Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile but considering my internet access is slightly limited I think I've been updating you all pretty well.. Ha but I might as well admit I have become a bit of a slacker when it comes to keeping people updated. Its just that most of my life here seems pretty mundane now. I mostly just teach and then hang around town or on people's porches. My day-to-day activities dont vary a ton and I dont want to vent all my frustrations to the general public. But I will try and find a few interesting tidbits from my life to share with you all today!
Well first of all, since my last blog post we had exams at school, break between term 2 and 3 which I spent half in Fadugu and half in Freetown, and now we are back at school and have been open for 2 weeks.
So let's start with exams. First of all, not to brag but just to illustrate how schools are run here, I basically ran all the exams. I made the exam schedule and had to collect all the exams from the teachers so we would have them in case the teachers didnt show up on the day of their exam. You may be thinking, "teachers would never skip their exam day" but you couldnt be more wrong. Some didnt even seem to know when their exam was scheduled for and had to write questions on the spot. Anyways, after collecting all the exams, I then had to write the exams on the blackboards (at least for the morning exams since I am always the first to school). Finally, when all the exams were done and results were calculated, I was lucky enough to get the job of entering them all, by hand, to the report cards. Now those of you that know may be wondering how on earth I got that job since my handwriting resembles that of a 4 year old boy, but I guess they just knew I would actually get the job done. But I just finished entering all the grades so I am finally done with that.. and guess what?? After not having school for the three weeks before exams, I would say at least half of the students failed all of their exams. Shocking. Okay so I feel like this reads pretty negative so I would like to counter this by saying, despite all the work I do enjoy teaching and I do enjoy the company of all the other teachers at my school. Its hard to blame them for not being super committed when most of them only get paid $10 a month, which isnt enough to live off of even here.
Okay next, when exams were all done it was Easter!! So here Easter isnt really celebrated until the Monday after Easter. Then, in Fadugu, everyone climbs a small hill and goes and celebrates on flat spot on top. So me and Mohamed made the hike up the hill and just hungout for an hour or so before coming back down. We wanted to come down before the mad rush of people all came running down the hill but about 2/3 of the way down, the music cut and all the kids started whispering "they're coming. They're coming now hurry." Haha I felt like I was in a horror movie and zombies were chasing us or something. But the danger wasnt due to zombies but due to the fact that since the hill was pretty steep, the favorite way to come down among locals is by running down the hill. So essentially a stampede of people was threatening to overtake me as I slowly made my way down trying not to trip on any branches or rocks. Dont worry. I made it down safely. Also, this weekend Chelsea's family and one of her friends were here visiting so it was fun hanging out with some Americans for awhile and most importantly picking up a few tips on what to do and what not to do when my own family comes.
After Easter I was just biding my time in Fadugu for the week before heading to the beach and Freetown. I went to a beach called River No 2 for a night which was absolutely gorgeous. White sand and palm trees and warm ocean water. So I stayed there for a night with about 10 other volunteers and then went and stayed with Mohamed for a few days in Freetown. Then I switched to the Peace Corps hostel for a few days and attended a workshop on Life Skills. I really enjoyed the workshop and feel newly motivated and ready to get going on some projects like starting a girls club and having a career day to teach my students about opportunities available to them. Also, we had to bring counterparts from our towns and my counterpart was just thrilled to be there and kept thanking me at every break for inviting him so I was glad I brought someone that really enjoyed the workshop and will be eager to work with me in Fadugu. The rest of the time in Freetown I just spent time with all the other volunteers going to the beach or eating good food. It was really nice to just get away for a bit and talk with other people that know exactly what I am going through. Sometimes you just need to vent to someone that understands exactly what your talking about or share ideas/experiences of things you have done. Also, sometimes it is just nice to laugh and talk with someone who understands your sarcasm and has similar interests and opinions. All in all it was a very nice break.
So finally, we are back at school. As per usual the first week of school is a joke, with neither teacher nor student in attendance. I think we averaged about 15 students a day and maybe 4 teachers a day. So yeah the first week allowed me to ease myself back into the school schedule by teaching the kids that were there for an hour or two and then going home to nap. haha This past week though the students and teachers have started showing up so we have followed the real schedule and I have actually been able to teach a few classes. Unfortunately my JSS 3 students who will be going to sit their external exam soon seem to have a case of something equivalent to 'senioritis' and are not taking class too serious anymore. This is very annoying because they still need a lot of practice (and I really mean A LOT) if they have any chance of passing the math BECE. I would estimate that only 2 or 3 of the 80 students will pass. Which is actually common and expected here.. Anyways their incessant chatter during my classes has really started to strike a nerve and I dont know what to do since they dont care about school so all my threats are empty. Also, it has become pretty aggravating for all my classes, for me to ask a simple question and have a class of 50 all just give me blank stares. As much as I really really love some of my students, some days it can be just a little too frustrating and I cant wait for the school day to end. But as I just said there are some kids I really care about and want to see succeed so much. They are just so cute and try so hard!! Unfortunately there are also a few I really like that try really hard but math just isnt their subject. Oh well.
