Happy Valentine’s Day week to you all! I felt the need to say it since no one here knows what that is. But, don’t fret, it will be part of my lesson this week. I’m going to teach about love, which is actually in their curriculum. It should be a great week because it won’t be work to get the kids interested in the topic. So a lot has happened in the past few weeks. I gave my final for the first semester and began grading them. All 600 of them. It took me an entire week. Each student copied the entire exam and then the answers because they can’t afford copies to hand out. So after grading I had to calculate all of their grades and then write each grade in a huge notebook using a blue ink copier to make two copies. Basically that involves making two copies of each grade. This also took me forever, but it actually made me feel like I was in college again only getting 3 hours of sleep a night. Its finished now, and I feel satisfied with their grades. They really are motivated to learn English here and it makes me feel like I’m needed here. Speaking of being needed, I had a teacher training this morning and started the first ever English Teachers Association of Ambatondrazaka. It feels awesome to be accomplishing something after waiting this long. The English center is slowly beginning. Its just so hard for all these teachers because they have NO RESOURCES. Imagine teaching German without a book, a tape, or any worksheets. All from your head. Every teacher I spoke to at the training asked for tapes of English or workbooks or textbooks or anything they could get their hands on. Unfortunately I don’t have any of those things. I have two grammar textbooks given to me by Peace Corps. But, part of my job is to find resources and create them if all else fails. I have been writing lesson plans for the teachers to help them out. But, I can only be stretched so far. I’m doing this all while still teaching a full load at the high school here. But I wake up everyday healthy, happy and motivated to start again.
This week was their Proclamation, which is an event held at the high school where they hand out their report cards. But, they hand them out in order of their class ranking, announcing to everyone how they did. I couldn’t imagine being present for that and watching the ones in last place. So I boycotted it. Teachers actually call people stupid here and point out the “dumb” ones in class. It’s crazy to hear people speak without a politically-correct filter. So after that they had yet another party for the teachers. They really know how to find a reason to celebrate here. Yesterday I made homemade peach jam and then cooked fish for the dogs. Then I built a screen door for my house and four screen windows for my living room and bedroom. I sawed, nailed and cut screens. It was awesome and everyone was drop-jawwed that I, a white American female, created these things. I’m basking in the glow of my awesomeness.
As far as food goes, its pineapple and apple season now. And you can buy whole live frogs in the market. To eat. Frog legs are pretty good… they taste like chicken, only better. And they add a little hop to my step. Bah duh dum! Other than that, I just want to clarify that alcohol consumption here is not the same as in the
Anyways, last night I was with some friends and after eating grilled frogs and guava juice we headed to a French NGO workers house where he had a pet mini lemur and a parrot. It was the craziest thing ever. Obviously not something that he should be buying, because it just creates a market for it, but it was cool to hold it and have a lemur the size of my fist in my palm. Then it peed and pooped on me… but it was so cute I couldn’t be mad at it. Turns out this guy sells zebu horns to make buttons in
