ARTSCO Talent Show

On Saturday, December 1st was the ARTSCO talent show. Nidhi, Lucie and I arrived at school at 4:00, and helped paint decorations, and make posters/signs for the games. Lucie and I also brought some chocolate chip cookies that we had baked for the bake sale.

The whole of the ARTSCO group was present, and people worked together extremely well. In the arts room people were busy putting glitter and painting red and white stripes on cardboard stars, while outside there were tents set up for the games.

The games consisted of: a hoola hoop competition, throwing darts at balloons (filled with paint), throwing rings and beanbags, etc. The prizes were candy and goldfish (which I thought was extremely inhumane, but were nevertheless popular). The goldfish were awarded if you hit six balloons with darts in a row.

After taping up signs for the games, folding pamphlets, and hanging up stars around the auditorium I was put in charge of one of the game stands, and the goldfish.

When people began to arrive they stood outside and played games, and many people came up and demanded to look at the goldfish (one boy even tried to buy one from me!).

The talent show was a big success, and all of the acts were amazing (though some had a few minor slip ups). The winners were a one person band, singer, and pianist.

ARTSCO did a great job!

Guitar Class

Today in guitar we emphasised note rests and ties. We did various short songs to practice these things, and then moved on to practicing chords.
Unfortunately one of my strings had fallen off this week, so my guitar was very out of tune (due to having to put a new E string on).

My homework had been to practice three chords for a song we were learning. Today we went over this song together,  Job singing and me playing the guitar.
I have to work on my hand positions when playing the guitar.

My homework is to practice three new chords: G, lm, and C.
Today's class was fun, and I can't wait until next week.

Mural Painting

Today Lucie Vovk and I painted a mural together at school, we had been planning to do this for a while but had never gotten round to it before now.

We were planning to paint something like this:

However when we arrived at the art room at 9:30 we discovered there was a slightly more limited collection of colours to pick from. We shrugged it off and decided to do black and white stripes in the background instead, with 'Breathe' in red or yellow.

We laboriously pulled our small cart loaded with cans of paint up (seemingly endless) flights of stairs until we reached the wall. We chose two panels by the cafeteria to paint on, and lined up the cans along the wall.
The lines were easy to paint, but kept dripping. We both realised that this looked rather artistic, and decided to splatter paint it with black and white. We were pleased with our work and chose to take it a step further. We splattered painted red and pink as well (painting some plants and .... the ground in the process).

Close up of the splatter

One panel of our mural

We cleaned up while we waited for the mural to dry and then moved on to the word 'Breathe'. We did this in yellow (which was hard as the colour kept turning into a dismal grey).
One final brushstroke and we stepped back, smiling at our result.
Others may think that it's ugly and messy, but we like it just fine.

This is the final mural:

The white symbolises life, and the black death. The red symbolises hate, and the pink love. Finally, the yellow (it doesn't look yellow in the picture, but it is) symbolises light and hope.

It took us around 2 and a half hours to paint.

My hand

Guitar Class

Today I had another guitar class.

We first reviewed the pentatonic scale, and Job was pleased with my progress but advised that I hold onto both notes for longer.
We then moved on to doing a few exercises in the music book, and I think today my beat really improved.

We focused on chords A, E and D, playing a song using them.
I had to repeat them over and over again while Job sang. This was so that I could learn them better, and it worked. It gradually got easier and easier to move from one note to another, and my beat and sound improved as well (though my fingers hurt by the end of it!).

Todays class was really fun, and Job was very happy with my work.
My homework is to practice our new song (using the three chords we learned), and to practice the pentatonic scale some more.

Shangilia Fourth Trip

On Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 I went to Shangilia for the fourth time.

It was the kids 'home day', which meant that they were all playing with toys outside. We didn't teach any classes because of this.

Instead Lucie, Nidhi and I sat on the stage and painted the girls nails. We used green, orange and other colours of nail polish.
We also played clapping games with them, and the kids laughed and smiled as they chanted the lyrics to themselves.

Other people visiting Shangilia played football with the boys, and played with toys with them.

I chatted a lot with the children on this visit, and I think that I connected more with them. It showed me that though we're from completely different 'worlds' we both enjoy the same things.

I can't wait for our next trip!

Guitar Class

Today in guitar we went over the exercises that I practiced for homework. We did it slowly and then faster, increasing the beat. This was harder than I anticipated because it's difficult keeping track of the beat and concentrating on the strings and notes at the same time.

