Okay-- I can't actually believe I am going to blog about this, but I am. As the whole world knows, Michael Jackson has died. I know that many people are fans, how can one not be, but still, I never never thought that some people would take it so hard. Especially here.No lie.
Numerous people that I know here are devastated. At first I thought they were joking, but then I soon came to realize that they were being serious. And honestly this shocked me.
I understand and believe that he was a great singer and truly changed music history with many of his songs and albums, and lets not forget the dancing. But still. He has not released anything recently, remember he was going to tour again because he was out of money. And yes I'm going to say it, let us not forget about the whole mess involving him and the possible child molesting. I refuse to bring that into it, because everyone has an opinion, so I will just put it out there.
In my book he deserves to be mourned, of course. But does it mean that the average person needs to stop their life for a day, I think not. Maybe this is insensitive, everyone deals with sorrow differently, but still. It just boggles the mind.
When I was on facebook yesterday(Friday) I read an interesting thing. One of my friends had said that the whole world news was dominated with the death of one man, yet the fact there was a explosion on a bus in Iraq that killed how many people, people are even talking about. His comment really summed up how I felt.
Well so as not to go on and on about MJ, I want to just make one more observation. First I want to say that of course what I am about to say is not how everyone thinks here, but I have had this conversation with more than one person here.
I have talked with some people that think Michael Jackson is African.(note its not just him, but he is a good case example, and the discussion was brought back up since he died)
Now for us, he is African-American. He was born and raised in America. So were his parents. So are most African-Americans. Many families have even been in American much longer than us "white folks" who might have came later, eg through ellis island. But people here still say they are African and don't see a difference. From what I can tell, nationality, heritage, and ethinicity is sometimes very hard to explain to some people here. I have also had similiar discussions with other people from my group, so I know they have encountered this too. Not really sure what it means, but it does make my mind tumble.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Proverbs
Normally when I am at school I do internet in 2 places. Either I'm in one of the staff rooms or I am in one of the senior 1 classrooms. I like this because the students always leave me alone and I feel I can do my browsing in relative peace.
In the back of the classroom I am currently sitting in I always see a poster that says Proverbs on it. Now up till now I have never actually gone all the way back to read them, but today I did. And after reading them I decided that I had to share them. It should be noted that I have copied the poster exactly how the students have it.
Proverbs
1. A word to the wise is enough.
2.A rolling stone gathers no mass.
3. Traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books.
4. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
5. One man's meat is another man's poison.
6. Where there is a way there is a will.
7. A great talker is a great liar.
8. You leap what you sow.
9. Actions act more than words
10. A good liar should have a good memory
11. Time lost is never gained.
12. Try and fail but never fail to try.
13. Laugh laugh makes silly.
14. Think twice before you act.
15. Practise makes perfect
16. Knowledge is power.
17. Prevention is better than cure.
18. Nevercross a bridge before you come to it.
19. Cut your cloth according to your coat.
20. Charity begins at home.
Now that you have read them, I think you can agree that it is a little bit amusing. I will admit that some of them are good, but I also have to say that some of them I do not like. Now if you know me, you can most likely guess which one that is(cough number 3 cough cough).
But what can you do?
The only real question I have is who gave them this list of proverbs?
In the back of the classroom I am currently sitting in I always see a poster that says Proverbs on it. Now up till now I have never actually gone all the way back to read them, but today I did. And after reading them I decided that I had to share them. It should be noted that I have copied the poster exactly how the students have it.
Proverbs
1. A word to the wise is enough.
2.A rolling stone gathers no mass.
3. Traveling thousands of miles is better than reading thousands of books.
4. A friend in need is a friend indeed.
5. One man's meat is another man's poison.
6. Where there is a way there is a will.
7. A great talker is a great liar.
8. You leap what you sow.
9. Actions act more than words
10. A good liar should have a good memory
11. Time lost is never gained.
12. Try and fail but never fail to try.
13. Laugh laugh makes silly.
14. Think twice before you act.
15. Practise makes perfect
16. Knowledge is power.
17. Prevention is better than cure.
18. Nevercross a bridge before you come to it.
19. Cut your cloth according to your coat.
20. Charity begins at home.
Now that you have read them, I think you can agree that it is a little bit amusing. I will admit that some of them are good, but I also have to say that some of them I do not like. Now if you know me, you can most likely guess which one that is(cough number 3 cough cough).
But what can you do?
The only real question I have is who gave them this list of proverbs?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Hillywood
Rwanda Film Festival
For the fifth year running Rwanda has had a film festival also called Hillywood. It is a traveling festival that goes in the cities but also the villages. They travel with a blow up screen and show the movies to the people. The movies are about a variety of things, from documentaries about different African countries to comedies and dramas directed by Africans, and even some random foreign films.
So far I have gone and seen 4 movies.
The first was Children of Congo. It was a documentary focused on the street children in Kinshasha and Goma. One of the most interesting aspects of the movie was the relation of children to being on the street and them being accused of sorcery. To be honest I had never thought of this. From what the film showed, it seems that when bad times fall on families they can blame it on a child, accuse them of sorcery or witchcraft, and then kick them out of the house. Of course the children are not witches.
