Professor Boo loses his temper…and his hair

DISCLAIMER: This blog states only the opinions of a Peace Corps volunteer and in no way states the opinions of the Peace Corps Organization or the US gov.

Last month was easily my toughest at site thus far. Particularly the first few days of 115 degree weather. At that temperature the sun just zaps any desire to live right out of you, never mind the energy to actually do anything.

What makes it most unbearable is that there simply is no break from the heat. Even at night it is still incredibly hot. As a result, sleeping becomes incredibly difficult. At about 3 AM (I must be lonely) it finally cools down. By like 9 or 10 it’s right back to 100 and climbing.

I’ve been trying to run more lately. However, this requires giving up the best hours of the day for a run and shower. All I feel like doing is sleeping in when it dips into the 80s which somehow feels cool to me these days!

It is truly amazing how the human body can adapt. I used to think that 90 was incredibly hot. Now that’s comfortable, even cool. Crazy stuff.

It was even tougher that first week at site since the teachers were on strike in all of Mali leaving me incredibly bored. One night though, it finally rained for the first time in over 5 months!

At about 11pm, after the rain had stopped, my homologue (Tiokon) and I were both awake when he says to me excitedly, “Il y a de la viande.” Meaning, “there’s meat.” I got up to see what he meant and saw a huge rat (must’ve been on steroids) on the side of the house. Tiokon proceeded to pick up a huge stick. His first swing got all air and sent the rat scurrying right into my house! We followed him in. Luckily for us, this rat had clearly never won a game of hide-and-seek (I have). So we spotting him just sitting, scared in the corner. After a second swing and miss, Tiokon connected on his third attempt and then beat the animal to death. It was a good lunch the next day.

That day we ate rat also happened to be both my most challenging and ultimately most rewarding days at site.

The English teacher, Mr. Barry, was away, which meant I was teaching English, Art, and Music in 7th, 8th and 9th grades. 7th graders, especially 92 of them, are definitely the toughest. So, that day, I taught 6 hours of classes. The last two hours was 7th grade art.

It was the longest two hours of my life.

Let me preface this story by saying that Jill Jensen, a friend from UMW, and her 3rd grade class in Fredericksburg, Virginia sent a ridiculous amount of school supplies and a signed letter from all the students.

So, some idiot (me), had the genius idea of having my students write letters back. Among the gifts was colored construction paper. The kids fought over what color paper they should have as well as which color marker. I tried to pass out paper, but in the end they all wanted to trade colors. This lead to all the kids sprinting to the front of the room. I then tried to pass out the markers and the kids ran at me from all directions. One kid grabbed my shoulder which was the last straw for me.

I had just one marker left in my hand and I slammed it down on the ground and walked out of the room to get some water and some air. To my surprise, when I walked back in, the kids were all dead silent when I came back. I don’t think they thought I had it in me to get mad.

After that, it was perfect. The kids asked me various expressions and vocab words. They began writing away, and drew pictures as well.

Some of the letters made absolutely no sense and are sure to make Jill’s class laugh like crazy. Others though were absolutely perfect. In the end I had 92 letters to send to the states.

The same kids that made me so furious at the beginning of class made me so proud by the end of class. Tamba Sissoko, my best student, wrote a letter saying that he likes Math and English and asking about Obama. Kany Sacko, one of my brightest female students, drew a teapot, a very important part of Malian culture. Sekouba Keita, one of the smallest kids in the class, took on the role of enforcer. I think he felt bad for me. He made sure everyone  returned their markers.

What a class! I never thought that activity would turn out to be so complicated. It was worth it though.

That evening I tried to play soccer, but I found that school wore me out in a way that even soccer never has. Or maybe the rat just didn’t quite give me the boost of energy I needed.

It was a hectic, full, and tiring day. I passed out before 9.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2096034&id=26000983&l=7a69fef4a3

Enjoy the pics. This is what happens when you stupidly let your little host brother cut your hair. I got laughed at a lot. One kid asked me if I had paint in my hair.

Flying home Monday/Tuesday!