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 :)
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
You are Welcome!
Internet is finally running in our apartments! We're still on a trial right now, as we've been speaking with several different companies, but so far so good. I wish you could all experience Nigerian internet - 'fast' here would be completely unacceptable basically anywhere in the States. I'm not complaining though - slow internet is better than no internet. If I ever get cut off while gchatting or something like that, advanced apologies!
I did type up two entries while I was waiting for the internet - one is below and the other is about me eating peanuts so I'm going to wait awhile to post it so Mom and Dad don't freak out.. but don't worry - I'm fine. :)
Things have been pretty busy recently. Between adjusting to a completely new country, settling into a new home, and preparing for a new job - it's been super hectic. I'll tell you a little about each of those things, beginning with adjusting to a completely new country. "You are welcome" is THE thing to say here in Nigeria. You will hear it anywhere and everywhere you go... it took awhile to get used to and my friends joked about how they never said 'Thank you".. but it is simply the Nigerian way to greet people. Most people are pretty friendly, but it is a little intimidating when you are approached by the mobs of people on the street selling things. Luckily, we are usually separated from them by the bus windows. I'll write a bit more about this at another time, but the word 'desperation' just comes to mind - desperate for any money they can get to provide for themselves and their families.
So on settling into a new home, I'll be doing that again after just moving into this apartment a week ago. I may have mentioned previously the massive apartment they supplied us with. All the sounds I hear freak me out to the point of being scared... like for real scared. One of the other girls, Sara, and I will be moving in together since neither of us are really used to living alone. It'll be nice to have the company. Otherwise, things have been going well - the people I spend most of my time with are Sara (third year 4th grade teacher from Iowa who just finished two years in Guatemala), Leif (first year music teacher from Minnesota), Leah (first year 4th grade teacher from Wisconsin) and Matt (first year - but has long term subbed - P.E. teacher from Wisconsin, engaged to Leah). We cook and eat together (made homemade spaghetti sauce last night!) and really just get acclimated to our new lives together. We're all pretty easy going and it's pretty sweet to have them around.
Aaaaand lastly on adjusting to the new job... it is so crazy to be back in the Elementary land again. After two years of teaching middle school, I really need to adjust my expectations of what knowledge they will have and what types of behavior I will encounter. All these things are a work in progress as I plan out my first few weeks (ok.. maybe first few days - lesson planning takes forever....). I'll be teaching Math and Science to all third graders, and Social Studies to my homebase class. Molly (a [now un-]retired teacher from Washington, D.C.) will be teaching the Reading/Writing portion to both classes. I have a teaching assistant named Ubon (oo-bahn) who will be in my room with me and has been a big help in setting up. While he doesn't actually teach lessons, he'll be there to help with monitoring students, run copies, walk the kids to specials, etc. Our room is coming together slowly, but surely. I am very excited to meet my new students (a class of 17 - nice change of pace from the class of 31 lovely children in South River) and hope that they will be just as excited to get to know me. I also hope they won't be upset when I slaughter their names. Pictures to come - check Facebook for some recent ones!
Alright - time to head to a staff potluck. Until next time - please comment and let me know how you would pronounce this student's name so maybe it won't be so bad on my first day on Monday. He appears on my roster as 'Kiss, Dzsingisz'. I'll probably be able to get the last name alright... phonetically spell out how YOU would pronounce that one. :)
I did type up two entries while I was waiting for the internet - one is below and the other is about me eating peanuts so I'm going to wait awhile to post it so Mom and Dad don't freak out.. but don't worry - I'm fine. :)
Things have been pretty busy recently. Between adjusting to a completely new country, settling into a new home, and preparing for a new job - it's been super hectic. I'll tell you a little about each of those things, beginning with adjusting to a completely new country. "You are welcome" is THE thing to say here in Nigeria. You will hear it anywhere and everywhere you go... it took awhile to get used to and my friends joked about how they never said 'Thank you".. but it is simply the Nigerian way to greet people. Most people are pretty friendly, but it is a little intimidating when you are approached by the mobs of people on the street selling things. Luckily, we are usually separated from them by the bus windows. I'll write a bit more about this at another time, but the word 'desperation' just comes to mind - desperate for any money they can get to provide for themselves and their families.
So on settling into a new home, I'll be doing that again after just moving into this apartment a week ago. I may have mentioned previously the massive apartment they supplied us with. All the sounds I hear freak me out to the point of being scared... like for real scared. One of the other girls, Sara, and I will be moving in together since neither of us are really used to living alone. It'll be nice to have the company. Otherwise, things have been going well - the people I spend most of my time with are Sara (third year 4th grade teacher from Iowa who just finished two years in Guatemala), Leif (first year music teacher from Minnesota), Leah (first year 4th grade teacher from Wisconsin) and Matt (first year - but has long term subbed - P.E. teacher from Wisconsin, engaged to Leah). We cook and eat together (made homemade spaghetti sauce last night!) and really just get acclimated to our new lives together. We're all pretty easy going and it's pretty sweet to have them around.
