It was the last day of Ramadan yesterday and I could not be happier, now I can eat without feeling bad when at the markets for lunch and wont be eating separate from my family at night. By the time I am able to post this for you all, I will have been up at 4:00am to pray and eat breakfast, then will we be deprived from food and water till about 8:19 pm. So it’s a good thing I will not be seeing any of you, because I have a feeling I will not be very friendly.
Actually after I wrote this blog, I hopped into bed and started to read a book with my head light on. I heard a knock on my door, and told whomever it was to come in. I was in bed, under my mosquito net, in shorts and a tank top. My brother had come to tell me the fete was actually tomorrow, and he was so embarrassed that he interrupted me, while I was in shorts and a tank top. You would have thought he saw me naked, because he shut the door as quickly as possible!, lol The fete was a lot of fun! I got up and helped with the food, found out how to kill a chicken, how to pluck the feathers, and that all parts of the body go into the stew, feet, head, weird balls of somewhere inside the body, but it was great. I got dressed up in my African clothes and my family loved it! We took a family photo, and then they each asked for an individual photo. Quite hysterical! It was nice to have everyone awake and alive again and pretty much back to a normal life again. Here I am acting like I fasted for the 30 days, which I didn’t, but excited to have my brothers come back to life!
I thought I would also update you on my weekend and Practice school! This weekend, I did the usual, washed the dishes in the morning, and then the laundry. I have to confess I almost lost my composure while doing the laundry. I had 5 people watching me this time, with each person grabbing at my clothes, to show me a new technique to try. At one point I thought I was going to loose it, and if they could have read my eyes they would have known I was about to break. The worst part is, I have them grabbing at my dirty underwear, bras, etc, personal items, that I would only like to touch and not have people see! The best part is that after this escapade, I decided I needed some space, so I told them I would be going to the office to work on my lesson plan and I would be eating lunch with my friends at the market. At 12:30 I had 5 missed phone calls, and 2 text messages saying, “Please come home when you can, you should eat lunch here, we have made it for you, could you stop by on your break.” I finally called back and let them know I already ate with my friends, but that I would be home for dinner… but that did not go over well, I was told to come eat again anyways, whenever I had a breaking point, so at 3:00pm I went home for a quick second lunch and was feed a huge meal, and told to eat well and that on the weekends I was to eat at home! NOTE TO SELF FROM NOW ON! Haha
I started practice school on Monday, which is pretty much like pretend teaching. I am teaching the 9th and 10th grade to about a class of 25 Guinean students. My first class when great in the morning! The students were very attentive, and surprisingly we got through the lesson plan quite efficiently; then I had them play a competitive game at the end. Then I went to my second class, and holy lord, talk about out of control. I found out what it meant to loose control of the classroom. Thankfully I was able to somewhat stay composed, and not show how flustered I was. I made it through the lesson plan, but immediately after the class, I made rules of appropriate behavior. Never again!
One new exciting event happened today, I met Jonny Carson, the third person behind Hilary Clinton, who came and spoke to us about his experience in the Peace Corps, what his role was, and an inspirational speech, about how this country could be so great, if people were given the opportunity, and he said that we were the students opportunities to show them they can do and be something great. One funny note, we were suppose to introduce ourselves, and I must have got nervous because I said, “I’m Stephanie Powell, and I'm from New Hampshire in the United States of America…” Everyone including Mr. Carson started laughing! I guess I’ll try again next time! (Clearly we are all from America, seeing this is the Peace Corps!)
Hope everyone has faired the hurricane or tropical storm safely and well, I miss you all!
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