precious young man. And now a chef at Kauri!