I feel as though I’ve been neglecting this blog, but life has been busy! Lecturers here are considered full-time at 12 contact hours per week and I have 14. While this may not sound like a lot, the number of hours I actually work adds up quickly! Since I am still not familiar with the way everything works here, it takes me longer to accomplish seemingly simple tasks. Also, the courses I am teaching are new for me, so I spend a lot of time developing materials and activities. Some teachers who have been working here for many years have the advantage of knowing the system and having lots of old course materials to adapt and reuse. However, I am not complaining about my situation. This busy-ness has been very good for me both professionally and personally. I don’t have much time to feel bored, lonely, or homesick and I’ve had the opportunity to try out various methodologies for different classroom situations. I am really happy though that my block course (the intense spoken English class) will be ending this week. I will have a lot more free time to focus on other things, like developing teacher training materials, organizing English Club activities (i.e. debate night), and hopefully get my female walking/exercise group up and running (no pun intended).
Recently, I have seen a lot of hyenas. I’m not sure if this is due to the hours I’ve been walking around at night or possibly because of the change in weather. I always hear the hyenas at night, but a couple of weeks ago, I saw some up, close, and personal. One night, I woke up to the strange “wooping” sound of a hyena at 4am. I looked outside my bedroom window and it was right there on our sidewalk. It was so neat to see this predator right in front of me and feel completely safe at the same time (we had a window and a wall between us). A couple nights later, I saw another hyena in the road as I was walking home around 8pm. It did not run away when it saw me, but simply continued walking at a leisurely pace. I tried to take some photos of it, but the flash on my camera was not powerful enough to capture anything other than blackness. So, if you want to see these somewhat timid beasts, you’ll just have to come here and see them for yourself!
Last week, the second-year English language majors held a welcoming ceremony for the first-year English language majors. The 2nd year students put in a lot of effort to decorate the room, buy drinks and snacks, and prepare some fun activities. Unfortunately, less than 10 of the 1st year students showed up. I was the only faculty from the English department there, so I gave some opening remarks and encouraged the students to study hard and reminded them that they chose a marketable major (many of these students didn’t actually choose to be an English major, rather they were forced into it by not qualifying for their first/second choice). Hopefully, there will be more participation and class spirit in upcoming events.
Last week, the second-year English language majors held a welcoming ceremony for the first-year English language majors. The 2nd year students put in a lot of effort to decorate the room, buy drinks and snacks, and prepare some fun activities. Unfortunately, less than 10 of the 1st year students showed up. I was the only faculty from the English department there, so I gave some opening remarks and encouraged the students to study hard and reminded them that they chose a marketable major (many of these students didn’t actually choose to be an English major, rather they were forced into it by not qualifying for their first/second choice). Hopefully, there will be more participation and class spirit in upcoming events.
Last Saturday, I went to Dire Dawa with Mark, Moffat, Liambila, and Solomon. We spent the afternoon lounging by the pool at the Ras Hotel. It was wonderful! We also were able to eat roasted chicken which was a special treat! I really appreciate the days I can sit outside in the sunshine; during the week, I spend most of the day indoors in my office or in a classroom teaching. The weather here is amazing right now...not too hot, not too cold. The locals consider this winter and think it's extremely cold, but to me, it's perfect. The mornings and evenings sometimes dip into the 30s, but during the afternoon it is in the 70s. Pleasant!