Always Read the Fine Print

I've been pretty busy since I have been back to school after the New Year holiday.  Besides teaching 17 classes a week, I teach conversation club three times a week and work with several community members and their children several times a week as well, plus my family of cats who wants constant attention ALL the time (as I am typing this blog snickers is laying on my arms and Buster and Junior are on my lap). I finally got the pump fix or should say a new pump (I paid for the pump but I will take it off next month rent).  I am so excited I don't have to run up and down stairs to turn on the water!!! Yeah!!!  I am also buying today a two burner gas top to go into the kitchen (my stove outside has only one burner working).  Next month my goal is to buy a tank for the toilet and a toilet seat so I can have a flushing toilet, again YEA. The next volunteer living here will have it made when I am finished!!  To get anything accomplished here, it takes twice as long and twice the nagging.  They want to fix it the cheapest way (with glue and duck tape) but don't understand that it is a temporary fix and in the long run it will cost them more money!!! So they finally listened and we got a NEW pump.

I have been overwhelmed this week with Peace Corps staff (funny, I haven't seen anyone up here for 2 years and this week Security, and both CD and TEFL Program Managers came for a visit).  Security came to see how safe it is.  We have 22 different cultures here.  I have learned that during the Communist time, they would move people around from village to village and country to country (a control tactic), so you have many diverse cultures.  Some villages have there own culture and language (this area is an linguist dream!!).  I have always felt safe here and I could walk around alone at noon or midnight and never felt scared.  I live right behind the mosque (and I am awaken every morning with the "call to prayer") and they have a "Wahhabi group" that pray there and I see them on my way home but never felt threaten by them.

My Program Manager came to observe me and my counterpart in the classroom.  I showed her all of my visual aids that I made and suggested to have an small expense account for TEFL volunteers to buy the supplies (I use most of my moving allowance and friends who send me supplies to make the visual aids). After the lesson, she told me that she was very impressed with the class and the use of my visual aids. All of my students participated in the lesson and at the end I played Teacher said (a play off of Simon said) this is a great listening lesson as well as fun! The students love it.

Then the CD (Community Development) Manager came to interview the organizations that I got applications from.  One of the volunteers came with him but she stayed with me.  I made pumpkin soup and pumpkin bread. We talked and caught up and I fixed popcorn and we watched a movie.  I miss my site mate Kaylee since she when home in November, so this was fun having a volunteer over for dinner and a movie.

Yep... it was a busy week but a good week.

Life Challenge:  For the LORD seeks not as man seeks;  for a man looks at the outward appearance but the LORD looks on the heart.... 1 Samuel 16:17