Too many thoughts and too little time to write them down.
I managed to correct 7 of the 8 tests - that's 350 tests to be exact. I figured that it takes me about 2 to 2.5 minutes to grade each test. Doing the math, that's about 16 hours. Blah.
I'm thinking of having a reed hut built in the yard somewhere and getting some mosquito netting for it, too.
It's been about 6 months that I've been in Mozambique. I officially can never give blood in the US. In 5 months, I turn 25 and can legally rent a car in any state.
The word in Changana for "to need" is "ku swilava". To say "to want" or "to be looking for", you say "ku lava". To hear is "ku twa", and the suffix "-isa" means that this thing is the doer of the action ("ku funda" is to learn, "ku fundisa" is to teach). Thus, "ku twise" is to make heard or felt, "ku switwisqa" is to make understood, and "ku switwisisa" is to understand. So the prefix "swi-" is still a mystery to me, but it seems to relate to the urgency of a matter. "Swoswi" is now, "swinene" is a lot.
I can't wait to go to a baseball game and get some outrageously priced nachos during the 2005 season.
I wish the kids I teach had a stronger passion for learning and weren't so caught up in my foreign identity or in what they can get away with in class.
I have a long "to do" list, which is daunting but exciting.
Threw around the frisbee with some of the neighborhood kids who are learning Ultimate very quickly. Came back and threw with some younger girls whose curiosity had been sparked. I had a sizeable Changana conversation with them, telling them that I didn't have or need a girlfriend in Mozambique.
Blake's dad is sending "French in 3 months". My language appetite may never be satisfied! I don't know what it is, but I am like a sponge.
There are 7 days left in the trimester. I need to give 2 makeup quizzes and 1 extra quiz to students who want to take it. I'm letting them do the work at home but making the questions harder. I will most likely receive a ton of crap, but there will be some diamonds in the rough.
A student requested that I recorrect a quiz and a test of hers. She wrote answers after the fact (I marked it in such a way that I'd be able to tell) and so I'll give her no extra points and may take some away.
If a student arrives late, I've started asking them a relevant question in Biology before they can enter. It works really well to get the whole class involved.
Working out today felt amazing, because I've been so sentient lately.
Peace
John