We then practiced the pink panther song, parts of which I had forgotten. We tried to make the beat/tune clearer in the song, and did this for a fair amount of time.

We then moved on to pentatonics, which are really fun and simple to play. With this I also learned to names of more notes.
My homework is to practice the pentatonic scale, gradually getting to a level in which I can do it extremely quickly and easily.

Some simple pentatonic scales

Today was a bit challenging for me, as I was slightly distracted throughout the session. However I enjoy doing pentatonics and I look forward to showing Job what I will achieve over the next week or so.

Journalism Update

In journalism at the moment Lucie and I are doing an article together. She is interviewing new students and teachers, and I'm doing the photography for her.
It is difficult finding time to interview the people, and remembering to bring a camera to school, but I think we've done fairly well.

Some of the people she interviewed are: Mr Marshall, Mrs Wilkins, Marcus (11th grade), Ebla (9th grade), the new counsellor, Leya (10th grade), and Francesca (12th grade).

She was asking questions like: What do you think of the commons? How did the students make you feel welcome? How do you feel about the cafeteria food? Are the teachers supportive?
etc.

I think that this article is going to be really good, and I look forward to seeing it published in the school newspaper.

Guitar Class

On Friday, November 2nd, I had a guitar class.
The emphasis was theme, and we played various small pieces to identify it. If you know the theme of a piece of music it makes playing it a lot more easy.

Job made me teach my mom the pink panther song on the guitar, as he said it would help me remember the song better. This was a lot harder than I anticipated, as I tend to remember the notes when I'm holding the guitar in my hand. I had 10 minutes to teach her the whole song, and by the end of the time she knew it fairly well. It was very frustrating having to need to pick up the guitar myself to remember which frets the notes were on, etc. However this activity was very fun and educational.

In guitar I need to work on practicing more, as during the week I usually have a lot of homework (which takes up my time). Job told me that I need to be playing for at least half an hour every day, which means that I need to manage my time slightly better.
Practice makes perfect!

I'm very excited for my next class.

OVC Christmas Party

Today from 9:00 - 12:00 AM, was the OVC Christmas party. It was raining very hard, and so we couldn't use the pool (which I was previously supposed to be in charge of) or the playground any more. Everyone met in Mrs. Henderson's room to discuss 'plan B'. We decided to have a drawing station, a movie station, a clothes and books section, and a breakfast section. I volunteered to be jointly in charge of the drawing section.

I draw with a kid

After we had finished planning we all sorted out the books and clothes, and I set out the sketchbooks in the classroom that the drawing would take place in. I was pleasantly surprised at how many people had donated items, and at the end of the day there were stills some clothes left over!

We then went down the road to collect the children, it was very cold and wet and they all had hoodies on.

Parijat (Interact president) with the kids as they choose clothes

For about three hours or so groups of kids came through our station. They were all given a sketchbook to draw in, and there were pencils, pastels and pens laid out on the tables for them to use. 

When our first group arrived we told them to draw a picture of themselves and something that they liked to do, but most of the children ignored us and did what they wanted. Nearly all of them drew people and cars, and some were actually quite good. 

At one point a few interact members set up the speakers and played music, and two or three kids went up and danced! 

I went around and complimented them on their drawings and talked to them, making friends with a lot of the children during the course of the party.

It was over almost too soon, and the children traipsed away with large plastic bags filled with books and clothes, and wide smiles plastered on their faces. 

I think that this was an amazing experience for me, as I loved seeing how happy the kids were to be at ISK and meeting us all. It also opened up my eyes to just how little they have, and how much a simple book or t-shirt will mean to them. We take these things for granted, and I feel that this opened up my eyes to how appreciative I should be of my good fortune. I can't wait to meet up with the OVC children again!

Runda Feeding - Trip 2

Today was my second Runda feeding trip.
Again, we met at 10:30 at java house and then drove to where the event was taking place.

When we arrived we were slightly surprised to see a lot more indian women and men there to help out, turns out this was because it was a religious occasion.

We unpackaged all of the food at the beginning, piling up bread and taking candies out of their packets, etc. We then took plates of food to the elderly people in the house nearby, who all clearly appreciated it a lot.

