Happiness

September 21^st

It has been a little over a week and much has happened since I updated you all last. Early last week I was at my lowest point since I have been in Kenya. Coincidentally, this week I am as happy as I have been since I have been here. Although situations and experiences can change by the moment, I would say that I have officially reached the point where I am completely comfortable and happy in my current environment. I wake up in the morning (even if I’m tired) happy and ready for whatever the day might bring. The changes that have happened in the past week or so have greatly influenced this attitude change.

In previous posts I have explained the situation at Mitahato Primary School. As the time progressed, from my last post, teaching grew increasingly difficult every day. It was hard to wake up in the morning and have motivation to come to school. The schooling system is very different from what I am used to and I was having a difficult time adjusting to what I felt was not right in my heart. Monday and Tuesday of last week were very difficult for me and I continually came home exhausted and tearful of what I had experiences. To say the least, there were many phone calls home to my family.

During this second week of school the size of class three, of which I was teaching, doubled. There are now 58 students that cram into the classroom every day. Although the size has doubled, the teacher continues to come to class late, leave the classroom at her will, and teach by worksheet. What I have found is that typically in the Kenyan culture students fear their teachers. I can see how this would be, because physical punishment is the most common form of discipline. Both of these concepts are hard for me to grasp. I can’t imagine why one would ever want to harm a child in any way and I personally would never want my students to fear me. I feel that the teachers here hold the students at a very low level. It is difficult for me to understand how or why one would hold themselves so far above a child.

Aside from this, the students continued to greet me with giggles and smiles every day as I entered the school grounds. Where it began to fall apart for me was in the classroom setting. As the number of students grew, the control in the classroom declined—this was especially true when the teacher would leave the classroom. Imagine 58 eager, curious, energetic students in a classroom where they cannot understand a single word their teacher is saying. Chaos. There were two periods of time on Tuesday that were so out of control that students were getting in physical fights, crying, standing on tables, throwing pencils and potatoes, etc. I am confident enough in my teaching abilities to not completely blame myself. It is quite difficult to get anything done or have any control when the communication barrier is so large.

This situation was hard enough to handle but the teachers reaction when she came back was my final straw. When she came back to the classroom I was clearly frustrated and I knew I had to talk with her. As I began to express that she needs to be in the classroom when I am teaching she responded with laughing. I know that the language barrier between the teacher and I created this reaction. I continually tried to express myself with her—mainly to just have her stay in the classroom and help translate as I teach. It seemed to not be effective because this same situation took place during the last period of the day. I was exhausted, frustrated, and completely lost in my role for the children and within the school setting.

What made matters worse for me was a heart wrenching incident that took place during lunch. During the lunch period students can run around, eat, and socialize anywhere on the campus. Typically there are no staff members around during this period of time. They are either off campus, tucked away in their classroom, or in the kitchen. I was eating my lunch in one of the classrooms and a group of girls ran to me yelling that one of my students had passed out on the field. I quickly ran out with them to find this precious eight year old girl lifeless on the ground. I saw that she was breathing and proceeded to run towards the office to get the headmaster. As I told him he proceeded by walking at what seemed to be turtle pace. I was both appalled and terrified. I felt like crying at the site of this helpless girl lying on the field. The situation continued with a call to the mother and another teacher yelling at the students to get away. The girl was moved to a shaded area (by the other students) until her mother arrived. I understand that there is a cultural difference and in an environment where the hospitals are so far away that this kind of situation can be very different from what I am used to. What was difficult for me was the lack of caring and love that any of the teachers showed. The teachers that were there appeared to want nothing to do with this girl while I was holding back tears and wanting to hold the girls in my arms. Maybe I care too much or maybe they care too little—I suppose it is not my place to judge.

By the end of the school day on Tuesday I was a mess. I did not know what to say to the family I lived with so I just waited until it was late enough to call my family. I distracted myself by watching TV and reading so that I would not think about any of the distress that I was feeling. Luckily, my mom called and I was able to express to her fully how I was feeling. I felt like giving up. I felt like maybe it wasn’t my place to be here in Kenya teaching. Maybe it was time for me to come home. Most of you already know that I am way too stubborn to give up and come home. The phone conversations and advice that came from both my mother and father were exactly what I needed. I was comforted to hear my dad’s concern in the situation and the advice he gave me. He advised me to take a break the next day and not go to school. This notion had not even crossed my mind. I did exactly that and proceeded to rest, reflect, and pray the next day. I also made some phone calls to Jo to discuss the situation with him and gather whatever thoughts or solutions he might have. He too felt that it was not a positive or productive environment for me.

