Back to Work

Back to Work...

Well, post Christmas was a bit of waiting and relaxing. The school's compound was strangely quiet, as all of the girls were of course back at home with their families. I read a lot, planned some lessons, and that was about it for the break! Hung out with friends in town a bit as well, helping the new kids on the block to get well-adjusted.

And then school started again! And things have been a bit crazy since then, as should be imagined. Word on the street is that second and third terms go MUCH faster than the first, due to a number of holidays that interrupt classes, and various Peace Corps related activities that also cut into teaching time. So, gotta move FAST to cover the syllabus.

In good news, I've only had the power be out once so far during a computer class, so keep your fingers crossed that the (American-owned) power company keeps my light on, at least during my teaching hours! I've also let my Form 2 girls invade the biology and chemistry labs, with limited success (we got kicked out for disturbing an older class once), but they've been enjoying themselves. Classroom management is continuing to be a challenging learning process, especially in the computer lab. Anyone remember Mr. Packham, affectionately referred to as Pac-Man from middle school? He was our computer teacher, and I'd love to know how he did it. Probably had something to do with having current model computers in enough quantity to have each student at their own, but....who knows, really?

Other interesting stories include attending my first Cameroonian funeral, and actually, I think something like my third ever funeral, and the first since I've been an adult. The son-in-law of one of the teachers passed away suddenly due to a brain lesion—very sad, he had a young family, had just built a house, and had a very promising career ahead of him. It's a loss for the family and the country, by my estimation. The funeral was very emotionally powerful—there is little reservedness of emotions here, so at times it seemed like the entire village literally was wailing and weeping. I avoided the open casket—my American squeamishness couldn't handle it, but I was really touched by how deeply everyone demonstrated their feelings for this young man. Almost all of the teachers from the school went to show their support for the family, despite the fact that most had never met the man. Very very sad, and touching.

On a lighter note, this weekend we had our quarterly regional meeting. With three newbies in the Mamfe area bringing our total to 6, we held the meeting here, so everyone else got to experience the infamous Mamfe roads. I don't think anyone wants to make that trip again soon, but agreed that Mamfe is a very nice place once you're here! We've got two big projects coming up as a region—a booth at the Race for Hope, a foot race to the top of Mt. Cameroon, and “Bike to the Border”, a bicycle tour from Mamfe to the Nigerian border, both intending to educate about HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. Look for more news in the future, including a chance to help out yourself! We're writing a grant proposal to get the funding for the bike tour, if it goes through, you'll have the chance to donate on the Peace Corps website. If you've got some extra funds lying around, feel free to check out the Cameroon section of the PC website, and donate to someone else's project! https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.donatenow&

Moki continues to grow and grow and grow, feel free to include some dog treats or toys in your next package. Her current favorite came courtesy of Gram Carol, and is a Hannukah-themed wiener dog squeaky toy, complete with yarmulke and dreidle. Hilarious. Also included in that package was Dagoba chocolate, which SURVIVED the trip. Just a thought....

In other other news, I've joined the education steering committee, so that means that I'll be giving input to administration about the education program in general. On that note, just today I met a woman who was coming to visit her alma mater—she graduated in 67, and has since moved to the US, and attended UCLA. She was taught chemistry by a PCV in Form 2, which is exactly what I teach now. Now, on the one hand, it's really neat to be part of a legacy, but on the other...what has PC accomplished at this school in the last 40 years? It's a challenging question that is asked a lot, that I'm now asking myself, and not coming up with the answers. Remind me some time, and I'll try to answer it after I've been here a bit longer.

That's all for now folks! Continuing to send love your way, especially this month towards all of my CSL friends—missed my first winter teen camp EVER, and that was hard! I miss you all and love you all, and look forward always to hearing from you!