le 24 octobre:
Pitter-Pat
- Ah that distinct pitter-patter, I know it well. It's that sound that you think, you hope, could be something else, but you know it's not. It's the sound of the inevitable - you knew it was coming before you even left. It makes itself known before it even arrives "chez toi," that's the pitter-patter part. It's the roar that comes next. But couldn't it just wait.? - you've almost made it back, back to the safety of your hut or house. It was only past the gate, up the hill, through the bush, an extended salutation to a neighbor here and a handshake there, around a corner, and you'd be home. But alas, welcome to the rainy season, where the greeter's the Pitter-Pat.
A sad reality:
- My host family gave me a bean sandwich today instead of the usual rice and sauce, and then said in broken French, "Sorry, we don't have any money today. I'm going to go work in the field and we'll buy rice tomorrow." Wow.
Students...
- Kids, they selectively choose to adhere to "l'heure."
"Oh class starts at 8h00, I can arrive at 8h15, 8h20, 8h30, right?"
"But Monsieur, it's 10h00. C'est l'heure!"
"Oh recreation is 15 minutes long and class starts again at 10h15, it's not a problem if I just stand outside until 10h30, 10h40, 10h45."
"Oh Monsieur, c'est 12h00! Il est l'heure!" - That's not even l'heure! If each class is 2 hrs long, the first class starts at 8h00 and goes until 10h00, then 15 min of recreation, then the second class starts at 10h15 (theoretically) and now you want to say class is over at 12h00! Eh Allah!
Teacher Talk:
-Got to talk school and development with a couple of teachers today, which was awesome! Unfortunately, it was while we were waiting to pay our condolences to a student who had lost her father. Mais ca c'est la vie. It's got its highs and lows all wrapped up in a bow...
Students (2)...
- There are some students that are just awesome; they care, they're smart, they listen, they try, but then there are the rest. I say something like, "try this problem on your own" or "what would the answer to this be?" Heads don't go down into the notebooks to start trying the problem, nor do they even turn to the board where I've written the problem, they just stare straight at me with the blankest faces I've ever seen. this leads me to rambling - "you are intelligent! TRY! THINK! I'll be happy with anything you say... Have respect for yourselves. Work for your proper success. I won't be here forever to help you, you have to be able to think for yourself. Problem solving is a skill you need to have no matter what you do in life!" ...more blank stares...
The earth is ALIVE:
- Just staring at a small area of the ground hundreds of ants working together, forging their way into the grass as a unit. A grand society of thousands of termites each one pulling its own weight for the progression of the community. Then even smaller all around this are even smaller ants going about the daily grind, grasses, flies, and other plants and insects all in less than 1/10th m^2. Incroyable!
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