I thought it might be advantageous to post "A Day in the Life," but first a couple of other things I have realized:
Things I am consistently thankful for (listed in no particular order):
-the fact that I'm here with Paula
-the food here is delicious
-I am in good health
-getting to celebrate Mass daily
-having such readily available access to the Chapel and Tabernacle to pray = favy! ;)
-Paul (my boyfriend) is sooo wonderful...and so good to me!
-I feel productive most days
-great and loving family and friends back at home
-moments when the kids are extra cute! (*see note below for examples from today)
-my favorite one of the mountains here, which is so gorgeous
-Mary's prayers for us
-for my guardian angel
-for the strength to make it through the day
I should make more of an effort to actually thank God for these things each day (some I do better with than others), but I consistently truly do feel thankful for all of these things (I'm sure it's not an exhaustive list).
Also, I have recently realized that there are a lot of things that I never used to like/appreciate, but now I REALLY enjoy (again, listed in no particular order nor exhaustively):
-the wind
-when the power goes out (well except for when my computer runs out of charge)
-candles (especially when the power goes out, are in my opinion way better than flashlights, which are called “torches” here)
-eating eggplant
-singing
-playing the guitar
-playing foosball (I’ve begun to get pretty competitive about this)
-the rain (I like it even more than I did before)
-Tums
-speaking/listening to Spanish (this is not a regular activity, nor am I much more proficient at it than I was back in the States…but I enjoy it much more than before)
-writing in cursive with a fountain pen
-learning other languages
-eating prunes
Reflecting on this all makes me think, “Who even AM I these days?!”…Hahaha! I guess that’s what going to Africa ‘ill do to you (or maybe it just took that for me to broaden my horizons on some things) :) …Also, I was unable to think of anything that I used to enjoy (before leaving the states), that I no longer like…so I guess that’s a good sign.
Ok, now I present to you… “A Day in the Life”…
6:30AM - I wake up in the morning feelin' like P Diddy...hahaha! (That is a quote from one of our favorite pump up songs - "Tik Tok" by Kesha)
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| The first thing I see each morning = my princess canopy (AKA mosquito net) |
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| It is really hard to get the eyes open that early in the morning |
6:35AM - Good Morning Paula!
6:40AM - Morning prayer and Daily Mass in the chapel (Paula is sitting on my right, even though you can't see her)
7:30AM - Breakfast (usually Paula would sit in the chair to my left and Abba would sit in the empty chair on the back right, but they weren't there at the moment)
*Note: The very large peanut butter jar...We finished it in about two weeks - good thing we know which stores to walk to for buying more!
7:45AM - Walk down to the school for the Morning Assembly. Students stand in lines based on grade. During the assembly, Abba leads prayer and makes announcements, then the kids sing the National Anthem as the flags are raised. Classes are dismissed one-by-one and students walk to their classrooms.
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| The front of the school |
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| Morning Assembly |
8:00AM-10:15AM - Teach classes: 5th grade Math (Solving linear equations by substitution), 3rd grade English Tutorial (what animals do and where, ie-"A monkey climbs in the tree."), 4th grade Spoken English (finish talking about animals, and began the verb "to have")...I've been temporarily filling in as a math teacher, so I taught three extra classes today that I would not usually have.
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| One of my 3rd grade classes |
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| 3rd grade English Tutorial lesson |
10:15AM-10:45AM - Morning break for students, during which they play table tennis, sing songs, foosball, etc. I usually play/keep order at the girl's foosball table
10:45AM-12:15AM - Teach classes: one 4th grade Math (Division), 3rd grade Spoken English (administered a verbal test over face and body parts)
12:15AM-1:15AM - Student lunch and recess
1:30PM - Lunch - yesssssss!!! (We all eat lunch at different times depending on when we are teaching classes) Today I don't teach 6th period, so I spent time with the students during their lunch/recess time before eating lunch myself. After lunch I have a couple of class periods off, so I catch up on emails and work on lesson plans.