Piled bread - (I'm the one with the stripy shirt in the background)

A friend and I handed out milk as the long line of children began to form. There were some indian women gathered around us as well, helping hand out the small packages.
We were first ordered to give each child two packages of milk, as we had a lot more today. After a while this increased to three, and in the end four!

At the end of the distributions a large crowd of seething children ran toward us and everyone was grabbing the few milks left desperately.
I was a little shocked at this, but it helped me realise how much these children need the food and what they're willing to do to obtain it.

We again ended with prayers (a small girl went up and recited a prayer all on her own, which was adorable!), and giving thanks to the people who donated money (ISK made a contribution at the end).

Personally, I think that Runda feeding benefits me more than it does the children and others collecting food.
It helps me to see what people go through, and develop as a person, but it only teaches these children that they have to rely on others to provide for themselves. I feel that this isn't much of a positive message to be sending them. Yes, it's great to see their joy when they trudge off with their large bag of food, but in the long run this may have negative effects.

I enjoyed helping out today, and I can't wait to do this again!

Shangilia Performance

Yesterday I helped out with the Shangilia performance.

I arrived at ISK at around 3:30 and headed for the arts centre. I sold tickets at the entrance (they were 500 shillings each) and muffins (100 shillings each) at the entrance. I also handed out free postcards to the people entering the auditorium, and to some that had already found seats.

A ticket to the performance

I did this for around 30-40 minutes, and then went inside to watch the show.
The kids were amazing, and really touched a lot of peoples hearts with their performances. There was an act at the beginning about some street children being taken to Shangilia and given a better future, and then lots of acrobatics, dances and tricks.

The audience was very engaged, and we all clapped along with the music and cheered for the children. At the end we all went up on stage and danced with them, and I feel like everybody had a great time.

Everyone goes up to dance with the kids!

Third Guitar Class

Today I had guitar, and we finished off the pink panther song. I played it a few times over to get it right, and then we moved along to learn notes on the first three strings.

We learned a lot about finger positioning today, which is a lot harder than it looks! I also improved a bit on my rhythm, which I was happy about. We did many different small tunes to improve memorisation of the notes, and Job gave me some sheets of music to practice with for next lesson. I will spend about 10-15 minutes going over them each day.

I'm pleased with my progress so far in guitar, considering that I gave it up for so many years. Job told me today that I've gotten a lot farther than most would in such short a time! I'm very encouraged to continue to improve in my music, and I'm excited to learn the notes on the top three strings next Friday.

Shangilia Third Trip

On the 3rd of October I went on my third trip to Shangilia.

We had planned to do some nail painting for the children, and so a few seniors traipsed onto the bus carrying large bags filled with nail polish. Not many people showed up today, there were only around five high school girls (including myself), two high school boys, and a few middle schoolers. When we arrived three of the five girls (two of them part of the art group), and the other went to teach math. This meant that I alone was in charge of around twenty noisy kids in the art room! It was daunting, to say the least.

Ainsley and Emma play with the kids

The children pushed the desks into the small classroom, and I told them that we would be drawing pictures together. Though they are all small kids I was uncomfortable being the centre of attention, and after a few minutes of waiting for paper and pencils I went off to fetch them myself. When I returned with supplies all of the kids began shouting for paper, and thrusting blunt pencils at me to sharpen. I was overwhelmed!

After I had gotten them settled it calmed down a bit, and I even had time to doodle on a piece of paper in the corner of the room (I did a swirly pattern). A few kids saw what I had done, and though it was far from brilliant they were entranced. Soon enough pieces of paper were shoved at me with cries of "draw a butterfly!" "Draw a flower!" "Draw a crocodile!" I found it difficult to keep up with the requests and at the same time work on keeping the paper on the table (not the floor), and pick up coloured pencils, etc. But it was fun to do some art with them! The children worked on colouring in my pictures, and tracing over my lines. It was sweet to see them so enthusiastic and inspired (at least I hope they were!).

After time was up for art we headed outside, some of the children played hockey while others sat on the stage painting their nails and talking. Nidhi, Lucie and I played a few clapping games and then chatted with the kids.
Time flew bye after this, and before I knew it the manager of Shangilia was calling us all up for a goodbye. He mentioned the performance on Saturday, and reminded us that he expects us all to be there to support the children. Naturally, I am planning to go.

