Just a quick update on things here-
Life is good. "It was a dark and stormy night" last night, and today (like the last 3 days actually) has been unseasonably cool and filled with rain. It is wonderful. Storms look very impressive rolling across the desert, and even shivering pathetically in the teacher's lounge (it being a downright frigid 60 degrees) seems novel and almost fun. The kids treat these few days of rain much the way kids in the states treat snow. On Monday, despite enrollments of over 60 students in each of my classes, I only had 20 or so show up (funny right? can you imagine skipping school on account of rain?) It's okay though- we need it so badly that even the downsides of having fewer students and icy winds are scarcely noticed.
A new VSO volunteer arrived at Nkuhungu Secondary School yesterday from England! Her name is Gillian, and she'll be both living and working with me for the next two years, although her specialty is in fund-raising and she gets her own office- no small thing in a school where every spare inch of space is occupied by either a student or a desk. I'm happy for the company and am sort of in awe of her; she's in her 60's and puts me to shame with her ease and calm. My boss, in his glee at her arrival, decided to give us something of a housewarming gift- I mean, what household doesn't need a motorcycle? Yep, that's right, my kitchen is now being occupied by a shiny, harley davidson-style red honda, complete with black and silver flames curling over the gas tank, and a speed-racer style helmet (yeah, I know Uncle Al, let the lesbian jokes commence... :) It's so nice of him, and potentially very useful, but seeing as neither of us know how to, you know, DRIVE a motorcycle, the kitchen will probably be it's home for awhile (at least until I can work up the guts to cycle on dirt/gravel while on the wrong side of the road.) Personally, I would've liked something a little simpler (and more appropriate for a kitchen) like, say, a refridgerator, or maybe a fan, but macho symbols of upward mobility are good too. At the very least, it should provide some interesting blog entries in the near future ("How I lost my right leg trying to pass a herd of goats...")
My friend Dan dropped off another stack of books last week, and in my sheer joy at the quality of the selections, I've promised him both my first AND second-born children. He brought me "Arabian Nights," Bolt's "A Man for all Seasons," George Elliot's "The Mill on the Floss," and another novel of equal quality that isn't coming to mind right now, no matter how long I stare at this screen. He's promised to bring "The Three Musketeer's" next week, and I'll have to think of some way to repay him as a significant part of my happiness comes from having fresh reading material. If you were to take a fly-on-the-wall view of my life here, you'd be tempted to assume that I live for the weekends. I mean, that's when my house fills up with visitors, (Dan comes often enough to have his own room at my place) the beer flows with unnerving ease, and I do only a little lesson planning and grading, as opposed to the normal 10-12 hours of work. But you'd be mistaken; I love the tranquil weekdays here- working with the kids, doing some small chores, and then a lazy evening full of books and tea and the sound of cows mooing and snorting next door. I think I'm slowly turning into my dad- with few exceptions, the above is pretty much his weekday routine (although thankfully there are no golf courses in the immediate vincinity to torture myself on when I need a break from the books.) Time is almost up, but will post more soon, much love,
kt
Life is good. "It was a dark and stormy night" last night, and today (like the last 3 days actually) has been unseasonably cool and filled with rain. It is wonderful. Storms look very impressive rolling across the desert, and even shivering pathetically in the teacher's lounge (it being a downright frigid 60 degrees) seems novel and almost fun. The kids treat these few days of rain much the way kids in the states treat snow. On Monday, despite enrollments of over 60 students in each of my classes, I only had 20 or so show up (funny right? can you imagine skipping school on account of rain?) It's okay though- we need it so badly that even the downsides of having fewer students and icy winds are scarcely noticed.
A new VSO volunteer arrived at Nkuhungu Secondary School yesterday from England! Her name is Gillian, and she'll be both living and working with me for the next two years, although her specialty is in fund-raising and she gets her own office- no small thing in a school where every spare inch of space is occupied by either a student or a desk. I'm happy for the company and am sort of in awe of her; she's in her 60's and puts me to shame with her ease and calm. My boss, in his glee at her arrival, decided to give us something of a housewarming gift- I mean, what household doesn't need a motorcycle? Yep, that's right, my kitchen is now being occupied by a shiny, harley davidson-style red honda, complete with black and silver flames curling over the gas tank, and a speed-racer style helmet (yeah, I know Uncle Al, let the lesbian jokes commence... :) It's so nice of him, and potentially very useful, but seeing as neither of us know how to, you know, DRIVE a motorcycle, the kitchen will probably be it's home for awhile (at least until I can work up the guts to cycle on dirt/gravel while on the wrong side of the road.) Personally, I would've liked something a little simpler (and more appropriate for a kitchen) like, say, a refridgerator, or maybe a fan, but macho symbols of upward mobility are good too. At the very least, it should provide some interesting blog entries in the near future ("How I lost my right leg trying to pass a herd of goats...")
My friend Dan dropped off another stack of books last week, and in my sheer joy at the quality of the selections, I've promised him both my first AND second-born children. He brought me "Arabian Nights," Bolt's "A Man for all Seasons," George Elliot's "The Mill on the Floss," and another novel of equal quality that isn't coming to mind right now, no matter how long I stare at this screen. He's promised to bring "The Three Musketeer's" next week, and I'll have to think of some way to repay him as a significant part of my happiness comes from having fresh reading material. If you were to take a fly-on-the-wall view of my life here, you'd be tempted to assume that I live for the weekends. I mean, that's when my house fills up with visitors, (Dan comes often enough to have his own room at my place) the beer flows with unnerving ease, and I do only a little lesson planning and grading, as opposed to the normal 10-12 hours of work. But you'd be mistaken; I love the tranquil weekdays here- working with the kids, doing some small chores, and then a lazy evening full of books and tea and the sound of cows mooing and snorting next door. I think I'm slowly turning into my dad- with few exceptions, the above is pretty much his weekday routine (although thankfully there are no golf courses in the immediate vincinity to torture myself on when I need a break from the books.) Time is almost up, but will post more soon, much love,
kt
posted by Katie at 2:59 PM
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