On Friday morning, we were all tired and dragging a bit. Just as we were finishing breakfast, we heard what sounded like a parade passing by on the street in front of the house. We tried to listen to what was being said over speakers and megaphones, and couldn’t really understand what was being said. Suddenly, it became clear what was happening.
The Teachers’ Union was protesting various issues and were demonstrating in front of the building for the State Employees’ Benefit Board. That building happens to be across the street from our house. I carefully and sheepishly opened the door between the street and the front yard of our house and saw police officers taking photos of the demonstrators. The street was closed off by police cars.
We waited for about 15 minutes hoping that the protest would end quickly, but speaker after speaker took the microphone. So, we grabbed the bare minimum of what we needed to bring to Solyluna, quickly exited into the street and walked 4 or 5 blocks to a major road. From there, we had Uber pick us up and take us to Solyluna.
Any inconvenience over what happened quickly dissipated when we found out that the staff and children planned a special day for us. We were divided into 3 groups, and paired off with an equal number of students. We then rotated through 3 series of learning activities the children do on nearly a daily basis. One involved discerning common items without the benefit of sight. The children gave us clues as to what the items were to help us. Another exercise involved feeding each other without the benefit of sight, arms or hearing. When we fed the children, we had to use hand motions, facial expressions and other cues. The children then fed us and they had to do the same while feeding us. Finally, we competed with the children on an obstacle course that teaches them coordination.
Although we enjoyed working on the facilities all week long, this was by and far the favorite day for everyone on the team. Here some photos of those activities.