The next few days I continued to miss school. I took this time to spend with family and figure out a positive solution to my “dilemma”. I was lucky enough to have my sister Mary and my brother Morris take me around to different schools within the village. This included a private elementary school, a preschool, and a high school. The biggest fear I had during this time was that none of these schools would work out and that I would have to relocate. I couldn’t imagine living in a different place, especially after the relationships I have already created with my Kenyan family. After visiting the private school and preschool my fear began to heighten. The high school was my last stop. On top of this I was unsure about teaching high school. I always thought I was meant to teach children—plus I am licensed in elementary not high school.

Morris and I ventured to the high school and waited to talk to the headmistress for hours. I was very nervous during this wait—luckily conversation with Morris took my mind off of it for the majority of the time. We met with the headmistress and I can say sincerely that she is a great, kind, and loving women. She truly cares about the students and the situations that each girl is going through. The more I have talked to her the more I look up to her leadership and kind heart. She was very excited to have me on the teaching staff. We discussed the different options and decided that I would teach form one and form two (the equivalent to freshman and sophomores) Like Skills and Physical Education for the first term. I will also be coaching the basketball team here and a few other clubs.

On Monday, I came back to the high school to meet with the headmistress again to form a schedule. At this time I also met with many of the teachers and toured the facilities. The high school I work at is called Gathirimu Girls Boarding School. There are many boarding schools in Kenya—all girls, all boys, and mixed. It is very common to see all girl boarding schools. The staff here is very welcoming and the language barrier is hardly noticeable. On Tuesday I was to teach my first lesson of Life Skills. The school counselor provided me with reference materials and offered her full support in anything I might need.

On Monday night and Tuesday morning I was so nervous that I could hardly sleep and my heart was pounding as Mary, Morris, and I walked to the high school. I spent some of my morning observing my surroundings and getting my materials prepared. I stood with one of the teachers, Teacher Michael, at lunch time (right before my class) watching the girls walk to clean their plates while all of them starred and giggled at me. It was intimidating to say the least. Teacher Michael helped me get the girls into the classroom and introduced me and the class to the students. Within the first few minutes of the class, all of my fears and concerned faded away.

The Life Skills classes that I teach are made up of one hundred students each. I previously thought that it would be a close to impossible task to teach and hold the attention of one hundred girls at a time. I started the class out by introducing myself and showing (with Power Point) the students where I am from. I also gave them time to ask any questions they might have about me, America, or whatever else they might be curious about. This period of time was very beneficial and I feel that it helped form a bond with the girls and I. During this first lesson after introducing myself I introduced the topic and reiterated to the students that I wanted them to feel comfortable talking to me and asking me anything they might need. It they are uncomfortable talking about something in class they can either write me a note or talk to me after class. A common way for them to ask questions comfortably is to pass up notes with their questions. This question and answer session about different challenges they have in their life took up much of the period (and I still have a stack that we didn’t get to). I felt that this class was very beneficial for the connection and relationship between the students and I. Many of them came after class to hug me and tell me about themselves. It was a perfect day and I walked home smiling the whole time.

Today, Wednesday, I taught a PE class to 50 form one girls. I have to be honest, I didn’t spend much time planning or preparing for the class. I wanted to see and experience what they typically do for PE. I had already taught these girls the previous day so they were very comfortable with me. They ended up showing me a warm up/dance/song they all do. It was very neat to watch and experience. We also played some basketball, soccer, volleyball and a game called three sticks.. I also learned that the Kenyan school system does not teach health. I intend to insert some health education here and there in some of the PE classes. This knowledge came known to me when I was explaining “proper” jumping skills. One of the girls landed on her knee wrong while jumping so I took the opportunity to teach and explain ACL injuries and different muscles and bones. It was fairly affective for an on-the-spot health lesson.

The girls seem to really enjoy my company. They spent most of their lunch period asking me questions, teaching me words from every which language, and playing with my hair. They are a bunch of very vibrant, beautiful, and kind girls. I really enjoy their company and every morning I am excited to come to school to interact with them. I also taught the form two Life Skills class today and it went just as well as the class before.

