How long an hour can take

Next weekend is Halloween ! Yesterday I carved a pumpkin with Jillian and her fiance, Ibe, while we listened to Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Njimy belt out tunes from the movie classic Hocus Pocus. I wonder if someone is going to take my pumpkin from my courtyard and cook something out of it. Most Burkinabé don’t understand the purpose of carving a face into a pumpkin and not eating it. I told them that I”ll use the seeds for food, salty seeds! Is it possible to grill them? I am without an oven.

Teaching is going well, though I had a hard time teaching my 5eme students how to place points in a Cartesian coordinate system (something they should’ve learned the year before). But I’ve set up tutoring hours, and tons of students came. It was awesome; I was bombarded with questions, completely surrounded by kids who want to learn and do extra exercises.

But it’s not all fun. This past week I had to discipline some kids because they wouldn’t listen or they’d be disrespectful. Thursday was particularly brutal, and I was in a pissy mood all day. I suppose it doesn’t help that I’m not a very patient person to begin with. Also, I had two bats flying around in my classroom last week. It didn’t do much for the students’ concentration and I myself was distracted having narrowly missed a few collisions to the head. No rabies! I don’t want to be the face of rabies like poor Meredith.

I no longer am doing my own laundry! My water girl, Florida, also washes my clothes for me and now they actually smell clean! When I washed my own clothes they smelled moldy, and that is definitely no bueno.

The week before last I did a hand-washing sensibilization in my classes. I brought in piedmont (chili-esque condiment), asked kids to rub his or her fingers in it and then touch their eyes. And some of them were actually going to do it (something about blindly following teachers instructions no matter what they themselves think; I want to correct that). I then had them wash their hands with water (piedmont still present), and then with soap and water. We discussed the benefits of always washing your hands with soap before eating and after using the bathroom; I likened the piedmont to feces and other nasties to get my point across. It was quite fun.

I’ve found 3 scorpions in my house so far, huge brown ones. I was told that the smaller they are, the more dangerous. I sprayed the crap out of them with insecticide and then tossed them over my courtyard wall using my handy dustpan. I also have a caterpillar infestation, but they’re cute and soft and they curl up into balls when I hold them in my hand.

My plans aren’t definite yet, but I think I’m going to Bobo for Thanksgiving (actually the first weekend in December because of Tabasky), and possibly Togo for Christmas. Hello Mr. Beach and Mr. Ocean. Woot woot!

I made a wish list for things I cannot get in Burkina (SEE RIGHT, por favor). The best way to send stuff is to use the flat rate box, it costs about 40 bucks and should arrive within 2-3 weeks. Thank you to everyone who writes and sends me goodies. I can’t tell you all how much I appreciate it!