May 8, 2003

Elizabeth’s eighth graders leading the morning assembly time.

Children at the morning assembly.

This morning Elizabeth's eighth graders led the morning assembly in English, something the older classes do once or twice a semester. As a last fun project with these students, Elizabeth had them read and write about world leaders who fought injustice. Kids read two of the best essays (about Mother Theresa and Fr. Oscar Romero) at assembly. Other leaders they're studying include Martin Luther King Jr., Rigoberta Menchu, Malcolm X, the Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Mairead Corrigan-Maguire. The readings Elizabeth gave them were very challenging, and certainly some students didn't understand much, but it was exciting to see some kids rise to the challenge and stretch themselves, and to see how far they can go. And to broaden their horizons a bit - people here often think too much of themselves as the only people ever living under oppression or dealing with injustices.

A perfect spot to paint.

In the evening, we went up to the University to visit with ex-pat friends there. We met up with them halfway, at the bottom of the hill where the locals have built a little coffee shack for university traffic. It was a great place to paint, as one of our friends decided. It also made for a great picture.