After my last post, I might need to eat my words.
I just want to make sure you all understand I have NO anti-Bafana Bafana sentiment. I am so thrilled that they beat France (even though it wrought havoc on my bracket!), though definitely pretty surprised as well. I got to watch the match with a room FULL of my students and some other teachers, and the energy level was out of control...
I also got to play a bit of futbol with some of the boarders and village guys today... they are SO fast. There isn't really grass on the (uneven) soccer pitch outside the school grounds, so the ball moves really fast and bounces pretty unpredictably. It makes for a really interesting game. I'm definitely not in soccer shape anymore, but my running endurance helps a bit.
Next up: Greece vs. Argentina...
I can hear the generator humming already, which means... KE NAKO!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Shortest Day of the Year
June 21-22, 2010
Happy (late) Fathers Day! So much to update!
I went to a friend’s site for the first USA match, against England. We decorated anything we could turn into something to wear – hats, medals, glasses, … you name it, it had red, white and blue all over it. Thanks to a poor move on the England keeper’s part, we tied. Woo!
The next day, several of us went on one of the longest, most excruciating runs I have ever done. By our best guess, it was at least 9 miles, probably more. The first two or three were relatively flat, but the next part (until we turned around) was a MASSIVE downhill. It was all so scenic, running down into a big mountain valley, arriving at the river and looking around… then the reality struck: we had to run back up it all too. Due to my recent general laziness, my fitness is, well, lacking. We ended up walking up much of it, but still, my running timer said something around an hour, fifteen minutes by the time we made it back. It was one of the most beautiful runs I have ever gone on, but my hip flexors were sore for days…
The next day, I headed back to site to help out with some of the winter classes, specifically Form E Math, more specifically: statistics. Ugh. I love math, but statistics has got to be one of the driest topics. Nonetheless, I took them through a crash course (for both of us – I hadn’t prepared enough) in means, medians and modes, making up some data and going with it. My brilliant in-class example was to ask the students how old they each are. This is usually not a problem for me, but then again I teach form A and B. These was form E. The first three students I asked were older than me. Turns out, their ages range from 17 to 27 (the range is 10)… which means at 22, I’m right around the middle. I made the class guess how old they thought I was before I gave that bit away, but they were still pretty surprised.
What else is new… oh yeah, I went to a World Cup game. No big deal… We saw Greece and Nigeria and it was definitely a highlight of my life. We got to Bloemfontein plenty early to take in some sights (aka get delicious non-Lesotho food at one of their two malls), buy some fan gear and get pumped for the game. By 2pm we were heading to the stadium, all decked out in Nigeria (or Greece) gear, anxious to start face-painting. Most of us painted something on our faces, though I had the entire Nigerian flat on my face. And it was awesome.
The game was so much fun – we were actually pretty close to the field, maybe 15th row back about 3/4 of the way down the field on one side. The vuvuzelas (loud, obnoxious horn things that, yes, I admit, I bought) dominated all sound, but it was SO much fun. The whole feel in the stadium was absolutely electric and all vuvuzelas were absolutely silent for both national anthems. In case you haven’t seen any matches on television (first of all, shame on you, but second), the players are escorted out by children who then stand in front of them during the national anthems. These kids are absolutely precious – grinning ear to ear as they stand with their heroes. It’s worth flipping on your tv, if only for the last few minutes before a game.
Nigeria scored first. Then came the red card, and unfortunately, it was mostly downhill from there. Greece scored twice over the course of the game and beat Nigeria 2-1, with 11 men to 10. We were situated in the middle of a predominantly Greek fan section, and there was a family down and to our left, who kept hollering things at us whenever Greece did something right or Nigeria messed up. At one point, looking at my friend’s American hat, one of the men shouted, “What do Americans know about football anyway?!” From then on, we chose to ignore them as much as possible.
The game was absolutely incredible (in case you hadn’t picked up on that yet) and I had so much fun. Our group of four is very much looking forward to our second game, which will be this Saturday. Cross your fingers that the US can pull off 1st in our group – then we’ll be cheering for them in Rustenberg! In order for that to happen, they need to beat Algeria by 2, ideally. England needs to beat Slovenia by 1, ideally. Let’s hope they can do it!
Tonight, Tuesday, Bafana Bafana plays France and I’m pretty sure they’re going to be absolutely thrashed. It’s going to be slightly depressing watching with my students and other teachers (who all support RSA), but at least a French win will help my bracket. Ha. Selfish much?
As I was walking back to my site from the junction (my solid 45-minute walk home) after seeing the game, there were some men in the field who started calling me. Normally, I greet the farmers and harvesters and keep moving; I’m usually not sure exactly what they’re saying and I usually have some place to be (or am running). This man though, shouted very clearly, “’M’e, the maize is ready! Come!” I hesitated a bit but he kept yelling at me, so I eventually headed into the fields where he and several other bo’ntate were, hovered over a small pan and cooking individual maize kernels. He insisted on giving me some, but since they were too hot, he opened up my fleece jacket pocket and stuffed some inside. I tasted a couple, and they were pretty good… like popcorn that was not completely popped, just opened up a bit, but still very warm. “Is it nice? Are you satisfied?” I nodded and thanked them profusely as he stuffed several more handfuls into my pocket. It was such a pleasant change from being harassed for money or sweets to receiving maize. As I walked away munching, he yelled one more time. “’M’e! You can take us the photo! Or you have no camera?” I apologized, telling him that my camera was at home, but next time I would definitely “take them the photo.” He flashed the thumbs up and went back to harvesting. Cool stuff.
Unfortunately, my battery is dying, but fortunately, I’m going to play soccer with some students before France dominates Bafana Bafana.
Peace, love and FOOTBALL from Africa!
-Katie
Happy (late) Fathers Day! So much to update!
I went to a friend’s site for the first USA match, against England. We decorated anything we could turn into something to wear – hats, medals, glasses, … you name it, it had red, white and blue all over it. Thanks to a poor move on the England keeper’s part, we tied. Woo!
