Sex is Just a Math Lesson

I can promise no redeeming social value NOR cohesiveness to this blog entry, Folks. Just some pictures and a hodge-podge of items :-)

• I have had two weeks of teaching HFLE (Health and Family Life Education) since our last entry. I am enjoying my time in the classroom, even the trying times. For 3 of the 5 different groups I am teaching basic Sex Ed - that is, puberty, anatomy, safe sex, HIV, and relationship skills. When we start into this track, we have one lesson where we ask the class to work in three groups to create a list of what they have learned about sexuality - one from their families, one from their friends, and one from the media. The highlight of my first class, from a 13-year-old girl:
  
  Sex is just a math lesson. Add the bed, subtract the clothes, divide the legs, and multiply the cells."
  Love it!

• Steve has been busy lately, working with a young woman from HECOPAB (Health Education and Community Participation Bureau). He and other PolyClinic people and PCVs have gone out to villages (house to house) and schools, primarily to talk about hepatitis and hygiene. He also presented at a workshop for Community Health Workers. This is work that he loves! Because he's always the one taking pictures, he's not in these snapshots.

KC Mcauliffe, PCV from Independence Village, teaching about
hepatitis.

This is Mariza Allamilla, the HECOPAB director for Stann Creek
District. She's teaching about washing hands. Wash your hands for
as long as it takes to sing the Birthday Song TWO times.

• Last weekend, our host mom, Sala Longsworth, and her best friend Beka Jones and two daughters came to visit us in Dangriga. Good times!

Beka standing, Jadyn, Haley and Sala

Glitter eyes - Jadyn

Face Painting - Haley

• This week Steve and I attended a meeting at HelpAge, an NGO supporting seniors in Belize. After the meeting, I gave them a sample of Zumba! We may decide to have a regular class for the members starting next month.

Waka Waka

• The puppies are getting SO big -  some of them over 6 pounds. They were all about 1/2 pound when born six weeks ago. I've given names to them just so I can keep track when I'm giving them special attention, like holding, deworming medicine, walks. Our dog, Fu We Dog, is the cutest (I felt compelled to include that observation) and smallest.
  
  One of the puppies has been given away - the big male, Africa. Not my choice to do it so early, but it happened. Good luck, Africa!
  
  We have begun the weaning process, and it's a LOT of work! The mother, Princess, wants to eat the puppies' food, so I have to tie her while they eat. She yelps and yodels the whole time. IF there is any left over, she gets it, but that's pretty rare these days.
  
• Beginning Friday, the puppies became bold enough to climb the long tall staircase to our back door (where Princess hides from them when she needs a rest). I was NOT happy about it, because the side of the staircase is open and they could easily fall off. At the beginning, we just pulled across a wooden gate that was already there to block off the stairs near the bottom. That worked until today when most of them made it to the top and the others were on their way up. They were outside the door crying.
  
  SO - Steve went to work trying to block them. The first attempt held them back for about 20 minutes. Readjust our thinking - just improve the existing gate, right? No luck. They were back up within a half-hour. This time, Steve went down with all his tools, and extra boards, and I don't know what-all. He came back with a self-satisfied smile. I felt confident that I could take my shower and not worry about getting dirty hauling puppies around again.
  
  By the time I got out of the shower, the puppies were yelping. Steve and I went out on the side porch and looked out on the back steps. There were two puppies trying to get through the gate. There was one puppy inside the gate, and looking back at the other two. We looked all the way to the left, and saw another one all the way at the top, looking back at us and wagging. Steve said with a sigh, "Puppies 3, Steve 0."

Anthony and Princess

Steve and a pile of puppies