Typical Day

Thursday, February 10th.

Last night I was giving the written portion of my computer test and it ended around 8:30. I got home and was tired with a headache from all those children yelling in my ears about how they didn't understand and yet they wouldn't shut up and listen while I explained the questions, and then complaining about how it was so hard and I should just not grade it but forget about it. Ugh, so annoyed with them, I wanted to punch them all in the face. I get home, it's 9 o'clock and I haven't planned my English lesson for tomorrow, I was thinking about doing something different but now I'm so tired, no part of me wants to do that.

Thursday morning bright and early 7 am- continue with computer testing, typing tests nonetheless and once again after 15 minutes they start whining and complaining about how it's hard or my keyboard doesn't work or the computer is lying I didn't do that many errors. Once again after two hours I want to yell or punch them in the face or just ignore them all day. Head out to English class, I've decided that I would talk about body parts, becuase I can make that fun. I get there, check their homework and amazingly almost all of them did it right, which never happens and I was happy and I told them they were awesome. Then I asked what they wanted to learn about that day and then we talked about food. And I gave them tons of english food vocabulary and things were going along swimmingly and then we were talking about phrases and here in Africa you say Bon appetit or while you are eating you invite anyone you see to eat with you, and I told them that those phrases don't really exist in America because no one really says those things. And that blew their minds.
So if you are eating and I come up to you, you wouldn't invite me to eat with you? No.
And if I asked? I would look at you like you were weird, say no, this is mine go over there and get your own.

This led to a good half hour discussion about that and also how you treat strangers in America and their little minds were blown. I kept trying to explain that not everyone was like that, but generally if you don't know someone you don't just give them information and you certainly don't invite them to eat with you- that's weird, you dont know this person, they could be crazy.

So, madam, if you were eating and this poor person was sitting next to you and you finished your food and then what? you give it to him? Well, you could give it to him, but that's sort of an insult, its like saying here are the bad parts of the food that I don't want to eat but you're poor so you can have it. You don't really do that. Once your done eating you put it in the fridge for later or if you don't have a fridge you throw it out. Once I said throw it out, they were in an uproar. It was a very amusing class.

And now class is done, it's 12:30 and I'm tired, but I remember that we were supposed to go visit some important person in the village and wish them a happy new year. So we go and at the prefects house there are three big trees and the group is divided into three groups of people sitting beneath the trees. We can't hear a thing and instead I listen to Mme Mevi, The General, school nurse and M. Zare chatting it up like high schoolers at the back of the class. Hilarious. The husbands are apart, drinking their beer and we whine about how long it is and then it ends. We drink and complain about how the wine isn't getting passed around here and we're thristy and hungry and everyone else is served first and they just keep complaining like little babies. And then Serge shows up like a knight in shining armour and says -hey these ladies want some wine and he goes and gets it for us. He literally followed the drink man around and made him come over and serve us beverages. It finally ends after we've eaten- not well they keep saying, and start to head out but as we are getting up the General flashes her money around and they all see and go crazy. Oh! general! okay, c'est le fete mainentent, on n'a pas bien mange, donc il faut continuer, il rest une heure avant les cours. (Now it's a party, we didn't eat well and there's still an hour until class starts again so to the bar we go!)

So we go to the bar and get drinks and work on convincing the general to buy us chicken. She doesn't want to because we have class again in a little bit and she's full, but then we discuss the fact that the directrice went to ouaga, and our group consists of the surveillant general, four teacher and the nurse- so school's done for the day and then i throw in there that there is always room for chicken. Which makes everyone laugh, because I said it very somberly and seriously and it's settled. But wait, they don't have any there. So we drink up and then head out to the other bar and get more drinks and chickens.

And we have a ball. They are so much fun and as usual when people are drinking, I learned so many interesting things. We talked about how if they weren't there at the school that I'd really hate it here, I"d be sitting alone, looking at nature, bored, anxious to go back to America, but with them it's a family, it's fun, and interesting. And I said that was true, I'm very lucky. And then we start talking about Valentine's day because that is coming up and the general and myself don't have anyone and so Serge was telling us to just hug the wall. And I said, who wants to do that? That's not interesting.
Well just close your eyes.
And then general says- no, the wall has no hands or feet or anything- that's not a solution. And we laugh and they joke about being married and all the tail they are getting. And then we leave to get some tea (? I have no idea why). But Mevi notices that someone is playing checkers and since he's drunk, he goes crazy and plays a round of checkers very poorly, and yelling at everyone in Moore. And then we leave to go to another bar at the other end of town, but everyone is pretty much done, and we finish up our conversations and head out.
As we are leaving a frenchman by the door starts talking the general and me and when we finally break away she goes' did we ask to know any of that stuff?' which just made me laugh, becuase we sure didn't and that was a very american thing to say and I loved it.

And then it was 6:30 and we are back at school. So yeah, we left to wish a big wig happy new year and then that evolved into 5 solid hours of chatting, drinking and eating. And we're so important we can just cancel school like it ain't no thing have have a fantastic time.

Just a typical day.