The next day, several of us went on one of the longest, most excruciating runs I have ever done. By our best guess, it was at least 9 miles, probably more. The first two or three were relatively flat, but the next part (until we turned around) was a MASSIVE downhill. It was all so scenic, running down into a big mountain valley, arriving at the river and looking around… then the reality struck: we had to run back up it all too. Due to my recent general laziness, my fitness is, well, lacking. We ended up walking up much of it, but still, my running timer said something around an hour, fifteen minutes by the time we made it back. It was one of the most beautiful runs I have ever gone on, but my hip flexors were sore for days…
The next day, I headed back to site to help out with some of the winter classes, specifically Form E Math, more specifically: statistics. Ugh. I love math, but statistics has got to be one of the driest topics. Nonetheless, I took them through a crash course (for both of us – I hadn’t prepared enough) in means, medians and modes, making up some data and going with it. My brilliant in-class example was to ask the students how old they each are. This is usually not a problem for me, but then again I teach form A and B. These was form E. The first three students I asked were older than me. Turns out, their ages range from 17 to 27 (the range is 10)… which means at 22, I’m right around the middle. I made the class guess how old they thought I was before I gave that bit away, but they were still pretty surprised.
What else is new… oh yeah, I went to a World Cup game. No big deal… We saw Greece and Nigeria and it was definitely a highlight of my life. We got to Bloemfontein plenty early to take in some sights (aka get delicious non-Lesotho food at one of their two malls), buy some fan gear and get pumped for the game. By 2pm we were heading to the stadium, all decked out in Nigeria (or Greece) gear, anxious to start face-painting. Most of us painted something on our faces, though I had the entire Nigerian flat on my face. And it was awesome.
The game was so much fun – we were actually pretty close to the field, maybe 15th row back about 3/4 of the way down the field on one side. The vuvuzelas (loud, obnoxious horn things that, yes, I admit, I bought) dominated all sound, but it was SO much fun. The whole feel in the stadium was absolutely electric and all vuvuzelas were absolutely silent for both national anthems. In case you haven’t seen any matches on television (first of all, shame on you, but second), the players are escorted out by children who then stand in front of them during the national anthems. These kids are absolutely precious – grinning ear to ear as they stand with their heroes. It’s worth flipping on your tv, if only for the last few minutes before a game.
Nigeria scored first. Then came the red card, and unfortunately, it was mostly downhill from there. Greece scored twice over the course of the game and beat Nigeria 2-1, with 11 men to 10. We were situated in the middle of a predominantly Greek fan section, and there was a family down and to our left, who kept hollering things at us whenever Greece did something right or Nigeria messed up. At one point, looking at my friend’s American hat, one of the men shouted, “What do Americans know about football anyway?!” From then on, we chose to ignore them as much as possible.
The game was absolutely incredible (in case you hadn’t picked up on that yet) and I had so much fun. Our group of four is very much looking forward to our second game, which will be this Saturday. Cross your fingers that the US can pull off 1st in our group – then we’ll be cheering for them in Rustenberg! In order for that to happen, they need to beat Algeria by 2, ideally. England needs to beat Slovenia by 1, ideally. Let’s hope they can do it!
Tonight, Tuesday, Bafana Bafana plays France and I’m pretty sure they’re going to be absolutely thrashed. It’s going to be slightly depressing watching with my students and other teachers (who all support RSA), but at least a French win will help my bracket. Ha. Selfish much?
As I was walking back to my site from the junction (my solid 45-minute walk home) after seeing the game, there were some men in the field who started calling me. Normally, I greet the farmers and harvesters and keep moving; I’m usually not sure exactly what they’re saying and I usually have some place to be (or am running). This man though, shouted very clearly, “’M’e, the maize is ready! Come!” I hesitated a bit but he kept yelling at me, so I eventually headed into the fields where he and several other bo’ntate were, hovered over a small pan and cooking individual maize kernels. He insisted on giving me some, but since they were too hot, he opened up my fleece jacket pocket and stuffed some inside. I tasted a couple, and they were pretty good… like popcorn that was not completely popped, just opened up a bit, but still very warm. “Is it nice? Are you satisfied?” I nodded and thanked them profusely as he stuffed several more handfuls into my pocket. It was such a pleasant change from being harassed for money or sweets to receiving maize. As I walked away munching, he yelled one more time. “’M’e! You can take us the photo! Or you have no camera?” I apologized, telling him that my camera was at home, but next time I would definitely “take them the photo.” He flashed the thumbs up and went back to harvesting. Cool stuff.
Unfortunately, my battery is dying, but fortunately, I’m going to play soccer with some students before France dominates Bafana Bafana.
Peace, love and FOOTBALL from Africa!
-Katie
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
June 9, 2010
June 9, 2010 - 2 Days till Kickoff...
I just got back from a delightful run (second day in a row I got my lazy bum out of my house!) with three of the Form D students. Normally students don’t actually come with; they’ll just ask whether or not they can run with me and then flake out. This time, I took off across the soccer pitch and it wasn’t until I passed the primary school that I heard three sets of feet and some boys talking behind me. I was absolutely thrilled to have their company – it was like running with other PCVs, but I could keep up. When we got to where I normally turn around and do an extra loop, they wanted to continue, all the way to the junction. I was pretty tired on the way back, but managed to hang in there until we came to the soccer field again, at which point I sprinted to the finish, and they all fell over in exhaustion. I didn’t feel so bad about being tired the entire rest of the run; I still out-sprinted them. HA. It’s about the small things in life, right?
This morning my principal brought me some mail… one letter from my family, dated January, and one from my grandparents, dated December. On Friday, I received a letter (with photos enclosed) from my mother… also dated January. The mail system is a complete mystery to me. If you have sent me anything and I haven’t received it yet, please don’t worry. I’m sure it will get here by the time I leave in a year and a half.
As I was shutting my computer down last night, I remembered a few more things I wanted to let you all know about. First, sadly, another teacher caught two of my students cheating on my math exam. Sad for several reasons. First, one of the students is one of the top students in my class. Second, their supposed cheating (I’m still not sure who I believe, the students or the teacher, how terrible is that?!) didn’t help them. AT ALL. One still failed and the other barely passed. What was the point?! I’m pretty disappointed, to say the least.
That same morning, in the classroom where I was proctoring, one of my favorite students (who shall remain unnamed here, poor guy) looked like he was really struggling with my exam. He looked so bothered and kept shifting in his seat, like he was really uncomfortable with the questions. Normally, I find him very entertaining. He speaks good English and even though he can be quite chatty some days, most of the time he gets it. I was a little bothered that my exam was giving him so much trouble… Finally, he took his piece of scratch paper (really two loose-leaf sheets stuck together, it’s as the paper would come in a notebook), ripped it in half, and got up. My immediate thought was “Oh great, he’s going to ‘go to the toilet’ with his pen and this scratch paper, work out some problems and come back… or maybe he has a calculator there and will get the answers that way. Perfect.”