Aaaaand lastly on adjusting to the new job... it is so crazy to be back in the Elementary land again. After two years of teaching middle school, I really need to adjust my expectations of what knowledge they will have and what types of behavior I will encounter. All these things are a work in progress as I plan out my first few weeks (ok.. maybe first few days - lesson planning takes forever....). I'll be teaching Math and Science to all third graders, and Social Studies to my homebase class. Molly (a [now un-]retired teacher from Washington, D.C.) will be teaching the Reading/Writing portion to both classes. I have a teaching assistant named Ubon (oo-bahn) who will be in my room with me and has been a big help in setting up. While he doesn't actually teach lessons, he'll be there to help with monitoring students, run copies, walk the kids to specials, etc. Our room is coming together slowly, but surely. I am very excited to meet my new students (a class of 17 - nice change of pace from the class of 31 lovely children in South River) and hope that they will be just as excited to get to know me. I also hope they won't be upset when I slaughter their names. Pictures to come - check Facebook for some recent ones!
Alright - time to head to a staff potluck. Until next time - please comment and let me know how you would pronounce this student's name so maybe it won't be so bad on my first day on Monday. He appears on my roster as 'Kiss, Dzsingisz'. I'll probably be able to get the last name alright... phonetically spell out how YOU would pronounce that one. :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
I'm Here!
7/8/10, 10:43 pm
so i am finally in abuja. we arrived last night around 9pm after a long day of flying. the flights were pretty nice with decent food and entertainment. definitely fancier than any other flight i've ever been on.
i met one of my co-workers during a layover at frankfurt. it was nice to have the company when figuring out the next steps. after making it through immigration without any problems, we found the embassy worker who was waiting for us. we gathered all our luggage (all my things made it there safe and sound, minus one squeezed to death and messy bottle of lotion... not everyone was as lucky as i) and met with the AISA director and elementary school principal. unbeknownst to us, six or so of our other co-workers were on the same flight who we met shortly thereafter. our luggage was put on a truck, we hopped in the school's bus, and started the 40-minute ride to our apartments.
while driving, it was slowly beginning to get dark, but we could still see a lot of things. for example, the lack of lines on the roads, some small villages formed right off the highways, small street markets, and tons of people walking along the roads. many women were carrying different types of loads on their heads... something i thought that i would always see in books, but never in real life.
while it is only one day in, the orientation & welcoming staff has gone above and beyond. they supplied us with sandwiches and such upon arrival so we would not have to worry about dinner and also filled up our fridges a little bit! we were shown our apartments, gathered our luggage off the truck, and began to unpack. i have a tremendous place - 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, a dining room with a table for 6, a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and what they call boys quarters - a room accessible through, but not directly connected to, my apartment, if i choose to hire a cook, maid, etc. which i am probably not going to do. the place is really too big for me - i've never lived alone alone and it makes me a little uncomfortable. one other girl and i have talked about possibly moving into one apartment together, but we'll see how things go after a week or so. surprisingly i slept relatively well last night in my "king-sized-or-maybe-just-two-twins-put-together" bed. you can't even tell with the mattress topper and sheets on though so no complaints... although all my co-workers seem to have a single bed!
today was a pretty relaxed day. in the morinng, the school took us to grand square which is like a department/grocery store type place. bought a few necessary things, but we'll be visiting some more markets and shopping areas tomorrow as well. the afternoon was spent cleaning and unpacking and then i had some friend-making to do. all the other new hires who flew in yesterday with me are around my age which is pretty cool. we've spent time in one anothers' apartments, and today was our first hang out - it was pretty cute. we made dinner together and played bananagrams (thanks, sarah!). then we walked around the complex to meet & welcome other staff members who arrived tonight. it seems like we all get along pretty well together which makes me happy since the only friends i'll have here will be my co-workers as well.
in such a short time, it has already been a huge period of adjustments - living alone, black&brown outs, working in metrics, new currency, making new friends, no internet, not drinking the water, and the list goes on. it is constantly crossing my mind that i won't be able to do this for two years, let alone until christmas time... but i suppose i'm the one who got myself into the whole situation. i am still really excited for this big adventure, but it is pretty scary now that i'm actually in AFRICA. this is super long. pictures and apartment tour to come when the internet kicks in. until then, i'll go figure out what to do with the regulator that i just blew out... oops?
so i am finally in abuja. we arrived last night around 9pm after a long day of flying. the flights were pretty nice with decent food and entertainment. definitely fancier than any other flight i've ever been on.
