First week with the kids!

Wednesday was our first day working full-time with the kids at the centre. It was exciting to finally get to know some of them better and to start doing activities with them. As people arrived, we started a volleyball match (with a nearly deflated volleyball and a “net” consisting of a wire cord attached to two poles) which was really fun- all but 2 kids wanted to play and it got pretty competitive. It amazes me that there is such a variety of kids- the young, very shy 12-year-olds, to the much more confident 18-year old guys, and all attitudes and ages in between. Some of the kids are very slow learners, while others obviously need to be challenged. Overall the group is very quiet, and it takes a long time to get them to open up for discussion, especially in a group setting. It’s going to take some time to help these kids become more confident and outgoing. But despite their shyness, it's obvious the kids are really excited to be at the centre and getting a chance to just be kids- something they rarely get to do at home.
Overall this week went well, with a few bumps along the way. Monday and Tuesday were holidays in Botswana, so I wasn’t working and most of my neighbors were away for the long weekend. I was woken up during the night by what sounded like someone trying to get into my house, and I saw someone pass by my window. I ended up calling the police who showed up very quickly, I was so relieved. I feel safe overall, but still haven't been sleeping too well since. At least I've gotten to know my neighbors much better and feel like I have options if there's an emergency.
I’ve managed to make some random friends- I'm being approached by people rather constantly because I stand out so much, but it's definitely a mix of nice people and people just looking for money or a way to America. It's exhausting just running errands sometimes because of the attention I get, but I'm learning how to deflect the negative attention as much as possible. I've made several friends in the past week just by networking with neighbors and coworkers. There are a lot of very kind people in Botswana.
I’m also learning how to cook- I’ve managed to make some really tasty Indian food, thanks to recipes from my friend Chandni (I was in training with her), and I now make my own tortillas, bread, and curries. It’s quite exciting that my culinary experiments are actually edible! Hopefully by the time I have visitors I'll be an expert chef :)