Sure enough, the little guy got up with his paper, which he began crumpling and wrinkling, but he left his pen behind. “Madam, please may I go to the toilet?” I was about to say, “Yes, but leave the paper here,” when it hit me that most students probably don’t bring toilet paper to school. Poor guy. I couldn’t help but crack up as he dashed out of the room, and again smile (and bite my tongue) when he returned, looking considerably more relaxed, with no sheet of answer-containing paper. Yep, this is Africa.
Love (and humor) from Africa,
Katie
I just got back from a delightful run (second day in a row I got my lazy bum out of my house!) with three of the Form D students. Normally students don’t actually come with; they’ll just ask whether or not they can run with me and then flake out. This time, I took off across the soccer pitch and it wasn’t until I passed the primary school that I heard three sets of feet and some boys talking behind me. I was absolutely thrilled to have their company – it was like running with other PCVs, but I could keep up. When we got to where I normally turn around and do an extra loop, they wanted to continue, all the way to the junction. I was pretty tired on the way back, but managed to hang in there until we came to the soccer field again, at which point I sprinted to the finish, and they all fell over in exhaustion. I didn’t feel so bad about being tired the entire rest of the run; I still out-sprinted them. HA. It’s about the small things in life, right?
This morning my principal brought me some mail… one letter from my family, dated January, and one from my grandparents, dated December. On Friday, I received a letter (with photos enclosed) from my mother… also dated January. The mail system is a complete mystery to me. If you have sent me anything and I haven’t received it yet, please don’t worry. I’m sure it will get here by the time I leave in a year and a half.
As I was shutting my computer down last night, I remembered a few more things I wanted to let you all know about. First, sadly, another teacher caught two of my students cheating on my math exam. Sad for several reasons. First, one of the students is one of the top students in my class. Second, their supposed cheating (I’m still not sure who I believe, the students or the teacher, how terrible is that?!) didn’t help them. AT ALL. One still failed and the other barely passed. What was the point?! I’m pretty disappointed, to say the least.
That same morning, in the classroom where I was proctoring, one of my favorite students (who shall remain unnamed here, poor guy) looked like he was really struggling with my exam. He looked so bothered and kept shifting in his seat, like he was really uncomfortable with the questions. Normally, I find him very entertaining. He speaks good English and even though he can be quite chatty some days, most of the time he gets it. I was a little bothered that my exam was giving him so much trouble… Finally, he took his piece of scratch paper (really two loose-leaf sheets stuck together, it’s as the paper would come in a notebook), ripped it in half, and got up. My immediate thought was “Oh great, he’s going to ‘go to the toilet’ with his pen and this scratch paper, work out some problems and come back… or maybe he has a calculator there and will get the answers that way. Perfect.”
Sure enough, the little guy got up with his paper, which he began crumpling and wrinkling, but he left his pen behind. “Madam, please may I go to the toilet?” I was about to say, “Yes, but leave the paper here,” when it hit me that most students probably don’t bring toilet paper to school. Poor guy. I couldn’t help but crack up as he dashed out of the room, and again smile (and bite my tongue) when he returned, looking considerably more relaxed, with no sheet of answer-containing paper. Yep, this is Africa.
Love (and humor) from Africa,
Katie
Freedom!
June 8, 2010
First and foremost, my deepest sympathies to the Leonard family. I’m so very sorry for your loss. You’ll be in my thoughts (especially as my thoughts wander to Pulaski this winter!)…
On a lighter note… I’m finished. I’ve given all my exams, I’ve helped invigilate other exams, I’ve marked
(graded) my exams, I’ve combined the science grades, recorded the grades and there is nothing left for me to do here. I can’t believe a semester has already passed, though it’s a reality check: time is passing.
In addition to the chickens we have at school, there are also pigs. One of the sows had piglets, so occasionally in the evenings when they are fed, I hear squealing. Well, last week I got the news that one of the bigger pigs was going to become lunchmeat. Literally. The school slaughtered it yesterday. Right out in public. All the students (who were finished writing their exams) watched and giggled as the poor thing writhed in fear as it was tied to the base of the big water tank. And then they watched and “oohed” and “ahhed” as the blood spurted from its throat after it had been speared. I know about the blood only because I had the misfortune of walking over to talk to someone as they were “draining” it. Unfortunate. I had hoped to stay completely oblivious to all pig-killing procedures, especially after I saw four students dragging it with a rope from the pig sty to the main part of the school grounds, before they tied it up and speared it. Poor thing.
I guess the only consolation is that they will use absolutely every edible part of that poor creature. I went to get my lunch today, samp, like every Tuesday, and not my favorite, but I’ve learned to spice it up and make it palatable. I discovered that there were leftover beans from yesterday so loaded up and took a little samp to be polite to the fantastic women who cook for the school every day. Plus samp and beans is supposed to be pretty good. I was about to leave when one of the other teachers who was also taking her lunch at that time called me over to a big pot near one where they had cooked samp and said, “Look, ‘m’e Katie… “ I didn’t hear the last part of her sentence but as I looked into the big pot, I realized the word pretty quickly: intestines. Let’s just say, they smell pretty bad, even though I’m sure the bo ‘m’e prepared them to be delicious. I was less than thrilled with the discovery, and after making a horribly rude disgusted noise, I explained to the bo ‘m’e that I don’t eat meat, so the intestines don’t appeal to me either… I hope they understood.
In other news, I’m thrilled to inform you that my school has a way for me to watch World Cup 2010 (Feel it… It is HEAH). When the generator went on today, it was outside, which is a bit unusual. I soon discovered this was to minimize the noise in the room where the projector and satellite television recorder were hooked up, broadcasting soccer! So exciting. It’s like one of my friends says… it’s great being in Lesotho during the World Cup in South Africa because we get to go to the games, but it’s not so great for all the other games since most places (where PCVs are located anyway) don’t have electricity or television enough so we can watch. I’m really hoping this solves that problem.