Aside from looking at the causes of street children, the film also looked into the different programs that are trying to help the children and make whatever dent into the problem they can.
Overall I thought it was an okay documentary.
The next film I saw was Iron Ladies of Liberia. This is a go see. For sure. It is a documentary following the President of Liberia's first year in office. It also follows the new police commissioner of the country. Both of these positions belonged to women for the first time. The documentary takes place right after Liberia went through major conflicts. Not only is it informational to those of us who are not so well informed, but it also is enlightening to see women in such positions of power and how they deal with it.
I highly suggest if you can find this film, that you get it, and watch it.
The third documentary I watched with my friends was called War Child. It is a documentary about Emmanuel Jah, a child soldier from the Sudan who has become singer/rapper. He tells his story and then we get to see him go back to Southern Sudan for the first time since he was smuggled out as a child. One of the most amazing parts of the film was the achival footage they had of him as a boy in a UN refugee camp in Ethiopia.
Although at times it seemed a little to long and that it wouldn't ever rap up, I can still say that I enjoyed it and learned a lot.
If you cannot find this documentary I would suggest you look up some of his music, because he sings about his past experiences.
The last movie that I have seen as of now was called Iesta. It was the shortest documentary at only 55 minutes. But by far those 55 minutes are the most well used. As we all know 15 years ago there was a rwandan genocide. Too many people were killed, yet there is only one documented killing while it happened. Those murdered were recorded by cameraman Nick Hughes. If you hav ever watched anything about the genocide I am sure you have seen the clip, because it is the only clip of killings actually happening, everything else is just of the bodies afterwards.
This documentary is about Nick Hughes going back to Rwanda to find out who were the people he captured on tape being killed, and who were the people did it. This movie was obviously emotional on all fronts, but I have to say that it was also very interesting. I can't rightly explain. Or rather I can't find the write words to explain. But please look into this documentary.
For the fifth year running Rwanda has had a film festival also called Hillywood. It is a traveling festival that goes in the cities but also the villages. They travel with a blow up screen and show the movies to the people. The movies are about a variety of things, from documentaries about different African countries to comedies and dramas directed by Africans, and even some random foreign films.
So far I have gone and seen 4 movies.
The first was Children of Congo. It was a documentary focused on the street children in Kinshasha and Goma. One of the most interesting aspects of the movie was the relation of children to being on the street and them being accused of sorcery. To be honest I had never thought of this. From what the film showed, it seems that when bad times fall on families they can blame it on a child, accuse them of sorcery or witchcraft, and then kick them out of the house. Of course the children are not witches.
Aside from looking at the causes of street children, the film also looked into the different programs that are trying to help the children and make whatever dent into the problem they can.
Overall I thought it was an okay documentary.
The next film I saw was Iron Ladies of Liberia. This is a go see. For sure. It is a documentary following the President of Liberia's first year in office. It also follows the new police commissioner of the country. Both of these positions belonged to women for the first time. The documentary takes place right after Liberia went through major conflicts. Not only is it informational to those of us who are not so well informed, but it also is enlightening to see women in such positions of power and how they deal with it.
I highly suggest if you can find this film, that you get it, and watch it.
The third documentary I watched with my friends was called War Child. It is a documentary about Emmanuel Jah, a child soldier from the Sudan who has become singer/rapper. He tells his story and then we get to see him go back to Southern Sudan for the first time since he was smuggled out as a child. One of the most amazing parts of the film was the achival footage they had of him as a boy in a UN refugee camp in Ethiopia.
Although at times it seemed a little to long and that it wouldn't ever rap up, I can still say that I enjoyed it and learned a lot.
If you cannot find this documentary I would suggest you look up some of his music, because he sings about his past experiences.
The last movie that I have seen as of now was called Iesta. It was the shortest documentary at only 55 minutes. But by far those 55 minutes are the most well used. As we all know 15 years ago there was a rwandan genocide. Too many people were killed, yet there is only one documented killing while it happened. Those murdered were recorded by cameraman Nick Hughes. If you hav ever watched anything about the genocide I am sure you have seen the clip, because it is the only clip of killings actually happening, everything else is just of the bodies afterwards.
This documentary is about Nick Hughes going back to Rwanda to find out who were the people he captured on tape being killed, and who were the people did it. This movie was obviously emotional on all fronts, but I have to say that it was also very interesting. I can't rightly explain. Or rather I can't find the write words to explain. But please look into this documentary.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Sample Tests
I have not wrote about school in a while, and since we are a little over half-way throught term 2 I decided it might be nice for me to show some samples of the work that I give my students. I am going to show you two different classes, aka different levels.
Now these samples are a little different then what I normally give, because I used them as a gauge to see how much of what I am saying the students actually understand. You will see that there are no equations or reactions that need to be solved, no math to be done. They are purely short answer questions. Everything that I asked I have taught, or it is something they should have already known, but I have noticed that they have problems with the topic.
