April 17, 2007 (written by Jason)
Well I have been talking about doing this for a while but it finally happened. I got the internet hooked up at our site. It isn’t fast or flashy (yet) but it is the internet with e-mail and blogging capabilities. I am super excited as it isn’t really even that expensive. I hope to open the service up to the students, if I can get some funding from the school to do that. I want to be able to show them the basics of the internet and how it can help them with research and other things. It is pretty cool though. I also hope to get instant messenger back up on this computer so that we can set times to have live chats with groups of people back home. I think that it would really enhance our experience here and yours back at home. If you have any other ideas, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or shoot an e-mail to me or Janeen @
jason.samuelian@gmail.com
janeen_samuelian@yahoo.com
All the best
Jason
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
April 13th, 2007 (written by Jason)
What a crazy couple of weeks it has been. We are just beginning to settle back in to our quiet little lives here in Tsa-Kholo after the last few weeks of “big city” life and vacation. The transition has been a little difficult after having some well needed time off and time away. That is the problem though. We have heard with people going on vacation is that when they return to their homes in Lesotho, there is some feeling of dread. Not that we dread living here, which is not the case at all. It is just that after being able to drive (a rental car with the drivers side on the right; manual transmission which was weird but you get used to it), stay out at night passed 7 p.m., go to restaurants and the movies (we saw 300 and Music and Lyrics), and just feel like life was a little more normal, going back to a cold house with a single light bulb hanging from the roof and a bathroom that smells like an odd combination of mildew and poop, is a little depressing (for those living in houses with none of these features I imagine the feeling is even more intensified).
Work can also be disappointing. I know that the first quarter can start slowly no matter where you are, but seeing that same pace carried into the next quarter is down right frustrating. I sat in class today and waited for 30 minutes while the teacher asked, “If you don’t understand ask me questions.” This is massively frustrating as the teacher knows that you are there to observe the best that she has to offer and that is pretty much the extent of her ability.
But it is not all bad being back in Lesotho. I have found that I have a liking to some of the simpler foods here. Roast corn known as Pone (not at all like roast corn in America) is one of my favorite snacks/meals here. It kind of tastes like unflavored corn-nuts or pop corn kernels partially popped. The pace of life is also kind of fun. I do like having long bike rides to think about things in life and taking naps in the afternoon after work. It is a pace of life that I know will not be able to be emulated as much back home, especially once we start a family.
It has also been great being home because we get to hear from all of you. Your packages and letters, this means we did receive it Kyle, Ronnie and yes you too Dakota ;-) have made all the difference in turning a bad day into a manageable one, although it does make us miss you something fierce. This is especially pertinent to all of you back home having babies. It really makes us wish that we could be there and celebrate the new lives with you.
One more quick shout out and then I am done. Congratulations to our best friends, Brad Blaze and Valerie Jorritsma (now Valerie Blaze), in the whole world on finally tying the knot. We have tried calling a few times to wish you well but have been unable to get a hold of you. This is the next best thing though. Announcing to the world, via the internet, our heart felt love and congratulations to you. Hope that you had a great time at the Adventura Spa Palace!
I think that is all I got to say today. We are still working on trying to get the internet here at school but I will definitely hit you all with a fatty blog once we do get that sucker rolling. All the best,
Jason
April 13th, 2007 (written by Janeen)
Well, I can’t really say that I am too excited to be back. The return to school meant that I had to finish grading 200 quarter exams, which all consisted of reading comprehension questions, grammar questions, and the dreaded compositions. This time the topic for Form A students was: “My first day at Tsakholo High School” and for Form B students: “A day when my friend disappointed me”. So I got to read about 100 of each of those. It can get just a tad boring and sometimes the essays all start to blur together. Though, I can say that I am almost through. I’ve only got about 50 more compositions to read. Then I get to fill out quarter reports for each student. All of this is due by Monday, so my first weekend of being back at school is of course going to consist of doing work! Our small home is in disarray, and needs a good sweep and mop (not to mention that I need to clean up my piles of clutter that have accumulated as I have spent my time grading, sleeping, eating, and going to class).
ANYWAY! I am going to stop complaining because the teachers here do this ALL the time, and I only have to deal with it for 2 years (I’m never going to be a high school teacher). For those of you out there that have ever thought, “Those who can’t do-teach” you are TOTALLY wrong. This is one of the most challenging jobs ever. Many days I get frustrated because I know that I can do better, or I wish that there were more hours in the day so that I could do all the things that I hope for.
And then there was how I was feeling this week—like I didn’t want to do any of it any more because I didn’t think that what I was doing was making any difference any way. Here a passing score is 40% and many students are happy just to pass. I am NOT okay with that and of course want my students to score in the 70% or higher range, but those are few. So of course I feel like I am failing because my students don’t do as well as I would hope. So I ask myself does it even matter that I am here? Am I really making any difference?
I guess I am probably just dealing with “coming home from vacation blues” and I am sure things will settle down. I do enjoy my students and I hope that I am teaching them well. It can just get you down sometimes when you know how much better things could be, you see what the reality is here, and then realize that my impact may only be small.
Thank you again for all of your correspondence. They really do help cheer us up when we are having a frustrating day! When we left for training & vacation I had just about caught up on my letters, but since being back I think we are about 10 letters behind, which of course will not get responses until AFTER I am done with all the exam & report madness! We miss you all so much!