Since my classes at the high school are scattered throughout the day, I have agreed to continue to help at Mitahato Primary School. There are three mornings that I will be helping out there—Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. During the afternoon, around two, I am able to implement the Pen Pal Program I had previously talked about. From 2-3 I teach class 3, class 4, and class 5 (depending on the day) and from 3-4 I teach class 6, class 7, and class 8. I begin the program next week. The first classes that I will be teaching are class three and class eight. I know it will still be challenging but hopefully my conversation with the headmaster will help the overall situation.

As far as my family goes, like I said before, I love them and everything about the Kenyan environment. I spend most of my day laughing and smiling about anything and everything. I am especially close with Morris and Mary. Mary often walks me to school and around the village and the majority of the time we are cracking up and teasing each other about this and that. I plan to steal her and bring her back to America with me! I also spend a lot of time with Morris. He is fun and easy to talk to about anything. All in all, we all “goof off” a lot and really enjoy each other’s company. I also have several names here now. CuCu has given me a Kikuyu name; I’m “sister” to Morris and Mary; some of the aunts call me Joy; and the people in the towns have several other names for me. I am pretty used to all the names by now—“Hope” is pretty much only used at school.

Anyways, sorry that I wrote so much and that I rambled on about everything. I wanted to express the changes that were going on and inform you all on my current status. I am very lucky and blessed for everything right now. I don’t know how I got so fortunate to experience everything that I am experiencing and be loved by so many. One of the teachers at the high school was asking me about how I ended up in Kenya and such. She said, “Oh, you must be very blessed.” I thought to myself, yes, I am very blessed to get this opportunity and be fortunate enough to come to this beautiful company. The teacher broke my train of thought by saying “You are a blessed person to be giving so much of your time and effort like you are.”

Until next time!

First Full Month

September 11^th

This coming week, on Tuesday, I have been away for a month. I can’t believe that it has already been that long since I was saying my goodbyes to my family in the Portland airport. It has been a great experience so far and I cannot wait for my future here. 

Today, I feel blessed to be a part of this community and family. I have come to feel very supported and loved here. Every time I say I miss my family I am corrected and told that I have family here. It is very comforting to have a support system in two countries! The people here are so inspirational to me. They love with all they have and use God as a constant guide in their life. The other day, I was sitting with CuCu (grandmother), Cousin Morris, and Mary. Morris started reading a bible passage that Cucu told him and Cucu responded after with “There are no denominations in heaven it’s your heart.” This was a very powerful statement to me and I felt the need to record it and reflect on it. I hope that everyone today feels blessed for the environment that they are in and that we all find time to pray or think about those that lost someone close to them on 9-11.

I am becoming more and more comfortable here every single day. I have gotten into a routine for the school week and I am especially enjoying my walks to and from school. They still insist that they walk with me every day but I feel that soon I will be walking on my own. My family that I live with is all getting very comfortable with me around as well—especially the younger cousins that were hesitant at first. Margaret, one of the younger cousins who is in class 5, is my little buddy who is always walking with me or coming to find me to watch a movie. In the beginning she was tentative to be around me and now she is talking to me in English and she was even dancing around in the living room yesterday. I am really enjoying my time with everyone here.

Last week was very busy for us. Joseph, one of the cousins, passed away at age fifteen from brain cancer. The whole week was filled with family members trickling in and working together for preparations for the ceremony. On Wednesday, the day before the funeral, the yard was filled with aunties in their kangas (rectangle piece of fabric tied around the waist, used as a skirt or apron in this case) working together to prepare the food for all 150-200 people that were to come. The main food was rice, carrots, and potatoes mixed together which was followed by tea. 