Sample 1:
S5BCM2
Subject: Chemistry
Teacher:GPal
1. Draw 4 structures that are the following:
(1) Ammonia
(2) Primary Amine
(3) Seconday Amine
(4) Tertiary Amine
*Make sure you name the three amines*
2. Why don't carboxylic acids dimerise in the presence of water?
3. Are carboxylic acids soluble in water?
intermolecular forces?
4. If we have two solutions of the same concentration, which will have a lower(more acidic) pH, methanoic acid or ethanoic acid?
5. a) What two compounds can be used in the reduction of aldehydes and ketones?
b) What compound can be used in the reduction of carboxylic acids?
c) Why can't the same two compounds work for aldehydes, ketones, AND carboxylic acids?
6. When a reaction is said to be violent, what does that description mean?
7. a)When a reaction is conducted under reflux, what does this mean?
b) Why would someone want to conduct an experiment under reflux?
8. What is the structural difference between a carboxylic acid and an acid chloride?
9. Name 3 compounds that could be used to create an acid chloride from a carboxylic acid.
10. What does decarboxylation mean?
11. a) What are acid derivatives?
b)Give an example of a compound that is an acid derivative.
12. Why do acid chlorides have a strong smell?
13. a) Are acid chlorides solube in water?
b) If so, are all possible acid chlorides solube?
c) If not, why aren't they soluble?
14. What do water, alcohols, and phenols have in common?
15. a)Asprin is a product of reacting what with an acid chloride?
b)What is Asprin?
16. a)What does the term "N-substututed amine" mean?
b) Draw an example.
17. What does the word anhydride mean?
18. What is the structural difference between carboxylic acids and acid anhydrides?(Draw if you need help explaining your words)
19. Why is there no such thing as an aqueous solutionof an acid anhydride?
20. If we want to compare the stength of intermolecular forces between 2 compounds, what must be true so that we can correctly conduct the comparison?
21. What type of compounds have a permanent dipole?
22. a)What possible intermolecular forces could a non-polar molecule have?
b)What possible intermolecular forces could a polar molecule have?
Sample 2:
S4BCM
Subject:Chemistry
Teacher:GPal
1.Draw a wave
a)Identify the wavelength on the drawing.
b) Identify the amplitude on the drawing.
2.Give the equation that shows the relationship between lamda,nu, and c. Identify what each variable symbolizes and what the units of the variable are.
3.What is the difference between a continous spectrum and a line spectrum?
4.a)What is the general meaning of a spectrum?
b)Give an example of a specific spectrum.
5.What is the ground state of an atom?
6.When something is quantized, what does it mean?
7.An electron can move up and down between different energy states.
a)Which direction is it traveling when energy is absorbed?
b)Which direction is it traveling when energy is emitted?
8.An electron starts at one energy level and moves to another.
Give an example of where the electron will start and end if it is part of the:
a)Lyman Series
b) Balmar Series
9.An electron can be described as having properties of what two things?
10. What does the uncertainty principle state?
11.What does Paul's Exclusion Principle state?
12. What are quantum numbers used for?
13.Name each quantum number and give its symbol.
14.What values can the quantum number ml have?
15.How many nodal surfaces does a 3p orbital have?
16.What is the number of orbitals in a subshell?
17.How many total different orbitals are there in the n=3 energy level?
18.If n=3 and ml=-2 , what must be the value of l?
19.How many d orbitals are there?
20.What is an electron density plot?
21. What orbital has 3 nodal surfaces and 8 regions of electron density?
22.What does the orientation of a orbital refer to?
23. What are the 2 possible orientations for the electron spin magnetic quantum number?
24.a)What does diamagnetic mean?
b)What does paramagnetic mean?
25. If n=1, what are the values of the other 3 quantum numbers?
I will let post later about the results of my students..aka how they did on these tests..
Now these samples are a little different then what I normally give, because I used them as a gauge to see how much of what I am saying the students actually understand. You will see that there are no equations or reactions that need to be solved, no math to be done. They are purely short answer questions. Everything that I asked I have taught, or it is something they should have already known, but I have noticed that they have problems with the topic.
Sample 1:
S5BCM2
Subject: Chemistry
Teacher:GPal
1. Draw 4 structures that are the following:
(1) Ammonia
(2) Primary Amine
(3) Seconday Amine
(4) Tertiary Amine
*Make sure you name the three amines*
2. Why don't carboxylic acids dimerise in the presence of water?
3. Are carboxylic acids soluble in water?
intermolecular forces?
4. If we have two solutions of the same concentration, which will have a lower(more acidic) pH, methanoic acid or ethanoic acid?
5. a) What two compounds can be used in the reduction of aldehydes and ketones?
b) What compound can be used in the reduction of carboxylic acids?
c) Why can't the same two compounds work for aldehydes, ketones, AND carboxylic acids?
