Wake up at 2 AM starving/freezing/cat slamming into the pillow jumping from the window. Either spend fifteen minutes reading a chapter with lighted Kindle case and fall back asleep easily- or get on iPhone to read online news and forums and comics and get overstimulated reading the thoughts of educated, worldly people and regret it ninety minutes later.
Wake up from alarm at 6 AM. Snooze button. Dully reflect on past/present/future relationships. Kids probably yelling and singing outside in Sesotho at the tops of their voices. Alarm at 6:10 AM. Snooze again. Make placating strokes towards awakening cats, most of whom were so entwined around my legs that it would have been impossible to get up until this point anyway. Alarm at 6:20 AM. Rise, screeching. Pour cooled, boiled water from kettle into sediment filter. Kick gas tank to check propane level and put kettle on. Kick water buckets to check which is most full. Pass over soap-stewed dishes from last night with a Scotch-Brite pad and stagnant water. Possibly shave and minimally bathe. Boxed knock-off South African cereal with milk from super creepy tiny cardboard boxes or icky instant porridge. Cats screaming incessantly for a share either way. Tea with breakfast from a massive, kickass stashed selection if I say so myself. Mostly fresh clothes on. Bathroom routine indescribable.
Out the door at 7:10 AM. Realize kittens are locked out. Out the door again at 7:12 AM. Realize gas tank left open. Out the door again at 7:13 AM. Bracing walk along a road with a nice view as it curves around a big hill. Probably meet some kids hurrying late along the way. Arrive at school 7:25 AM. Other teachers are either taking attendance or finishing their hellish 1-2 hour commutes so I'm the only one in the office. Look at lesson sketches from yesterday, put out solar panel, infrequently grade homework turned in early. Teachers arrive. Complicated, stressful mandatory cultural greetings. School morning assembly at 7:45 AM. Kids sing Sesotho call & response, sometimes brilliantly, sometimes crappily, almost impossible to predict. Kids say ten different variations of The Lord's Prayer simultaneously while teachers look stern, unanimous synchronized sniffling/coughing immediately following. 1-3 kids stagger through presentations in English, always verbatim class notes but it's really sweet to watch them try and everyone takes it seriously. Senior staffer gives brief news announcements.
Storm of kids turning in homework at the last minute. Mark everything and get to first class at 8:05 AM filled with dread and carrying: chalk, red pen, phone, board duster, lesson plans, subject textbook. Kids usually cooperative and great in the mornings. Best case: kids take notes, do board/group problems, easy to assess and give homework. Back to office at some point for Kindle reading, snacking, repairing/using office supplies with other teachers. More classes. Hearty, simple lunch of boiled rice and beans or samp or whatever unless it's Thursday in which case the most god-awful meat/organ meat you've ever seen tossed at the end of a picnic over boiled maize meal and I've forgotten to bring a sandwich again. Afternoon nausea frequently present. Classes really hellish after lunch. Worst case: kids noisy, distracted, starving, tired, fighting, openly rebelling against the one teacher they've had all day who isn't allowed to punch them in the face. Get through it and back in time to lesson plan or Kindle read before afternoon assembly at 4 PM. Possibly sports or debate or someone needs something typed and printed.
Leave school feeling good. Really pretty walk home as the storms roll in from over the South Africa border in the distance. Get home around 5 PM and grind through a dozen simple chores that all take huge amounts of time. E.g., getting 35L of drinkable water with wheelbarrow takes around an hour. Continue serial arguments with various visiting students over food/cell phone charging/ borrowed clothespins/laundry payments/etc. Get big curry/spaghetti/fried rice/sandwich dinner ready. Feed 1/3 to host kids. Vague gestures towards housecleaning. Break out laptop/phone games, pending solar power.