Yesterday was a rather challenging, but fun day nonetheless. I feel like even though the process may be painful, doing things like taking charge of a classroom single-handedly are helping me become a more well rounded person. I am developing my lacking leadership qualities, and I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and put myself out there.
I feel like taking charge helped me connect with the kids more, I know a lot of them better now than I did last visit. I think they may even look up to me a little.

Journalism Club: First Meeting

On the 27th of September was my first journalism meeting.
In this meeting we discussed ideas for our newspaper, people were also assigned the positions of writers, photographers, designers, etc. I will be a writer, and be given a new story (or come up with a story) to write about each month. The journalism teacher/supervisor said that she will be helping us writers edit and put together our pieces, which is a relief!

We agreed that our paper will be printed out, as generally students don't like having to go to a website to read. Some ideas for our articles were:

- The Commons
- What happens at ISK after school ends?
- Best dressed student
- Best dressed teacher
- Top 5 Songs
- Article on a student
- Sports
- The Play- Arabian Nights
- The ARTSCO Talent Show
etc.

I thought that maybe I could do an article on the guards and their relationships with their dogs, as they do spend the entire day together and so therefore must have some kind of connection.
And for the column on a student I thought that perhaps we should choose a quiet, not very well known person instead of someone the entire school is already familiar with.

I am really excited to explore my creativity through writing with this, and perhaps even connect more with my fellow students in the process.

Runda Feeding

Today I did the Runda feeding program in interact club. This went on from 10:30 - 12:30.
We all met up at Java house and then used three or four cars to take us to the site. We started out by unpacking various foods and stacking them up so that we would be ready to hand them out when the time came.

We pile up the bread!

We piled up plates with a little bit of each food and went and gave them out to some elderly men in a small bungalow nearby. As we handed them the food they smiled and thanked us over and over. It felt great to be helping, even if we were only doing a little.

Plates of food for the elderly men

The food consisted of mandazis, mangoes, sweets, bread, muffins, milk, bananas, juices, and much more. I was amazed at how much food we had!
It was really sweet to see some men preparing bread and milk for the dogs, and feeding the cows.

After we had finished we were assigned to hand out different foods - a friend and myself were in charge of the milk. There was soon a huge line of children waiting to collect their food, I was dumbstruck at just how many there were! They each collected plastic bags (some that the bread had previously been packaged in) and then went around to get a little of each item. Some children carried babies on their backs.

The line of children waiting for food

We gave one packet of milk to each child, and they flashed us grateful smiles.
After a while it began to get very crowded, and I frantically dropped milk in as many bags as I could! But there were so many people that after a while our three huge crates of milk ran out, and I was dismayed to see mothers carrying their babies not get any.

I help hand out milk

At the end we stood in a circle and reflected on our work, saying prayers and listening to the people talk about their organisation.

I really enjoyed this activity. It made me realise just how little they have, and how fortunate we are. I loved touching these children's lives, seeing their bright eyes and wide smiles was amazing. I feel like I learnt a lot more about the level of poverty in Kenya, and was inspired by the sense of community during the feeding.

Two little kids in line

I think that this is what interact club is all about, connecting with people that seem to be in a world so far away and different from your own, and making a difference (for them, and for yourself).
I can't wait until my next interact community service event!

Making a difference

Second Guitar Class

Today in my guitar class I learnt the first half of Pink Panther!
The first part of the song is made up of four power chords, repeated three times over with a brief gap between each one. I then learnt various notes on the top strings to add to the song.
I also learnt the right hand finger positions when playing guitar, the importance of rhythm, etc.

It was difficult to press down hard enough to produce a clear sound (an annoying buzzing sound occurs if you don't exert enough force). Five minutes into the lesson my fingers already had large dents in them from the strings! However they didn't hurt, and I look forward to them hardening over time.

The Pink Panther

I practiced the part of the song over and over, inspired by Job's flawless examples. I improved greatly over the course of our lesson, and by the end could successfully play half of Pink Panther.
Job said that it was the first song that he had learnt to play, and that when he had learnt it he had been far younger than me!

I am very happy with my progress today, and it feels good to be able to play a song (even if it does need a few improvements!)!

I am very excited to complete this song next friday!

First Guitar Class!

Today was my first guitar class of the year, and I really enjoyed it. This will be my skill for presidents award, and therefore I will be continuing it for twelve months. I will have a lesson every Friday after swim team, and be assigned homework during the week (this will consist mainly of practice).

