The first frustration was that none of my students showed up for the first day of class. Classes for all students (except freshman) were to begin on Wednesday, October 9th. I worked hard preparing a syllabus and a module of materials for the entire semester (there is no textbook for the course, so I had to prepare something). I was ready to go and excited to finally meet my students and start teaching. Muluken walked me over to the building where I was assigned to teach and no one was there. Apparently, students skipping the first day or even the first week of classes is a trend that the university is trying to eliminate. I am scheduled to meet this same group of students tomorrow (Friday), so hopefully they'll be there!
The second frustration was printing and getting copies made. I literally spent days putting together a 53-page module for my intermediate writing class. I figured the final step of getting it printed and copied would be one of the easiest, but I was wrong. One of the first problems I encountered was with the page layout. The standard paper size here is A4 which is 8.27 x 11.69 inches whereas the US standard is 8.5 x 11 inches. These small differences in measurement cause a huge problem when trying to print. I had to go back and change my Microsoft Word document paper-size which in turn shifted everything I had worked so hard on. I spent a while fixing it and put the updated document on my external hard drive. One of the computers set up for printing would not accept my hard drive, so I was forced to use the other one. Unfortunately, the printer on the other computer needs a new cartridge and a cleaning. I was able to print my document, but it was ridden with awkward smudges and lines. Normally, this wouldn't bother me too much, but I spent a lot of time creating this document and had to use this printed version as the master copy; if the master copy was of poor quality, I worried what the copies would look like.
I had someone in the English department office help me fill out a copy request form. I now had official approval to get copies of this document, so I walked over to the publication/copy center. The ladies working in the copy center did not speak much English and we had difficulty communicating my request. Luckily, I was helped out by an Indian man named Srikar. He explained to me that they did not want to fulfill my order because I only wanted 25 copies of the 53-page module - there was a minimum of 50 necessary to use those machines. My only option was to use the broken copy machine for orders less than the minimum of 50, but this machine made copies with unwanted horizontal lines every few millimeters. Srikar said I could just increase my request to 50 copies, but that seemed so wasteful to me. I do not know if I will be teaching this course next semester, so I have no reason to have an extra 25 modules laying around. Sensing my frustration, another man who worked in the copy center talked to the ladies working and got them to make an exception for me. I was told to come back the next day to pick up my copies. I was grateful for this, but I wonder if I will have this same issue every time I come to make copies. My class size is 25, so I have no need for 50 copies. I will keep searching for a solution...
Thirdly, it has been raining a lot recently. I don't mind the rain and I always remember to bring my umbrella. However, everything is left damp and muddy. I've been trying to run 3-4 times per week, but it has been a sticky mess with this weather. So, another small frustration is the mud getting everywhere! After my last run, I took some time to clean all of the stickiness off of my tennis shoes, but I don't think it was worth the effort. I ran again yesterday and they got just as dirty. Some of the mud was so deep and gooey that it went inside of my shoes through the mesh. Yuck! But this is just a small frustration that I can deal with...
...a bigger problem are the rats! I didn't think it would bother me too much to have rats in my kitchen. However, last night I was greeted by a rat on my head while I was sleeping in bed! I woke up when I felt something in my hair. I quickly turned on the lamp next to my bed and looked around. I saw nothing. Then after a few seconds, a rat scurried across the carpet in my room and ran out into the hallway. I freaked out. I love animals, but not wild rats. I was so paranoid that the rat would come back and bite me. I closed my bedroom door (which has a broken latch and doesn't always stay put) and kept the light on the entire night. I was not bothered again, but I am not sure if I will sleep soundly knowing that the rats like me so much.
Despite these frustrations, I am enjoying myself. Challenges are what make us stronger and make life more interesting!