After I finished proctoring and handing back math exams, I went for a run. It’s been an unfortunate amount of time since my last run… I won’t even tell you, I’m embarrassed. Let’s just say it showed today. I was winded two minutes in, and on my way back, I wiped out. I had just greeted a couple who passed me with their double-donkey-drawn cart, and on no apparent rock, my foot caught. Next thing I knew, I was skidding on my palms and knees, trying to not break my iPod (thank goodness I bought that hard case before I left for Africa – I don’t even want to think about the state of my iPod if it were unprotected…). This wouldn’t be such a big deal if it weren’t for the fact that not even two weeks ago, I did the same thing. I banged up both knees and palms… last time, I got my elbow too, but really? Has my coordination deteriorated so much? Hopefully I’ll get it back quickly, or my medical kit’s supply of bandaids will be gone before Friday.
When I got back to campus, I found the school secretary talking with some of the other teachers! She’s been on maternity leave for a month or two now, and had her baby boy two weeks ago. It was great to see her again, and her baby is beautiful. I don’t remember all the cultural traditions around births in the family, but I think I’m pretty fortunate (traditionally, at least) to have seen such a young baby. He is sooo tiny! Teboho. It’ll be fun watching him grow the next year and a half…
My other piece of news is that I’m trying to make a trip to Egypt next Easter break work out… a friend who studied abroad there is planning on returning and well, I’m already on the continent… what better time than now? I’d have an excellent (Arabic-speaking, a bit at least, right?) tour guide and a great excuse to see the pyramids! What more could anyone ask for? Cross your fingers for me that it works out; I’m pretty sure it’d be an amazing trip. (I’ve already started reading through one of my other friend’s tour guide books of Egypt… and planning a little… )
Well, my fingers are getting quite chilly, so I’m going to go warm them up with a nice cup of tea and maybe some dinner. Oh, and I cannot tell you how well I will sleep tonight. I ran, took my (weekly, ha) bath (including hair wash – it smells so nice!), AND washed my sheets today. Plus I can sleep in tomorrow!
Siblings – enjoy the last few days of school and the first few of summer! I miss you and can’t believe you’ve finished another year of school… stop growing please?
Love from Africa,
-Katie
First and foremost, my deepest sympathies to the Leonard family. I’m so very sorry for your loss. You’ll be in my thoughts (especially as my thoughts wander to Pulaski this winter!)…
On a lighter note… I’m finished. I’ve given all my exams, I’ve helped invigilate other exams, I’ve marked
(graded) my exams, I’ve combined the science grades, recorded the grades and there is nothing left for me to do here. I can’t believe a semester has already passed, though it’s a reality check: time is passing.
In addition to the chickens we have at school, there are also pigs. One of the sows had piglets, so occasionally in the evenings when they are fed, I hear squealing. Well, last week I got the news that one of the bigger pigs was going to become lunchmeat. Literally. The school slaughtered it yesterday. Right out in public. All the students (who were finished writing their exams) watched and giggled as the poor thing writhed in fear as it was tied to the base of the big water tank. And then they watched and “oohed” and “ahhed” as the blood spurted from its throat after it had been speared. I know about the blood only because I had the misfortune of walking over to talk to someone as they were “draining” it. Unfortunate. I had hoped to stay completely oblivious to all pig-killing procedures, especially after I saw four students dragging it with a rope from the pig sty to the main part of the school grounds, before they tied it up and speared it. Poor thing.
I guess the only consolation is that they will use absolutely every edible part of that poor creature. I went to get my lunch today, samp, like every Tuesday, and not my favorite, but I’ve learned to spice it up and make it palatable. I discovered that there were leftover beans from yesterday so loaded up and took a little samp to be polite to the fantastic women who cook for the school every day. Plus samp and beans is supposed to be pretty good. I was about to leave when one of the other teachers who was also taking her lunch at that time called me over to a big pot near one where they had cooked samp and said, “Look, ‘m’e Katie… “ I didn’t hear the last part of her sentence but as I looked into the big pot, I realized the word pretty quickly: intestines. Let’s just say, they smell pretty bad, even though I’m sure the bo ‘m’e prepared them to be delicious. I was less than thrilled with the discovery, and after making a horribly rude disgusted noise, I explained to the bo ‘m’e that I don’t eat meat, so the intestines don’t appeal to me either… I hope they understood.
In other news, I’m thrilled to inform you that my school has a way for me to watch World Cup 2010 (Feel it… It is HEAH). When the generator went on today, it was outside, which is a bit unusual. I soon discovered this was to minimize the noise in the room where the projector and satellite television recorder were hooked up, broadcasting soccer! So exciting. It’s like one of my friends says… it’s great being in Lesotho during the World Cup in South Africa because we get to go to the games, but it’s not so great for all the other games since most places (where PCVs are located anyway) don’t have electricity or television enough so we can watch. I’m really hoping this solves that problem.
After I finished proctoring and handing back math exams, I went for a run. It’s been an unfortunate amount of time since my last run… I won’t even tell you, I’m embarrassed. Let’s just say it showed today. I was winded two minutes in, and on my way back, I wiped out. I had just greeted a couple who passed me with their double-donkey-drawn cart, and on no apparent rock, my foot caught. Next thing I knew, I was skidding on my palms and knees, trying to not break my iPod (thank goodness I bought that hard case before I left for Africa – I don’t even want to think about the state of my iPod if it were unprotected…). This wouldn’t be such a big deal if it weren’t for the fact that not even two weeks ago, I did the same thing. I banged up both knees and palms… last time, I got my elbow too, but really? Has my coordination deteriorated so much? Hopefully I’ll get it back quickly, or my medical kit’s supply of bandaids will be gone before Friday.
When I got back to campus, I found the school secretary talking with some of the other teachers! She’s been on maternity leave for a month or two now, and had her baby boy two weeks ago. It was great to see her again, and her baby is beautiful. I don’t remember all the cultural traditions around births in the family, but I think I’m pretty fortunate (traditionally, at least) to have seen such a young baby. He is sooo tiny! Teboho. It’ll be fun watching him grow the next year and a half…
My other piece of news is that I’m trying to make a trip to Egypt next Easter break work out… a friend who studied abroad there is planning on returning and well, I’m already on the continent… what better time than now? I’d have an excellent (Arabic-speaking, a bit at least, right?) tour guide and a great excuse to see the pyramids! What more could anyone ask for? Cross your fingers for me that it works out; I’m pretty sure it’d be an amazing trip. (I’ve already started reading through one of my other friend’s tour guide books of Egypt… and planning a little… )
Well, my fingers are getting quite chilly, so I’m going to go warm them up with a nice cup of tea and maybe some dinner. Oh, and I cannot tell you how well I will sleep tonight. I ran, took my (weekly, ha) bath (including hair wash – it smells so nice!), AND washed my sheets today. Plus I can sleep in tomorrow!