The funeral was very powerful and interesting for me because of the cultural differences. Both the ceremony and the burial took place on the property that I live on—Cucu’s land. Three of Cucu’s sons and her husband are buried behind the house, as well as Joseph now too.  What I found very interesting about the ceremony was the amount of pictures taken. There was almost a whole hour dedicated to taking pictures at the start of the ceremony. Mother Joe sat in a chair in front of the casket and there were pictures taken with different important groups of people who stood behind the casket—for example, all cousins would stand behind or all of Joe’s aunts and uncles, etc. Following this there was time for family members to come up and perform a song, poem, prayer, or give a brief speech about Joe. The ceremony continued with a Catholic mass which lasted a little over an hour. At the end of the mass the community processed from the front of the yard to behind the house where Joseph was buried. This portion of the ceremony was most powerful to me. Joseph’s friends and soccer teammates carried the casket, cross, and picture into the yard. The priest performed more prayers and then Joseph was lowered. This was followed by family members and friends throwing handfuls of dirt onto the casket. It is tradition for the community to shovel the rest of the dirt into the grave. While this is taking place there was a chorus behind singing traditional Kikuyu songs. Once all of the dirt is placed, the community plants roses and other shrubs to signify new life. During the planting and after more pictures are taken at the grave sight of all family members. All of this transitions into the reception which consists of family and friends eating, drinking tea, and talking with each other.

I had never met Joseph but I was affected by the power of the ceremony and the emotion of all of the family members. Like I mentioned before, they view me as a part of the family and insisted that I be in many of the pictures that took place both during and after the ceremony. I was fortunate to be a part of this experience and in about a month I am lucky enough to get to go to a traditional Kenyan wedding. I really enjoy being a part of and viewing these different traditional ceremonies. 

As far as school goes, I have continued to struggle to find my way in the classroom as a teacher and in finding a way to really make a difference. This week was hard to judge for several reasons. It was the first week of school which I am told can be a little hectic and the majority of the school was not present most of the week due to a teachers strike. Many of the teachers who work at Mitahato have not been paid for almost two months. There were four teachers that remained working throughout the week because they are employed by the parents opposed to the government. The classes that were there all week were Kindergarten, class three, and class eight. 

I feel that the teachers at Mitahato are very grateful to have me there to help but there are times when they use me instead of teaching themselves. My co-teacher continues to come in late every day. I have taken it as my responsibility to start the school day for the students in class three. This usually consists of learning some new songs/games or getting to know each other through ice breakers. On Friday, once my co-teacher arrived at school and saw me teaching she proceeded to leave to the next classroom to work on her own things. During break that same day, the class eight teacher came up to me and asked me to teach English because he said he is usually the Social Studies teacher and he isn’t very good at it. I showed him the corrections for what he was going to do with the students but at lunch he ended up pushing me to teach them. Students have an hour and twenty minute lunch break. This gives them time to both eat lunch and to clean the classrooms. The teachers decided to go and make their own lunch on Friday. I joined them and once two o’clock came I told them the time and I proceeded back to school. I started by going to class three to give them their homework and at the same time I was supposed to somehow be in class eight teaching them English. Basically, I was the only teacher on the property teaching two classes that were on different sides of the building. I made it work but by the end of the day I felt frustrated because with this split I was not able to give myself wholly to either class. 

It ends up appearing as if my whole schooling situation is negative when I write on this blog. I do not intend to interpret everything as negative. I want to show the reality of the situation and what I am experiencing throughout it all. There are definitely amazing moments and experiences during my school day. Each day, I am falling more and more in love with the students. I have spent the majority of my time with class three and class eight and the students are very energetic and excited. Class eight is especially fun to teach—they are very eager to learn and speak great English. On Wednesday I spent my afternoon in their classroom and they were given the chance to ask me any question they might have about me or about America. I feel that they learned a lot in that period and became more comfortable with me. 

I have found that it is my responsibility to make my time teaching an effective one. My ultimate goal is to create and implement a program that will generate a sisterhood between Mitahato and other schools in Oregon. Ideally this will include a Pen Pal program along with a donation system of needed items coming from Oregon schools to Mitahato Primary School. I am currently developing a proposal to give to the headmaster. This will include an outline of the lessons I will teach and the overall idea of the program. I hope to move around to every classroom at Mitahato. I would spend about two weeks in each class teaching English and Social Studies skills/concepts connected to the sisterhood between schools. I feel that in creating this program I can make a lasting impact on the students. At the same time, both the students and teachers can learn and grow with what I am able to bring to the school. 

That is all I have for now. Below I will post the address if you would like to send any letters.  I am using the address of the school because that is the only available address. Crispin also commented on the last post explaining how to call me if you would like to do that as well. If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask. I hope everyone is having a great start to their school year! I miss you all!

