First, you can see that I've changed my blog background. I was getting tired of seeing the same stuff all the time. I'm not good with HTML code though, so I don't really know how to fix it, so the words aren't so squished. I'm hoping I can convince my sister to fix it again, so be patient until I can fix it.
Second, I wanted to blog again today, because I had a really, really awesome day. I've been sick the last few days with the flu, so the kindergarteners were extra-excited to see me today. One of the little boys, who is usually not one of best-behaved children, ran over to me as soon as I walked in the room and grabbed my hand. I got nervous, because I've had a few kids take two fingers in one hand and two fingers in the other and try to rip my hand apart, a la Star Trek "Live long and prosper." I was pleasantly surprised though, because he held my hand gently, kissed it, and said, "Behebick, habibti," which is the Arabic equivalent for "I love you, sweetheart." It was so precious!
Two of the girls had been sitting on my lap and when I moved my headband, they pulled it off my head and started smoothing down my hair. I usually wear my hair pulled back in a low bun, with a headband. It keeps it out of the way and it keeps small hands out of my hair. They played with my hair for awhile, then started pulling at my ponytail holder and saying, "I want this" in English. I figured it meant that they wanted to play with all of my hair, so I took it out and let them. The one girl's eyes got so big and she said, "Charick helu!!" which means, "you have beautiful hair!" The other girl repeated it and started petting my hair. They kept repeating "charick helu" and rearranging my headband. Finally, when they seemed content, the hairdresser in front looked at me, arranged one more hair, and took both hands to her mouth, kissed them, and threw her arms outward. It seemed very Italian. She also explained to me, in Arabic, that when I wear my hair up, then I'm not pretty, but when I wear it down, I'm very pretty. It really was adorable.
One of the boys grabbed a book off the shelf and insisted that I read to him later in the morning. It was really cute, because a bunch of the kids gathered around and fought over who could be closest to me. The boy who asked me to read it initally was in front and his name is Daniel, but pronounced Danielle. The book, as most are, was an English book written about God and the bible. I understand I work at a Lutheran school, but being raised only in public schools, it's still weird to see these on the shelves. I started reading and it was actually about a few different bible stories. The first one was about Daniel being thrown into the lions' den. I called the character "Danielle" though, which greatly pleased Daniel. Each time I'd flip the page ahead or another child came over, he would flip back and ask me, "Meen hada?" (Who's this?) and I'd say, "Hada Daniel!" (This is Daniel.) He would smile and say, "Ana hone. Hada ana." (I'm here. This is me.) He was so thrilled. I started reading the story about Jonah, but Jonah was actually named Nadim, and his fishermen friends were Madi, Yessin, and Yusif. Artistic license. :)
Swimming was awesome today. Thursdays are when kindergarten swims, so it's usually the class I feel the most involved with. Most parents don't swim with their 3, 4, and 5-year-olds, as sad as that is. It's nice though, because then I get to play with them! Two kids sat on the edge of the pool and I convinced them to kick their feet in the water. They had a lot of fun, so more kids came over and joined. Eventually, there were about eight of them sitting on the edge, kicking their feet and splashing. They thought they were just playing, but a lot of them are still afraid of getting splashed with water, so it was great acclimation for the pool. I dropped down and did a power kick of water, so I completely soaked all of them. Most of them had this initial face of shock, but then it was all smiles. They said, "Camaan marra!" (Another time!) I did. They said camaan marra...again...and again. I was still making them kick, then splashing them with a powerkick every twenty minutes. Needless to say, it was a tiring, but phenomenal day.
Today was an awesome day. The weather is beautiful and my walk home went fast. I didn't even notice time passing. It's a 40 minute walk, so it's probably like, three miles. It was just an awesome day! Plus, I was invited to go to Nativity Church with the kindergarten for the field trip on Saturday, then out for pizza. This should be a good time. Nativity Church with a large group of 3, 4, and 5 year-olds? I'm seriously pumped. I'm bringing my camera...with video. :)
I hope you have a great day too!!
Much love,
Meredith
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