A day of LAUGHTER!

Thursday was one of the best days I have had in the last 8 months! I took six of my students to beach for the afternoon. Every period I try to take some of my students in town as a reward for their hard work, grades, attendance, and behavior. This time I decided we would go to Golden Beach and get pizza. Holly took 6 students in her advisory group also. The students were all so excited!

After the elementary tests on Thursday morning, we loaded the van and headed into Monrovia. When we got to the restaurant, we got tables on the sand so that we could see the ocean. After my students ordered their drinks, we headed down to the water. What started as just putting our feet in, turned into getting soaked. We laughed as we jumped over the waves that came crashing into the shore. A few of my students were eager to go in to about knee level and others were scared that the undertow was going to carry them out to sea. It is very common for the children (and adults) here to be scared of the ocean, and some of that fear is because most of them cannot swim. I was determined to help ease their fears, but also keep them safe. Two of my girls held my hands the entire time. The undertow was strong and sometimes we fell when the waves went back out. The girls squeezed my hands so tight and we laughed as we tried to stand back up. Needless to say, by the time our food came out we were soaking wet.

We sat down and enjoyed soft drinks, pizza, and french fries. This was the first time that my students have ever tried pizza. Some of them really liked it, and others not so much. The french fries were a hit! They were gone in about 5 minutes. It was so fun to just watch them eat. Although I used my hands, they all attempted to use their forks and knives, which I thought was so cute. Most of them gave up after the first try, but one of my little girls was determined. She leaned over to me and said, "Look Ms. McInvale! I am an American woman." Our whole table started laughing. She told me and the others that we were Liberians because we were using our hands. It was so much fun to just hang out with them outside of school. These are my favorite times with my students.

After we stuffed ourselves full, they were so eager to go back out and play in the ocean. This time Holly and the older students came too. We walked down by the rocks and took pictures. My students slowly started taking off layers of clothes. Some were down to their underwear. There are still times that I forget how common that is here. I was surprised to watch the older students sit down in the water in their uniforms. They were smart enough to bring a change of clothes, unlike the little ones. Oh well!

I felt like a little girl on Thursday. I didn't care about getting my clothes wet and dirty. We held hands and ran on the sand without a care in the world. It was so peaceful. No one wanted to leave. It was such a great day!

Check out my pictures!