Week One Done!

well, week one is over!  in the states, it's pretty normal to start with a 2 or 3 day week to ease the kids (and teachers) back into the routine, but we started on a monday... pretty rough haha.  i am lucky though that my schedule is pretty easy to get through - i teach for one period, have a break, teach for two periods, have a break, teach for two more periods, and then i'm basically done (all those breaks are kids going to recess/lunch/specials).  though it sounds easy, the actual teaching isn't so much so.  3rd graders are so very different from 7th and 8th graders... i already miss the ease of joking around and using sarcasm with the older kids and i have to be even MORE patient, explain every little detail, and answer a million questions about everything - but in the same way i do love their curiosity, eagerness to learn, and joy in pleasing me.  stickers, beads, and stamps go a lot further with 3rd graders than middle schoolers for sure :)  all in all, it was a pretty good week, but i've spent a good portion of this weekend lesson planning and all that kind of stuff.  blech.  p.s. that kid never showed up to school and then friday i finally got an email saying he's no longer enrolled in our school so it will remain a mystery on how to definitely pronounce his name, but i think one other teacher pronounced it 'ching-eez'.  but i also heard somebody else pronounce it differently than that, so who knows.....

so now that i've been here for almost two weeks, i guess it's pretty much reality that i'm in africa.  i really miss junk food.  at home it's so easy to just walk into your kitchen and snack on whatever you want that's laying around, or run out and buy something that you're really craving, but it's not like that here.  at all.  and now that i see everyone's posts on facebook about fantasy and football stuff, i'm pretty sad that i'm going to miss watching the giants with my dad every sunday.  we have no tv in our apartment, so it's not even like no football with dad.  it's like no football period.  i guess those are the things i miss most (i mean, besides the obvious family/friends/boyfriend bit)

something i'm really proud of is how much my friends and i have been cooking.  there are five of us [matt, leah, leif, sara, and i] that cook and eat dinner together basically every night.  our most recent success was oatmeal banana chocolate chip pancakes.  so good.  also, tonight was the first time that we all prayed together before dinner.  again, so good.

today we went to wuse market which is this huge area full of vendors selling all types of stuff.  it reminds me of super run down canal streets back to back like... times 100 - ok maybe not that much but a lot.. at least 30 or 40.  rows and rows of all these little wooden spaces on dirt paths selling anything they can.  barrow boys will come up to you with wheelbarrows asking to carry your purchased items hoping to make some money.  there are a few rows of single plastic chairs and umbrellas set up where women braid your hair or do your nails.  some shady areas behind trucks where there are crates of beer and soda stacked up 3 or 4 times beyond my height.  a super cramped farmer's market type deal where they sell fruits/veggies.  bartering is kind of fun, but also pretty scary at this place because the environment itself is just intimidating.  i did buy some awesome fabric since national nigerian day will be coming up (october 1st) and we all have to get traditional garb made.  pretty excited for that.  tomorrow we will head out to a dam nearby that we've heard is pretty awesome, and then to some rastafrian music picnic thing?  not really sure... haha

alright, this post was pretty all over the place but i just knew i needed to throw some type of update on here.  next time i'll try and organize my thoughts a little better.  stick with me here.  check out fb for some new pictures i posted earlier today.  hmm, what homework can i come up with?  that's how i got the most comments thus far.  HMMMM... leave me a question so i will know what you are all wondering about so i can guide my writing next time!  k thanks bye :)