Siblings – enjoy the last few days of school and the first few of summer! I miss you and can’t believe you’ve finished another year of school… stop growing please?
Love from Africa,
-Katie
Friday, June 4, 2010
What has my life become?!
Winter is here. There is no disputing that. Along with it have come some interesting experiences... and because I have not much else better to do right now, I'm going to post them here. But only two of them... for now.
1. The amusing: When we move in to our sites, Peace Corps requires that we have some form of heater, usually one that hooks up to our gas tanks. When I moved in, I not only has the previous volunteer's cooking gas tank, but also a smaller one that was next to my heater. I wasn't sure how to hook it up, but at the time I moved in, it didn't seem pressing since I could barely sleep without sweating. When it started getting cooler, some friends and I decided to have a sort of heater standoff. Basically, it was, "Hey guys, we should see who can go the longest without using a heater in their house!" I figured hey, I'm a Minnesotan. I can probably out-cold any of these other non-MN jokers (and I still haven't used mine). However, the teachers basically die if the staff room isn't heated beyond belief. I came into the language staff room to use the internet (since it's much better up here) and found the heater on. Another teacher came in and shoved it nice and close to me; she likely thought I was about to become an ice cube. I'm not gonna complain, it was really nice to have a heater several feet away from me, but it didn't last long. Some other teachers came in and said. "Madam, can we share the heater?" I nodded; I didn't need it. They proceeded to swipe the heater, put it between them at the far end of the staffroom, and then they left. I was astonished. Really? That's what share means? I stole it back, but they came in again not 5 minutes later and did the same thing. Oh well...
2. The slightly disgusting: I am bathing much less frequently here. Note: if this statement alone is too gross for you, please do us both a favor and stop reading... it doesn't get any better. I will be frank and say that until last night, I'd not washed my hair since Saturday (I was pushin for a full week, but it didn't work out like that). As I was reading, I reached up to scratch an itch on my head. This turned into a full itching frenzy. It was the single worst itch I have EVER felt on my head. Even a while after I'd stopped scratching, my scalp would burn until I rubbed it again. I decided there was no way I was going to be able to sleep with this itch on my head, so I got up, grabbed my conditioner and rubbed some onto my scalp. It helped, but only temporarily. I waited another 10 minutes, tossing and turning and willing myself to forget about the itch. No such luck. I ended up having to get out of my lovely, warm cocoon to heat water, grab my shampoo and basin, and actually wash my hair. I felt absolutely ridiculous, but afterwards, my head did not itch. In fact, it felt quite nice, and my hair smelled amazing... I read a while more and finally fell asleep. My hair this morning when I woke up (after tossing and turning with a head of wet hair) was another story. I guess I deserved that one.
Seriously, what has my life become?!
1. The amusing: When we move in to our sites, Peace Corps requires that we have some form of heater, usually one that hooks up to our gas tanks. When I moved in, I not only has the previous volunteer's cooking gas tank, but also a smaller one that was next to my heater. I wasn't sure how to hook it up, but at the time I moved in, it didn't seem pressing since I could barely sleep without sweating. When it started getting cooler, some friends and I decided to have a sort of heater standoff. Basically, it was, "Hey guys, we should see who can go the longest without using a heater in their house!" I figured hey, I'm a Minnesotan. I can probably out-cold any of these other non-MN jokers (and I still haven't used mine). However, the teachers basically die if the staff room isn't heated beyond belief. I came into the language staff room to use the internet (since it's much better up here) and found the heater on. Another teacher came in and shoved it nice and close to me; she likely thought I was about to become an ice cube. I'm not gonna complain, it was really nice to have a heater several feet away from me, but it didn't last long. Some other teachers came in and said. "Madam, can we share the heater?" I nodded; I didn't need it. They proceeded to swipe the heater, put it between them at the far end of the staffroom, and then they left. I was astonished. Really? That's what share means? I stole it back, but they came in again not 5 minutes later and did the same thing. Oh well...
2. The slightly disgusting: I am bathing much less frequently here. Note: if this statement alone is too gross for you, please do us both a favor and stop reading... it doesn't get any better. I will be frank and say that until last night, I'd not washed my hair since Saturday (I was pushin for a full week, but it didn't work out like that). As I was reading, I reached up to scratch an itch on my head. This turned into a full itching frenzy. It was the single worst itch I have EVER felt on my head. Even a while after I'd stopped scratching, my scalp would burn until I rubbed it again. I decided there was no way I was going to be able to sleep with this itch on my head, so I got up, grabbed my conditioner and rubbed some onto my scalp. It helped, but only temporarily. I waited another 10 minutes, tossing and turning and willing myself to forget about the itch. No such luck. I ended up having to get out of my lovely, warm cocoon to heat water, grab my shampoo and basin, and actually wash my hair. I felt absolutely ridiculous, but afterwards, my head did not itch. In fact, it felt quite nice, and my hair smelled amazing... I read a while more and finally fell asleep. My hair this morning when I woke up (after tossing and turning with a head of wet hair) was another story. I guess I deserved that one.
Seriously, what has my life become?!
Exams. Still.
June 3, 2010
Well, I’m finished with four of my six exam days. I’ve given both physics exams, so only math remains… that will be on Monday. I’ve also finished grading all the exams. And recording the marks (as much as I can when the official gradebooks are actually shared amongst all the teachers so naturally, two are missing… two of the four I need). This means I really have very little left to do around school… Monday I’ll give my mathematics exam, and Tuesday I’ll help “invigilate” another exam. And then I’m done.
Since our secretary has been away on maternity leave (bouncing baby boy!), the librarian and I have each been working parts of her job as well: copying, printing, typing… Today was probably the busiest I have been since I arrived in Lesotho, and I must say, I really enjoyed it. Between invigilating, grade-entering, printing, copying, typing, printing, copying, egg-selling and tea-drinking (a girls gotta keep warm!), I didn’t get lunch until 2:30 and it was only then that I realized how hungry I truly was. The busy-ness is something that doesn’t really exist very frequently for me here; usually I have a good amount of down time… today was a very nice change. The only downside is that I haven’t saved any work for tonight after the sun sets and I have to sit by candlelight until its late enough (or I’m tired enough, whichever comes first) to bundle up and sleep.