i met one of my co-workers during a layover at frankfurt. it was nice to have the company when figuring out the next steps. after making it through immigration without any problems, we found the embassy worker who was waiting for us. we gathered all our luggage (all my things made it there safe and sound, minus one squeezed to death and messy bottle of lotion... not everyone was as lucky as i) and met with the AISA director and elementary school principal. unbeknownst to us, six or so of our other co-workers were on the same flight who we met shortly thereafter. our luggage was put on a truck, we hopped in the school's bus, and started the 40-minute ride to our apartments.
while driving, it was slowly beginning to get dark, but we could still see a lot of things. for example, the lack of lines on the roads, some small villages formed right off the highways, small street markets, and tons of people walking along the roads. many women were carrying different types of loads on their heads... something i thought that i would always see in books, but never in real life.
while it is only one day in, the orientation & welcoming staff has gone above and beyond. they supplied us with sandwiches and such upon arrival so we would not have to worry about dinner and also filled up our fridges a little bit! we were shown our apartments, gathered our luggage off the truck, and began to unpack. i have a tremendous place - 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms, a dining room with a table for 6, a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and what they call boys quarters - a room accessible through, but not directly connected to, my apartment, if i choose to hire a cook, maid, etc. which i am probably not going to do. the place is really too big for me - i've never lived alone alone and it makes me a little uncomfortable. one other girl and i have talked about possibly moving into one apartment together, but we'll see how things go after a week or so. surprisingly i slept relatively well last night in my "king-sized-or-maybe-just-two-twins-put-together" bed. you can't even tell with the mattress topper and sheets on though so no complaints... although all my co-workers seem to have a single bed!
today was a pretty relaxed day. in the morinng, the school took us to grand square which is like a department/grocery store type place. bought a few necessary things, but we'll be visiting some more markets and shopping areas tomorrow as well. the afternoon was spent cleaning and unpacking and then i had some friend-making to do. all the other new hires who flew in yesterday with me are around my age which is pretty cool. we've spent time in one anothers' apartments, and today was our first hang out - it was pretty cute. we made dinner together and played bananagrams (thanks, sarah!). then we walked around the complex to meet & welcome other staff members who arrived tonight. it seems like we all get along pretty well together which makes me happy since the only friends i'll have here will be my co-workers as well.
in such a short time, it has already been a huge period of adjustments - living alone, black&brown outs, working in metrics, new currency, making new friends, no internet, not drinking the water, and the list goes on. it is constantly crossing my mind that i won't be able to do this for two years, let alone until christmas time... but i suppose i'm the one who got myself into the whole situation. i am still really excited for this big adventure, but it is pretty scary now that i'm actually in AFRICA. this is super long. pictures and apartment tour to come when the internet kicks in. until then, i'll go figure out what to do with the regulator that i just blew out... oops?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
T minus 2
i fly out thursday - just two days left. i am still having a hard time imagining myself over there and while it has slowly started to get more and more real to me, i don't think it will completely hit me until i'm actually in the streets of abuja.
i've spent the last two or so weeks spending a ton of time with family, friends, coworkers, etc. it's been awesome to see so many people, but somewhat overwhelming at the same time -- even to the point of feeling a liiiiiittle cranky at being so busy with seeing people i love. it was somewhat frustrating because i think i knew i needed some down time, but wanted to make the most of the time i had left in jersey. luckily, i met up with a few of my closest girlfriends last night. in past summers we have done bible studies together, which didn't really work out this year, but we took some time to just talk and pray about the things going on in our lives. it was really uplifting and i felt so much better after leaving them.
i should probably get to finishing up that packing, huh... will try and write one more time once everything is done and right before i fly out. eek!
and to close out - a few answers to other questions i've heard a lot...
q: what happens if you don't like it there? can you leave?
a: i have a 2 year commitment to the school, but there is some clause about being able to leave if i get really sick or something. obviously i don't want that to happen, and i guess if i don't like it there i'm going to suck it up and find a way to like it or at least make it through. i suppose that was partially even kind of the point of me doing this in the first place - to be put out of my comfort zone and to do something completely new and different than ever before. it really surprised me that so many people asked me this.. i hadn't even really considered it because i guess i just don't want to even consider running away from an experience that challenges me.
q: what about adrien? are you going to do the long-distance thing?
a: i'm not going to write too much about this on here, but yes, we're going to try the long-distance thing. i appreciate his support in this whole endeavor more than he probably knows. he hasn't once told me that i can't go (not that i would listen haha) but he has definitely told me how much he'll miss me, as i will him. i like to think we're both pretty independent people and i'm optimistic about the whole situation.
q: will you have internet in nigeria? what's the time difference?
a: yes! i hear that internet is not nearly as stable as it is here in the U.S. but i guess we'll just have to see when i get there. feel free to send emails, fb msgs, or comment here. i'll also be skyping with adrien & family so let me know if you have an account and we can have skype dates every once in awhile. :) time difference is 5-6 hours. there's no such thing as daylight savings time in nigeria so it depends on the time of the year.
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