Today I had the opportunity to ride an ostrich! Have you seen pictures of ostriches? They are the very big birds that cannot fly, and they have long necks. I went to an ostrich farm outside of Nairobi. The workers there helped me up onto the ostrich and I got to ride it around the pen. It was a very bumpy and crazy ride. Fortunately the Kenyans were helping lead the ostrich around. Otherwise I think I might have fallen off!
I have been continuing to take my Swahili classes. The Kenyans I meet seem to be quite amazed about the Swahili that I speak. Yesterday I stopped along the road where some people were playing checkers. They invited me to play. And so I sat down and played. Everyone was laughing at seeing an American girl playing checkers on the side of the road. I didn't win, but it was fun.
This week I was very immersed in Kenyan culture when I had to do my laundry. In Kenyan washing machines are very rare. People typically wash clothes by hand in a basin. It is a very time-consuming and tiring task. But I did have clean clothes when I finished.
I have been eating lots of fresh mangoes, pineapples, and avacados. Yesterday, the groundskeeper at my Swahili school climbed up in a tree to pick me guava fruits. I am really excited to try them but have to wait for them to get ripe.
Hope you are having a great summer.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
A Hot Air Balloon Ride
Hello to everyone. Today I have returned from Masai Mara, which is a wildlife park in Kenya close to the Tanzanian border. I have been there for the past 3 days, where I got to take part in some of the most incredible things I have ever experienced. I left on Friday and had to travel on some very bumpy dirt roads for about 5 hours to get there. But the beautiful scenery, including mountains, trees, fields of wheat and corn, and animals along the way, made the trip worthwhile. The road is paved for about half the trip, and then it turns to dirt. As we neared closer to the park, zebras and gazelle would walk in front of or past our car. It is truly amazing to see all these creatures in real life just passing by your car.
After arriving at Masai Mara, I took a safari into the park. Basically, the way it works is that there is a driver who takes you in a van and drives around to find various animals. The top of the van is open, so you can stand up and look out to see the animals better. We saw many animals including giraffes, zebras, gazelle, beautiful birds, ostriches, wildbeasts, lions, antelope, monkeys, and baboons. One of the coolest things was when we saw a cheetah that had climbed up on top of another safari van. It sat on top of the van right next to the people for a very long time. In fact, there were 2 small kids so close that they could have reached out and touched the cheetah.
My favorite part of the trip though, was when I got to go on a hot air balloon ride. I had to wake up at 4 a.m. and was taken on a long trip out into the middle of the park. From there, they launched the hot air balloons. When they launch the balloons, the basket part starts out sitting on the side. So that means I had to lie on my back for take off. Then as the balloon went up in the sky, the basket slowly tipped forward till I was standing upright. They use a gas to get the balloon to rise up into the sky. There were about 12 other people in the balloon with me. It was a breathtaking sight when we were in the air. I could see all kinds of animals in the grass below--even a porcupine. When the balloon ride was over, we landed in the middle of the game park and had breakfast right out in the middle of all the animals.
At night I slept in a semi-permanent tent that even had a bathroom in the back of it. We only had electricity in the tent from about 6-10 p.m. and then again from 6-8 a.m. The whole camp is powered by solar energy. This morning I took one more trip into the park. This time we saw a family of 15 lions eating a fresh catch of animal meat. I also met many Masai people who live near the park. They are famous for wearing bright red colors, which contrast with the landscape. They wear beautiful beaded necklaces and shoes made of car tires. I can't wait to show you pictures of the animals and the people when school begins.
After arriving at Masai Mara, I took a safari into the park. Basically, the way it works is that there is a driver who takes you in a van and drives around to find various animals. The top of the van is open, so you can stand up and look out to see the animals better. We saw many animals including giraffes, zebras, gazelle, beautiful birds, ostriches, wildbeasts, lions, antelope, monkeys, and baboons. One of the coolest things was when we saw a cheetah that had climbed up on top of another safari van. It sat on top of the van right next to the people for a very long time. In fact, there were 2 small kids so close that they could have reached out and touched the cheetah.
My favorite part of the trip though, was when I got to go on a hot air balloon ride. I had to wake up at 4 a.m. and was taken on a long trip out into the middle of the park. From there, they launched the hot air balloons. When they launch the balloons, the basket part starts out sitting on the side. So that means I had to lie on my back for take off. Then as the balloon went up in the sky, the basket slowly tipped forward till I was standing upright. They use a gas to get the balloon to rise up into the sky. There were about 12 other people in the balloon with me. It was a breathtaking sight when we were in the air. I could see all kinds of animals in the grass below--even a porcupine. When the balloon ride was over, we landed in the middle of the game park and had breakfast right out in the middle of all the animals.