My teacher is Job Nyangaya, who taught me guitar when I was in elementary! Unfortunately, I have forgotten practically everything, so we're starting off at a beginners level.
 Job arrived at my house shortly after I got back from swim team, and we sat down (with a nice cup of tea) and set our goals for this year (what we will have learned by December 2012).

My goals are:
1. Notes on the first and second strings
2. Notes on the third and fourth strings
3. Notes on the fifth and sixth strings
4. Basic chords
5. Minor seventh suspended chords
6. Pentatonic scales

- By the 21st of September - 5th of October I should have learned the notes on all of the strings.
- By the 5th - 19th of October I should know the basic chords.
- By the 26th of October - 2nd of November I should know the minor 7th suspended chords.
- From the 9th - 23rd of November I should know the pentatonic scales.

The songs I will learn are:
- Pink Panther
- Etude
- Malaguena
- Banana Pancakes
- More than words

Today I worked on basic six string tunes and reading music, which was really fun. I need to work on my rhythm, as I'm finding it hard to count out the beats at times. Next time I will continue to work on these aspects, and practice using all five fingers instead of just my thumb.

I'm really excited for this coming year of guitar, and I hope that I accomplish my goals and become a more musical person! I feel that this was the one thing missing in my CAS experience, as I have never really played an instrument before.
I can't wait for my next class!

Shangilia Second Trip

Yesterday, on the 19th of September, was our second trip to Shangilia.

When we arrived we split almost immediately into our groups. I went into a small classroom with only a few desks and a blackboard with the other three people in my group. Unfortunately Emma Vovk had not been able to come, and she had been the one responsible for bringing the supplies for our activity! So we collected some blank paper and pictures for coloring and handed them out to the children.

It was interesting to see the kinds of things that they drew, and the colors that they chose for certain items. I noticed that a lot of them liked to draw people, flowers, and cars. Some children logically colored in their pictures, choosing green for the grass and so forth, but others chose their horses mane to be blue, and the sky yellow! All of these children have such unique personalities, and deserve the chance to express themselves further.

This went on for about an hour and a half, and then we cleaned up the pencil shavings littering the floor of the classroom and went outside to play a few games (football, frisbee, etc.). The kids were amazing at football and Lucie, Nidhi and myself watched in awe as they worked together as a team to score goals. We were no match!

After this was done the director/manager of Shangilia talked to us about the kind of activities we could do next time (we were thinking nail painting and face painting?), and then we departed back to our bus.

I really enjoyed this trip as it allowed me to see how artistic and skilled these children are, and enjoy their varying personalities. I am looking forward to the Shangilia performance at ISK, and I hope that they are too.

Family Challenge 2012

This weekend my mom, two brothers, a friend of the family's, and I did the family challenge (my dad was in England for work)! The family challenge is an event that raises money for Kamili Trust, which helps people with mental disorders. This year it was announced that 3 million shillings had been raised with our help! We donated around 30,000 shillings to this cause, and the event happened from September eight to ninth. This money will be used to help train nurses, build clinics, and much more.

Poster for the Family Challenge 2012

The family challenge consists of a number of fun activities in which the teams all compete in. Some examples of challenges are: planting a tree, transporting water from one bucket to another without using your hands (you had to hold ropes), figuring out math problems as a team, etc.

This year our team name was Lionhearts (again). We arrived in Sanctuary Farm in time for lunch on Saturday, and then collected up our lists of instructions, put up our huge tent, and got to work! Our first challenge was tree-planting, which we all thought we did reasonably well at. Five more challenges followed this one, each taking about 15 minutes, with 15 minutes time to reach the next activity.
We camped in Sanctuary Farm overnight. There were many other families that we knew competing, for example some friends from ninth grade. During the night there was a jazz band playing (which was amazing!) and a big barbeque.

The next morning we had breakfast at around 6:30-7:00, there was a briefing and then the challenges began once more. We started off with the painting challenge, in which I was blindfolded and had to paint a sunset with my team's instructions! We ended the day with the water challenge, which consisted of crossing a swamp using planks!

We had an hour to take down our tents after this, and we managed to pack everything into the land-rover before lunch began. There was then an awards ceremony, which recognised the people who had contributed most to the event and who had helped organise it, the challenge winners, best family team, the people who raised the most money, and the overall winning team. We won a challenge and got a medal and a funky white t-shirt!
After we ate we drove back home, satisfied with what we had achieved.

