mudpuddle inkblots

a giant footprint. or exclamation mark!

a giraffe & its calf walking downhill->

a little snowy house with smokestack

the bow of a ship & it's reflection seen from water level

A mushroom

A dolphin flipping out of the water (still feeling bad about buying golfish after watching the Cove)

Louisianna

little bird

Today I saw a little bird that looked like it had been run over by a car many hours before and was literally turning to ice, hopping along on one leg. My first thought was to find a flat surface to scoop the bird up with and set it out of the sidewalk so it would die in a more peaceful place, but I didn't do it- I'm kind of scared of birds. I stared, walked past it slowly, looked back, then continued while another man saw my interest and came to pick the bird up, with no gloves! That guy ended the bird's life with his bare hands. How can it be that I would have thought the best thing to do is let the bird suffer in a quieter place? (and I couldn't even do that)

A coincidental bird fable. 20 minutes later at the Kindergarten, a sad fable was read about children who wouldn't bring their thirsty mother water. The mother beckoned and beckoned but the children were complaining and not listening. So, the mother grew wings, turned into a bird and flew far away where she could drink as much water she wanted. The moral of the story was undoubtedly, "listen to your mother".

Ever since I've been thinking about... what I think might be irony.

not to 'play favorites'...

in anticipation of a lesson about germs/sickness spreading, i have been keeping a small packet of opened glitter in my wallet.

glitter + lotion on kids hands, then having them shake hands = visual demonstration of germ sharing.

opened glitter in my wallet = a celebration every time i buy something (with sparkly money)!

nasty weather

the interesting swimming pool, funded by USAID SPA Grant years before

the fountain in the center of town

little red riding hood/wolf statues at the kindergarten

walking down to the kindergarten, under the grapevines

they'll wear heels in every type of weather...

outside of schools #1 & #2

Milli's 6th bday

Milli, Gohar, Shushanik, Mehair





What it looks like outside from my porch & how far away I am from the Lindens
(they are in the building in the back middle)

So, I realized from reading my friend Kathryn's blog that you don't need a camera to blog on the same day I received my new camera. No more skipping out- I might as well share my stories or put in links;)

Today was my little friend Milli's 6th Birthday. Her mother is my tutor, and she's also my "host cousin". I gave her an adorable little CareBear that Oakes had sent me in a package and she was so excited! I came to the party just in time to cheer her up with a present, at the time she was really sad about her father not being there.

I can't imagine having a parent leaving for months or years at a time to work in another country. Losing a parent permanently is much worse- but unwantingly leaving the country out of necessity to provide for one's family is a sad situation. Things are expensive here, a normal sweater can cost the same as what most teachers make in a month or at least- half. Food prices are a major topic of conversation- especially since the most recent price hikes of everything flour related.