Still Waiting to Get Working....

So I found out that the start date of my school has been pushed back another week due to the arrival of a newborn in the family of the school director. Jeesh! I can't take much more of this sitting around doing nothing-ness! But school now will start Oct 10th for me anyway. I started prepping some lesson plans and generally prepping myself to begin teaching math in another language in another culture, in a country where I will never stop being The Foreigner.

I did get a boatload of packages last week when I rolled through Bobo on my way back to Padema (Steph-7, Josh-3). THANK YOU so much to you all, and please - until the next SOS - I do NOT need anything else right now. My house is chock full of delicious, processed, fattening foods and many gifts for the students. So for those of you who wrote about me gaining weight again... have no fear, it is in the works! And I am doing my part to fatten up the children of Padema as well. I took inventory of some of the stuff in my house, and to give you an idea, I counted over 20 boxes of mac n cheese, plus about 10 mac n cheeses in bags; 3 jars of peanut butter, 3 bags of choc chip cookies, 2 boxes of Twinkies, 6 cans of EZ cheese.... I think you get the idea. And I know every bit of gossip about all the celebrities, thanks to the magazines - (Britney had a boy!! And can you BELIEVE that Angelina and Brad are moving so quickly? Though she IS quite the saint for adopting that little Ethiopian girl... but Poor Jen Aniston ...And honestly, that Katie-Tom thing.. is it gonna last?)

Seriously I am good for now on care pkgs, but the generosity of my friends and family does make me feel loved and happy to know you have not forgotten me! Oh, but letters, emails and pics are still on my wish list.

The only somewhat funny/interesting thing that happened this past week was actually me going to watch a soccer match. I left with a woman from my village, who was going on behalf of the Prefect of Padema (like the mayor) just because she invited me and I had nothing better to do. So we got there, and there was a whole big tadoo about getting us in. I didn't get why at first because all I went for was to watch a soccer game, but the people who organized it insisted on escorts into the game, a whole big dinner that they had prepared, and just a whole lot of fuss. Anyway, it turns out that the woman I went with was treated as a guest of honor because it was some championship game between 2 villages and she was going to be presenting the trophy. That meant a lot of special treatment, and because I was accompanying her, I got equally special treatment. We were escorted through the middle of the field with about 500 on-lookers, seated in the middle of the sidelines by the trophy, given food and drinks throughout the game, greeted by every single player in the game, and had our photos taken at the end for who-the-heck knows what. Anyway, I guess it's a good thing I am used to being stared at every minute I leave the house, because normally that would have made me really uncomfortable. But I wasn't as phased as I thought I would be. The game itself was really funny because it was like watching a bunch of 10-yr olds playing soccer. Everyone just kicked it as hard as possible every time it came near them, and they practically mobbed the ball to follow it all over the field. Oh, and no one scored the entire game. It went into penalty kicks - which was just as amusing because they actually did "redos" 3 or 4 times because the goalie or ref or someone "wasn't ready".

Transport is still a bi-atch. This morning I came in a car that was, as always, packed with twice as many people as there should have been. A kid slept on my legs half the ride (just about 4 hours of travel), and almost every square inch of my body was in contact with something or someone. I've mastered the art of retreating to a happy place and listing in my head all the ways that the ride could be worse. i.e. there could be animals in there, screaming babies, even MORE breakdowns than we actually had, an accident, rains, etc.. I do think, though, that was the first ride ever that I did not see a woman breast feeding, so I guess that is also a plus. I just thought of that one.

Oh, I am trying to move, too. My court gets more and more frustrating every night. My neighbor (in the same string of 'apartments' as me) has taken up playing loud, annoying, whiny music beginning at 1 a.m. until about 3, right outside my window. I have tried saying something... well, I come out of my house all sleepy and trying to look as pissed as possible to get the message across that he's annoying me... but he does not speak French, and even when I say 'musique' and he gets that i am referring to his music, I think he takes it as a sign that I like the music. Whatever. The family in the court is generally not very friendly, either... and with school starting, I want to be sure I will be able to sleep well and be happy. So I am seeing about moving into a house of my own, with a court of my own, with a lot more space and privacy. Just waiting on approvals from the bosses because unfortunately for me, this is not my decision to make, and it is the parents of the students' association who pay for our housing. Blimy!

Not much else going on... I will be in Bobo til Sunday because the Bobo region volunteers were called in for a meeting with the country director. SO, phone lines are open. I will see about more pics, too... but no promises because it is a little harder to manage in Bobo, and the connection is slower.

L'Shanah Tovah