Mitahato Primary School

Hope Danielson

P.O. Box 87

Ngewa, 00901

Kenya

Back to School

September 5^th

It has only been a few days since my last posting but since I began school today I felt the need to update. Almost everything about the education system in Kenya (or Mitahato Primary School) is different than what I have experienced. The public schools here (Mitahato is a public school) have uniform while the private schools do not wear uniform—the opposite for us. The public schools allow prayer and God not only within the school but it is a mandatory subject that the teachers teach—CRE. The buildings are completely different opposed to the commonality that both have chalkboards (although here it is a form of black paint on the wall), some form of desks (each desk can fit or “squeeze” up to 4 students), and there are two classrooms per grade. The physical appearance of the school and the schoolyard looks similar to the color of the red soil. There is a large field for the kids to play on during break, the “toilets” are located across the large field, the outside of the building is stained a deep red/brown color, the majority of the windows are broken, and not all classrooms have electricity. One element that is consistent within both school environments is the mass amount of smiling children running and giggling all over the place. 

I will be honest here, halfway through the school day today I was almost ready to give up. I was exhausted within the first few hours of the constant staring/giggling (when you are the “main attraction” it feels more like being made fun of then anything positive), the lack of communication with my co-teacher and I, and the complete lack of what I would call ‘authentic teaching’.  I thought to myself: How could I possibly be here for a long stretch of time? I don’t feel like I belong here at all. Don’t worry. After the second half of the day my whole attitude changed. My self-pity, discouragement, and doubts all turned around. I welcomed myself into the children’s atmosphere and in return they welcomed me right back. 

The school day begins with what is called a “parade”. I understand this as an assembly/meeting to inform students of any new information along with a morning prayer. The headmaster had me come up in front of all of the students to introduce myself. Following this students go to their classroom and the teachers have a quick meeting. At this time I introduced myself again and tried to inform them of a few ideas I wanted to share with this school (later a different teacher informed me that no one understood a single word I said).

After this I was taken by one of the primary teachers to class 1, class 2, and class 3 (equivalent to grades 1, 2, and 3) and introduced me to the students. I have been assigned to class 3 for now and after these introductions I met my co-teacher. I was discouraged in the beginning because she was about an hour and a half late to school and this seemed very unprofessional to me. Soon after she arrived she gave me a worksheet to write on the chalkboard to have the students copy and answer. At this time she left the room to catch up on her own work. This is the point in which all of my doubts and frustrations began. It is not that I cannot be in charge of my own class but more that none of the students could understand a word I was saying, I was forcing them to do what felt like “busy work”—definitely did not feel authentic—and the teacher did not inform me of what to do or that she was even leaving. To state the obvious, the students took advantage of my lack of confidence. I truly feel that the first four hours of school none of these students learned a single thing. 

Now, it’s time to turn my negative attitude around and tell you about the next half of the day. The majority of students at Mitahato have never seen a white person before. This creates an obvious curiosity and in turn giggles, chatter, and smiles anytime I am in sight. During lunch I was feeling discouraged and decided that I needed to actually spend some time with the students, on their turf. I walked outside near many of the students and decided to go with the flow of what would happen—with a giant smile the whole time. The students smiled back and they began to shake my hand, speak some English, and high-five me. It got a little hectic at some points with everyone crowding and little boys and girls pushing each other to shake my hand.

Following this I went to the classroom and the majority of my class continued to crowd me and I began spouting out random math equations. They loved answering because they were confident in speaking numbers in English. This continued and led into students teaching me word in Kikuyu, showing me special handshakes, showing me how to fist pump, dancing, singing songs and students touching my hair and hands. My co-teacher was nowhere to be found and I had no idea if this time was supposed to be a work time or if it was still their break. I found out later that we had been interacting with each other for hours. By the time the teacher came back to class the day was over. I was astonished that the whole day was over and no one had taught any true lessons. After some reflection, I realized that those last few hours of the students school day was probably the most authentic teaching and learning they could have had. They got to experience a new culture in me and I in them. Along with this they developed a comfort with me and are now not afraid to communicate with me. 

