Term 3

The start of term 3 has been riddled with problems and annoyances. After coming off of a wonderful break, the learners have decided that being a mutinous, whirlwind of insanity is an excellent way to kick off the new term. The problem is similar to that of senioritis, except with more violence. The learners who are going to pass, know they are going to pass, and don’t care. The learners who are going to fail (most of them) know they are going to fail, and don’t care. Most of this term is spent doing review for the end of year exams. So the learners don’t have anything new and the smart ones know everything already. The ones who are demotivated because of the last term’s grades give up trying to learn the old information. So you have two completely separate groups of disinterested people. This creates a huge headache for the teachers.
Now before you go thinking that everything is bad, I’ve developed a new hobby to release my stress. I’ve finally started digging my garden. It’s 6m x 6.5m x 10cm roughly. I posted some videos on facebook but for those of you who are not my friend on facebook, I will explain the process. The entire area was full of dead grass left over from the previous rainy season. This grass is 2.5 feet high and with roots that go down a few centimeters. The grass has adapted to be resilient and grow back quickly. I cannot simply plant over it, so I have to dig it all out. I’ve spent at least ten hours on it already and its coming along nicely but I need to spend about another 10 hours or so on it. This is all just preparation, we haven’t actually planted anything and we won’t be planting anything until the beginning of November.
Also this week I met my new roommate Sam. He’s from Georgia and seems like a nice guy. He won’t move in until December because he has to do a homestay with a family in Rehoboth. He will work at Rehoboth Primary School teaching English. It was awesome meeting his principal, Paul. Paul is actually interested in making sure the volunteers are comfortable and he’s committed to painting part of the flat, as well as moving in some comfortable furniture. This is a small miracle. I slept on the floor for three months because my bed was so shitty (only accurate word) it hurt my back. My principal (and the inspector) wouldn’t do anything for me. It good to see that there are some principals who see volunteers as more than just free labor.