I’m not sure what this weekend has in store. There was talk at one point of visiting a nearby friend at her school for “Poetry Night” with her Healthy Living club, but I’m not sure whether or not that will materialize. I’ll need to go grocery shopping, naturally, but that’s something I’ve come to enjoy, especially as foods (and deals – I’m still a bargain hunter!) change with the seasons (and I have built in refrigeration now!). I suppose I should probably find something to do so I don’t die of boredom, but what exactly that might be, I couldn’t tell ya (right now anyway).
Even though I’m not reviewing for any exams, I’ve learned some valuable lessons this week:
1. If you are planning to draw anything on an exam before you copy it for your 70-80 students, don’t forget to draw it… drawing anything on that many exams is such a drag.
2. Just because students are made to switch classrooms does not mean they won’t still cheat. I was absolutely amazed to see two students from different grades talking (obviously about their exams – one agriculture and one English language) during an exam. Wow.
3. Students will knock on your door, (almost) no matter what time it is. I was making breakfast this morning (granted, I make breakfast rather late nowadays since it is so cold!) and there came a knock. I didn’t believe it at first, but sure enough, a few seconds later there was another knock. They wanted their exams from the day before. Unreal. Lucky for them I had actually graded them!
4. At first I felt bad about not knowing all of my students’ names as they came to collect their graded exams. However, when I went over to another teacher’s place to combine grades, she didn’t know all their names either!!! I felt a lot better about myself.
5. Sometimes, you don’t need to have a particularly deep conversation to see that students get it too. As I was waiting for my bucket to fill with water the other night, one of the Form E boarders was walking past and asked how my day was. I have a great deal of respect for this student – he is a hard worker, very positive and upbeat all the time, also an athlete and clearly a leader in the school community. I said exams were surprisingly stressful, even for teachers, but my day was fine, and asked him about his. He replied (very enthusiastically), “Life is sooo nice, madam!” I was a bit shocked at first. As the oldest class in school, he has two exams every day, plus those classrooms are cold. Most other students are pretty stressed about even one exam a day, so I asked him why life was so nice. He responded quite simply (as if any idiot should know, myself included), “Madam, if you make your life to be difficult, it will be! But if you make your life to be nice, you will enjoy.” Think about it; the boy has a valid point.
All my love from Africa,
-Katie
Well, I’m finished with four of my six exam days. I’ve given both physics exams, so only math remains… that will be on Monday. I’ve also finished grading all the exams. And recording the marks (as much as I can when the official gradebooks are actually shared amongst all the teachers so naturally, two are missing… two of the four I need). This means I really have very little left to do around school… Monday I’ll give my mathematics exam, and Tuesday I’ll help “invigilate” another exam. And then I’m done.
Since our secretary has been away on maternity leave (bouncing baby boy!), the librarian and I have each been working parts of her job as well: copying, printing, typing… Today was probably the busiest I have been since I arrived in Lesotho, and I must say, I really enjoyed it. Between invigilating, grade-entering, printing, copying, typing, printing, copying, egg-selling and tea-drinking (a girls gotta keep warm!), I didn’t get lunch until 2:30 and it was only then that I realized how hungry I truly was. The busy-ness is something that doesn’t really exist very frequently for me here; usually I have a good amount of down time… today was a very nice change. The only downside is that I haven’t saved any work for tonight after the sun sets and I have to sit by candlelight until its late enough (or I’m tired enough, whichever comes first) to bundle up and sleep.
I’m not sure what this weekend has in store. There was talk at one point of visiting a nearby friend at her school for “Poetry Night” with her Healthy Living club, but I’m not sure whether or not that will materialize. I’ll need to go grocery shopping, naturally, but that’s something I’ve come to enjoy, especially as foods (and deals – I’m still a bargain hunter!) change with the seasons (and I have built in refrigeration now!). I suppose I should probably find something to do so I don’t die of boredom, but what exactly that might be, I couldn’t tell ya (right now anyway).
Even though I’m not reviewing for any exams, I’ve learned some valuable lessons this week:
1. If you are planning to draw anything on an exam before you copy it for your 70-80 students, don’t forget to draw it… drawing anything on that many exams is such a drag.
2. Just because students are made to switch classrooms does not mean they won’t still cheat. I was absolutely amazed to see two students from different grades talking (obviously about their exams – one agriculture and one English language) during an exam. Wow.
3. Students will knock on your door, (almost) no matter what time it is. I was making breakfast this morning (granted, I make breakfast rather late nowadays since it is so cold!) and there came a knock. I didn’t believe it at first, but sure enough, a few seconds later there was another knock. They wanted their exams from the day before. Unreal. Lucky for them I had actually graded them!
4. At first I felt bad about not knowing all of my students’ names as they came to collect their graded exams. However, when I went over to another teacher’s place to combine grades, she didn’t know all their names either!!! I felt a lot better about myself.
5. Sometimes, you don’t need to have a particularly deep conversation to see that students get it too. As I was waiting for my bucket to fill with water the other night, one of the Form E boarders was walking past and asked how my day was. I have a great deal of respect for this student – he is a hard worker, very positive and upbeat all the time, also an athlete and clearly a leader in the school community. I said exams were surprisingly stressful, even for teachers, but my day was fine, and asked him about his. He replied (very enthusiastically), “Life is sooo nice, madam!” I was a bit shocked at first. As the oldest class in school, he has two exams every day, plus those classrooms are cold. Most other students are pretty stressed about even one exam a day, so I asked him why life was so nice. He responded quite simply (as if any idiot should know, myself included), “Madam, if you make your life to be difficult, it will be! But if you make your life to be nice, you will enjoy.” Think about it; the boy has a valid point.
All my love from Africa,
-Katie
Thursday, June 3, 2010
brr?
June 2, 2010
Winter exams began on Monday. This means several things. First of all, because most exams won’t start until 9am, I get to sleep in. Actually, my body is basically trained to wake up at 7am, so I get to huddle in the blankets longer than normal, not so much sleep later. Second of all, I’m realizing how terribly cold the classrooms can be. It’s one thing to stand in front and move around and lecture for maybe 40 minutes or even 80 minutes if it’s a double lesson, but it is quite another to have to sit there, at the cold desks and take notes while trying not to freeze.
