The Mosquitoes Are Driving Me Batty

Lately, there has been some repair work going on to get the sprinkler system working properly so that the lawn right outside my classroom can stay nice and green.  That's meant a lot of standing water and a direct increase in the mosquito population.  Last Friday I literally had mosquitoes swarming in the classroom.  So, of course, I have been strongly promoting a closed door policy.  But then there's that one time when a fellow teacher stops by and stands in the open door to visit and who should swoop in for a visit but Mr. Bat. Perhaps he heard that the eating was good what with the abundance of mosquitoes and all!

Now I've had a lot of visitors to the classroom - a swarm of bees, a scorpion and a water scorpion to name a few.  But this was my first time to have a bat drop by.  It was nice of him to consider helping us with our mosquito problem but with all his swooping and carrying on it would have been hard to focus on learning.  (Really, I just didn't want everyone to hear me screaming like a girl!)  So I called some friends to help me catch Mr. Bat and send him on his way.

Bye, bye, Mr. Bat!

(No children were traumatized in the making of this story.  They were away in French class.)

Hoofin' It

Well, now this gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Hoofin' it through town!"

There are loads here in Niger and then there are LOADS!  I can tell you straight up that this wouldn't be a load upon which I would like to find myself precariously perched.

Disgusting!

(Hope nobody is too grossed out...but sometimes you just have to share because otherwise no one would believe the things you see!)  :)

Barcelona Day

Picture this:

About 20-25 boys playing soccer on a basketball court.  You scan the crowd and see a bunch of them running around wearing the same jersey...Did they call each other?  You know, prearrange this somehow?

Not according to them.  They just rolled out of bed and simultaneously decided it was Barcelona Day.  

Weird!