6. When a reaction is said to be violent, what does that description mean?
7. a)When a reaction is conducted under reflux, what does this mean?
b) Why would someone want to conduct an experiment under reflux?
8. What is the structural difference between a carboxylic acid and an acid chloride?
9. Name 3 compounds that could be used to create an acid chloride from a carboxylic acid.
10. What does decarboxylation mean?
11. a) What are acid derivatives?
b)Give an example of a compound that is an acid derivative.
12. Why do acid chlorides have a strong smell?
13. a) Are acid chlorides solube in water?
b) If so, are all possible acid chlorides solube?
c) If not, why aren't they soluble?
14. What do water, alcohols, and phenols have in common?
15. a)Asprin is a product of reacting what with an acid chloride?
b)What is Asprin?
16. a)What does the term "N-substututed amine" mean?
b) Draw an example.
17. What does the word anhydride mean?
18. What is the structural difference between carboxylic acids and acid anhydrides?(Draw if you need help explaining your words)
19. Why is there no such thing as an aqueous solutionof an acid anhydride?
20. If we want to compare the stength of intermolecular forces between 2 compounds, what must be true so that we can correctly conduct the comparison?
21. What type of compounds have a permanent dipole?
22. a)What possible intermolecular forces could a non-polar molecule have?
b)What possible intermolecular forces could a polar molecule have?
Sample 2:
S4BCM
Subject:Chemistry
Teacher:GPal
1.Draw a wave
a)Identify the wavelength on the drawing.
b) Identify the amplitude on the drawing.
2.Give the equation that shows the relationship between lamda,nu, and c. Identify what each variable symbolizes and what the units of the variable are.
3.What is the difference between a continous spectrum and a line spectrum?
4.a)What is the general meaning of a spectrum?
b)Give an example of a specific spectrum.
5.What is the ground state of an atom?
6.When something is quantized, what does it mean?
7.An electron can move up and down between different energy states.
a)Which direction is it traveling when energy is absorbed?
b)Which direction is it traveling when energy is emitted?
8.An electron starts at one energy level and moves to another.
Give an example of where the electron will start and end if it is part of the:
a)Lyman Series
b) Balmar Series
9.An electron can be described as having properties of what two things?
10. What does the uncertainty principle state?
11.What does Paul's Exclusion Principle state?
12. What are quantum numbers used for?
13.Name each quantum number and give its symbol.
14.What values can the quantum number ml have?
15.How many nodal surfaces does a 3p orbital have?
16.What is the number of orbitals in a subshell?
17.How many total different orbitals are there in the n=3 energy level?
18.If n=3 and ml=-2 , what must be the value of l?
19.How many d orbitals are there?
20.What is an electron density plot?
21. What orbital has 3 nodal surfaces and 8 regions of electron density?
22.What does the orientation of a orbital refer to?
23. What are the 2 possible orientations for the electron spin magnetic quantum number?
24.a)What does diamagnetic mean?
b)What does paramagnetic mean?
25. If n=1, what are the values of the other 3 quantum numbers?
I will let post later about the results of my students..aka how they did on these tests..
Rwandan Women's Network--Village of Hope
Some of you might not know, but at the start of term 2 I got a housemate. She is American, and is working for the Peace Corps. Part of her job at my school is so start and run an outreach/community service club for the students(e.g. key club in highschool).
She had gotten a suggestion from our headmistress to work with the Rwandan Women's Network. This sounded like a good idea, so she decided to go for it. Since she had never been there or knew anyting about it, I offered to go with her, since I too had never gone, but two people are always better than one, right?HAHA..
I don't know all the facts, but if you are interested, I would say google the group. But I will give you what background I do know. It is an organization that started in 1996 for women and their children who survived the genocide. The do a variety of programs. From teaching basic heatlh, their human rights, to entreprenuership skills, the organization trys to give these women not only an education, but a way to make a life for themselves. They also have a place called the village of hope, which is a set of homes where the women can live. They are all over Rwanda,but one of their sites is about a 40 minute walk from my school.
This past Saturday was Umuganda.(for those of you who do not remember, this is the monthly community service that the entire country MUST participate in). My roomie worked out that we would take 30 students over and they would work in the compound. Since I was interested and since it was the first time they were going I offered to my roomie to go with her. She of course accepted. So Saturday morning at 7 am we met with the 30 students and headed out. We brought slashers(curved machetes used to cut grass), hoes, and brooms. Once we made it over there we met with a bunch of the women and we divided the girls up into working groups. It was really neat to see the students working alongside the women. I too did work.. I didn't just sit around and watch... don't worry, my momma taught my better.
I worked with the hoeing group. All my students were soooo surprised that I knew how to use a hoe and that I was giving them lessons. They were like "teacher, did you grow up on a farm?" I laughed and said of course not, but I am an adult so of course I know how to do work..haha.. sometimes the girls just make me laugh soo much; I just want to know what do they think my life was like.
I also showed some of the girls how to properly sweep. One needs to put some force into it. Especially with the dusty floors here. I did not try cutting the grass, but at some point I do, its just that the slasher actually looks hard to use. After the work was done the women brought out drums, and they and the students started singing and dancing around. It was really neat.