Forms A and B only have morning exams, which is nice, since those are the forms I teach. This means that around 11 or 11:30, I’m done with my official duties for the day. Basotho don’t use the word “proctor” but prefer “invigilate” instead… so I’ve been “invigilating” exams three days now, and have one more before my long weekend. We’ve been mixing up the Form As and Bs so as to minimize cheating (I swear, they still find ways… really, their creativity amazes me sometimes), so half the class will be writing one exam and the other half another. This means most students finish at different times, depending on which exam is more difficult. when students finish their exam, they are expected to hand the exam to the subject teacher, and leave the room. Needless to say, this can cause a bit of commotion with students almost constantly leaving their desk to turn in the exams and walk out. Oh, and during the exams, never mind the fact that it is a final exam, so should be taken seriously… students still share rulers, pens, pencils, erasers… I can never tell if they’re making eye contact about the answer to a question or if someone has been hogging the ruler and needs to pass it along. Then, once enough students are outside, they all begin discussing they exam they just took, which is perfect, because a) I don’t understand their Sesotho and b) most students are still writing that very same exam!
When enough students have finished, they move to the field to play until lunch. Some play soccer, some play volleyball, and some play throw a ball as hard as you can at a girl who is jumping and trying to guard a pile of rocks. It’s truly fascinating to watch. WE’ve been dining later than scheduled, thanks to a minor water crisis. On Monday, we had to actually take buckets and containers into the village to a pump there in order to draw water so the cooks could prepare lunch. We didn’t eat until past 2pm. Since then, water has (thank goodness!) made it to our taps, but lunch has been around 1:30, rather than the projected 12 noon. Oh well, this is Africa.
After the last monthly exams, I promised my form A students that if they could pull a 60% or higher class average, I would bake them cookies. (“Madam?” “Cookies, you know, like biscuits?” “OHHHH BIS-COOOTS!”) Well, each class averaged about 58 or 59% and because their brilliant math teacher didn’t realize they didn’t fully grasp the concept of averages, I made them all cookies anyway. Snickerdoodles, to be precise. It was the recipe that seemed least complicated and least expensive. I kept postponing my baking day, until finally, this weekend I buckled down and fired up the (dutch) oven. I tripled the recipe for snickerdoodles and ended up with over 10 dozen cookies. This was fine by me, I got to give plenty away to teachers and the women who cook for us, as well as keep some for myself. I made the cookies pretty small, I must say… basically bitesize. I wasn’t sure how long that amount of dough would last me, and I figured at least this way I could be sure everyone who needed a cookie would get one.
So today I decided to give the form As their cookies before they took their science exam. Wow, what an endeavor. I had to convince them all to get inside their respective classrooms, sit down and be quiet. Yeah right, that was not gonna happen. Then I tried to calmly walk around and hand one cookie each (which got numerous sighs and exclamations about how small the cookies were and the fact that they only got one each). Well, these kids like food. So most of them started climbing on desks, trying to shove their hand in my face and convince me (as they were chewing and spitting crumbs) that they did not actually receive any cookie yet. Ha! The second classroom wasn’t any better. Kids from my first class were coming in and trying to disguise themselves as my A2 students, claiming they were my visitors, and so I should be culturally sensitive and serve my visitors. The second class also complained about how small their single cookies were. Yikes. I think it is safe to say that is the last time I will bake them all cookies.
I’m through with all my marking (aka grading – up to this point at least), so I have only to enter grades with the other science teachers (we enter them in as a combined science grade rather than one for physics, one for chem., etc). My students write math on Monday, I help proctor on Tuesday and then I’m done for the winter (as long as I can get grades in!)!! Hooray!
World Cup 2010 begins on the 11th of June… like the commercials (and all my students) say, “Feel it… It is here.” Our first game is on the 17th and I cannot wait to see South Africa again! Civilization! Rumor has it there is a HUGE mall in Bloemfontein. I wonder how it compares to the Mall (of America, obviously). Not to worry, I’ll fill you in as soon as I’ve assessed the situation. (Pardon the sarcasm there. Like I told my dad, there are few people in this country who understand and appreciate sarcasm like I do, so when I finally have an audience who does understand it, I tend to let loose.)
In other news, the grocery store had mushrooms last week. That won big points – I made one of the tastiest soups I’ve had in Africa. I also discovered that they carry long-life SKIM milk! WHOA! My house is cold enough that it doesn’t go bad for maybe a week, though a liter did not last me long at all. The best part is that it doesn’t fail to completely dissolve in my coffee or tea like the powdered stuff does. I bravely bought yogurt as well (on my dairy binge, haha) and the stuff I bought on Friday lasted me until today (Wednesday) and tasted fine. Besides the natural refrigeration, I must say that the citrus is probably the best part about winter. Oranges are everywhere and they are beautiful. They also tend to cost less than one rand, which is, quite literally, dirt cheap. If my math is correct, they amount to right around 11-14 cents. You see that on the ground, you probably won’t pick it up. See? Dirt. Cheap.
Ah, the joys of winter foods.
Well, my paraffin lamp has been on almost four hours now (it gets dark soooo early) so it’s probably time to call it a night. Plus I can’t feel my fingers (even though I’m typing with gloves on – pardon any mistsakes) and I’m hearing strange noises coming from my kitchen. My hope is that the water is coming back to my taps inside, but unfortunately, the sounds are unfamiliar. So my bet is that some small critter is enjoying my dry barley and lentils and I’ll discover a large hole in the bag. I’ll save that discovery for tomorrow. For now, I’m going to bundle up under as many blankets as I can find (maybe evcn my sleeping bag tonight, it is chilly) and read under my covers like I used to do when I didn’t want my mom to know I was still awake. Except this time it will be to keep warm.
All you back in America – enjoy the springtime! Enjoy your central heating (even if you’re not using it right now!) Enjoy your flush toilets and hot showers. Man, what I wouldn’t do for a hot shower… Stay healthy, safe and happy!
