Not that I haven’t been working before, it’s just that I’m finally doing the work that I was hired to do. It sure keeps me busy! Here’s a sample week of school:
Monday: Hop on my bike at 6:15 a.m. in order to reach school A by 7:20. Observe several classes and talk with teachers. 1:30 p.m. get back on the bike and spend an hour cycling home. Rest and eat a little, then be at the library from 3:30 to 5:00.
Tuesday: Teach Form 3 English at my school for 3 periods.
Wednesday: Ditto, plus library again in the afternoon.
Thursday: Either teach 2 periods at my school or hop on a matola and visit schools B and C (about every other week).
Friday: Bike time again! School D starts at 7 a.m., but at least it only takes 45 minutes each way (30 minutes when the bike taxi guys do it, but I’m not as skilled as they are so I walk a fair bit of it). Head home around 1:30.
Saturday mornings are generally dedicated to washing clothes and doing all the stuff around the house that I haven’t had time for all week, but soon I’ll be having my first workshop (on assessment) at that time, so the clothes will just have to wait. Sundays are sometimes for church, sometime for being a lazy bum because I deserve it after a hard week of traveling all over the place. In my limited spare time I hang out with my neighbors and/or sew. I save reading and other anti-social activities for after dark, when I get to enjoy my solitude without fear of interruption.
In some of my letters to people I’ve extolled the praises of amayis. These women are amazing, pulling pots off fires with their bare hands, farming, carrying immense loads on their heads, all with their babies strapped to their backs. I’ve been trying to learn to do just a fraction of what they do. Here’s a progress report on my quest to become an amayi:
Cooking over a smoky fire: usually successful, although there are still tears from the smoke. I only miss electricity when I’m really tired, and I only miss charcoal when I’m baking. For most of my meals, I actually prefer using firewood. Still have to use oven mitts, as I have yet to develop amayi hands.
Carrying 20 liters of water in a bucket on your head without spilling: usually successful
Carrying a baby on your back using a chitenje: the first time I thought I was doing fine. Didn’t even get peed on. Little did I know I had managed to cut off the circulation to my right arm. Couldn’t feel a thing, couldn’t move it at all. Oops. I did much better the second time. I knew I would have to develop amayi hands, but I had no idea I’d also need an amayi vascular system.
