This morning we got up briiiiiight and early to take the kids we work with to a children's theater with Mastresha. Shout out to Wasco Elementary School for donating lots of money to make this trip happen!! Thanks, Mom ;)
Let me just start off by saying that this "field trip" was so different from a field trip in America in so many ways. In the morning, we met the kids at the school. Whoever wanted to go, came. No silly permission slips needed here...that's not how they roll in Ethiopia apparently. There were 68 kids there, and four adults (including Kendra and I). Another difference from American field trips...I'm fairly certain that ratio of teacher to student would not be okay. Now for the super-not-okay-in-America part: We took all 68 of these kids plus us four adults in two minibuses. If you remember from my minibus post, there are 12 seats. So on two buses, there are 24 seats. We had 72 people. And we all fit into two minibuses. Um, if that's not the most unsafe 20-minute bus ride ever, I don't know what is. Especially when these extremely over-crowded buses are driving on the streets of Ethiopia, where traffic laws are practically non-existent. Wow. Shockingly enough, we made it to the theater safely.
When we got there, I paid for all the admission tickets using the money that was donated to us. It was amazing how little I had to spend! For 72 tickets, I paid a total of 220 birr. That's appoximately $14. So cheap!
Here's another difference between field tripping in America and Ethiopia. In America, adult chaperones attend to keep an eye on the kids. Meaning they don't leave 68 6 - 13 year olds alone. Ever. Well, in Ethiopia apparently you do because we got to the theater, showed the kids their seats, and then went to have breakfast with Mastresha and the only other adult while the kids waited for the show to start. When Mastresha asked Kendra and I if we wanted breakfast, we thought he meant he would bring in a snack for us. When he took us to a restaurant to sit down and eat upstairs, in a totally different room from the students, we were shocked. He told one of the few older kids (i.e. a 12 or 13 year old) to keep an eye on the others (yes, the other 71 children). We were gone for almost an hour, and returned just as the show was beginning. Luckily all children were still accounted for! That's just crazy!
They all seemed to really enjoy the show, and I think they had a fantastic time. They don't often get to go on outings like this, as they are some of the poorest kids here. It was so cute how "dressed up" they all got for the occasion. Generally, they all wear the same outfit every single day. Today, we could tell they put on their nice clothes. Of course, "nice clothes" are much different here. Their clothing was still much dirtier than anything I ever see students wear in America. But regardless of the dirt, they were dressed up and it was super cute. I really enjoyed taking them, and loved seeing how excited they were. Thanks again to all you peeps who gave money to help us out, it was a great morning! We still have lots to spend, and I can't wait to go shopping for lots and lots of fun school things! :)
Let me just start off by saying that this "field trip" was so different from a field trip in America in so many ways. In the morning, we met the kids at the school. Whoever wanted to go, came. No silly permission slips needed here...that's not how they roll in Ethiopia apparently. There were 68 kids there, and four adults (including Kendra and I). Another difference from American field trips...I'm fairly certain that ratio of teacher to student would not be okay. Now for the super-not-okay-in-America part: We took all 68 of these kids plus us four adults in two minibuses. If you remember from my minibus post, there are 12 seats. So on two buses, there are 24 seats. We had 72 people. And we all fit into two minibuses. Um, if that's not the most unsafe 20-minute bus ride ever, I don't know what is. Especially when these extremely over-crowded buses are driving on the streets of Ethiopia, where traffic laws are practically non-existent. Wow. Shockingly enough, we made it to the theater safely.
When we got there, I paid for all the admission tickets using the money that was donated to us. It was amazing how little I had to spend! For 72 tickets, I paid a total of 220 birr. That's appoximately $14. So cheap!
Here's another difference between field tripping in America and Ethiopia. In America, adult chaperones attend to keep an eye on the kids. Meaning they don't leave 68 6 - 13 year olds alone. Ever. Well, in Ethiopia apparently you do because we got to the theater, showed the kids their seats, and then went to have breakfast with Mastresha and the only other adult while the kids waited for the show to start. When Mastresha asked Kendra and I if we wanted breakfast, we thought he meant he would bring in a snack for us. When he took us to a restaurant to sit down and eat upstairs, in a totally different room from the students, we were shocked. He told one of the few older kids (i.e. a 12 or 13 year old) to keep an eye on the others (yes, the other 71 children). We were gone for almost an hour, and returned just as the show was beginning. Luckily all children were still accounted for! That's just crazy!
They all seemed to really enjoy the show, and I think they had a fantastic time. They don't often get to go on outings like this, as they are some of the poorest kids here. It was so cute how "dressed up" they all got for the occasion. Generally, they all wear the same outfit every single day. Today, we could tell they put on their nice clothes. Of course, "nice clothes" are much different here. Their clothing was still much dirtier than anything I ever see students wear in America. But regardless of the dirt, they were dressed up and it was super cute. I really enjoyed taking them, and loved seeing how excited they were. Thanks again to all you peeps who gave money to help us out, it was a great morning! We still have lots to spend, and I can't wait to go shopping for lots and lots of fun school things! :)
You're welcome. That's so cool. I'm thankful to all the people that are helping out. It's wonderful.
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