Oh boy, it's been awhile, hasn't it?
This post was a tough one to write. I started a couple of times, got sidetracked midway through, and came back a few days later realizing that what I wrote before wasn't an accurate reflection of how things are now.
I moved into my new house in the big city four weeks ago today. I remember being very tired for that afternoon, and for much of the following week. Training was very busy, so it was wonderful to have some free time to rest and get myself well situated.
Of course, busy-ness soon found me again here. While my class doesn't start until November, there's a lot to set up. Thanks to the Friends of Burkina Faso, we recieved 32 computers over the summer, and in the coming month, we'll be rearranging the lab to accomodate. Along with that, I'll have to change the curriculum to some degree, since a bigger class where everyone has their own computer is quite a different animal. I'm hoping to make the course very project-based, but I'll have more to say on that note once I've begun. My counterpart at the school and I had a great discussion about it over dinner last night.
A side-project has also come up, and could go in a very fun direction. I've been meeting with a few college students, and another teacher, and a policeman as a facilitator for a business group. We've bounced several ideas around, but we're looking at canning and selling tomato sauce. We'll make the final decision in our meeting today.
Being in a city, I've stumbled into more potential projects than one might find in a small town, but there's been plenty of time to relax and have fun as well. I've been doing a lot of cooking lately: PB/chocolate granola (I can find all of the ingredients here at reasonable prices!), curry fries (prev. volunteers left behind lots of spices-- thank you!), and my own fresh tomato sauces have been specialties as of late. It has been fantastic to have people over, and share food with my neighbors.
Who are your neighbors? And what is your house like?
I live in a "celibatarium", which sounds weird in English, but translates roughly to "bachelor pad" in French. It's not unlike condo living in the States, and it's very comfortable. I have seven neighbors in the same courtyard, some of whom are also teachers, but I know one owns a cybercafe, and another sells imported cars/motorcycles. They have all been very welcoming to me-- I really couldn't ask to live in a better place.
Any adventures yet?
A few. There is a mountain about 15 miles northwest of me, which I've tried to climb on a few occasions, but for one reason or another, I never quite made it there until Wednesday. Upon finally arriving, I learned that it was sacred (and thus unclimbable), but the story is more complicated (and fun) than that.
Any challenges?
A fair share. General tiredness is a big one. Similar to my first several weeks of training, I need a lot more sleep than usual to function. It's taking time to process-- being here, far everyone I know, but enjoying it anyhow.
It's also a change to have been bumped up a couple of age groups. Some of us compared training to middle/high school-- having to be at class 7-8 hours a day, and living as one of the children of a host family. Now, I'm about 28-30, or at least that's what society here suggests. Most college students are about 22-24, and it takes some time to land a good job here. My neighbors suggest that it's about time I found a wife.
Finally technical issues have been dogging me. I switched to Linux/Ubuntu haphazardly some weeks ago (as it is immune to most viruses here), and ever since, I haven't been able to use Skype or connect to the internet using my 3G wireless key. But I have been making some progress in fixing some other bugs, gaining an appreciation for all of the different scripts that run even the simplest functions on computers, and in general practicing my patience and troubleshooting skills before the start of the school year. No regrets, really. I'm getting to like Linux a lot.
I've only been back on my computer for about a week now, and I'm thinking that I'll leave Saturdays as open as I can to chat with you all! Hopefully, I can get the audio/mic issues fixed by tomorrow morning!