At night I slept in a semi-permanent tent that even had a bathroom in the back of it. We only had electricity in the tent from about 6-10 p.m. and then again from 6-8 a.m. The whole camp is powered by solar energy. This morning I took one more trip into the park. This time we saw a family of 15 lions eating a fresh catch of animal meat. I also met many Masai people who live near the park. They are famous for wearing bright red colors, which contrast with the landscape. They wear beautiful beaded necklaces and shoes made of car tires. I can't wait to show you pictures of the animals and the people when school begins.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Hello From Kenya
Hello to all my students. I am blogging to you from Kenya, Africa, where I am spending the summer here through a Lilly Endowment Grant funded program. I hope you are enjoying your summer. Right now in Kenya, it is actually pretty cold because the city of Nairobi sits at a very high altitude, and it is the cold season. It feels more like the autumn weather we have at home. I have been walking around wearing a scarf and sweater everyday. It has rained a lot this week too.
While I am here, I am taking Swahili language classes. Most people in Kenya speak 3 languages: Kiswahili, English, and a tribal language. Often times people will mix the languages together in the same sentence. So, even though people speak English, it is very helpful to learn Swahili so that I can understand what they are saying. Every morning I take language classes. My teachers are very nice, but learning the language is challenging for me. Here is something I have learned to say: Habari? Naitwa Miss Back. Natoka merikani. Ninapenda chai. (The translation is Hi, how are you? My name is Miss Back. I am from America. I like chai tea.
In the afternoons, I am able to visit and learn about different art techniques that people are using to create products in Kenya. The other day I visited a place where they take cow bones and sand them down to make beads. They then paint them with wax and dye them with brown color to make brown and white beads. Then they make them into beautiful necklaces and bracelets.
You may wonder what kinds of things people eat here. Last night, I had matoke, which is fried/mashed plantains. A plantain is kind of like a banana except that the peel always stays green, and you cannot eat them raw. We ate them with a tomato and onion sauce. It was delicious!
Tomorrow I leave the city to go on a safari in Masai Mara. I will get to see lots of animals. I will write more about it when I return. Kwaheri, which means "bye."
While I am here, I am taking Swahili language classes. Most people in Kenya speak 3 languages: Kiswahili, English, and a tribal language. Often times people will mix the languages together in the same sentence. So, even though people speak English, it is very helpful to learn Swahili so that I can understand what they are saying. Every morning I take language classes. My teachers are very nice, but learning the language is challenging for me. Here is something I have learned to say: Habari? Naitwa Miss Back. Natoka merikani. Ninapenda chai. (The translation is Hi, how are you? My name is Miss Back. I am from America. I like chai tea.
In the afternoons, I am able to visit and learn about different art techniques that people are using to create products in Kenya. The other day I visited a place where they take cow bones and sand them down to make beads. They then paint them with wax and dye them with brown color to make brown and white beads. Then they make them into beautiful necklaces and bracelets.
You may wonder what kinds of things people eat here. Last night, I had matoke, which is fried/mashed plantains. A plantain is kind of like a banana except that the peel always stays green, and you cannot eat them raw. We ate them with a tomato and onion sauce. It was delicious!
Tomorrow I leave the city to go on a safari in Masai Mara. I will get to see lots of animals. I will write more about it when I return. Kwaheri, which means "bye."
Thursday, May 30, 2013
End of the Year Fun
The first graders painted murals to finish up the school year. They painted shapes and then connected the shapes with lines. Finally they painted in all the shapes. The results are very colorful, stained glass looking pieces. I am going to hang them up in the hall when the kids come back to school in August. Thanks to Mrs. Brouwer and her Georgetown Elementary Art Blog for this great idea.
The third graders finished up the year by creating artwork inspired by Marc Chagall. The students drew self-portraits and other images of important things from their lives. Then we add lines and shapes for a stained glass look to mimic Chagall's style of working with stained glass.
And finally, the Kindergarteners finished up their unit on Celebrations by creating instruments. We decorated cardboard tubes, filled them with beads, and added felt to the ends. Get ready for some loud noise in your house if you have a Kindergarten student!
Have a great summer!
Miss Back
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Still Life Drawing and Observation Drawing
Cezanne still life painting Courtesy of wikipaintings.org |
The first graders looked at work by Cezanne this week. Then they drew a still life of flowers and fruit that was set up in our classroom. We emphasized looking at the forms of objects and shadows and various colors that we could observe.
2nd graders created observation drawings of Diego Rivera's Mother and Children painting. Can you see the resemblance between the original and the children's sketches?
| Diego Rivera painting courtesy of www.allposters.com |
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Lilac Drawing
Today the 1st graders continued working on observation drawing. There are beautiful lilac bushes growing around our school, so I was able to cut some flowers and bring them inside for the students to draw. They did a great job including lots of specific details. We focused on only drawing what we could see. After we finished drawing, we painted them with watercolors. Here are the results from Mrs. Darnell's class:
Animals Inspired by Mexican Oaxacan Carvings
To finish the up the year, 4th graders have been learning about Mexican Oaxacan Animal carvings. These woodcarvings are made from the copal tree. The animal carvings are painted with bright, abstract colors and patterns. After looking at and discussing examples of these Oaxacan carvings, the 4th graders created their own 2-D animals and painted them in the style of the Mexican carvings. I love all the different variety of animals and designs that the students created.
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