Before we knew it it was time to go.
At the moment my roomie is working on a proposal for what other projects we can do on a weekly basis. I'm not sure how involved I can get, just because I am very busy with teaching, but this is definitely something that when I have time, I want to go to also.
She had gotten a suggestion from our headmistress to work with the Rwandan Women's Network. This sounded like a good idea, so she decided to go for it. Since she had never been there or knew anyting about it, I offered to go with her, since I too had never gone, but two people are always better than one, right?HAHA..
I don't know all the facts, but if you are interested, I would say google the group. But I will give you what background I do know. It is an organization that started in 1996 for women and their children who survived the genocide. The do a variety of programs. From teaching basic heatlh, their human rights, to entreprenuership skills, the organization trys to give these women not only an education, but a way to make a life for themselves. They also have a place called the village of hope, which is a set of homes where the women can live. They are all over Rwanda,but one of their sites is about a 40 minute walk from my school.
This past Saturday was Umuganda.(for those of you who do not remember, this is the monthly community service that the entire country MUST participate in). My roomie worked out that we would take 30 students over and they would work in the compound. Since I was interested and since it was the first time they were going I offered to my roomie to go with her. She of course accepted. So Saturday morning at 7 am we met with the 30 students and headed out. We brought slashers(curved machetes used to cut grass), hoes, and brooms. Once we made it over there we met with a bunch of the women and we divided the girls up into working groups. It was really neat to see the students working alongside the women. I too did work.. I didn't just sit around and watch... don't worry, my momma taught my better.
I worked with the hoeing group. All my students were soooo surprised that I knew how to use a hoe and that I was giving them lessons. They were like "teacher, did you grow up on a farm?" I laughed and said of course not, but I am an adult so of course I know how to do work..haha.. sometimes the girls just make me laugh soo much; I just want to know what do they think my life was like.
I also showed some of the girls how to properly sweep. One needs to put some force into it. Especially with the dusty floors here. I did not try cutting the grass, but at some point I do, its just that the slasher actually looks hard to use. After the work was done the women brought out drums, and they and the students started singing and dancing around. It was really neat.
Before we knew it it was time to go.
At the moment my roomie is working on a proposal for what other projects we can do on a weekly basis. I'm not sure how involved I can get, just because I am very busy with teaching, but this is definitely something that when I have time, I want to go to also.
Football For Real This Time
Now for those of you who did not read my last post, I will quickly update you. I am the football coach at my school. We were supposed to have a game; it didn't happen because the students did not have proper identification.
This is now the story of the game that eventually did happen.
The following Friday we had the gam rescheduled for. The students had a week for the school to make them identity cards. Somehow, they actually came through, and every player had a card.(oh side note--the most frustrated part of the previous Sunday had been that the basketball team had also not has identity cards, and they let them play)
We had to leave school early to go to the game because it was being played at some other school's field. It was about 40 minutes away. That means bus ride with students. HAHA.. man did I feel old watching them do all their singing and chanting and clapping as we were driving. We finally arrived at the school, we got off the bus, and then had to walk to the field. Now this seconday school was right next to a primary school. All the children were just playing in the yard. What happens when I come by. They go CRAZY. I had over 100 children crowded around me because they all wanted to say hello and touch me. I actually had to tell my students to continue on without me because there was no way that I could move. Eventually I was able to start moving, but I had about 30 follow me to the field. As much as I might complain about the whole muzungu thing, I will admit that when children like these do it, I honestly can't get angry at them. They aren't asking me for money, and they aren't trying to be rude. They just don't know any better because they have never seen a white person before.
Okay-back to football. Our girls won 3-0. Not to brag, but we walked all over them.HAHA... The funny thing being that there were soo many mistakes my girls were making. At times it was soo frustrating because I wanted to scream out at them to do things, but their comprenhension of English is not that good, then add in the fact that they are spread out over a field and are concentrating on playing, they couldn't follow what I was saying.
After the game we had our bus ride back. The girls were soo excited. I had thought they were energetic on the way, it was nothing compared to the way back. It was actually a lot of fun. They made me smile the whole way back.
In the end I was very pleased that not only did we get to play, but also that we won. I will admit I had been worried about how they would take it if we lost..haha.. but luckily we didn't. :)
This is now the story of the game that eventually did happen.
The following Friday we had the gam rescheduled for. The students had a week for the school to make them identity cards. Somehow, they actually came through, and every player had a card.(oh side note--the most frustrated part of the previous Sunday had been that the basketball team had also not has identity cards, and they let them play)
We had to leave school early to go to the game because it was being played at some other school's field. It was about 40 minutes away. That means bus ride with students. HAHA.. man did I feel old watching them do all their singing and chanting and clapping as we were driving. We finally arrived at the school, we got off the bus, and then had to walk to the field. Now this seconday school was right next to a primary school. All the children were just playing in the yard. What happens when I come by. They go CRAZY. I had over 100 children crowded around me because they all wanted to say hello and touch me. I actually had to tell my students to continue on without me because there was no way that I could move. Eventually I was able to start moving, but I had about 30 follow me to the field. As much as I might complain about the whole muzungu thing, I will admit that when children like these do it, I honestly can't get angry at them. They aren't asking me for money, and they aren't trying to be rude. They just don't know any better because they have never seen a white person before.
