We're at it again

I think I've mentioned in my earlier posts that I got sick. Ergo, some life changes and a sense of urgency about making my life a little more fulfilling and getting on the ball about doing stuff.

I've been fighting off a sinus infection for the past 10 days with less and less success. Actually, my body now does this thing where it determines I will sleep for 16 hours, no other symptoms, and this is my warning that I'm not well. I mean, I can tell. Little things, like my throat is scratchy or maybe I'm craving orange juice. Then it's a bit like falling off a cliff- I'll drop like one of those narcoleptic dachshunds in the films. I'll literally fall asleep standing up.

So a couple of episodes of sleeping, bent over my computer... you get that breath across the back of your neck all over again. You aren't who you were, your body isn't what it was. Pay attention.

To give this place credit, the weather is changing. We're back to 120 degrees during the day with 90% humidity. It will be like this for maybe another week, and then get ripping cold. About 50 degrees F. But it's wreaking havoc on everyone's bronchial system, what with the air conditioning and moving back and forth.

The good things that happened today, are that I got almost everything in my lesson plan for the day covered. The bad part about it was that it took so much energy I fell asleep at my desk. My assistant (who has been sick for the last month) came back to work, and she is beautiful and brilliant. She's like having a team teacher in the classroom, and we alternate implementing the lessons.

I forgot to mention- I'm not teaching Vocational. I'm teaching a class of 9 Mild/Moderate Learners, 11-14 in a contained classroom. It is taking a hell of a lot of work. Weekly lesson plans plus Semester Plans plus IEP's. Like I said, I have a beautiful and brilliant Assistant, who will be a teacher next year hopefully.

I was also just placed on a committee to develop a Language of Instruction for the school. It meets tomorrow, I'm too cynical to find anything but diseased humor in a committee of any sort. More later.

Fulbright stuff has been placed on hold. Too much trouble coordianting interviews and getting online. Continuing Polish at Berlitz for the time being, and another woman has offered to start conversational French lessons with me. I'll be in Poland this summer for at least a month for more intensive lessons, hopefully.

Looking at it, my plate is quite full. Eid starts in two or three days, which is a weeklong holiday. I'm limping towards it, then Christmas. I seem to have the planning well in hand, and the parents are getting to know me better. My biggest problem is my own standards, of course. That, and I have no car, no internet, none of my regular teaching resources and my stamina is shot.

Sissssssipppphhhuuuuuusssss...

Good night, all the beautiful people.

Hello Beautiful People

S'good to talk to you again.

Lots of nothing has been happening here. Oh well, let's start off with Gi'rgian (hope I spelled that right). It's a holiday similar to Halloween, in which children dress up and go door to door asking for candy. There are no bad spirits or Day of the Dead tied in though- it falls midway through Ramadan.

My students are fresh out of Elementary School, so they like to pretend they're past Gi'rgian but they light up like candles when someone's mother shows up with little bags of candy. For myself, I've received a paper coffee pot filled with sweets, several bags of candy and get this: my OWN, GEN U WINE MODEL CAMEL. Complete with rider. And a basket of sweets and nuts.

Lots and lots of people had camel envy. Will post the picture. It's a prominent decoration in my living room right now.

The school had a bit of a carnival, complete with a sound stage, magician, booths, etc. The teachers were required to do Extra Duty. I was supposed to supervise the Magician's Show, but the magician didn't bother to show up until it was time for the Teacher's Bus to leave.

There was a tent set up, the whole Bedouin thing with guys serving coffee and tea. I was actually feeling very low, until a co-worker I talked with from time to time sat down and started talking about Sartre. So now, we have running conversations about the proper translation from the French of Satre and Camus. It is beautiful, truly. Makes me feel less lonely.

Another Co-Worker and I were bored on Saturday, so we went to Iraq. (Ducks) Aw c'mon people, you knew it was coming. We're only 150 KM from Basra. (Ooops, did I let that slip?) We didn't get into Iraq, we got to the immgration gate at Abdaly. Which is a gate about the size and condition of a run-down Condo complex. We have some pictures, but nothing that says 'Welcome to Iraq!' The weirdest thing was that the closer you got, the shorter the mile makers got.

Surfaced again

for those of you who haven't heard from me in a while, my mailbox has been on the blink and the server here is actually powered by sheep. So if you emailed me something, and i haven't responded, do it again because apparently all the lemmings are going in one direction now. Love me.