A rollercoaster Monday

New leaves!

Man was today a Monday! It started out rosy and happy, but at around ten o’clock this morning, it took a sharp downward turn. We were in the middle of a Skype conversation with the elder Têtus when our internet decided to die. We’ve been experiencing some issues lately with speed (that we now think was caused by defective hardware), but didn’t think we could be completely cut off from our only connection to the outside world. (Yes, I’m addicted to the internet, but you try to live in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language and see if you could survive without the comforts that the “net” provides; it’s exactly that -- a safety net that keeps me sane.) Since Jean-Jacques’ attempts at fixing the problem failed, we decided to call my helper for assistance. At first he said that he probably wouldn’t be able to schedule the computer guy (who needed to visit the apartment to see the problem) until tomorrow. After a few calls (and an insistance on our part that we need the internet for our job search), we managed to get the school’s computer dude to visit a little while later. 


After blindly fiddling with Jean-Jacques’ computer for about five minutes, the computer guy finally accepted help from Jean-Jacques. (Not only was everything in English, but the man had probably never seen a Mac before, so it wasn’t surprising that he was lost. He messed with the computer’s background for a few minutes before Jean-Jacques navigated to the internet connection section of the laptop.)


To shorten this lengthy story, two guys from the Post Office (yes, the internet providers are controlled by the Post Office and therefore, the government) came to our apartment to look at the modem and replace it with a “temporary” one. They’ll be back in a few days with a new “official” one. 


So all of this excitement happened before I taught my first class. However, I would like to note that our experience with the downed-but-recently-fixed internet is typical here. We’re told that something absolutely cannot be done, but then, a little while later, the impossible becomes unceremoniously completed. At first it’s a little disconcerting, but with time, you learn to trust that everything will get done faster than you expect.

Spring!

Back to the story about my classes. This week I’m teaching about African Americans, the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement, Ebonics, African American celebrities, and black music. Remember, I’m only spending about twenty-five minutes of class on the topic and during the rest of the time we watch a movie. Unfortunately, today I had the luxury of teaching my two classes before a large math test. Most of the students were either too exhausted to pay much attention to me or were quietly discussing math problems with their neighbor. 


Though it was frustrating to continually fight for attention (and feel like I was standing in front of fifty-five squirmy kindergarteners), I did the best I could to keep the masses interested. Since it’s the beginning of the week and I’m new to the content, I still have to work out some bugs and this often negatively impacts the quality of my instruction. In other words, I haven’t figured out my “groove” yet (that usually happens on the fourth or fifth run-though), but I have some good ideas that I’ll try tomorrow. I’m learning a lot about teaching this year. 


This evening Jean-Jacques and I had fun eating Pala while watching The Amazing Race. I processed a number of photos I took today after class and I’m about to get in bed early to read more of The Restaurant and the End of the Universe. Those of you who know Jean-Jacques well will wonder how his wife has lived twenty-seven years (and been married to said gentleman for eight years) without having read the entire Hitchhiker’s series; all I can say is that I’m currently righting this wrong and loving every word of the journey.


Hugs to all!