This weekend I am in Fianar, working with my friend Amber on re-doing the 2nde curriculum guide. It needs new exercises, more explanations and more Malagasy translations. At least its better than the 6eme guide, which has nothing in it (my goal is to re-do that one this summer/next year). All the other curriculum guides are much better, even the ones for the grades we aren’t allowed to teach. I don’t know how 2nde and 6eme, the two grades PC teaches in the most, got the shaft. Amber is also going to help me grade 130 tests. Yay! For me. Not sure if Amber feels the same way but she agreed to help. Its just 6eme so its easy to grade. Just takes forever.
I am still chugging along with school. This trimester I have had a lot of days off so far. I was gone a week for the Education Program review, I had 3 ½ days off from my CEG because they were having some sport festival (and of those 3 ½ days off, I would have had class everyday but one so that was nice, even if it is putting my classes behind in my master teaching plan) and this month I have at least 2 Mondays off, one for Pentecost and one for the National Holiday, June 26th (their version of our 4th of July. And I think I have it off. Pretty positive). Its on a Sunday this year. My high school told me I had it off and they are the only place I work on Mondays, but then this week they told me I have to be done teaching by June 20th, which is the Monday before. And I know my CEG is giving their finals the week of the 27th I just don’t know which day the English final will be given. If I was a betting lady I would say the 30th, since the last 2 trimesters its always been on the last day of finals and it looks like my CEG will have finals on Monday the 27th. I will just be in my house though. I have almost finished the curriculum for my 2nde students so its not too big of a deal to end so early, but it does mean I can’t give them the oral exam I was planning. I don’t have enough time to prepare them. I wish I knew all this months in advance, instead of a week and a half before. Makes life a little frustrating.
Site has been fine. I had a bad stomach thing for a day that completely knocked me out. I think my body was protesting the return to food I cooked myself, since I had such good with the Mintons. That sentence probably doesn’t make much sense without the back story so let me tell it. My friend Katie’s parents and sister came to MAD right after the program review so I took my personal leave days and came to Tana to meet them. I also had this weird rash on my ring finger on my right hand that I needed to get checked out (im fine). Anyway, they were awesome people and they took me out for a few very nice meals. I wish I could have an American salary here because you can live like a king. I got delicious duck one night and it was $8. Ya you read the right. Crazy! The Mintons are from Baltimore so we knew a lot of the same places. It was a great weekend. And it was great to see Katie, who I talk to a lot but hadn’t actually seen in 5 months.
I also am tutoring another woman and her friend, though the friend hasn’t come yet. She speaks pretty good English and just wants to practice since next year she is going to work at a school in the area teaching English. There is a shortage of English teachers so even though she doesn’t have a teaching degree she is going to teach. Like me ;). She also told me a really interesting fact about the schools in Faratsiho. They are not that hard. She wants her son to go to school in Antsirabe because the schools there are so much hard/better.
We got our dates for our MSC (mid-service conference) and the dates aren’t till the end of October, more than a month after our actually halfway point. It sucks cause its another month I won’t see people and I have to miss the first 2 weeks of school to attend, so my first trimester will only be about 6 weeks long. And I want to go to our MSC. I want to hear about other teachers first year and get some new ideas for exercises, group work, etc. It will all work out though. I hope. And to be fair, I don’t actually know when school starts next year. They haven’t set the date yet, im just going based off last year. They also want us to bring our counterpart, our person in our towns that is supposed to be our contact person for any town related issue, but I know mine wont be able to go to MSC if its the first 2 weeks of school. Hes the principal. He can’t just take off for the first 2 weeks of school. And there might be trouble for the health sectors counterparts because my friend Katie says her counterpart, who is the doctor for her town, can’t leave town cause hes the only doctor around. Theres no one else and he serves like 8,000 people. We will see what happens.
[****NEWS UPDATE*** so apparently they have moved our MSC date to Nov 6. which is still bad since it still means missing school. I am unclear how long it actually is and whether its with the health sector. If its not with the health sector I am going to be very very unhappy and displeased. ]
The big news in my life is that my parents are official booked to come see me in MAD! It is so exciting. I have a crazy time planned for us. We are going from Tana to Toliera and back. Yay! Then my parents are going to South Africa so they can do a safari outside Jo’burg and then on to Cape Town. Wish I could go with them cause it sounds amazing. Brains trip is still being planned, but we will figure it out eventually. He has to figure out what the best time would be for him with work and all. Im confident that in a few weeks his ticket will be booked too.
Here are some numbers I thought everyone would find interesting. I will post some more numbers (6eme numbers) next time. Enjoy! Also my book list is below the numbers. And also if you want to make a comment about my blog please do. I like to read comments and it lets me know that people are actually reading my blog.
2nde Class
46 total days teaching
69 total hours (25 2 hour classes, 17 1 hours classes, and 4 30min classes)
Started: October 18th, 2010
Ended: June 20th, 2011
9 Units (material covered)
53 students started school (26 girls, 27 boys)
49 students currently (26 girls, 23 boys)
Oldest student: 20 (birthday August 8th, 1990)
Youngest: 14 (birthday January 1st, 1997)
Faratsiho
47km from my town to RN7, the major highway. All dirt
78km to Antsirabe, my banking town
5,000 people (approx. in Faratsiho)
12 hours (amount I teach per week)
1 morning (I work at the hospital with my site mate)
4 pounds of brown sugar I have consumed since being here (and I didn’t start eating it til like February or March)
1 time a week (how many times I thoroughly clean my house)
2 paintings I own
1 time a month I have a person wash my sheets/towels/big items
0 times I have ridden my bike (I am going to give it back to PC)
3.5km to my high school (walked twice a week)
#### of books I’ve read (you will have to count them, but it think it might be in the 60s)
Book List
Beatrice and Virgil
The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa
Me Talk Pretty One Day
The White Queen
One Day
Emma’s War
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Glass Castle
The Imperfectionists
