Time is speeding by......

This was a rewarding and hardworking day.  The realization I had today and the one that I am sure Margaret is well versed having taught art 8 hours a day for 12 years, is how hard it is to teach daily.  We are only teaching 4 hours a day.  Part of it is the environment and how much work it is just to get set up with the classes each day and getting the supplies out, etc.  The other piece is that their is an emotional element that comes a long with it that is exhausting yet extremely rewarding.  We also had a child that was in the school that lives right outside the school between to flight of stairs on the landing just crying because he could not get down.  I went up to the landing, handed him off to Momma Margaret who carried him home.  Minutes later he was back in the school sitting on a chair or at the door of our respective classrooms smiling and waving asking over and over again, "how are you?, how are you? how are you?  I love this and at the same time, these are the unique elements of daily life in the school in Kibera.

Today felt like we are on a bit of a race to get all the work in.  Another realization is we had 8 days as opposed to 10 last year to teach and we need 10 days, regardless that this year we have double the time, we actually need the days to make sure that we have the actual time to deliver the curriculum; this truncated amount of time, leaves us very little room for flexibility.  It just makes us push, push and as Phil Boroughs advised us the first year that we delivered this program, it is never going to be as you planned it--That continues to be the best advise we have received outside of don't drink the water unless you bought it bottled.  

Today we plunged right in and all the classes were doing their art creation full tilt.  We have had to work very hard to get our history and art elements education in as well as our practicing and creating art.  The most essential elements that you need to go over are composition, genres, medium, etc and also time periods.  This is all hard to get in and also paint and draw.  We are doing it.  For the advanced students, forms 2 and 3, they are doing final projects on high grade paper and the forms 1 is doing lots of painting on what we call practice paper.  They all are working so hard and so committed. It constantly allows us to know that they are working to achieve the most they can out of what opportunity is present.  So many of them seem to see art as another place to achieve and succeed and they are doing it.  The final projects are amazing and they are certainly going to be great to bring back to help raise money for the school.

We were both excited to see in the school magazine, yes, St. Al's has an awesome school magazine, the mention of the art club and the mention of Margaret and I as the reason they started it. Speaking of the Art Club, we are learning to speak Kenyan.....  After class this afternoon, the Art Club asked to meet with Margaret and I.  They had appointed a speaker to talk.  The Art Club is comprised of most the student from my Forms 3 class that were my forms 2 students last year.  Before the speaker, Hillary, spoke we let them know how proud we were and committed to them and that all the supplies would be left to use in the art club.  They were thankful.  Referring to speaking Kenyan, this is what I am talking about.  Hillary spoke and he asked, "what were our thoughts about taking a field trip to see a museum or gallery either while we were here or even when we weren't here."  We thought that was a fine idea and that since we are leaving this Friday that it probably would be best for them to go on their own.  But I knew that this is not what they were asking us. And I said, "I am not sure I am answering your questions since you are not being direct."  Then they said supporting them going, and I continued to dig and asked, "do you need money to do this and is that what you are asking?" and they all said yes. Then we talked about how to be direct and ask for what you need.  Helping them have a voice is important and they get it. They all acknowledge it is very Kenyan to not be direct but dance around it.  We are more than glad to support this and they were given assignment, Collin is to figure out how much they need and Hellen is to focus on where they might go.  At dinner Margaret said, what is they come back with the idea to go to the MOMA or Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.  We laughed and then both though it be great to do this---Maybe something in our future.  

The world ends up continuing to be a small place.  Tonight I met someone at Nairobi Java because he was wearing a unique pair of Kenyan Safari boots that I also bought so I would be unique at home (Go figure) and we joked about being fashionable in our respective homes, he a Kenyan who lives in Paris and me in DC.  I joked, gave him my card and said "send me a picture of you wearing yours in front of the Eiffel Tower and I will send one of me wearing mine in front of the white house.  He asked me what I was doing in Kenya as he said he was working with a school in Kibera on a Photo Journalism project and low and behold, The Journalism club of St. Al's is having an exhibit opening tomorrow that he was part of organizing.  Small world.  Margaret and I are excited about the project because last year, we also engaged the students with photography and three of the six photo journalists are our students from last year.   It just goes to show that many people are engaged in St. AL'S and the world can be a tremendously small place.

Hope all is well.

Charles and Margaret