I really wanted to make a difference when doing this, and I was glad that I achieved this while still having fun and enjoying myself in the process. This challenge taught me a lot about the Kamili trust, and about teamwork and responsibility. It showed me that to succeed in life you have to have support, both from yourself and from others. This fundraising activity will help me with this skill in life, and allow me to spread the word about this foundation and what people with mental disabilities are going through.

I can't wait to participate in the family challenge again next year!!

(The link to the Kamili website: http://www.kamilimentalhealth.org/index.html )

Shangilia- First Trip

Today we had our first trip to Shangilia. We all jumped on the bus immediately after school ended, and ate our lunches during the drive there. We drove through a big town, which though busy was very poor. Me and Lucie couldn't help but remember what the manager had said last time about the things the children are willing to do to provide for themselves in this community. We finally reached the entrance to Shangilia, which was brightly painted with drums and other instruments.

When we stepped through the door we were greeted by a cascade of bright hopeful faces. They immediately began to go up to members of the group and introduce themselves. Many of the kids remembered some of the other students from last years trip. There was also a game of hockey going on while this occured, and some of the boys joined in! The children were all very friendly, and I was grabbed by a shy, but nice little girl who showed me around the buildings. She proudly presented me with her bed, her classroom and the other bits and pieces of the orphanage. She told me a lot about what it's like to live in Shangilia and how much she loves to do acrobatics and get an education. Afterwards we talked about each others interests, for example our favourite animals and what we want to be when we grow up (she wants to become a hairdresser for the actors in Hollywood!).

 Lucie, Nidhi, some children and I grouped up together and played clapping games, which I wasn't very good at! At one point two girls did it extremely quickly, with their eyes closed! We then told some stories (rapunzel!) and did some drawing with them, which they all loved. Other group members played football and hockey with the kids, swung them around, and participated in a number of other activities with them. This continued for about an hour until we were redirected to our teaching groups (math, art, music, storytelling, etc).

Lucie and I play clapping games with two girls

I was taken to a small classroom with a few desks and a blackboard. I was in the art group, and we decided to play pictionary with the kids. At first we told them what to draw, but it soon became apparent that they just wanted to do their own thing! The children loved being able to draw on the blackboard, and from the overcrowding in our classroom you could tell that art was a popular subject in Shangilia. The kids moved around from each group to another, and though some left halfway through there was always a consistent amount of kids in the classroom.

Nidhi teaches the kids math

After about half an hour we all said goodbye to the kids and departed back to the bus.

I really enjoyed this first trip, as it gave me an idea of what these kids go through in their everyday lives. It also allowed me to bond with the kids and make some friends. I am happy to be helping improve their education and live more fulfilling lives. I think that this trip will also help me improve my leadership, as teaching these kids is a real opportunity to excel in this area.
I can't wait for our next trip!

Sponsored Swim 2012

This weekend I did a sponsored swim (an hour and a half long) to raise money for DogsTrust, which is an organisation in the U.K. that saves abandoned and abused dogs and finds them new homes, etc. I did this event with my friend Lucie on Sunday morning.

DogsTrust Logo

Over the past week I got people to sponsor me (per lap or total amounts), and now we just have to collect the money! I swam 140 laps today, and I will receive around 51,550 ksh. Together with Lucie's money we have about 66,500 shillings! 

It was really awesome swimming laps for a good cause, each length I did brought me new determination. It was a really sunny day, and having Lucie there made it more casual and fun. By the end of the time my muscles were aching, but I had a smile on my face. I had done it!

Me and Lucie jump into the pool after a long swim

Me diving into the pool

I'm really excited to donate this money to DogsTrust. I think that we have a real chance of making a difference for these innocent animals, and I feel great knowing that I've achieved this.

This experience taught me a lot about the fact that I can make a difference for these dogs, and that I don't have to have anything too expensive or fancy to do it with. All I need are some goggles and a swimsuit and I can make change. 

I can change the world, and I will.
One step at a time. 

Interact Club Team Building Day

Today from 9:00-12:30 was the Interact club team building event. We arrived and were immediately sorted into one of the four committees (service, club, international and finance), I was put into the service committee. My committee was the biggest out of all, as we are the people who will actually carry out the service events. For today we were divided into two small groups for the activities.