I learned a lot from my first day of school—way more than I would have imagined. I have a tendency to judge prematurely, especially when I am uncomfortable or unfamiliar.  Ironically, uncomfortable and unfamiliar situations are the moments in which you learn the most. It was throughout this first day that I learned both a great amount about myself as a person and myself as a teacher. The first few years of teaching are said to be difficult and I have enhanced this difficulty by having my first year of teaching be`` in a completely new environment and culture. Instead of getting discouraged so easily, I need to learn and grow as I continue in my journey here. I have also learned that I need to standup and become confidant in myself—especially in the classroom. It is past the time of being passive and waiting to learn. I need to teach like I know how to teach (I learned from the best), be confidant in my own methods, and learn from others along the way. 

I don’t know if any of you signed up for all of this self-reflection and analysis but I thought it was important to add in describing my first day of school. I am young and constantly learning. My hope is that I can learn with these young students and that they can learn from me. I refuse to leave here without a positive gain for both the students and myself. Thanks for reading and if you have any words of wisdom I would be grateful to hear.

The village at last!

September 3, 2011

I am writing to you all now from the village of Mitihato! As I had predicted before, I love it. It is very different from Nairobi and any other place that I have been. Every day I learn something new and I am soaking every little single thing up. I spend quite a bit of time observing everyone and the language. There are a few people in the village that speak some English but the majority are speaking Kikuyu all of the time. I am learning the language—slowly but surely. I have learned the main greeting and when I meet people in the village I say “Wĩ mwega” and they seem to love it—responding with smiles and giggles. I have never been in a place that is so welcoming and friendly. 

 

There are so many new things that have happened in the last few days that I am having a hard time narrowing it down to the most exciting. Everyone within the property I live on is family—aunts, uncles, grandparents, moms, dads, cousins, etc. The kids call me “Auntie Hope” and several of the adults are claiming me at their own. On the property there are cows, chickens, goats, dogs, cats, roosters, banana trees, mango trees, vegetables of all types, and a few houses. I live with grandmother (or Cũcũ) on the second story. I am very lucky to have my own room and space. 

There are two girls here named Mary—ironically I have grown close to both of them. Mary Wanjiku is close to my age and is sadly leaving the village in the next few days to finish college in a town called Thika. She graduates in December and I am excited to go with her mother to celebrate with her and take pictures. The other day Mary came over and we ventured around the village and went to the next nearest town to go to the market. While walking around the kids and adults around were very interested in my presence there. I greeted many and waved at all the kids that were too nervous to say anything. I have shaken more hands than I can count and met more people than I can remember their names.

Mary and I walked to the nearest main street and awaited a Mitatu. A Mitatu is a form of public transportation that is usually a small van that is supposed to fit 15 people but typically they pile as many as possible—they fit 23 people in when I rode with Mary. Going to the market was a fun adventure to me. I met many people and observed how packed it was. There were fresh vegetables and fruit everywhere along with clothes and other necessities. Between booths there is little walking room and many people. After a few hours of shopping and meeting some of Mary’s friends we rode and walked back home—it was a great first market experience for me.

On another occasion, some of the family was curious about my own family and friends from back home. I jumped at the opportunity to show them all pictures. They loved seeing my family and friends—we shared pictures for hours and they even grabbed some of their own pictures to show me. This sharing of pictures led to grabbing my camera and the start to taking many pictures. They loved having me take pictures of everything and they often ask me to take my camera out to snap some memories. They are eager for me to print and give them all copies after my adventure here. 

I know there are a hundred other stories and new occurrences that I could mention but then this post would never end. The moral of this posting is that I have moved into the village officially, everyone is welcoming me in as family, I am learning with every moment here, and I am happy and eager to continue this adventure. On Monday, September 5^th I start my first day of school and meet with the headmaster. I can’t wait to start working with the kids! Like always, in every free moment I still get homesick and miss my family and friends. It is more difficult than I could have predicted to be so far away. Luckily I am in a great environment and I keep busy the majority of the days—I can only imagine how busy I will be once school starts as well. 

My phone number here is 070-518-3286.  There is something you are supposed to add to the beginning of the number and I think it is +1. Hopefully my dad will comment on this to inform you all. The easiest way to contact me for really cheap is to purchase a calling card. I hear that you can get 30+ minutes for about 4 dollars. Don’t be afraid to call me! You know as well as I do that I would be overjoyed to hear from friends and family back home. There is a ten hour time difference—when it’s ten at night here it is noon your time. Also, I will be posting my address this coming week—it takes about 2-3 weeks to get to me or for my letters to get to you. That’s all for now! Please feel free to call (that means call me! I miss you!)