Well I realize it has been a while since I last sent an email, but things here have been beyond busy, and the emailing situation has been sketchy to say the least. We finally have our phone line in our apartment though, and internet connections in our teacher's workroom and the computer lab, so now I should be able to write more frequently.
First of all, thank you to everyone who has sent me encouraging emails and has been praying for me. The emails brighten my day, and those prayers are very much needed--I'm sure they have helped already because I can already see a difference in my attitude towards teaching and living here. It has been tough to say the least the past week. Getting thrown into a job where you have no experience, with only sidenotes from others to guide you really takes its toll, and I have been so exhausted I can barely drag myself up my front steps after school lets out. School goes for 7 hours a day, and then I have lesson plans and grading to do on top of that, so I think it's averaging out to be about a 10 hour work day throughout the week. That is definitely more than I'm used to. I'm trying to start over though this week, now that I've got a feel for how this job works. I got about 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night last week trying to make lesson plans and do all my grading, but this week I'm determined to keep up with my work during the school day and right after class, and get to bed early. I get up and go running in the mornings though, and take lots of vitamins, so I haven't gotten sick yet. I think I'm the only one that hasn't suffered from some sort of illness, in my apartment anyway. Just crossing my fingers it stays that way.
My roommates and I are getting along well and I'm glad to have other girls here who I can share my day's frustrations, struggles, and funny moments with. They are definitely a blessing. We always sit down to atleast one meal a day--supper, so we're eating pretty well and spending good time together which makes it feel sort of like a home away from home. Because I know for me home has never looked so inviting. The numerous bugs were really getting to me for a while, but I've decided that I'm just going to have to get over it, so we all live in peace now, and I only get mad when they run across my dinner plate or in my food. We have tons of geckos, but I love those because they eat the bugs. I'm all for bringing as many in here as possible!! Our apartment seems to be the hottest one on campus though, and we can't figure out why. So we sit here with fans on us and our windows and door open all the time, but it's still quite suffocating. I can't believe it, but I think I'm actually getting accustomed to the heat. Or maybe I'm just getting used to sweating all the time. Either way, I'm not quite as bothered by it, and I have a fan in my classroom so it's not too bad. Lately it's been rather nice actually, save for the last two days. It was overcast and somewhat rainy, which made for nice cool days, and we all enjoyed the break immensely.
Well aside from all our teaching duties, we have managed to take some time out to relax and have fun. We've been to two waterfalls now--Twin Falls, where there are two falls, with one you can jump off of, and another one that I forget the name of that's way back in the jungle. The first one I've been to twice now. Jumping off the cliff into that nice cool water and then climbing back up to do it again has been great. The other falls we went to this last Sabbath after a delicious dinner at one of the teacher's houses. We drove as far up this trail as we could get before getting bogged down in the mud, then hiked the rest of the way--a good half hour, until we reached a big drop into a beautiful pool of water with a good sized waterfall at one end. Brad Clifford and I immediately jumped straight off the edge (it's a pretty good drop), and the rest of the brave crowd followed suit, while the others hiked down to the edge to go swimming. There was also a tree that hung over the edge, and a few of us climbed up into it to make the jump a little more challenging. I'm not sure how far it was, but I definitely had to hesitate and get my nerve up before doing that one, and it seemed like I was falling through the air for atleast a couple of seconds. So much fun! We've also gone out on the boats twice now, and everyone has divided up into groups of snorkelers and surfers, and divers the one time we had tanks. I've been snorkeling both times, seeing as how I've never surfed, and I don't have my divers license. The water is so clear, and I've already seen the most amazing assortment of tropical fish ever. I even saw a reef shark! Kind of scared me for a minute, but it swam the other way so I was ok. This last Sunday when we went out I got to see a Manta Ray, and a couple of the guys saw a shark that was about 6 feet long they thought--probably a Nurse Shark. Either way, I'm just glad it didn't head my direction! The water is warm, so I'm never cold, but it does get tiring after a while. I haven't gotten burned yet--I've been careful and put lots of sunscreen on, but after this last Sunday I think almost everyone else came back pretty well cooked. I've been putting lots of aloe and lotion on my roommate's back, and laughing at my other roommate because she has got so many scratches and bug bites and bruises on her legs that she looks like she lives in the jungle. She's just a little clumsy and bruises easily, and I laugh at her daily as she puts ointment on. She laughs with me, because she knows she's clumsy as well.
Well I'm up to 23 students now, and I think this will be it (I'm praying). I have a very full classroom, and sometimes I wonder if I really have everyone's attention when I'm trying to teach, but trying to maintain eye contact with that many students is quite challenging, and though I'll have to reprimand some of them every now and then, for the most part I just have to trust they're following along. I have several students that are just amazing and do really well on their work, and then a couple that are just doing horribly, and atleast one that is failing altogether. I'm a little flabbergasted when it comes to him, because I just don't see how it's possible to fail. I think he needs to either go back a grade or get some special tutoring, because he's just not getting anything, or else he just doesn't care. And though I try to include him in in our discussions, there's really only so much you can do. Switching back and forth between classes is proving to be a good stress relief--because staying with the same kids all day gets a little tiresome and then I get irritated more easily. Going to another class of kids renews my sense of humor a bit and helps me focus more on what I'm doing instead of getting frustrated, so I'm glad we're doing it this way. It also makes for much easier lesson plans, and that I will take any day.
The other day I had my kids write a poem for reading class, after we read one together, and I got quite an interesting assortment back. I think my favorite was one that one of my sweet girls wrote about me, comparing my hair color to that of tropical punch. Those of you who have seen me lately know it's not THAT red (but yes it is red at the moment), but it was quite humorous to read. I wish I could explain to you how incredibly different the school system is here compared to the states. I think the one word I would use to describe the difference would be unorganized. At lunch last week I swear I didn't know where half of my kids were every day because some wouldhave to go fix their bowl of Ramen soup in the cafeteria/kitchen, some had to go call their parent's for lunches, some had to take money for lunch to a sibling, and others just had to go get it from parents in the parking lot. What ever happened to sending a lunch with them in the morning?!? I guess they like to cook theirs here before giving it to them. No PBJ for them... I've been trying to tighten down on things though, and if they forget to order lunch in the morning they're just tough out of luck, but it's getting better. I'm only missing about 5 every lunch period now instead of 10. And then there's P.E. Supposedly we're supposed to try to have an organized PE class...but when there are four classes--two grades, in the gym at one time I think that's a pretty hopeless cause, and I'm not sure how we're going to manage getting it organized. Too many kids. Yet again...how and why is this school so different than the states?! The world is full of mysteries, and I think this is one I'll never solve.
I've finally got some pictures to send!! I'm hoping these will go through ok... they may not be the best quality, but they'll have to do. The first one is of me and one of my roommates, April West, at the airport in Kosrae--one of the islands we stopped at on our way here. The next is of Justin Freed (another SM here) and I at Hawaiian Mission Academy on Sabbath. Then there's Brad Clifford and I as we arrived at the airport. The one of me waving from the side of a wind-blown mtn is in Hawaii. The next one is of our first dinner in one of the guys' apartments (with no furniture!)--from left to right is me, April West, Melissa Harley, and Lorena Salto--all my roommates. And the last picture was taken as we took a tour of the island. Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you get them ok.
Well I do believe I'm going to finish doing my lesson plans for next week--we're supposed to be going camping on the outer islands this weekend, and have to get everything done before we leave. God bless everyone! Please keep me in your prayers, and I love hearing from you, so send an email (or a box! :) whenever you have some free time!
In His Service,
Lindsey
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