Moments to Make Me Smile



One of the reasons to go outside.



As much as I pretend that the world is in a two year pause outside of Guinea, time moves on. Before I could even notice I've been in Guinea for about 5 months now. That knocks off the intimidating 27 month service to a manageable 22. I'm no math teacher but that's less than two years. The funny thing about a two year program is that its pretty short. After high school and college, both being four years long, doing a program for just two years seems quick! It's like having just the freshman year and senior year. First time around, everything is new and exciting. Second time around and I already am wearing graduation googles saying how much I'll miss it and overusing the phrase "This'll be the last time I..." It's a mundane thought, but it keeps me going. At times I really need those small positive thoughts to get me to leave my house on a Saturday when its tempting to hole up in my room for 24 hours. Hell, there are days where the highlight is crossing off the previous day on my oversized calendar. That's why the little things in a day that make me genuinely laugh are all that more important. Like these little tidbits:



Sitting on the porch with my puppy, Monkey.



After school one day, I was spending my afternoon the normal way: sitting on my porch with a student doing nothing. This was one of my better students who is a nice kid and I don't mind his company so I figured I'd humor him and play him some music so I brought out my iPod and a speaker. After jumping around a bunch songs like Rihanna, Lil Wayne and Akon, the only American singers he knows and the people I have the least of. Then I just made a random pick and landed on "Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster" by the unforgettable Geto Boys. I didn't think much of it when I put it on but when it got to the chorus I had to laugh at my situation. It was me- wearing my FIJI frat tank top, my student- wearing an oversized, dirty polo, and my puppy in his lap listenting to the chorus about prosititutes and drugs. I laughed to myself as I thought that this had to be the most ironic timing of this song since it was used in Office Space.

A different day at school, I was giving a lesson to the 8th grade about solutions between two liquids. If you recall from middle school, water and gas, much like water and oil, do not mix. My example was just going to be using oil but my principal, being a former chemistry teacher himself, really wanted to use gas. So he invites himself into my class to perform an experiment where he burns off the gas in the mixture to leave just the water. He takes a small metal can by the peeled back lid and lights the gas on fire while he explains that the gas will burn faster when mixed with water. He disregards the fact that its burning in his hand and slightly dripping flaming liquid off the sides. When he starts to feel the heat on his hand he bends down to set it on the floor but drops it about 2 feet from the ground sending flamming liquid all over the front of the class. Everyone jumps backward as he stands there with a triumphant grin of a true chemist.Not exactly the funniest thing of my day, just one of those things that make you think "this would never happen in an American classroom".

As a general rule, my english class with the 10th graders has become pretty funny. I don't really put on the tough guy face with them and I joke around with them more so there's lots of moments that are a little "out there". During my lesson of adjectives, I had to explain the word flamboyant. You try acting out the word flamboyant and not look ridiculous. Just yesterday we were talking about the parts of the body. Don't ever ask 10th graders what parts of the body they want to know in English.

On the whole, I'm happy to report that I think that most things are on the up slope. School is going smoother, my health is more consistent, and my integration into the community is shown by the decrease in "fote!" and the constant yelling of "Issiaga!" I'm really excited about heading off to Senegal for Christmas. It will be a really nice vacation from site and a nice trip with fellow volunteers. My christmas present: getting to see Sajel on the other side of the world in a country neither of us live in. Merry Christmas everyone!

Dante

Christmas spirit in Guinea! Thanks Boon!