The First Day of School
            .....where the mountains make you high : )
         

 On the walk outside our front door.

 How cool! To bounce on a suspension bridge

 on the way to school.

 

          The first day at Nate Saint Memorial School started with chapel including praise songs and prayer for the students followed by a fun skit: a game show put on by the teachers to review the rules. Then we chuckled as the students sang the Shell Song, a song from decades ago capturing a few themes of life here. I think you will chuckle, too. Here are the lyrics:

         
          Well… The grass is always greener

          when you’re south of the equator

          And livin’ in the mountains makes you high!

          But life in Shell is different

          and the town will leave its imprint

          And the roaches and the rain will make you cry (boo hoo)

          Yes… the roaches and the rain will make you sigh (sigh)

The school day here is much like in the states although lunch is 90 minutes so the kids come home as do the working parents for a sit-down lunch together.

Day One at school went well. Angelyn and Luke came home bubbling about how fun it was and Dane was happy to find his class was five boys and one girl. Last year there was one boy and five girls! : )

About 3:30pm the compound exploded with the twenty-two children who call this home. The swing set was crawling with kids. The neighbor kids showed ours the clubhouse built by the last family on top of our outdoor storage room. Dane and his crew set off on bikes to explore the town.

Fort over our bodega (storage room)

Angelyn, Josiah and Isabella

Meanwhile Jay and I were unpacking, doing laundry, hauling drinkable water from the hospital spigot and trying to get the laptop oriented to the internet access here.

We are tired but enjoying our first days here. Thanks for keeping up with our adventure.

Blessings,

Lynnelle for the Allisons