Okay-back to football. Our girls won 3-0. Not to brag, but we walked all over them.HAHA... The funny thing being that there were soo many mistakes my girls were making. At times it was soo frustrating because I wanted to scream out at them to do things, but their comprenhension of English is not that good, then add in the fact that they are spread out over a field and are concentrating on playing, they couldn't follow what I was saying.
After the game we had our bus ride back. The girls were soo excited. I had thought they were energetic on the way, it was nothing compared to the way back. It was actually a lot of fun. They made me smile the whole way back.
In the end I was very pleased that not only did we get to play, but also that we won. I will admit I had been worried about how they would take it if we lost..haha.. but luckily we didn't. :)
Finally Football
For the last few months of I have been the soccer, or as we will call it from here on out,the football coach of my school's team. Now all this really entails is taking the girls to football practice every day. Since our school does not have a field of its own we need to go to fields that are near by. The closest field is behind a lumber yard, about a 10-15 minute walk, depending on how lazy the students are being.
But because this field is used by others, the only days that we have found it not occupied are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thusday we just run. And in all honesty the running is good because many of the girls are very out of shape.
The few students that are very good play multiple sports, so they can't always come to football. Not to mention the fact that volleyball and basketball have regular games, so of course the girls need to practice for those more.
This means that most of the time I end up with a rag tag group of students. Well that is not exactly true. I normally end up with a bunch of the younger students who just want to get off the school grounds, so doing sports with me provides them with a way to get out.
The reason for this post now is because in the last week I had two funny football stories.
Story Number 1:
It had rained for about 3 days. Many hours each day(normally this does not happen). Then the sun came out. I took a group of students to go play football. We found the field already occupied. There was the other field that we could see, but that we had never been too. I suggested that we go. I told the captain to start leading the girls and I would follow up in the rear.
Bad Idea Number One that I had. To go from the field that we were at to the other field we had to cross a boggy marsh. The trail we were following started out well. But then we started encountering all of the trenches of muddy water that we needed to jump. Of course this was Bad Idea Number 2. In case you have never seen me jump, lets just say I was not gifted with that athleticism. For lets say the first 8 jumps I did very well. I was even helping the students across. Then--the final jump--now it didn't look that bad, but because I wanted to be careful I always give myself a running start.
I cleared the trench. But what happens when you get a running start and then jump, you continue for a few steps after the jump. Well, I had seen grass on the other side and it hadn't worried me. Bad Thought Number One. it was not grass. It was water grass. That means that when I cleared the muddy trench water I then 'landed' in water grass. The water went up to my knees. I am serious. All the students just stood there in shock and started saying sorry sorry teacher. I of course climbed out and said its okay,lets keep going. We then played football for two hours--me in soaking wet shoes and socks, not to mention wet and dirty legs. We shall say it was 'pleasant.'
On the way home I told the girls that we need to find another way back, and luckily the captain is a good girl, and she came through. It was a little longer of a trip, but totally worth it.
Story Number 2:
The next day I took the girls to play football again since we had a game on Sunday(it was friday now). For extra help two of my fellow teachers came with me. Which was really nice. We decided to just go directly back to the field we had used the previous day. Once again I had the captain lead the girls, and she was kind enough to take us on the slightly longer path, but the dry one. We had a decent practice.
At the end of practice I told the girls we had to go back to school and I asked the captain to lead the girls again(I always follow up in the rear to make sure I don't lose any students). Well my two fellow teachers come to me before we set off and say, why are we going to go that way, its faster to go the other way. All the students start laughing. I then inform them that the students were being kind to me so I don't wet again because I'm not a very good jumper. Both men laughed for about 5 minutes, and then they said too bad because we are going that way.HA. so then I had to do the jumping again. BUT-this time-I was succesful. aka I did not get wet.
Story Number 3:
We are going to skip ahead in time to Sunday. On Saturday we did have practice, from 7 am to 11.30 am. It was hard core. though nothing really special happened.
Sunday morning-7 am. We meet the students. There was both a basketball and football, so it was a good number of students coming to play. Not to mention about the 20 students we were taking as spectators. This being where it is, we didn't actually leave till around 8.30 after all is said and done. We traveled about 15 minutes away to a school that did have their own field/court. It was a coed school, and being a sunday there were many students around to watch. Basketball started playing first. About 20 minutes into their game, the other football coach started to get in a huff that we needed to start football. Now for purposes like this, I am not the coach, one of the guys is, just because it makes interactions easier.
These two men argued for about 10 minutes about how why can't we wait till the basketball is over because three of our players for football are on the basketball team. While the other man's point was that students can only be on one team.
