09/17/12-The "Official" Nonofficial 1st Day Of School

Today was the government approved official 1st day of school. Alright, let's get the ball rollin'........ums not, lol.

Silly me, to think that I would be running around and actually be doing some teaching today. That's what teachers do, right? Teach? Lol! There was alot of shoulder shrugging and thumb twiddling in the staff room for me. I think 2 traits are crucial for survival in Salone: patience and a sense of humor.

The thing is, the first day of school is only a "soft" date. People kinda trickle in over the next few weeks which includes people that are still registering and people who want to transfer and take entrance exams. That's a great way to show a school you want to go there. Show up a week late and go, "So ums, I'm kinda late, so can I go here still?"

I'm slated to teach SS1 Math, which is like 9th grade math along with some computer courses. Don't bother asking me my schedule b/c it's not done yet, lol. I'm estimating for the timetable details to be smoothed out maybe sometime by Friday??? Who fucking knows, it beats the hell out of me??? [**commence shoulder shrugging & thumb twiddling**]

Did I tell you that I was at one of the country's most functional schools? Lol! Oh Salone...........

Coming from a world where the first day of school is spent going to all your classes, meeting your assigned teachers, going over the syllabus, classroom rules & expectations......this was a complete 180.

I at least introduced myself during assembly. "Hi, my name is Ms. Pascual, I'll be teaching Math." Oh wait, I also bought a delicious meat pie off some lady. Ya that pretty much sums up my big accomplishments for the 1st day of school.

I know I shouldn't be expecting regimented structure in an unstructured world. Sue me for being a creature of habit. But like I always say with a smile here in Salone, "A de try fo go manage, smol smol." It's my way of saying "Serenity Now!" (Seinfeld reference).

So for now, I am still in the middle of prepping the computer lab which is a dusty dark room filled with 2006 Macs. Something is better than nothing and this is more than what any other school has. Except for Muraldo, the rival all-boys school in Lunsar where my site mate teaches at. >:P

Actually, I'll only be teaching 3 computer classes a week for most of Term1 since my SS1 students will most likely not show up until Term2. Why, you ask? Well, after JS3, they take the BECE (Basic Education Competency Exam) and they cannot move onto SS1 until those results come out which should be October-ish? The "?" is to emphasize that it should be October but is most unlikely especially with upcoming elections in November where the government may close the schools down for around 2 weeks (note the "around"). It doesn't make sense to me why a student should only attend 2/3 of a school year. Making note of holes in the educational system :/

Oh Salone, once again I have to set my standards to another low. I didn't realize that there was a literal sense of just "showing up to work".

So, tomorrow's gameplan..........School, Day #2, I will literally just show up to work and continue the shoulder shrugging and thumb twiddling. I will definitely buy another meat pie. Oh, but I will change one thing; I will bring a good book.

My slogan for the day is: "Making A Difference In West Africa, One Meat Pie At A Time!"