Alright well this post is super long so I'll just leave it at that.
Love and miss you all!
Well first of all, since my last blog post we had exams at school, break between term 2 and 3 which I spent half in Fadugu and half in Freetown, and now we are back at school and have been open for 2 weeks.
So let's start with exams. First of all, not to brag but just to illustrate how schools are run here, I basically ran all the exams. I made the exam schedule and had to collect all the exams from the teachers so we would have them in case the teachers didnt show up on the day of their exam. You may be thinking, "teachers would never skip their exam day" but you couldnt be more wrong. Some didnt even seem to know when their exam was scheduled for and had to write questions on the spot. Anyways, after collecting all the exams, I then had to write the exams on the blackboards (at least for the morning exams since I am always the first to school). Finally, when all the exams were done and results were calculated, I was lucky enough to get the job of entering them all, by hand, to the report cards. Now those of you that know may be wondering how on earth I got that job since my handwriting resembles that of a 4 year old boy, but I guess they just knew I would actually get the job done. But I just finished entering all the grades so I am finally done with that.. and guess what?? After not having school for the three weeks before exams, I would say at least half of the students failed all of their exams. Shocking. Okay so I feel like this reads pretty negative so I would like to counter this by saying, despite all the work I do enjoy teaching and I do enjoy the company of all the other teachers at my school. Its hard to blame them for not being super committed when most of them only get paid $10 a month, which isnt enough to live off of even here.
Okay next, when exams were all done it was Easter!! So here Easter isnt really celebrated until the Monday after Easter. Then, in Fadugu, everyone climbs a small hill and goes and celebrates on flat spot on top. So me and Mohamed made the hike up the hill and just hungout for an hour or so before coming back down. We wanted to come down before the mad rush of people all came running down the hill but about 2/3 of the way down, the music cut and all the kids started whispering "they're coming. They're coming now hurry." Haha I felt like I was in a horror movie and zombies were chasing us or something. But the danger wasnt due to zombies but due to the fact that since the hill was pretty steep, the favorite way to come down among locals is by running down the hill. So essentially a stampede of people was threatening to overtake me as I slowly made my way down trying not to trip on any branches or rocks. Dont worry. I made it down safely. Also, this weekend Chelsea's family and one of her friends were here visiting so it was fun hanging out with some Americans for awhile and most importantly picking up a few tips on what to do and what not to do when my own family comes.
After Easter I was just biding my time in Fadugu for the week before heading to the beach and Freetown. I went to a beach called River No 2 for a night which was absolutely gorgeous. White sand and palm trees and warm ocean water. So I stayed there for a night with about 10 other volunteers and then went and stayed with Mohamed for a few days in Freetown. Then I switched to the Peace Corps hostel for a few days and attended a workshop on Life Skills. I really enjoyed the workshop and feel newly motivated and ready to get going on some projects like starting a girls club and having a career day to teach my students about opportunities available to them. Also, we had to bring counterparts from our towns and my counterpart was just thrilled to be there and kept thanking me at every break for inviting him so I was glad I brought someone that really enjoyed the workshop and will be eager to work with me in Fadugu. The rest of the time in Freetown I just spent time with all the other volunteers going to the beach or eating good food. It was really nice to just get away for a bit and talk with other people that know exactly what I am going through. Sometimes you just need to vent to someone that understands exactly what your talking about or share ideas/experiences of things you have done. Also, sometimes it is just nice to laugh and talk with someone who understands your sarcasm and has similar interests and opinions. All in all it was a very nice break.
So finally, we are back at school. As per usual the first week of school is a joke, with neither teacher nor student in attendance. I think we averaged about 15 students a day and maybe 4 teachers a day. So yeah the first week allowed me to ease myself back into the school schedule by teaching the kids that were there for an hour or two and then going home to nap. haha This past week though the students and teachers have started showing up so we have followed the real schedule and I have actually been able to teach a few classes. Unfortunately my JSS 3 students who will be going to sit their external exam soon seem to have a case of something equivalent to 'senioritis' and are not taking class too serious anymore. This is very annoying because they still need a lot of practice (and I really mean A LOT) if they have any chance of passing the math BECE. I would estimate that only 2 or 3 of the 80 students will pass. Which is actually common and expected here.. Anyways their incessant chatter during my classes has really started to strike a nerve and I dont know what to do since they dont care about school so all my threats are empty. Also, it has become pretty aggravating for all my classes, for me to ask a simple question and have a class of 50 all just give me blank stares. As much as I really really love some of my students, some days it can be just a little too frustrating and I cant wait for the school day to end. But as I just said there are some kids I really care about and want to see succeed so much. They are just so cute and try so hard!! Unfortunately there are also a few I really like that try really hard but math just isnt their subject. Oh well.
Alright well this post is super long so I'll just leave it at that.
Love and miss you all!
