Day Two: music is the universal language

Wednesday

7 AM Breakfast at the Villa was delicious. Egg bake, toast and fresh mangoes- for those of you who are curious. Oh, and good coffee.

Pastor arrived with the bus at 7:30 to load it up with instruments for the lessons at the church. The church is about an hours drive from the villa.  It is in a developing community, where people are building new homes to escape the city. The drive took us through nicer areas- meaning less crumbly buildings and no tent cities. We actually caught glimpses of the sea a few times. There is no shoreline drive or anything- in fact they built a huge landfill where they burn the trash. Seriously. The water is a perfect Caribbean blue.

We stopped to fill the bus with gas at a National gas station. Pastor purchased bagged (not bottled) water for the students and coca cola for us. Along the way we stopped and picked up additional passengers so the ride took two hours.

Sights: cows, goats, chickens, cats and dogs. .. wandering. Shops are inches from the bus as we pass. There is an abundance of food and merchandise. .. but the prices are what we pay here for most items. It doesn't smell out this way, but the roads aren't paved so it is really dusty.

The morning drive was relatively calm... and it was nice to see everyone setting up their shops or walking to work.

Claude is an amazing bus driver. He navigates narrow gravel roads and steep winding hills like a magician.

Music Lessons took a while to set up. Ernst and Watson divided them up in to beginner and advanced groups. The little kids were left out, so we gave them the pre recorders and had Adam and Sydney teach them notes. That class grew and grew... and it sounded like your typical elementary school recorder unit :)

Ernst led the advanced group and taught them to read music. They loved the new instruments.

Sarah and Sharon took on the beginner level class. Sharon's gift for teaching was clear to everyone.  Together they team taught notes with drumsticks. Then they moved onto recorders. After while everyone was looking overwhelmed so they took a break.

67 students signed up for the classes.

Sarah taught small group lessons and learned some Creole along the way.
Adam broke out his guitar and led a sing-a-long with the little kids.
Sharon grabbed a French horn and joined the band.
Darlene assisted the basic music lessons.
Lori assisted wherever she was needed. At the end of the day little kids were cuddled up to her.
Sydney taught recorder lessons and the kids were drawn to her. She grabbed the camera and took photos of the kids and let them play too.
Tracie had her camera and then continued her Creole lessons. She was surrounded by little kids the whole day.
Rob and Heather spent time with Pastor and helping out throughout the day.
Lacy- well I helped out where I could but mostly observed. Everyone was shy at first. However I was swarmed by teen/young women the minute I took out my journal. It was really difficult to communicate. But they all wrote down their cell phone numbers for me.. ?

The whole Hanover crew was worn out by the time Pastor brought a rice and beans meal for the students. It was quite a feast for them and it smelled delish. The students turned the tables on us and took photos of/with us before we left.

We stopped at the orphanage to see the baby goat that was born today. We met Mrs Marcellus and most of the kids. We got a tour and visited a bit. Tomorrow we will go there to drop off the clothes and toys.

6 PM Dinner at the Villa was nice.. spaghetti and cake. Right now the gang is cooling off in the pool and reliving the favorite moments from the day as I type.


Team Reactions
Darlene: the small group lessons worked better than the big group class. The personal conversations.

Lori:
The student band was much more musically talented than I expected.

Sydney: Connecting with the kids.

Lacy: the dogs. At the church  three or do dogs hang out. One in particular was literally skin and bones. She was a light brindle and stayed near the people at all times. A black and tan female was healthier and a tiny puppy showed up in time for rice and beans. People were feeding the puppy right away and then the other two got some chicken bones and leftovers.

******Additional reflections from last night/Thursday am:

Sharon chatted with the band as she played.
the saxophonist said that he "plays two ways... with his heart and with the spirit."
The band plays together extremely well... and only a couple of them can read music. Seriously.

Also, Sarah is "leaning into the discomfort" as she experience real teaching for the first time. The best laid plans can go horribly, but organically learning magic happens. I told her we all have to monitor and adjust every day... or every 20 minutes. Sharon did the best FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT. .. drum sticks up.crossed.or down. :)

Heather witnessed the little kids not wanting to let go of candy or recorders... even when it was time to potty... :)