11/9 The BAT

Sunday, November 9

At 5:15 this morning I woke up to some serious scratching in our room. I sleep with my flashlight in my bed - so I felt around for it and pointed it around the room. What do you think I saw? A BAT climbing up and down our laundry basket. Before I had a second more time to be grossed out, I jumped out of bed, grabbed the basket with the bat clinging on, opened the door, pushed the basket into the hall, closed the door and jumped back into bed. Phew. Good riddance!

Yes, but then I could hear all the noises, the scratching and the shuffling around above our heads. I have no idea how Jack sleeps all through thisÖ. I pointed the flashlight up to the ceiling in hopes of scaring the bat or rat that dared to keep me awake.

I did manage to sleep an hour or so before having to get up and help for breakfast in Tarangire. And this morning I made myself a cup of coffee and took it with me. I wonder why I havenít been doing that every morning? Live and learn!

I spent the morning sorting through all the baskets in the preschool closet - the blocks, lego etc etc. Of course you turn your back for 5 minutes and things are put away in the wrong place. Oh well. I then joined Susie in the library and we went through all the videos and DVDís and made sure that the video/dvd in each case matched the case and that they were filed correctly. They have hundreds of movies! Itís just amazing. And to think that they all came over from the US in duffle bags. There are also hundreds of books as well - Lindsay sorted those properly yesterday.

There was also a little bit of excitement this morning; Elias and Seba killed a rat in the Volunteer House! It was running through the kitchen, back behind the TV and then back towards our room behind the freezer. Yuck, yuck and yuck! Have I already mentioned that I hate rats?Ö.even bats are better than rats. Oh, and I donít mind spiders at all - so I kill those whenever one is found. (Ruby knowsÖ..). But the worst part about the rat was that it was dead just on the grass by the door to the Volunteer House. Just gross! I had to have Elias toss it into the bushes.

Who knows, maybe the rat ate the bat?

I am glad we are on day13 with this happening. I just might have been thrown off a bit had all this batty/ratty excitement happened our first day! At this point, I think I can handle it.

Speaking of the days, three weeks is really the shortest amount of time that one should come here. It takes a week to let it all soak in, another week to get with the program and feel like you are really getting to know all the children and the last week to just enjoy! Not to mention that if you are going to come all the way here you need to squeeze in the safaris as well. Three weeks is just perfect.

All the other volunteers are much younger - in their 20ís and are at very different places in their lives, so itís much easier for them to stay for much longer. Several of them are here for more than a year. Itís been different hanging with the twenty something crowdÖ.in my heart I have always felt that I am still 27 (God only knows why, but itís true)Ö.but Iím not sure anymore. They have all been fun to get to knowÖ

Itís also been great for me to watch Jack. He really does his own thing quite a bit, interacting with the children. In particular, the soccer boys and the boys in Tarangire. Heís taken to helping Vicenti with bath time and getting undressed and dressed. Itís so sweet. Jack also knows all of them by name. I still get a couple confused - but he knows them all! Heís so independent and is really enjoying himself.

There is truly something to be said for leaving everything behind and only focusing on what is here. Heís been doing homework for an hour or so every morning and then again for another hour or so during nap time - such discipline, which, by the way, he did NOT get from me!. As a student I was always a 9th hour kind of gal. Still am in many ways. My creative juices really only flow under pressure, or so I think!