Day 209 – Saturday- 4/7/2012

CLUBS!!!!!

Today I had Kid's Club and English Club. One of my favorite ways to spend my Saturdays!  Today for Kid's Club we dedicated the day to butterflies!  We started by reading a book together about different butterflies. Following that the kids each got to create their own unique butterflies that they turned into windsocks.  To finish the day, we all read the book about butterflies together. It was awesome to hear the kids read along and say the color words in English.

English club continues to work really hard on their music video!   Today we took a big step forward in our planning... we recorded the audio!  Each group in the video: Roma, Turkish, Albanian and Macedonian recorded their sections into the computer. Then the whole group recorded singing it in English together.  These students have worked so hard to learn the song in the various languages most of which they do not speak!  The group has worked together to create a lasting and memorable piece of work that highlights the multiculturalism in their community.  There of course have been some bumps along the road, its really hard singing a song to a tune that it was not meant to be sung in the language you are singing it in...and then it not being your native tongue or even a language you know makes things challenging. But I can honestly say that these kids have gone above and beyond. I am so proud of them!

Singing in Macedonian

Singing in Albanian

Posing while singing in Roma

After an awesome day at the American Corner working with an amazing group of kids, I thought the day couldn't get any better!  But it did!  I was invited to Artan and Linda's house to cook some Asian food and hang out for the evening.  We started planning knowing that fried rice would be a part of the meal, and it grew from there.  Sauteed vegetables with soy sauce and garlic was added.  Then the meat dish was decided to be chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce.  I do have to say that Linda and I did a bang up job- it was SUPER TASTY!  We of course know some improvements that can be made for the next time, but over all it was delicious. Although food is a passion of mine, the best part was the company.  I have really found some life long friends in Linda and Artan and of course Adora.  Getting to have them a part of my journey here has been a blessing.

Lesson:  Living in the moment, enjoying the small joys, that's what its all about.