8/18

We worked with the bees early in the morning again. We went to a different upper apiary to inspect all of the hives there. They had not been inspected for over two months. When we inspected them, we noticed that many of the hives were spaced out too much and the bees were not using the empty combs very well. When Agape had last inspected them, it was still in the middle of the honey flow season and the bees had been growing too fast and they had even built combs on the outside of their hives. Thus Agape had spaced them out thoroughly, but immediately afterwards, the honey flow had probably ended and the bees were not able to use the extra space. During the inspection process, we harvested a good amount of wax from teh empty combs. We also gave water to the bees so that they would stop pestering their neighbors; we brought two buckets full of water and floated a wood in each so that the bees could land on them and drink from it. While we were up there, we also found a robbed hive infested with wax moths and cockroaches. The rest of the day, I hung out with the boys at the beach. We played push off the rock and swam against the current. Before coming here, I was worried about whether I would be able to bond with the boys. I do not have much experience with boys as I only have one younger sister and had not babysat kids in high school. However, after a week of being here, I think I have made some progress. Enoch and Kofi asks me to read books to them. They also like to tickle me and Emma. I really enjoy playing with them, but sometimes I have trouble understanding what they are saying. The older boys are a little harder to bond with, but they like it when you play rough with them. I wrestle with them at the beach and double cross them during water gun fights. Playing with the boys gives me a good excuse from having to act like a 21 year old. Last night, after the younger boys had gone to bed, Emma and I had held arm wrestling matches with the older boys. Emma and I also showedthem how to make Asian poop with play dough (Joshua thought it was a birthday cake at first). This time, I showed Joshua and Melchizedek a baby snake I had caught. They kept asking me if they could kill it. Whenever I ask the boys about school related stuff, they seem really uninterested, but as soon as I ask them about how many bullfrogs, snakes, scorpions they have killed, their eyes light up.