Realize it's dark and 8 PM. Kick host kids out. Herd cats inside. Kids fighting/laughing outside until 9PM. Kindle/phone until 10 PM. Probably have half-hour panic attack over particularly horrific recent poverty/ignorance/xenophobia. Dully reflect on past/present/future video games. Zzzz
Wake up from alarm at 6 AM. Snooze button. Dully reflect on past/present/future relationships. Kids probably yelling and singing outside in Sesotho at the tops of their voices. Alarm at 6:10 AM. Snooze again. Make placating strokes towards awakening cats, most of whom were so entwined around my legs that it would have been impossible to get up until this point anyway. Alarm at 6:20 AM. Rise, screeching. Pour cooled, boiled water from kettle into sediment filter. Kick gas tank to check propane level and put kettle on. Kick water buckets to check which is most full. Pass over soap-stewed dishes from last night with a Scotch-Brite pad and stagnant water. Possibly shave and minimally bathe. Boxed knock-off South African cereal with milk from super creepy tiny cardboard boxes or icky instant porridge. Cats screaming incessantly for a share either way. Tea with breakfast from a massive, kickass stashed selection if I say so myself. Mostly fresh clothes on. Bathroom routine indescribable.
Out the door at 7:10 AM. Realize kittens are locked out. Out the door again at 7:12 AM. Realize gas tank left open. Out the door again at 7:13 AM. Bracing walk along a road with a nice view as it curves around a big hill. Probably meet some kids hurrying late along the way. Arrive at school 7:25 AM. Other teachers are either taking attendance or finishing their hellish 1-2 hour commutes so I'm the only one in the office. Look at lesson sketches from yesterday, put out solar panel, infrequently grade homework turned in early. Teachers arrive. Complicated, stressful mandatory cultural greetings. School morning assembly at 7:45 AM. Kids sing Sesotho call & response, sometimes brilliantly, sometimes crappily, almost impossible to predict. Kids say ten different variations of The Lord's Prayer simultaneously while teachers look stern, unanimous synchronized sniffling/coughing immediately following. 1-3 kids stagger through presentations in English, always verbatim class notes but it's really sweet to watch them try and everyone takes it seriously. Senior staffer gives brief news announcements.
Storm of kids turning in homework at the last minute. Mark everything and get to first class at 8:05 AM filled with dread and carrying: chalk, red pen, phone, board duster, lesson plans, subject textbook. Kids usually cooperative and great in the mornings. Best case: kids take notes, do board/group problems, easy to assess and give homework. Back to office at some point for Kindle reading, snacking, repairing/using office supplies with other teachers. More classes. Hearty, simple lunch of boiled rice and beans or samp or whatever unless it's Thursday in which case the most god-awful meat/organ meat you've ever seen tossed at the end of a picnic over boiled maize meal and I've forgotten to bring a sandwich again. Afternoon nausea frequently present. Classes really hellish after lunch. Worst case: kids noisy, distracted, starving, tired, fighting, openly rebelling against the one teacher they've had all day who isn't allowed to punch them in the face. Get through it and back in time to lesson plan or Kindle read before afternoon assembly at 4 PM. Possibly sports or debate or someone needs something typed and printed.
Leave school feeling good. Really pretty walk home as the storms roll in from over the South Africa border in the distance. Get home around 5 PM and grind through a dozen simple chores that all take huge amounts of time. E.g., getting 35L of drinkable water with wheelbarrow takes around an hour. Continue serial arguments with various visiting students over food/cell phone charging/ borrowed clothespins/laundry payments/etc. Get big curry/spaghetti/fried rice/sandwich dinner ready. Feed 1/3 to host kids. Vague gestures towards housecleaning. Break out laptop/phone games, pending solar power.
Realize it's dark and 8 PM. Kick host kids out. Herd cats inside. Kids fighting/laughing outside until 9PM. Kindle/phone until 10 PM. Probably have half-hour panic attack over particularly horrific recent poverty/ignorance/xenophobia. Dully reflect on past/present/future video games. Zzzz
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