Firstly the teachers, board members and other guests were introduced, and they told us about what we were going to do. We were then handed out various shapes and had to arrange them to make four squares, our team was the second to finish! The winners were awarded pens!
After this exercise we were given a sheet of paper in which we  had to rank fifteen survival devices from most important to least important. First off we had to do it separately, and then come together as a team and do it together. After this was finished the answers were read out, and we had to do a few calculations to see who the winners of the game were.

There was a brief break after this, and then we all ventured outside to have a potato-and-spoon race. The first four teams went and then we had a go. The two winners from both rounds had a final race to determine the overall winner. Our team didn't even make it to the second round.....
Afterwards there was a snack break, in which we all ate brownies and other cakes and biscuits.
We then went back into the MPR and had small meetings to cover our goals in our committee's. The badges were then handed out, and Mrs. Henderson warned us all of the consequences of losing them, and the honour that it was to have one. The event ended with a big group photo of Interact 2012-2013!!

I am really excited to start off this year in Interact, this event helped me bond with my team more and fired up my enthusiasm to attend the many different activities that go on during the year. I can't wait to start making a difference in the community, and to learn more about the poverty in Nairobi.

Shangilia - Introduction Day

Today I stayed after school for the introduction for Shangilia. I will be going to this school to teach the children various subjects (I will be focusing mainly on art), and to bond with them (every other Wednesday afternoon).

Today we arrived at the upper parking lot and checked our names off of the register and all ate lunch by the buses. Afterwards we assembled in the gym and Mrs. Redler gave us all a talk about what we should do and avoid doing on the trips (dress code, respect, etc.). When this finished we all set off to the separate classrooms in which our meetings would be held. Mine was in the music room in the arts centre with about 10-12 other people.
The manager (?) of Shangilia came in and showed us a video he had made of the school. This included a detailed tour of their campus, what they have at the moment, and will need in the future. It also told us about the achievements of this foundation, and how it came to evolve. He educated us about how to act around the children, their emotional background, and the fundraisers we will be doing (assisted by Mrs. Haskel).

After this the seniors went up and organised us into different teaching groups (one for art, math, etc.) that we will split into when we travel to the school. They also told me that I'm to write the first link article!
After this was over we did some ice-breaking exercises. The first was a memory game, where you have to repeat the action of the person in front of you. Secondly we made a 'human knot' of arms and worked together to try and untangle ourselves back into a circle. This took a LONG time, but we eventually succeeded. The final game was the ninja one, where you have to block the various slices and slaps of the other ninjas (students) as they strike out at you.

Today was a great start to the year of service, and I can't wait to travel to Shangilia and meet the kids! I think that this trip will help me realise how little these children have, and how much they need to be helped. It may also inspire me, as I've heard that they're amazing gymnasts/performers!

ARTSCO Bake Sale

Today we had a bake sale during lunch for ARTSCO. I made brownies, with cinnamon and cashew nuts in them. There were only two left by the end of lunch. My friend Hannah made a heart shaped cake, Lucie made awesome purple fairy cakes (which all sold out after about 10 minutes!) and Shanti made lots of yummy muffins.

I sold with Lucie and Niamh, everything was 50 shillings, and the high schoolers went cake-crazy! We took the muffins and other goodies around the school so that the teachers could buy some. The middle schoolers even bought a few.

I think that we made a fair amount of money, and did a great job with this event. It was really fun doing something for ARTSCO with my friends.
The following are photographs of us:

Me and Niamh in charge of the stand!

Me and Lucie give out cake. 

Swim Team - First Week!

It is the second week of tenth grade and this week I had / am going to have my first four practices in swim team. I swam on monday afternoon, and wednesday morning, and today I will swim on thursday afternoon, and tomorrow on friday afternoon. I was happy to get back into the pool and start working out again, but I was surprised at how unfit I have become over the summer!

The new ISK swim coach is really nice, and his assistant coach (a young lady) is also very encouraging and friendly. The workouts this week consisted of endurance exercises and sprints. We did the normal thing of covering each stroke, kicking, and pulling. On monday afternoon we also did a relay race near the end of the session. The coaches pushed us to do flip turns during the practice, so that we would be prepared for competition.

Some teammates and I

The basic requirements for swim team are a water bottle (to stay hydrated), goggles, and a swim cap (so that you'll get used to the feeling of wearing it).
I can't wait to get back in shape, and do some competitions!