Old Man, Take a Look at my Life...

Some of you may recognize the title of this entry as the lyrics to “Old Man,” a song by Neil Young. I stayed at home with a fever yesterday and spent a little time listening to Mr. Young, for whom I now have a new appreciation. Some of you may know that my father spent some time singing in the Congo with the musical group “Up with People” in the 60s. This blog is dedicated to my father’s experiences in Africa (both past and future) and to his perpetual sense of curiosity, without which I probably would not have experienced half of the things I have by the age of 24. For those who don’t know this song by heart (read: those who aren’t in my nuclear family), 24 is the age of the character in “Old Man.” Coincidentally, this song was also the inspiration for my sister’s Senior Quote in her high school yearbook; for her sake, I will refrain from writing the exact quote. :)
My family has been questioning me incessantly about whether or not I have yet received their multiple care packages. As luck would have it, I finally received two of them on the very day that I stayed home sick (and thus, needed them the most). So I treated myself to some chocolate and a semi-recent issue of The Economist. While my life is affected less than ever by the status of obscure developing nations, it still helps me maintain my sanity to keep up with some news. Thanks, guys!
During the last couple weeks, I started teaching Model School at the CEG (High School) close to my house. We teach classes of more than 50 kids who come “prepared” with but a tiny blank notebook and writing utensils. Funny sidenote: many of the kids also bring protractors, which they use whenever you ask them to copy circles. As a result, it took some students more than 15 minutes (which I did not give them) to copy the few clocks I drew to teach them time. Digital time will have to suffice from now on. We have several different colors of chalk to use on the board, which is nice, but we don’t have much more than that. Last week I taught some 1 hr sessions, but this week I’ve moved to teaching 2 hr classes. My homestay sister, Ravis, is in my class. I adore her and her friends, but the class demeanor brings to mind the YouTube videos of the food fight at OHS last year. There are methods to mellow the atmosphere, though, and tomorrow I’m going to kick a few kids out of class. Don’t be horrified, it’s much better treatment than they might receive at the hands of another teacher. This paragraph has a surprise conclusion: teaching these kids is going to be fun. Challenging, frustrating, heart wrenching and fun.
I’m planning on posting a couple pictures with this post, but it remains to be seen whether they will load in time. The internet is slow here, like the pace of life. A common question one asks at the end of the day is, “Did you do a little today?” The greetings as a whole are humorous exchanges. You are supposed to ask anyone you pass a whole slew of questions, such as: Hello, how are you?; And the morning?; And the house?; And the kids?; And work? As far as I know, nobody ever says that any of these things are less than “good.” This may seem pointless, but it’s necessary if you wish to integrate at all within your community. Most people are able to complete the whole exchange in about 5 seconds anyway, so it’s but a small nuisance. I’m counting my lucky stars thus far, though, because the nuisances have been surprisingly sparse.