What a crazy couple of weeks it has been. We are just beginning to settle back in to our quiet little lives here in Tsa-Kholo after the last few weeks of “big city” life and vacation. The transition has been a little difficult after having some well needed time off and time away. That is the problem though. We have heard with people going on vacation is that when they return to their homes in Lesotho, there is some feeling of dread. Not that we dread living here, which is not the case at all. It is just that after being able to drive (a rental car with the drivers side on the right; manual transmission which was weird but you get used to it), stay out at night passed 7 p.m., go to restaurants and the movies (we saw 300 and Music and Lyrics), and just feel like life was a little more normal, going back to a cold house with a single light bulb hanging from the roof and a bathroom that smells like an odd combination of mildew and poop, is a little depressing (for those living in houses with none of these features I imagine the feeling is even more intensified).
Work can also be disappointing. I know that the first quarter can start slowly no matter where you are, but seeing that same pace carried into the next quarter is down right frustrating. I sat in class today and waited for 30 minutes while the teacher asked, “If you don’t understand ask me questions.” This is massively frustrating as the teacher knows that you are there to observe the best that she has to offer and that is pretty much the extent of her ability.
But it is not all bad being back in Lesotho. I have found that I have a liking to some of the simpler foods here. Roast corn known as Pone (not at all like roast corn in America) is one of my favorite snacks/meals here. It kind of tastes like unflavored corn-nuts or pop corn kernels partially popped. The pace of life is also kind of fun. I do like having long bike rides to think about things in life and taking naps in the afternoon after work. It is a pace of life that I know will not be able to be emulated as much back home, especially once we start a family.
It has also been great being home because we get to hear from all of you. Your packages and letters, this means we did receive it Kyle, Ronnie and yes you too Dakota ;-) have made all the difference in turning a bad day into a manageable one, although it does make us miss you something fierce. This is especially pertinent to all of you back home having babies. It really makes us wish that we could be there and celebrate the new lives with you.
One more quick shout out and then I am done. Congratulations to our best friends, Brad Blaze and Valerie Jorritsma (now Valerie Blaze), in the whole world on finally tying the knot. We have tried calling a few times to wish you well but have been unable to get a hold of you. This is the next best thing though. Announcing to the world, via the internet, our heart felt love and congratulations to you. Hope that you had a great time at the Adventura Spa Palace!
I think that is all I got to say today. We are still working on trying to get the internet here at school but I will definitely hit you all with a fatty blog once we do get that sucker rolling. All the best,
Jason
April 13th, 2007 (written by Janeen)
Well, I can’t really say that I am too excited to be back. The return to school meant that I had to finish grading 200 quarter exams, which all consisted of reading comprehension questions, grammar questions, and the dreaded compositions. This time the topic for Form A students was: “My first day at Tsakholo High School” and for Form B students: “A day when my friend disappointed me”. So I got to read about 100 of each of those. It can get just a tad boring and sometimes the essays all start to blur together. Though, I can say that I am almost through. I’ve only got about 50 more compositions to read. Then I get to fill out quarter reports for each student. All of this is due by Monday, so my first weekend of being back at school is of course going to consist of doing work! Our small home is in disarray, and needs a good sweep and mop (not to mention that I need to clean up my piles of clutter that have accumulated as I have spent my time grading, sleeping, eating, and going to class).
ANYWAY! I am going to stop complaining because the teachers here do this ALL the time, and I only have to deal with it for 2 years (I’m never going to be a high school teacher). For those of you out there that have ever thought, “Those who can’t do-teach” you are TOTALLY wrong. This is one of the most challenging jobs ever. Many days I get frustrated because I know that I can do better, or I wish that there were more hours in the day so that I could do all the things that I hope for.
And then there was how I was feeling this week—like I didn’t want to do any of it any more because I didn’t think that what I was doing was making any difference any way. Here a passing score is 40% and many students are happy just to pass. I am NOT okay with that and of course want my students to score in the 70% or higher range, but those are few. So of course I feel like I am failing because my students don’t do as well as I would hope. So I ask myself does it even matter that I am here? Am I really making any difference?
I guess I am probably just dealing with “coming home from vacation blues” and I am sure things will settle down. I do enjoy my students and I hope that I am teaching them well. It can just get you down sometimes when you know how much better things could be, you see what the reality is here, and then realize that my impact may only be small.
Thank you again for all of your correspondence. They really do help cheer us up when we are having a frustrating day! When we left for training & vacation I had just about caught up on my letters, but since being back I think we are about 10 letters behind, which of course will not get responses until AFTER I am done with all the exam & report madness! We miss you all so much!
Sunday, April 01, 2007
April 1, 2007 (Written by Jason)
So James and myself, ditched our last language session meeting to come down to the VRC (volunteer resource center) and putz around a little bit on the computers here. We were just starting when these 2 older gentlemen came in and introduced themselves. Fred, a former volunteer in Columbia, back in the 70's, and Matt, a former worker down in Antarctica were coming through on vacation. Fred knew that Peace Corps volunteers are the real source for the on the ground information as to where to stay and what to do while in country.
The trully funny part was that Fred now lives in Mariposa, which for those of you not from the north is only like 30-45 minutes away from Sonora. It is kind of funny that things like this just seem to happen. I really do love the random nature of events as they happen around the world.
Ok well I thought that this was blog worthy. Sorry to bore you if it wasn't!
Jason
So James and myself, ditched our last language session meeting to come down to the VRC (volunteer resource center) and putz around a little bit on the computers here. We were just starting when these 2 older gentlemen came in and introduced themselves. Fred, a former volunteer in Columbia, back in the 70's, and Matt, a former worker down in Antarctica were coming through on vacation. Fred knew that Peace Corps volunteers are the real source for the on the ground information as to where to stay and what to do while in country.
The trully funny part was that Fred now lives in Mariposa, which for those of you not from the north is only like 30-45 minutes away from Sonora. It is kind of funny that things like this just seem to happen. I really do love the random nature of events as they happen around the world.
Ok well I thought that this was blog worthy. Sorry to bore you if it wasn't!
Jason
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