And what is this thing I've never seen before?

Usual rooster crow at 6am and I'm up...

So today we went back to BLISS!

We sat in on a poetry classroom with one of the teachers Simba and it was fascinating to see their teaching styles. All of the teachers are really skilled, they're just underpaid and they're are not many available. All of the students were really into it though and some of their poems were pretty amazing! This one girl Linnet was seriously so empowering. She wrote a poem about African women and oppression and how they need to speak up and do something about it! It was pretty inspiring. We also had a great discussion about American womens' rights and how they've evolved over time. I feel like we cleared a lot of stereotypes and learned a lot, as well!

Trying to explain Psychology and other majors such as Political Science and International Studies was a super difficult task as those type of studies don't really translate. Students here have to decide what they want to do in high school because it's a straight on career path from there on! The fact that a few of us were in University and were still undecided blew their minds! They know what they want to do and all the details because they have to! It's a super strenuous/competitive curriculum. They take form 4 (12th grade) cumaltive tests that last for something like 6 hours! I can't imagine!

Another thing that is mind-boggling for them is the diversity within our group. They're always asking us if we're sure we're all from the same country because we're all so different. We have to be careful when asking questions because they always start with, "in your country..." and we can't really generalize answers for all of America... It's definitely been something they find really hard to grasp.

We also went souvenir shopping today!! Got errybody some nice lagniappes (my newly discovered word for gifts found on thesaurus.com!) Be excited!

Some kids I met on a bus by the souvenir shop!

We move to the host families tomorrow! (Internet access doesn't seem liable but I'll try to keep everyone updated.) We're also going to a graduation party type fiasco. Can you say CULTURAL INTEGRATION!? Can't wait!!