Random Update

I’m not sure where to begin with this blog. It’s been awhile since my last post and I have random things I’d like to share with you.

So Term 2 of school is still going on. Not much to say there really. I’m still teaching English to the P4 class. I have begun doing reading intervention groups with 10 of my 50 pupils to hopefully increase their literacy skills a little. I am also planning for renovating the library at my school, but that won’t be until Term 3 or even Term 1 of next year.

A few weeks ago there was a craft fair that I went to with some friends. They had a lot of African crafts for sale. I bought three paintings and some little ceramic animals that I sent some people back home. It was really cool to look at all the things in the different booths. Bowls, candle holders, jewelry, what. They even had that swing ride that goes in a circle! But def not gonna ride that kind of thing here :P I did want to do the bouncy house but they refused and said children only :/ How unfair

Grasshoppers are considered a delicacy here. Which might sound a little strange, but you wouldn’t say that if you tried them. They’re super good! My shop keeper friend bought a bag of them and invited me to help him prepare them. They were still alive (so they’re fresh with no diseases he said) and you pull off their legs and wings then you fry them in a pot with a little bit of salt til they’re crispy. Some of my pupils were walking by when we were doing it and stopped to help us. We had a lot of fun doing it :)

There’s two Americans in my village! They met a priest who lives here when he visited the States and they came to stay with him and check out the place. One is leaving soon but the other will stay for a couple more months. It’s nice to have them around to talk and hang out with. Makes me feel weird being the one who “knows everything” about the place because it feels like I haven’t been here that long and still don’t know what’s going on half the time. But I guess I do compared to someone who just arrived.

Some sad news. The baby of one of my favorite teachers died a couple of weeks ago. Death is handled so differently here. It happens all the time so it doesn’t seem to have as much of an impact on their lives as it does ours. Of course they are sad, but he was back school teaching the next week. He said there’s nothing that can be done and we have to move on. Which is true, but still… I baked his family some banana bread and you could tell his wife wasn’t handling it very well. It’s just very interesting to see the cultural differences in these situations.

My best friend teacher told me he hasn't been paid in 4 months. Sadly, this is a very common thing to happen to primary school teachers here. He was offered another job in a different district, but he turned it down and is going to stay here. I'm sad because he's not getting paid for all the hard work he does, but I'm happy because I don't know what I would do if he left. He really helps me out a lot.

My days at site are still pretty much the same. School during the day and the majority of my evenings are spent watching tv shows on my computer, messing with my guitar, dancing, or reading. Of course the essentials too: cooking, washing clothes, cleaning, etc. So daily life isn’t all too exciting, but I go see friends sometimes and that makes it pretty interesting. I’ll be doing a fun trip with all the other PCVs for the 4^th of July so I’m pretty excited for that! More info to come later ;)

I’ve been debating if I should cut my hair. It’s the longest it’s been since high school! I’m worried that if I cut it shoulder length again, it’ll look weird since I don’t blow dry or straighten it here. And then would I get bangs again? Those would definitely do some funky curl out thing.

Other than that, I don’t think there’s much to report on. Things are going fine here. The days go slow, but the weeks go fast. Nothing really to complain about but I still miss home and all the people there quite a lot. Don’t worry though, it’s nothing too serious. I’m pretty sleepy now so I think I’m going to watch something and go to bed early tonight. Until next time <3

PS. I got my first package this weekend from a co-worker! It was a box of candy and it made me so happy :) Mail from home is always the best so don’t ever be afraid to drop me a line ;)

Eating our freshly prepared grasshoppers :D

Random baboons on the road

One of the many booths from the craft fair