September 16, 2012
Let’s talk about my first week teaching! As far as I know, it seemed to go well! For the most part, the students seem
respectful. I had some issues with my
form 1’s towards the end of the week, but it seemed every teacher did. In one of my classes (I forget which form), I
gave them 5 problems to work on. I also
told them if they wanted more points they could come up with their own
questions and answer them and I would mark (yes, mark, not grade) them. And to my surprise, the majority of the
students did more problems!! It made me
so excited! I’m sure it seems small, but
it really made my day. Every morning, I
am greeted by students who offer to carry my things for me. I have about a 30 second walk, but I always
happily agree. I also have students who
walk by my house after school and always talk to me. Some are genuine, and I think others are just
trying to test me. So I’m trying to
stand my ground. Especially at
first. I had another teacher tell me he
thinks the students are really interested in what I am teaching. They come up to me and ask me questions
during breaks. It makes me feel like I’m
actually getting some of them interested in the topic. But it’s also exhausted. I remember only wanting to sleep after my day
on Friday. I was pooped. But overall, I think the week went well. Notice how I didn’t journal all week? Yep, that’s how tired I was.
Which brings me to my weekend. Friday was stressful at school. I just wanted to spend the rest of the
afternoon relaxing. I spent some time in
town doing nothing, waiting to meet up with my headmaster. We finally meet up and we have a drink. He figures out that I had Pascal go around and
find estimates for a wardrobe and a few tables.
He asked me why I didn’t consult him about it first. Oh, he wasn’t very happy with me. I told him I didn’t mean to offend anyone and
that it’s much different in America. I
told him he has to tell me these things, because I’m still learning the
culture. So after that point, I think
we’re good. Saturday I go and meet up
with Sheila who is a weaver I met last week.
I sat at her house/compound for several hours. There were so many women there. It’s t hen that I realize I have not made
friends with any older women. Only
men. I also realize that I enjoyed being
around these women. Music was playing
and every once in a while they would start dancing. I told them they would have to teach me these
dances some time. Sheila’s sister Sawla made me some food too! Fried yams and plantains and the spiciest
pepe I have ever tasted. And Sheila
agreed. The pepe was “too much.” (Pepe…pronounced
pep-pay…is like a spicy salsa like thing).
It was just so fun to sit and talk and laugh with all these women. There were a bunch of kids there who called
me Sister Jessica or Auntie Jessica. It was
adorable. Sheila and another woman (Update: her name is Vida and I love her!) pulled out the
loom and began setting up their weaving.
Holy crap is that time consuming!
And it’s just the set up! I didn’t
stay long because I was meeting my headmaster.
We met at a spot and drank some pito.
We were in a big group and everyone was talking. In Dagaare.
So I didn’t chime in much. It started
to pour, so we moved under shelter. After
the rain cleared, Roger showed up and we decided to leave because it was
getting late. I said goodbye to my
headmaster and went on my way. I was
still feeling pretty blah at this point.
Roger and I go grab a bottle at a nearby spot, and he doesn’t seem happy
either. Maybe it’s just the day? I’m just ready to go home at this point. We make it home finally after discovering my
bike has a flat tire. Perfect. Roger says he’ll fix it tomorrow. Okay good.
That means I won’t have to spend loads of money on it. I climb into bed and relax finally and fall
asleep. Sunday. I spent most of the morning reading. Janet came over to help me with my
laundry. Awesome. Because my hands are irritated for some
unknown reason and are killing me. I’m
still not in the best of moods. All the
kids just sit and hang out. I am not in
the mood to entertain. I feel bad, but I
keep reading. They seem content for the
most part. After an hour or so, they
leave and Roger comes over. He collects
my bike to fix it. I love that man. He brings it back maybe 30 minutes later and
we decide to go into town. We stop at a
spot and drink some pito. He says he’s
hungry and we should go grab some lunch at NVS (Nandom Vocational School). Score!
I love NVS! And jollaf! It was a tad spicy, but delicious
nonetheless. We go visit Noella because
she leaves for SHS today which is a boarding school. She won’t be back until December. Sad.
It looks like it’s about to rain, and I left my clothes on the line, so
Roger and I decide to go to the market so we can head home. I buy my few things (which include these
delicious crunchy groundnut ball things) and we go. Roger says he’ll bring some pito over and we
can just sit and chat. Okay. I can handle that. And it’s fun.
There was a point where he almost falls asleep mid-sentence and I find
it hilarious. We joked and laughed about
it. His son, Martin, was over and he
actually DID fall asleep. How
precious. He decides to leave to go
prepare some food for his kids (well..someone will prepare it). And here I sit. I finally feel relaxed and calm. It’s nice to have some alone time. I’ve been surrounded by people so much
recently. I’m also missing my friends
and family a lot. I haven’t been able to
find internet here, so that mega sucks. Hopefully
next weekend I can find some. Whenever I
get lights, I am buying a modem so I can get online whenever I please. (Update: yep…didn’t wait for lights and I couldn’t be
happier about buying a modem!) Roger and
I decided we are going to meet up with the Assembly Man this week to keep
bugging him about lights. I don’t mind
sitting in the dark. I just wish I could
have some sort of contact with people back home. I just hope it doesn’t make me miss them even
more. Hopefully the next few days turn
out better than the last few. I definitely
have my fingers crossed! I think now I will
snack on something and figure out what new book I am going to start. I hope it rains tonight. It will relax me and make me happy. Oh the little things =)
No comments:
Post a Comment