Well conclusion of the arguement: we have to start football. I get the girls and tell them to head over to the field so can start warming up. Meanwhile I spoke with the basketball coach and he said after another 15 minutes he can give me the girls(our team was winning by a lot).
Here comes the Drama.
The people in charge of district sports come to check the girls out. We had to have a list of the students playing(roster), and identification to prove they were who we said they were(so we can't bring in ringers). For proof we have a team photo. This did not go over well. They wanted individual identity cards for each students. But our students did not have them. This then started a 90 minute arguement. And I am really not lieing. It was intense. Students were involved. I was involved. Everybody was saying something to somebody.
Now I understand the issue they have, but I could not understand why we couldn't just play the game under protest, so at least that way the girls get to play. But NO NO NO, the other team's coach was having none of them. At one point I had to drag away the two men from my school because they were getting so angry I knew that nothing good could come of it.
In the end we didn't get to play. We went back and watched the boys basketball game that came after the girl's. Although it was a good day, I know all the students were really dissapointed about it. Because I was feeling bad for them, and because we had been gone from school soo long, and they missed lunch, I bought enough gum to give each girl a piece. It was amazing how happy that made them. Essentially they were all just tuckered out. We didn't get back to school till 4 pm. Now we had asked the kitchen to save them food, but they didnt save enough, so the oldest girls/captains didn't eat at all, whilst the rest of the girls were just sharing food.
Since I felt bad for them I invited the 5 students back to my house and made them pasta and green beans. It was nice. I think they enjoyed it. At least it was something different for them(the girls eat the same food everyday)(well then again so do I, but I do it because I like to, they do it because they don't have another choice).
Well thats the end of my three football stories in one week. As you can tell, it sure was a long week.
But because this field is used by others, the only days that we have found it not occupied are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thusday we just run. And in all honesty the running is good because many of the girls are very out of shape.
The few students that are very good play multiple sports, so they can't always come to football. Not to mention the fact that volleyball and basketball have regular games, so of course the girls need to practice for those more.
This means that most of the time I end up with a rag tag group of students. Well that is not exactly true. I normally end up with a bunch of the younger students who just want to get off the school grounds, so doing sports with me provides them with a way to get out.
The reason for this post now is because in the last week I had two funny football stories.
Story Number 1:
It had rained for about 3 days. Many hours each day(normally this does not happen). Then the sun came out. I took a group of students to go play football. We found the field already occupied. There was the other field that we could see, but that we had never been too. I suggested that we go. I told the captain to start leading the girls and I would follow up in the rear.
Bad Idea Number One that I had. To go from the field that we were at to the other field we had to cross a boggy marsh. The trail we were following started out well. But then we started encountering all of the trenches of muddy water that we needed to jump. Of course this was Bad Idea Number 2. In case you have never seen me jump, lets just say I was not gifted with that athleticism. For lets say the first 8 jumps I did very well. I was even helping the students across. Then--the final jump--now it didn't look that bad, but because I wanted to be careful I always give myself a running start.
I cleared the trench. But what happens when you get a running start and then jump, you continue for a few steps after the jump. Well, I had seen grass on the other side and it hadn't worried me. Bad Thought Number One. it was not grass. It was water grass. That means that when I cleared the muddy trench water I then 'landed' in water grass. The water went up to my knees. I am serious. All the students just stood there in shock and started saying sorry sorry teacher. I of course climbed out and said its okay,lets keep going. We then played football for two hours--me in soaking wet shoes and socks, not to mention wet and dirty legs. We shall say it was 'pleasant.'
On the way home I told the girls that we need to find another way back, and luckily the captain is a good girl, and she came through. It was a little longer of a trip, but totally worth it.
Story Number 2:
The next day I took the girls to play football again since we had a game on Sunday(it was friday now). For extra help two of my fellow teachers came with me. Which was really nice. We decided to just go directly back to the field we had used the previous day. Once again I had the captain lead the girls, and she was kind enough to take us on the slightly longer path, but the dry one. We had a decent practice.
At the end of practice I told the girls we had to go back to school and I asked the captain to lead the girls again(I always follow up in the rear to make sure I don't lose any students). Well my two fellow teachers come to me before we set off and say, why are we going to go that way, its faster to go the other way. All the students start laughing. I then inform them that the students were being kind to me so I don't wet again because I'm not a very good jumper. Both men laughed for about 5 minutes, and then they said too bad because we are going that way.HA. so then I had to do the jumping again. BUT-this time-I was succesful. aka I did not get wet.
Story Number 3:
We are going to skip ahead in time to Sunday. On Saturday we did have practice, from 7 am to 11.30 am. It was hard core. though nothing really special happened.
Sunday morning-7 am. We meet the students. There was both a basketball and football, so it was a good number of students coming to play. Not to mention about the 20 students we were taking as spectators. This being where it is, we didn't actually leave till around 8.30 after all is said and done. We traveled about 15 minutes away to a school that did have their own field/court. It was a coed school, and being a sunday there were many students around to watch. Basketball started playing first. About 20 minutes into their game, the other football coach started to get in a huff that we needed to start football. Now for purposes like this, I am not the coach, one of the guys is, just because it makes interactions easier.
