Sketches from the Smiling Coast

Today Mira and I delivered the letters from Wellingara Lower Basic School to the students in Ian Forsyth Elementary School in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. These letters were delivered to two Grade 3 classes, two Grade 4 classes and a small group of Grade 6 students. The students were really excited to receive their letters from their new friends in The Gambia and many were talking about sending more letters and maintaining the new pen pal exchange. We are looking forward to going back to the school in a month or so to bring the video that the group has been working on as well as photos for them to see. Tomorrow I will go to Sambro Elementary to deliver the letters to a Grade 2 class, a Grade 3/4 class and a Grade 6 class. Congratulations to all of the students at both schools and in both countries for doing such a great job of the letter exchange!

I thought I would post one video clip from one of the activities that the children at Wellingara put on for us. In the video you will see a so-called dinka warrior and some of the students clapping and drumming and one spirited young boy dancing and teasing the dinka. By the way, those knives were real!