Snake!

So i ran into my first live snake yesterday. well, i didn't actually get that close to it! i was supervising the junior students down at the river when the boys started shouting "snake, snake!" and running towards it. i know that boys have this strange facination with creepy crawlies, but honestly with the high percentage of deadly snakes in this area, you'd think they'd proceed with caution. however 'caution' and 'boys' is rarely seen together. i was down near the river and the snake was up near the changing hut, (basically the opposite side of the play area) so i quickly and CAUTIOUSLY moved towards the area where the boys were congregating the whole time praying as i wasn't sure what else to do! there was no way i was getting close enough to kill it! thankfully the snake was heading away from where we were but i still had to yet at the boys who were following it. thankfully Mr. Poidevin heard the shouts as he was teaching senior swimming at the pool. he came running with a VERY long bamboo pole and after locating the snake beat it to death. after mr. P. checked to make sure it wasn't going to slither away or attack someone, i allowed the children to get a closer look. this is what we saw...


i'm not sure what type of snake it is, if someone knows please feel free to share with us. i also don't know if it was poisonous or not, but around here we don't take any chances. we beat them first and ask questions later! that was my excitement for the day! earlier, when i was teaching swimming lessons to the "no seals" (those who don't swim at all) i had a pretty good lesson. it was a gorgeous day so the cool water felt nice, which is good because often my students think it's "too cold!" also because Mr. & Mrs. Poidevin Sr. are visiting from Canada i had help with my class and was only working with 8 students instead of the usual 16. i've been trying to teach them to do front and back floats. about 1/2 my students are just getting over a fear of water, so this is rather difficult. i usually "help" them by holding them up so they can get the feel of floating. i will always tell them before i let go, so they don't lose their trust in me. one little boy was so cute, we were practicing the back float, which is always a little more scary and he looked at me with these great big brown eyes and said with a very serious voice "can you not let go of me, because my breath gets frightened away." i had a hard time not laughing, just because he was too cute! but i promised him i wouldn't let go and he was fine. he even tried it on his own afterwards, and then told me "my breath is ok now". :) these are the moments when i remember why i love children! how can you not smile when you see a face like this.