Welcome to Rosslyn!

In front of our house


I know that it has been a ridiculously long time since our last post. Sorry about that! Here's what we have been up to:

  •  We moved to Kenya, to Rosslyn Academy's campus, specifically. The transition was difficult at first because Nairobi is very different than any of our previous African experiences. But, we are adjusting well and love this country just as much as we did when we came in 2013. 
  • President Obama flew into the campus and landed on our soccer pitch (basically in our backyard).
  • We completed a week of new staff orientation and learned tons about Kenya and Rosslyn Academy.
  • We completed a week of full staff orientation, met all of the staff, set up our classrooms, and made lots of new friends.
  • We began teaching. I am teaching third grade and John is teaching kindergarten. We have just finished our third full week of teaching. Here's a little more about that:


Teaching here at Rosslyn Academy is incredible. Rosslyn is an international, Christian school with a mostly North American curriculum. In my classroom of 20 third graders, 20 nations are represented through nationality, origin, and countries where my students have lived. It is amazing to walk into my classroom and see all of the different faces. Each child is a beautiful individual with a unique story. In our new staff orientation, we learned about cross cultural kids. A cross cultural kid is a person (not necessarily a child) who has lived in or meaningfully interacted with two or more cultural environments for a significant period of time. Basically, a CCK is someone who has lived away from his or her home country or culture. Nearly all of my students are CCK's. My dad is a CCK. My aunt is a CCK. I, myself, am an expat. Being a CCK comes with many benefits, but it can also come with trials. CCK's are often extremely bright, sensitive individuals who can blend in well with others. But, CCK's can also deal with many trials. Most CCK's have said more goodbyes by the time they are 18 than the average person at 80. Many CCK's struggle with identity. For example, many CCK's identify more with their host culture than they do with their culture of origin. Therefore, CCK's feel more comfortable in the country that they live in, but usually physically stand out in that culture. For example, a white, American boy growing up in the bush of Zimbabwe might feel much more at home there, but stands out because of the color of his skin. In addition, it can be extremely difficult for CCK's to answer the simple question: where are you from? Obviously, I have always known about CCK's because my dad is a cross cultural kid. I just never knew that CCK's had a name or that people were aware of what CCK's went through. As a teacher, I wish that all teachers (everywhere!) knew about cross cultural kids and what they go through. It can be tough for a child to go through transitions (like moving back to the United States after a long period of time) alone. I love working with such a variety of wonderful students!

To be completely honest, I was totally nervous about teaching at a Christian school. I did not feel completely qualified to teach about the Bible. I also was not sure how I felt about Christian schools because I had always taught in a public school (and I also had only gone to public school as a student). However, it has been amazing to be able to sing and pray with my students. Though I do feel a bit odd teaching the Old Testament, I feel that I am becoming a stronger teacher, person, and Christian with each passing day. I am so excited about the next three years here in Kenya!

Here are some pictures of our classrooms:
Outside my classroom

Explorers!


The sign outside my door














John's Classroom:


The theme verse for the year

John has a porch!








He's pretty cute, huh?


-R

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