July 22nd ~ Friday

We had scheduled at the beginning of the week to go to the beach this morning so that is what we did. It was also decided to go to a different beach than we normally go to. It took us about an hour but we made it. We also were able to ride the tram for the first time which was kind of fun.
The water was amazing just the right temperature, not to salty, and not very rough. We all had a good time talking and reading on the beach. We decided to head back into town to get lunch and so Meg could make her 3 o clock VBS meeting, also the rest of us girls had stuff to finish for Duden.
We got on the tram and the bus drivers decided to take a smoke break so we all sat on the really hot bus for ten minutes as they smoked. This is actually rather common here. We eventually made it to Old Town and had a Doner and Ayran. Ayran is starting to slowly grow on me but I don’t think I will ever drink it as a pleasure item. After lunch we headed to our respected areas.
Tressa printed certificates for tonight to give to the children, I designed them before the beach but Tressa did not go to the beach because she was feeling ill. Yuxiang and Tressa finished putting together the kids craft booklets that they had been working on and put a group picture on the front for all of them. We grabbed all the needed supplies for this evening and Tressa, Elizabeth, and I headed out. We stopped at this dish store to pick up a gift for the lady that is letting us use her house in Duden. WE found a bread basket and then filled it with yummies from the grocery store, mom you would be proud it looked quite nice.
When we all arrived in Duden the kids were once again waiting the girls with their completed homework. We picked up another teenage guy tonight and another couple of younger kids. Tonight for the lesson we reviewed what we had learned and then had conversations with the teachers where the kids got to show off what they had learned in front of the rest of the class. After this was finished we call them up one at a time and gave them their certificates and booklets. We would hand them their stuff and then kiss their cheeks, guys with guys and girls with girls, they all really liked this. We then broke out the special dessert that Tressa had made, it was a huge success they all loved it.
We then played a few organized games and then broke into a respected groups for free hang out times. The guys had quite the game of football going. I was playing with four 11 year old girls and they kept changing the game and then trying to explain the rules to me. I felt like a small child that could not catch on. They were trying so hard to communicate but it was just not making since, Renata jumped in and helped a bit.
It was such a great week and I really think we made a lasting impression on the children. They did not want us to leave at all and were asking if we will come back next year. As we were leaving though they were all asking for our Facebook info LoL.