A Day in the Life...

I have been a traunt blogger this past week or two. It has been very hectic around here with the day-to-day planning, meetings, lessons, extra-curricular activities etc. This has inspired me to share with you what it is that keeps me busy on a typical school day. Welcome to my life:

5:40am The call to prayer from the local m*sque breaks into my dreams and wakes me abruptly. I had hoped this was only during Ramad*n, but unfortunately not. I turn over and bury my face in the pillow.

5:45am My alarm beeps. I press snooze. I turn over and bury my face in the pillow.

5:51am My alarm beeps again. I press snooze. I turn over and bury my face in the pillow.

5:57am My alarm beeps a third time. I press snooze. I turn over and bury my face in the pillow. Some things don't change no matter where you are.

6:01am I sigh loudly and roll out of bed (literally). I turn on the coffee pot, if the power is on, and shower.

6:15am I get dressed, in a dress-code appropriate outfit of course (necklines no more than four fingers lower than the collar bone, dresses and skirts to the knee, no shorts, no straps), make my lunch (usually leftovers from the night before OR tuna OR peanut butter with crackers). I also enjoy catching up on e-mail from the night before. Sharing the bathroom has forced me to become an earlier riser which makes for a more relaxing morning than I'm used to at home.

7:15am Kari and I leave for school. We have to be there by 7:20am. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we have staff prayer and devotions. Tuesday and Thursday I do photocopying or sit in my classroom preparing myself mentally for the day ahead.

7:55am The first bell rings and my sixth graders begin to arrive. They are a very active group. If I'm not already fully awake, I am by the time the second bell rings and I am acosted by 10-11 year-olds.

8am Sixth grade Social Studies: Ancient History. My class has 12 students. This morning we were in the computer lab using an interactive website as an intro to Catal Huyuk one of the first agriculture settlements located in Turkey. I only learned about Catal Huyuk earlier this week when I was preparing for my lesson. I'm learning with my students, but I have always loved history, so it's a fun experience!

8:45am Seventh grade Social Studies: Geography. This class has 17 students. They are a little less "active" but have a lot of personality. I have connected with this class very well and they almost always seem engaged in the lesson. The students are currently developing a culture for a continent they invented in our last unit. I am looking forward to grading this assignment as it is very personal and the kids are really excited to be using their creative genious.

9:35am I have a break from classes. I usually hang out in the staff lounge and eat birthday treats or other goodies that may have been left there. I grade assignments and/or socialize with the elementary teachers who are on recess break.

10:30am Elementary French students arrive (a class of 11). They are mixed grades 3-5. I have found this class challenging because there are various levels of capability, there is no curriculum (we're working on this problem), and they are developmentally different in their ability to retain information etc. We still have a lot of fun.

11am I have another break. I usually try to be productive with this time and often finish last minute planning for my afternoon French classes.

12:10pm Lunch...yum!

12:50pm Middle School French. These students (class of 16) are mixed grades 6-8. They have all known each other for a long time and are very social. They are also very competitive and thrive on the games we often play. I am still adjusting to the various levels within the class, but I think we're getting more comfortable with one another.

1:40pm High School French. This small class of 11 is also my most challenging class because I am adjusting to working with older students who in some ways are very advanced in their French and in other ways still have a lot to learn. This is my biggest learning curve, but as I get to know the students I am becoming increasingly confident and enjoying them as people not just my French students.

2:30pm Study Hall. Students are required to work silently. This makes for a very productive time for me. I do planning for the next day and often catch up on grading (aka marking).

3:15pm School is done for the day! I often have students who stop by with questions about homework or to pick-up forgotten items. Tuesdays I go straight to the library where I am the librarian until closing at 5pm. I enjoy the time to meet students I don't teach, to help students I do teach, or to catch up on my e-mail. Sometimes I even blog.

Wednesdays are meeting days. The newcomers meet bi-weekly for a support group-style meeting. Otherwise I have middle/high school staff meetings or mentor meetings. A lot of meetings!

The rest of the week I try to excercise with a group of staff (admin, dorm parents, and teachers) who do a video workout together. Right now we're doing P90x. It's nice to have something to keep physically active, especially when it's too hot to run or be outside much during the day. I also enjoy watching volleyball games when our teams (the Lions) are competing. Sports are a big deal here.

5pm Kari and I usually connect and head home. We start cooking and are usually ready to eat by 6pm. We are finding it difficult to make 'quick' meals, especially on nights when we've had a tough day, or we have committments later in the evening. We have gradually managed to increase our repetoire and haven't starved yet. Grilled cheese, spaghetti, sweet and sour chicken, shrimp alfredo, and hamburgers with fries are among our favourite meals. We haven't learned how to cook senegalese food yet, but we're hoping to hire someone to make senegalese food for us every couple of weeks. House help is very affordable here and you simply cover the cost of groceries.

Mondays and Thursdays are the nicest days to come home because we come home to a freshly scrubbed apartment. Our clean, ironed, and folded laundry is waiting for us. Often the laundry is so fresh that it is still warm from being in the sun and being ironed.

Once a week we play volleyball with the staff at 8pm after campus curfew. I'm not very good. Really, I'm just competitive and don't enjoying losing, but I'm getting a bit better and it's usually an entertaining evening. Other nights I enjoy reading (using my recently returned Kindle), watching a movie on my laptop, or more commonly I am scrambling to get lessons planned and come up with creative or engaging ways to teach expressions with 'avoir' for French, or Population Patterns for Geography.

Thursday nights are youth group nights. I come back to school at 7pm for middle school youth group, which is quite traditional. A bit of worship, large group activities, a teaching time, and small group discussion. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know the students on a more personal level. Afterwards the campus is a buzz with students playing games on the two sports courts, or socializing...there are often flirtations to observe.

Handball is a very official sport here at DA. The season started three weeks ago and the majority of the student population, as well as a large percentage of staff are assigned teams and compete in 20 minute games once or twice a week Thursday-Saturday. This week there are games after youth group so I will stay and cheer the players on. Perhaps next year I will play. They set up speakers to play loud music, and they sell pop (aka soda). It's a very serious undertaking. I love the atmosphere and those of you who know me well, know that one of my favourite things about summer (and now Senegal) is being out after dark and still comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt. The only discomfort at evening games, are the bugs. It is not uncommon to be attacked by ants or mosquitos, or both. No need to worry though, I use bug spray AND I'm taking a daily malaria preventative.

10pm I start to get ready for bed, or I have a skype date, or I sit on the couch contemplating why it requires so much effort to get off the couch so I can go to bed.

11pm I actually make it to bed and fall asleep quickly...unless the power is cut in which case I sweat a lot, moan and groan, toss and turn until I am eventually so exhausted sleep takes over.