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| We have spaghetti every day at lunch, and I'm still not tired of it! |
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| I try to get some prayer time (on my own) in at some point during the day. Today, I have time after I eat lunch. |
2:45PM-3:30PM - Teach class: the other 4th grade Math (Division)
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| One of my 4th grade classes |
3:30PM - Hop in the car to go teach English at the Daughters of Charity (they send a driver to pick us up)
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| Since our school just got out, the road is lined with our students - shouting our names and waving. |
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| The goats, chickens, donkeys in the roads crack me up! |
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| The arch on the left is the gate for the Daughters of Charity compound |
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| Some of the flowers we see once we drive in - their compound is like an oasis, just beautiful! |
3:45PM-4:35PM - Teach English at the Daughters of Charity (review and practice conversational questions)
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| The inside of the building where we teach - our classrooms are on the right |
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| Once we finished teaching we had some time to kill, waiting for the driver, so Paula pulled out the guitar and we sang a couple of songs (typical) |
5:00PMish - Drive back to Don Bosco and head down to Rosary with some of the kids from Oratory (on the days we teach at the Daughters of Charity we miss Oratory at Don Bosco...otherwise, we typically attend Oratory, during which I participate in more foosball with my "jotanee girls" as I fondly refer to them as)
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| Headed down the hill for Rosary |
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| Rosary with the kids (attendance ranges from about 7-25 kids) |
6:00PM - 7:00PM - Break time...eat a snack, catch up on emails, shower, lesson plan, etc.
7:00PM - Evening prayer, followed by dinner-yessss!!! (I like to EAT!)
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| Evening prayer |
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| Left overs after dinner |
8:30PMish - Back in our rooms, this is the typical scene...more email/internet/lesson planning/rec time
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| Paula set up an internet station in the hallway because the connection is better for her there |
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| At my desk |
10:30PM/11:00PMish - Typical bedtime...Tell Paula good night, check for mosquitoes in my room (so far I think there's been three the entire time we've been here), climb back into bed beneath my "princess canopy," and say my prayers...
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen...Thank you, Lord, for the day - to you be the glory...
Prayer of Faith (By: Fr. Ken):
Dearest Jesus,
Help me not to look forward
to what may happen tomorrow
I know you will take care of me
Today
Tomorrow
Every day of my life-
Help me to be at peace-
Trusting in your promise:
"I will be with you always"
*Note about extra cuteness of the day:
1) During the verbal test over the face and body parts today in 3rd grade, I pointed at my toes and asked one of my students what they were...After half saying the word a couple of times and really struggling to think, he guessed "fingers"...I said "no", and after thinking some more (I'm kind of lenient with my tests), he said, "leg fingers?"....hahahaha! Oh geez, how cute is that?!
2) The other day, we were talking about animals and their body parts in my other 3rd grade class. One student said, "An ant has eight legs." To which I responded by asking the class, "How many legs does an ant have?"...The answers varied (and brought about quite the commotion, I might add) from I think two to ten and just about anything in between. In an effort to quell the "storm," and myriad answers, I said (and wrote on the board), "An ant has six legs." Immediately, I don't even know how many students adamantly begged to differ, saying, "Miss, Miss, it is incorrect!" One student pulled out the English workbook (picturing an ant), and proceeded to count the legs depicted...and sure enough there were eight!...How can I compete with that-black and white-there it was! I proceeded to look around the classroom floor, trying to find an actual ant-however unsuccessful...So I just stood my ground saying there were six and moved on. Today, one of my students from that class came up to me at the end of play time, saying "Miss Jenna!" and looking down at his fingers exclaimed, "ant!"...and there it was, he had found a real ant...I said, in surprise, "Oh yes! And how many legs does it have?"...he said, "six"...I said, with a smile, "ok, good :)"
Random craving update for approx. the last week: Taco Bell burrito with sour cream in it (I love sour cream), key lime pie, french bread with butter and garlic salt lightly toasted in the oven, quiche, Chipotle...currently chicken potpie sounds sooo good! Then maybe followed by warm brownies from the oven with a cold glass of milk-yummm!
