I don't care about money, I just want to BE WONDERFUL- Marilyn Monroe: October Recap

I know I'm a little late with this one, but with going home and coming back and generally being busy, I never gave you an October recap. As usual, a lot of what happened in October I've already added here in a few other post, but here is what was missing-

-On October 2nd, Piere turned 7, with much fanfare and celebration- see previous post on this one. We had a nice week of parties and cake. So much cake.

-On October 3rd, a dental health campaign was held with 120 pre-school students in Ascope with the participation of a local volunteer group, 3 pre-schools, the pre-school specialist of the school district, and the local dentists. Again, I already posted about this. But still, I loved this project and am so happy it was a success.

-On October 8th, I turned 27 with much fanfare and celebration. I had a great birthday and was able to spend the 8th and the weekend leading up to it with special people whose company I thoroughly enjoy.

-On October 9th the national teacher's strike was lifted after a month without classes. Hooray! Unfortunately, there were more repercussions than resolutions of the strike, but it is what it is. The school year was extended into January with additional classes on Saturdays for the high school in Ascope. Other schools are recuperating lost time with afternoon classes. This affects projects I had planned and will affect my work through the end of the school year. But at least the kids are back in school, that's what matters most.

-On October 12th, I helped two of my counterparts (a teacher and a nurse) put on an event for principals to focus on health and improving the health focus in their schools. The nurse talked about serving healthy snack options in the school kiosks, the teacher talked about encouraging parents to prepare healthy lunch boxes for their kids, and I got to cover exercise. What does this mean? That's right, it means doing a "Brazilian Butt Lift" aerobic exercise routine with about 50 principals. This was way more fun than I thought it would be and even a success. Who knew?

-Later on that same day, I had my last class for the school year with the English teachers of the province. We still had another 2-day workshop left, but as far as classes, this was our last one. To thank me and to celebrate my birthday, they surprised me with a little cake and a beautiful hand-made bag that they all chipped in to buy me. So sweet! They are such great people and I love working with all of them.

-As a result of classes resuming on the 9th and me leaving Ascope on the 16th for a visit to Wisconsin, I had a week to make up for a month of postponed activities that I had planned and prepared and wasn't able to do. It was a busy week, but before I left for my trip, I was able to reschedule some stuff and still squeezed in classes, meetings, and the science fair.

-The Red Ambiental (Health/ Environmental Education Club) held an evaluation meeting in which the student leaders reported on the work they've done so far this school year. It was pretty cool watching them share their stories and seeing a mix of pride and nerves among the students. It was sadly clear, however, that we really need to improve our methods of monitoring and evaluation. It's easy for schools to show pictures and report what they are doing, but it is hard to know how many people they are reaching and if their/ our work is effective. A nice learning experience for my counterparts and me I suppose.

-October 15th was world hand washing day, which we observed with the student leaders of the Red Ambiental and one of our local nurses. Crazy what happens as a result of dirty hands.

-On October 16th the science fair finally happened. After having been postponed twice on account of the strike, it happened for real on the 16th. It was a nice event and it all came together well with some pretty nice projects and pretty smart kids. Neat. Some of the projects were impressive. My favorite was a composting project carried out completely by the students with little adult supervision. The way they executed the project and marketed/ sold their compost was all very well done. I love seeing enthusiastic nerds passionate about what they do. I use the word 'nerds' in the best way possible.

-And here it is folks, my favorite part of October... I WENT HOME!!! What a wonderful visit I had in the quick 12 days I was there. Love you all so much. Thanks again for an unforgettable trip. Can't believe it happened and has passed already. Surreal. The United States is a magical place that I appreciate now more than ever before.

-I got to celebrate Halloween twice! Once in Wisconsin and once in Lima. Not a bad gig. Halloween is great.

October was a blur of awesomeness and the best month of the year, as it always is. Thanks again for everyone who made it that way- either through birthday love, or a visit while I was home, or just being your fantastic supportive selves. LOVE to all.