Cinquain Sunday

It was a prolific Sunday!  Isabelle wrote (well, I wrote, she spoke), six cinquain poems - three in the car on our way to see "Forever Dusty," the musical about Brit pop sensation Dusty Springfield of "Son of a Preacher Man" fame.  (Besides me, Isabelle was the youngest in the audience by about 60 years.)  Another three poems were written at Wicked over a dinner that was primarily punctuated by Jackson updates ("He hasn't been on the bus in two days now.  I'm starting to get concerned.")

There are lots of cinquain structures - most defined by the varying number of syllables in each of the five lines.   Ours is a bit like the lanterne quintain - though instead of a 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 syllabic pattern, we went for a 1, 2, 3, 4, 1 word pattern.  Here they are!

Pig
sloppy, edible
oinking in mud
like a pink gumball
bacon

Tinkle
white, yellow
dribbling down fast
drink water, it's clear
wee-wee

Burps
loud, soft
say excuse me
an expression without words
gassy

Fruit
good, delicious
standing perfectly still
it makes me happy
eat

Parents
annoying, fun
they run fast
and tuck me in
teachers

Fire
burns wood
don't touch it
scary - in a way
camping

Shark Tournament

During what very well might be the last shark fishing tournament in Oak Bluffs, there are parties raging in the harbor until well past 4am.  (We were the ones scrambling for the white noise apps on our phones, and wishing all the partiers would stop swimming and go to bed themselves!)  The next morning Isabelle overhears one guy on a boat tell another guy on a boat, "Hey! Give that squirrel back her underpants!"  Maybe it isn't a "catch and release" system the islanders want after all... 

Parks & Presents

This is post is many days old (I think 4!) but I have had no luck uploading until now!

School Vist

Afghan Barbie!

Wahida Jan, the Zabuli School Kindergarten teacher, has a friend who hand makes these beautiful Barbie dresses, and this is the one she had made special for you!  Last night we went to a restaurant for dinner, it was a delicious Lebanese place where they give you free chocolate cake for dinner.  This chocolate cake reminded me of a cake Grami used to make when I was a little girl.  We called it Wacky Cake! And this is the first time I've tasted any cake that tastes like Grami's Wacky Cake!  It was so good! I already wrote to Grami, and told her that we need the recipe so that you and I can make it together. We'll have a Wacky Cake Party!  After we finished eating the cake last night, the owner of the restaurant gave us an entire cake to take home. Today, I brought it to school and shared it with the Kindergarten class.  They loved it!  If you want, we can make a Wacky Cake to share with your class!

Super super super love you!

The Principal's Office

When I'm filming at the Zabuli School, I spend a lot of time in the principal's office.  The principal's name is Razia Jan, and she's a lot like Mrs. Carson at North Falmouth Elementary - she is very nice, she knows all the kids' names, and loves her job.  She's also a grandmother - like Grami and Nana.

The reason I spend a lot of time in the principal's office is that there is a lot that happens there!  When the teachers have a break, this is where they gather and eat a snack together - they often have many spoons dipping into the same bowl when someone brings a yummy leftover from home.  Today, one teacher brought in a tupperware filled with rice topped with chicken and french fries, and everyone devoured it!  I even tasted a few fries.

Remember when your music teacher hurt her leg and you had a substitute teacher while she was out?  Well, here, they don't really have any substitute teachers.  It's the principal who fills in when someone is absent.  And the teachers tell me they only take a day off if it's really an emergency.   They all work very hard here.

All the kids and teachers come to school six days a week.  The week starts on Saturday - so they have school on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday is the only day off.  That's the day for prayer, and it's also the day that families take picnics!  That's a big tradition here - to go on a picnic on Fridays.  Fun!

I love you!

Happy Birthday, Anika!

You've heard about the Happy Birthday ice cream carts here in Kabul! Now, meet the ice cream man! This video was a Take 2... somehow I hit the wrong button and didn't save the first recording which is a shame because  not only did the first one feature women in burqas walking down the street, but it also included me including everyone on the big hello.  Briana, Brita:  Hello!

Nana and Grami continue to put the Mar and Jan into Marjan!... completing another successful meet-up at the East Providence Whole Foods for the Isabelle swap.   After dinner in Niantic - with AGD Julie nestled in her own booster seat - the ride to Fairfield was filled with laughter and singing - and promises of a Farmer In The Dell performance.  I cannot wait for that!

As Hillary Clinton so famously said, "It takes a village."  We couldn't do it without all of you, and I hope you have a wonderful celebration today.  These back-to-back birthdays are making April feel a bit Augustesque!