Growing puppy

Ziggy, my puppy is really growing! He is getting more like a regular puppy now, biting everything, very energetic, playful, begging for food, wanting to sleep in the bed and being hard work.
I try to raise him consistently and I've learned a lot about dogs. He is not allowed to bite me and I still have to take him out to pee every night, but sometimes he forgets about that. I use simple words like no and good boy and give him lots of praise when he does something good. It is very challenging because he is still a baby. Soon he is going to get his last shot and a chip so we can register him. Sometimes I get really tired of him. He is always with me when I'm home and it is hard to work out, take a bath or even get dressed, but in return he gives me lots of love.

More sanitary towels

Dixon e-mailed me that he needed about 100 more washable sanitary towels. I had to buy some more baby blankets and flannel and dye. I dyed the flannel dark pink to match the pink baby blankets that I bought from Nakumatt. I think it looks quite nice and that the colours matches really well. I also got some dark pink thread.
Dixon has told me that girls apply for the school just to get the sanitary towels. I think it is crazy that the problem is so big so they actually changes schools just to get the access to the towels. I'm planning to go to the school after christmas, so I can ask the girls a little bit about that. It feels good to be able to make the pads and really help them!

Managing the rugby team?

My PE teacher and the coach of the school Rugby team asked me if I wanted to manage the team the coming season. I'm so excited and feel very proud that he asked me! We are going to have a meeting about what he would expect of me if I said yes next week. I've tried to google what you have to do as a manager and I really think I could do a good job.

Images and reflections from the play.

The Saturday performance really went well. It feels good to finish without technical problems!
To work backstage was a new experience for me. I really enjoyed it, but it was not as easy as I thought it would be. I've learned a lot. Especially that it's important to work together and deal well with stress and improvise when things are failing. I'm very impressed by the actors, and happy I was not one of them in this play. It is very tough to be victims of circumstances and meeting an audience that comments on the action on stage. It was a very challenging activity and I feel tired, but I'm still going to try to be a part in the next production.

Operation smile plans

In our last meeting, we decided that we wanted to do an open mike event to raise money for operation smile. We even told some of our friends that they need to participate. I think this can be a good event to raise money. One cleft lip/palate surgery cost about 240 dollars, so much money is needed. There is also a need for antibiotics, pain medication and IV's.
There seems to be a lot of surgeries going on in South America so I'm thinking that this problem might be more common there, but I will try to find out how many surgeries they perform in Africa.

Backstage work for HS Theatre production

All week I've been doing backstage work for the production of Dracula. It's been going well, even though we've made a few mistakes, and on the Friday show we had some major technical problems. It is hard work, but I enjoy it (not technical problems though). I've been thinking that maybe I should have a future career in backstage work, producing or directing. My mom, who was a film producer in Sweden always told me that producing is a lot more interesting and a great job compared to acting. Maybe she is right. I hope I can get the opportunity to try out more work in that area in school. I also really enjoy doing make-up. Especially when it is supposed to be scary with lots of blood. I also find it interesting and educating how important the team work is back stage. Everyone really need to do their best and cooperate for the show to work out and look professional. One thing that is a bit disturbing is that I don't think that the school promoted the play enough. When my brother did IB theatre and participated in many productions the school was really active when marketing them. I'm happy and surprised that so many came to the premiere on Thursday and that the auditorium was packed on Friday. Somehow word of mouth must have promoted the play. That there were a lot of small children on Friday was a bit discouraging. They made some rude comments during the play and it really upset the cast. This play is a bit scary and having the audience laughing in the wrong places kind of creates the wrong vibe.

Working back stage with the High School drama production

Yesterday, I started working backstage for the high school drama production "Dracula". I'm more or less a stage hand (or a slave). I'm changing and moving sets, playing sounds and movie files and generally help out with everything backstage.
I'm very impressed with the actors and director and think it is going to be a fantastic production. I'm also hoping that it will improve my chances of being a part of the next production. I might want to do more backstage work, and would really love to do make-up. This week is going to be very busy. I have to do rehearsals until late Monday-Thursday and the premiere will take place on Thursday and it will run until Saturday. I'm really enjoying it, so I don't mind but I will be very busy and will have to find time to do my homework. Wednesday is going to be a regular day, so I will at least get one training session this week.

Taekwondo thoughts

I was on a taekwondo forum, trying to find out what the different rules are for grading in different countries/schools. It is very surprising to find that it varies a lot. Apparently it can take between 6 months to 7 years to be able to grade for black belt. I know that the Kenyan rules are quite strict and the coaches often visit seminars to update themselves on each others work and keep up with new rules (the Olympic rules are different from the regular ones).
Between the Dan's there are the same rules for grading all over the world. From 1st to 2nd - 1 year. From 2nd to 3rd - 2 years. from 3rd to 4th - 3 years etc.
Taekwondo is not all about grading and it is important to remember:
Etiquette, modesty, perseverance, self-control and spirit.
It is not just about learning a new form or reaching a certain level of fitness, a martial art is not just a sport, it's a discipline and a way of life that will show it self in your every action.

National exams for the students in Destiny

I'm so happy to have payed all the fees for the students National Exams. I hope that they are will perform well!

Operation smile meeting

We had a meeting on monday where there was a visiting member of Operation Smile. He was there to talk to us about what operation smile does and to go into more detail about the problems people with cleft lip and cleft palate face. Then we discussed  the opportunity to go to one of these hospitals and watch the operations. We also discussed what the next steps in Kenya to make it even more available. I'm very interested in watching the operations and will do it if possible. Personally I did not know the issues people with this disability face and how much it can hinder someone. I feel that this is a very good project and that we really should try to help everyone with this disability.

Halloween makeup

Today in school, a lady asked me "Oh my dear what happened to you"? One of my teachers did not want to look at me and many turned away when they saw me. I even went to Village Market after school to buy a few books and people looked really afraid of me. This is why:

I had to tell everyone that it is fake! I think I did a good job with my Halloween make-up!

Planning for Destiny

We had a meeting with Dixon to discuss future projects. We now bought two more rooms and need to raise money for two more so we can finally move out of the church and not pay 10.000 Kes/month for rent.
The prices are even higher now. Dixon explained that it's because it is so close to Juja road and very many businesses close by. If we buy from the community members, it will be cheaper because they often have children in the school and want what is best for it. But many of the rooms are owned by people who live upcountry. To renovate the rooms we bought, we will need a lot of money and we don't have them. We can also do a smaller renovation to just get the rooms functioning. We also need to build desks. Lot's of things going on, but I think we know how rank the different projects.

New puppy

My new puppy, Ziggy is 10 weeks old. He was found in a box with his 6 siblings and turned in to KSPCA. We have been discussing getting a puppy for a long time because it is a very big responsibility. The week we had him, I need to go out with him every three hours so he can pee. I also try to teach him basic commands. He is doing well so far, but I've had to clean many carpets in my efforts to house train him.