4 of my butterflies!

SURVIVED WEEK ONE OF TEACHING!!!!

Abuja has certainly given me a few speed bumps/mountains to get over but by day 5 of Butterfly Class, tears are subsiding (from both parents, children and teachers alike) and as you can tell, today was full of laughter, familiarity and a lot of fun despite everyone involved being absolutely exhausted! Top left is Yeonaton (sp?) ...called YoYo for short. With no English, only Hebrew, Monday - Wednesday were full of screams for mum ("eeeeemaaahhhh"). Thursday we got some giggles, "'a' for apple" and screams for delight when he realised we were "going outside?!" Today, he was speaking FRENCH. Top right, Louis, clearly loving our 'taking turns' exercise, as we learned how to control ourselves by sitting down and watching someone else take turns shooting the hoop before it was our turn. Bottom left, Ahmad, a wonderful boy. Yet to talk and with some learning disabilities, he is a soft soul with a skill for observation. I was able to really engage with him using playdough on Wednesday, and got a goodbye hug today which really meant a lot to me. Bottom right, Isabellaaaaa, a confident, clever, gutsy character who has already provided some wonderful entertainment by correcting teachers and teaching to others. The rest of the Butterflies are of course just as adorable, just as exhausting and just as loveable. If Abuja stays quiet for me, I'm okay. These little ones keep me busy during the day, have me working during the evening and for the past three nights have woken up at 3am with Jolly Phonics 'a, a, ants on my aaaarrrrmmm' stuck in my head on repeat. I miss James terribly, but will hopefully be booking my ticket for October mid-term this weekend which is exciting and something to look forward to. MAMA, we be skyping this weekend!!!!!!! Pencil me in. Friends in the UK seem a world away, but I know that the distance and separation only strengthens the relationships fit for survival and makes memories of those that don't. Here's to the weekend...