I know I haven’t written in a while, but winter here gets a little dull once you’ve been here a year and a half, so it’s hard to find things to say that I find important enough to share with the world. Also, I couldn’t get the website for this thing to work on any computers here, so even if I had big news, there’d be no way to share it. So there’s that.
The afore-mentioned winter has finally drawn to a close. It wasn’t a bad one, but I was definitely tired of the snow and coats and all. Now it’s been pretty rainy, but it’s getting warm and things are turning green. Two other volunteers and I have started walking up a hill in the city two mornings a week (they do more, but I have class the rest of the days…). It’s a very pleasant walk (Martha estimates that it’s about 6 miles round-trip) and gives us a time to socialize and exercise. Along the way, we’ve also spotted two different colors of flowers blooming.
In the volunteer social life, we’ve also restarted our city-wide (yeah, it’s 6 of us) weekly dinner date. Every Thursday we go to another volunteer’s house (it rotates clockwise around the city) for dinner. The host makes the main dish, one person brings a salad/side and another brings dessert. We’ve had some impressive meals, especially considering the resources we have at hand. Some of the highlights include: salmon cakes, cheese grits, fried tomatoes, and walnut/pecan pie (obviously my night); pumpkin ravioli and vegetable stir fry; hummus and Moroccan beef stew; and this week it’s Thai chicken at my place. It’s a great way to relax, eat an impressive meal, and to break the week up. It also gives me an excuse to clean my apartment every five weeks.
Things are going well at school. We’ve hit the time of year where there are so many holidays that I consider school pretty much out already. Monday was a holiday, a two-week long spring break is in a week and a half, then all of May is one giant holiday, and the 25th is the last day of school, so my work is pretty much done here. When we actually do have school, however, I am really enjoying my girls’ club. We’ve been spending the past few weeks playing games (they really love Uno, but who doesn’t?). It’s been great for me, because it gives us a chance to sit around and talk without it being awkward. The girls who show up are pretty much either from my 10th grade classes or my counterpart’s 8th grade homeroom class. Because of the club, the girls have become friends. I feel like it’s kind of a “big sister” program. The older girls are some of my best, most motivated students, so I hope they can serve as role models and mentors for the younger girls even after I’m gone. I’ve even seen them talking outside of the club, so I’m proud of what I’ve done.
Outside of school, I have some nice things to look forward to – even nicer weather, spring break, a big Birthday party for me and Martha, a month full of holidays, and then of course the big family trip to Turkey. I feel like through exciting new projects and great friends, I’ve managed to keep myself excited about my last six months here.
The afore-mentioned winter has finally drawn to a close. It wasn’t a bad one, but I was definitely tired of the snow and coats and all. Now it’s been pretty rainy, but it’s getting warm and things are turning green. Two other volunteers and I have started walking up a hill in the city two mornings a week (they do more, but I have class the rest of the days…). It’s a very pleasant walk (Martha estimates that it’s about 6 miles round-trip) and gives us a time to socialize and exercise. Along the way, we’ve also spotted two different colors of flowers blooming.
In the volunteer social life, we’ve also restarted our city-wide (yeah, it’s 6 of us) weekly dinner date. Every Thursday we go to another volunteer’s house (it rotates clockwise around the city) for dinner. The host makes the main dish, one person brings a salad/side and another brings dessert. We’ve had some impressive meals, especially considering the resources we have at hand. Some of the highlights include: salmon cakes, cheese grits, fried tomatoes, and walnut/pecan pie (obviously my night); pumpkin ravioli and vegetable stir fry; hummus and Moroccan beef stew; and this week it’s Thai chicken at my place. It’s a great way to relax, eat an impressive meal, and to break the week up. It also gives me an excuse to clean my apartment every five weeks.
Things are going well at school. We’ve hit the time of year where there are so many holidays that I consider school pretty much out already. Monday was a holiday, a two-week long spring break is in a week and a half, then all of May is one giant holiday, and the 25th is the last day of school, so my work is pretty much done here. When we actually do have school, however, I am really enjoying my girls’ club. We’ve been spending the past few weeks playing games (they really love Uno, but who doesn’t?). It’s been great for me, because it gives us a chance to sit around and talk without it being awkward. The girls who show up are pretty much either from my 10th grade classes or my counterpart’s 8th grade homeroom class. Because of the club, the girls have become friends. I feel like it’s kind of a “big sister” program. The older girls are some of my best, most motivated students, so I hope they can serve as role models and mentors for the younger girls even after I’m gone. I’ve even seen them talking outside of the club, so I’m proud of what I’ve done.
Outside of school, I have some nice things to look forward to – even nicer weather, spring break, a big Birthday party for me and Martha, a month full of holidays, and then of course the big family trip to Turkey. I feel like through exciting new projects and great friends, I’ve managed to keep myself excited about my last six months here.
These are some of the 8th grade girls who come to my club. They're dressed up for their New Years party.