All my love from Africa,
-Katie
Winter exams began on Monday. This means several things. First of all, because most exams won’t start until 9am, I get to sleep in. Actually, my body is basically trained to wake up at 7am, so I get to huddle in the blankets longer than normal, not so much sleep later. Second of all, I’m realizing how terribly cold the classrooms can be. It’s one thing to stand in front and move around and lecture for maybe 40 minutes or even 80 minutes if it’s a double lesson, but it is quite another to have to sit there, at the cold desks and take notes while trying not to freeze.
Forms A and B only have morning exams, which is nice, since those are the forms I teach. This means that around 11 or 11:30, I’m done with my official duties for the day. Basotho don’t use the word “proctor” but prefer “invigilate” instead… so I’ve been “invigilating” exams three days now, and have one more before my long weekend. We’ve been mixing up the Form As and Bs so as to minimize cheating (I swear, they still find ways… really, their creativity amazes me sometimes), so half the class will be writing one exam and the other half another. This means most students finish at different times, depending on which exam is more difficult. when students finish their exam, they are expected to hand the exam to the subject teacher, and leave the room. Needless to say, this can cause a bit of commotion with students almost constantly leaving their desk to turn in the exams and walk out. Oh, and during the exams, never mind the fact that it is a final exam, so should be taken seriously… students still share rulers, pens, pencils, erasers… I can never tell if they’re making eye contact about the answer to a question or if someone has been hogging the ruler and needs to pass it along. Then, once enough students are outside, they all begin discussing they exam they just took, which is perfect, because a) I don’t understand their Sesotho and b) most students are still writing that very same exam!
When enough students have finished, they move to the field to play until lunch. Some play soccer, some play volleyball, and some play throw a ball as hard as you can at a girl who is jumping and trying to guard a pile of rocks. It’s truly fascinating to watch. WE’ve been dining later than scheduled, thanks to a minor water crisis. On Monday, we had to actually take buckets and containers into the village to a pump there in order to draw water so the cooks could prepare lunch. We didn’t eat until past 2pm. Since then, water has (thank goodness!) made it to our taps, but lunch has been around 1:30, rather than the projected 12 noon. Oh well, this is Africa.
After the last monthly exams, I promised my form A students that if they could pull a 60% or higher class average, I would bake them cookies. (“Madam?” “Cookies, you know, like biscuits?” “OHHHH BIS-COOOTS!”) Well, each class averaged about 58 or 59% and because their brilliant math teacher didn’t realize they didn’t fully grasp the concept of averages, I made them all cookies anyway. Snickerdoodles, to be precise. It was the recipe that seemed least complicated and least expensive. I kept postponing my baking day, until finally, this weekend I buckled down and fired up the (dutch) oven. I tripled the recipe for snickerdoodles and ended up with over 10 dozen cookies. This was fine by me, I got to give plenty away to teachers and the women who cook for us, as well as keep some for myself. I made the cookies pretty small, I must say… basically bitesize. I wasn’t sure how long that amount of dough would last me, and I figured at least this way I could be sure everyone who needed a cookie would get one.
So today I decided to give the form As their cookies before they took their science exam. Wow, what an endeavor. I had to convince them all to get inside their respective classrooms, sit down and be quiet. Yeah right, that was not gonna happen. Then I tried to calmly walk around and hand one cookie each (which got numerous sighs and exclamations about how small the cookies were and the fact that they only got one each). Well, these kids like food. So most of them started climbing on desks, trying to shove their hand in my face and convince me (as they were chewing and spitting crumbs) that they did not actually receive any cookie yet. Ha! The second classroom wasn’t any better. Kids from my first class were coming in and trying to disguise themselves as my A2 students, claiming they were my visitors, and so I should be culturally sensitive and serve my visitors. The second class also complained about how small their single cookies were. Yikes. I think it is safe to say that is the last time I will bake them all cookies.
I’m through with all my marking (aka grading – up to this point at least), so I have only to enter grades with the other science teachers (we enter them in as a combined science grade rather than one for physics, one for chem., etc). My students write math on Monday, I help proctor on Tuesday and then I’m done for the winter (as long as I can get grades in!)!! Hooray!
World Cup 2010 begins on the 11th of June… like the commercials (and all my students) say, “Feel it… It is here.” Our first game is on the 17th and I cannot wait to see South Africa again! Civilization! Rumor has it there is a HUGE mall in Bloemfontein. I wonder how it compares to the Mall (of America, obviously). Not to worry, I’ll fill you in as soon as I’ve assessed the situation. (Pardon the sarcasm there. Like I told my dad, there are few people in this country who understand and appreciate sarcasm like I do, so when I finally have an audience who does understand it, I tend to let loose.)
In other news, the grocery store had mushrooms last week. That won big points – I made one of the tastiest soups I’ve had in Africa. I also discovered that they carry long-life SKIM milk! WHOA! My house is cold enough that it doesn’t go bad for maybe a week, though a liter did not last me long at all. The best part is that it doesn’t fail to completely dissolve in my coffee or tea like the powdered stuff does. I bravely bought yogurt as well (on my dairy binge, haha) and the stuff I bought on Friday lasted me until today (Wednesday) and tasted fine. Besides the natural refrigeration, I must say that the citrus is probably the best part about winter. Oranges are everywhere and they are beautiful. They also tend to cost less than one rand, which is, quite literally, dirt cheap. If my math is correct, they amount to right around 11-14 cents. You see that on the ground, you probably won’t pick it up. See? Dirt. Cheap.
Ah, the joys of winter foods.
Well, my paraffin lamp has been on almost four hours now (it gets dark soooo early) so it’s probably time to call it a night. Plus I can’t feel my fingers (even though I’m typing with gloves on – pardon any mistsakes) and I’m hearing strange noises coming from my kitchen. My hope is that the water is coming back to my taps inside, but unfortunately, the sounds are unfamiliar. So my bet is that some small critter is enjoying my dry barley and lentils and I’ll discover a large hole in the bag. I’ll save that discovery for tomorrow. For now, I’m going to bundle up under as many blankets as I can find (maybe evcn my sleeping bag tonight, it is chilly) and read under my covers like I used to do when I didn’t want my mom to know I was still awake. Except this time it will be to keep warm.
All you back in America – enjoy the springtime! Enjoy your central heating (even if you’re not using it right now!) Enjoy your flush toilets and hot showers. Man, what I wouldn’t do for a hot shower… Stay healthy, safe and happy!
All my love from Africa,
-Katie
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