Looking on the Bright Side

24 January 2010

I rather enjoy reading older “classic” literature, and lately I’ve been on a kick. I’m loving the fact that with my new kindle (thanks, mom and dad!) I can download most of these books to read for free! (I never would have considered such a gadget in the States – I like sharing real books too much! – but the perks of not having to carry heavy novels across the world and adding weight to my already over-stuffed baggage just seemed too great to resist!)

Anyway, I recently read the story of Pollyanna. I know the term is overused and generally doesn't have a positive connotation, but the “Glad Game” seemed like something fun to try in my classroom when everyone gets down (or when the power is off and it seems like the day is never going to end…) One of our class rules is to be positive (along with being respectful, being responsible, and being prepared…), so it seemed a good fit.

Today, I tried it. We thought of how, despite hearing the secondary assembly loud and clear – and hearing air horns blasting and shouting from the nearby gym, we were thankful that…

1. The secondary students were having fun learning about Jesus.
2. It’s ok for people to dance and sing and enjoy spending time with our Creator – and that we don’t have to be super-serious about God all the time.
3. We have the Bible in a language we can understand, and this can touch the student’s hearts.

Then we shut the doors and windows and turned on the air conditioning so we could focus on learning math. (Shh… don’t tell the principal – we were on generator power!)

As I sit here at my desk completely soaked through with sweat from the hot weather and lack of air con, and as I consider how yesterday, it was -7 degrees Fahrenheit at my parents’ house in MI… I decided to think up some reasons why I’m thankful it’s hot right now. (Turns out that the secondary students quieted down after a while, which is great… except then I didn’t have an excuse for the air con. Back to the “mbezi beach breeze” for cooling our classroom down!)

Here are my thoughts:

1. No having to shovel snow
2. We don’t have to lug around big heavy coats, hats, mittens…
3. No clunky snow boots! (and no getting the bottoms of your pants wet!)
4. Student-made snowflakes make me extra happy – I’m not sick of them!
5. No need for hot water – you want it as cold as possible for showers.
6. No slippery roads – which is good, because traffic is insane enough in Dar without more chaos ensuing!
7. You get to use your mosquito zapper ALL YEAR LONG! (Unlike my poor dad, who has to wait to use his Christmas present till mosquitoes come out again…)
8. No fear of freezing when the power goes out.
9. Clothes take up a lot less room in the closet when they are all thin and light and cottony – and they weigh a lot less to carry in luggage!
10. No seasonal depression disorders from not enough sun – we get FULL sun nearly every day of the year!

Happy Looking on the Bright Side Monday!