First Day of School Jitters

The first day of school causes a range of different emotions in a range of different students.  Some dread it as an end to summer freedom and some are excited for it.  I’ll admit I’m usually excited for it.  With the exception of a few of my closest friends, I don’t hang out with a lot of my school friends during the summer so it’s always fun to see everyone again.  And yes, I’ll admit that sometimes I’m excited for the classes as well.  Not all of them! Just some… don’t judge me for my nerdy-ness… 8) <-- observe the nerdy, bespectacled smiley face-that’s me, minus the spectacles.  Not only is this the first day of school but it’s my LAST first day of school, of high school at least.  Oh senior year, a time to reflect on your high school experience and lord your superiority over the rest of the school… You have four more years of PSSAs (Pennsylvania’s standardized testing)?  Hahahaha suckers! 

So let me tell you about my last first day of school.  I woke up around eight o’clock local time (no alarm clock waking me up, just an overly chatty goat-I really hate that goat.  It never shuts up), climbed down from my top bunk on a precariously tiny ladder, and walked into the next room for breakfast.  As I waited for the rest of the household to clear out of the living/dining room, AKA my one room school house, I donned my first-day-of-school outfit.  A multicolored ankle length skirt and a bright blue lightweight shirt- the height of fashion here in Kajo-Keji.

We had serious weight and space constraints on the way here -All of my clothes for two months and school supplies had to be brought in my two carry-on bags.  I petitioned for my textbooks to be put in one of the 9 trunks of research equipment my mom was bringing (every single checked bag was research equipment or orphanage donations) but there simply wasn’t room.  I discovered this about 3 days before leaving and naturally started freaking out.  How was I supposed to home school myself without textbooks?? My mom had the BRILLIANT (please note the sarcasm) idea of scanning all the chapters I would need into pdfs and taking them on my laptop.  At the time, this seemed like an OK idea.  Wrong.  Besides the fact that it took me a lot of mind numbing hours to scan the darn things, a lot of them turned out blurry or cut off at the edges, and I accidently forgot to scan two chapters, and had to call home on a satellite phone to get someone to send me them.  I do not have mad scanning skills. 

As I sat in my “classroom” peering at a blurry page from the first Properties of Democracy chapter, I heard a rumor.  We might be able to go get internet today!! This caused a flurry of activity as I quickly shoved my computer and the necessary papers into a backpack.  I would be riding into town on the back of my dad’s motorbike.  Unfortunately we also had to take my little brother Liam.  Because Liam has absolutely no balance, he would be between my dad and me.  Normally this wouldn’t be so bad-but motorbikes have this weird lullaby effect on him and he always falls asleep, which leaves me holding him on the bike as I try to balance on the back of it over terrible roads.  Less than fun…

Anyways we finally got to the Baptist internet place we had discovered a few days earlier, and I got to work.  My main reason for coming, taking online quizzes for AP US history - internet failed.  They don’t work.  WHY??? The page refuses to load-but only that page.  All the other ones, yahoo, blogger, U Penn’s Website, facebook… everything else works!  My school work here is cursed.  So I got almost nothing done yesterday.  Typical Africa.  Ever heard of Africa time? It means things get done at a fraction of the speed they would otherwise.  It seeps into your very bones and makes you feel like you’re moving through a sea of molasses.  Everything. Moves. So. Slowly.  In some ways this is good.  It means that I spend the evenings talking with my dad about theology and history instead of watching TV.  It means that I have time to draw, learn how to cook, smell the roses, and all that jazz… but mostly I just get bored and restless and end up fighting with my brother. 

Why am I not working with the leper colony you ask?  Africa time strikes again! That doesn’t start until Sunday now. Hopefully… In the meantime I’ve been cranking through my school work (I actually got a ton done today!) and have set up an internship at a local clinic.  Keeping busy is imperative because I do not handle being bored and restless and useless well.  At all.