These two men argued for about 10 minutes about how why can't we wait till the basketball is over because three of our players for football are on the basketball team. While the other man's point was that students can only be on one team.
Well conclusion of the arguement: we have to start football. I get the girls and tell them to head over to the field so can start warming up. Meanwhile I spoke with the basketball coach and he said after another 15 minutes he can give me the girls(our team was winning by a lot).
Here comes the Drama.
The people in charge of district sports come to check the girls out. We had to have a list of the students playing(roster), and identification to prove they were who we said they were(so we can't bring in ringers). For proof we have a team photo. This did not go over well. They wanted individual identity cards for each students. But our students did not have them. This then started a 90 minute arguement. And I am really not lieing. It was intense. Students were involved. I was involved. Everybody was saying something to somebody.
Now I understand the issue they have, but I could not understand why we couldn't just play the game under protest, so at least that way the girls get to play. But NO NO NO, the other team's coach was having none of them. At one point I had to drag away the two men from my school because they were getting so angry I knew that nothing good could come of it.
In the end we didn't get to play. We went back and watched the boys basketball game that came after the girl's. Although it was a good day, I know all the students were really dissapointed about it. Because I was feeling bad for them, and because we had been gone from school soo long, and they missed lunch, I bought enough gum to give each girl a piece. It was amazing how happy that made them. Essentially they were all just tuckered out. We didn't get back to school till 4 pm. Now we had asked the kitchen to save them food, but they didnt save enough, so the oldest girls/captains didn't eat at all, whilst the rest of the girls were just sharing food.
Since I felt bad for them I invited the 5 students back to my house and made them pasta and green beans. It was nice. I think they enjoyed it. At least it was something different for them(the girls eat the same food everyday)(well then again so do I, but I do it because I like to, they do it because they don't have another choice).
Well thats the end of my three football stories in one week. As you can tell, it sure was a long week.
Dos de Mayos
Now many of you may be thinking, is this girl crazy? doesn't she know her dates? yes yes yes, you can assure yourself that I am not crazy. We just celebrated dos de mayos, and here's why: it was one of my friend's birthday's. She and her husband are from Houston, and had originally met working in a Mexican restaurant, hence the themed party.(not to mention any reason to drink is a good reason)
Almost everyone from my program showed up. It was essentially an open house starting at noon and going till whenever at night. It was essentually BYOB, and then everyone chipped in on bringing different snacks. For instance I had been asked to bring 2 pineapples.
Let me tell you it was a great party. Just very relaxing. It gave us all a chance to chat and talk about how our second term had started, and also let us be free since we were inside a house and not everyone was looking at us because of our skin color.
We had samosas with gaucamole and salsa that my friend made, and then in the evening we had 'quesadillas' on chapati. Not to mention all the fruit and little snacks. We also 'roasted' peanuts..haha..
It was also great because we used the even as a giant book exchange because we were all in the same place at the same time for once..
I took a book that I had heard about for ages,but never had a chance to read--The Alchemist. For those of you who have not read it, I highly recommend it. It is not a long book, and it truely is a great read for so many reasons.
Since it was my friend's b-day, I wanted to get her something, but then the question becomes, what does one need here? We don't lead very exciting lives. really. So I decided to do what I could, give money to buy food, because that is really all we spend money on. I gave her a 1000 rwf, and told her to not spend it all in one place.haha..this is funny because 1000 rwf is less than 2 usd.
So for all of you who celebrated cinque de mayo, I hope you had fun, but I don't think you could have had as much fun as I did. :)
Almost everyone from my program showed up. It was essentially an open house starting at noon and going till whenever at night. It was essentually BYOB, and then everyone chipped in on bringing different snacks. For instance I had been asked to bring 2 pineapples.
Let me tell you it was a great party. Just very relaxing. It gave us all a chance to chat and talk about how our second term had started, and also let us be free since we were inside a house and not everyone was looking at us because of our skin color.
We had samosas with gaucamole and salsa that my friend made, and then in the evening we had 'quesadillas' on chapati. Not to mention all the fruit and little snacks. We also 'roasted' peanuts..haha..
It was also great because we used the even as a giant book exchange because we were all in the same place at the same time for once..
I took a book that I had heard about for ages,but never had a chance to read--The Alchemist. For those of you who have not read it, I highly recommend it. It is not a long book, and it truely is a great read for so many reasons.
Since it was my friend's b-day, I wanted to get her something, but then the question becomes, what does one need here? We don't lead very exciting lives. really. So I decided to do what I could, give money to buy food, because that is really all we spend money on. I gave her a 1000 rwf, and told her to not spend it all in one place.haha..this is funny because 1000 rwf is less than 2 usd.
So for all of you who celebrated cinque de mayo, I hope you had fun, but I don't think you could have had as much fun as I did. :)
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