MicahJohn

The second attempt at teaching the same material went better. I used my hour I believe productively. I still could use the blackboard better. Any pointers?

Day 2 was perhaps not as good as day 1. I ran out of my hour of material after 30 minutes. Homework for the day therefore became classwork, which in turn became examples of mistakes that are easy to make. Despite all these delay tactics, I still dismissed class early.

It can be nice to take shelter under the porch of strangers when it starts raining. It can be even better if they are friendly, your age, and have a guitar. However, if the rain is still coming down hard after an hour and a half, and during that hour and a half whiskey has been going down the throats of your new friends with remarkable regularity, it can start to become not so nice. Last night my limit for floppy drunk limbs flung upon me in friendly gesture was exhausted.

Today was my first day of real classes at Benchama. It went well. I took pictures of my students to help me learn their names. 120 (non-English) names is a lot! While I was taking pictures, I gave the students number puzzles to work on. I was very pleased with where my students are in their ability to think creatively to solve problems.

Good news in a barely related category: the start of school has meant food production outside the school has kicked into high gear. Hooray for yummy cheap food!

Last night I was eating with some folks where I live. At one point they pointed to something and said, “try this.” I asked what it was. The answer was liver. I tried it. As I was chewing I realized it wasn’t cooked. I confirmed that they really hadn’t cooked it. So, last night I ate raw liver.