Despite not liking, almost hating cats, I now have a new best friend. He started out as just a mouse catcher, he was only supposed to be functional, but then I gave him a name- Wada, it's Jula for wild cat (like a lion or tiger)- and he's just so adorable, that he turned into a pet, and now I think he's great. I actually didn't want to leave village this weekend because I was/am worried about him. But, I left a big bowl of milk and some fish for him, and the litter box is empty, so he should be fine for the one day I am away from home.
I gave 4 tests the past two weeks, math and biology in 5eme and 6eme class, which means I have 400 papers to grade (137 is the current tally in 6eme, 65 in 5eme). I also gave a quiz in each class, so that's another 200. I'm about half way done and have spent about 7 hours grading I think. The students handwriting is horrible, and their French is pretty bad too, so it's really difficult to decipher what the papers say. The 6eme class may make me go crazy, every day I try something different. I gave them a pop quiz the last class because they talked so much, but that's more of a punishment for me because now I have to grade 137 quizzes. A kid stuck his tongue out one day, so I made him come to the front of the class and stand with his tongue out for several minutes. I mock them, take away their break time, give quizzes, but 137 6th graders are just too many to have in one room at one time. It's a disaster.
This week I took some pictures with the kids in my courtyard by setting the timer on my camera. Now they think I'm magic. When I went to get in the picture they were all confused, then after a minute the flash went off and they all cheered and laughed like it was amazing. Then, one kid brought me the baby and told me to do it again holding the baby so she could be in the pic too. So, I did it again, everyone cheered, and I got some pictures with the kids. Then, the baby pooped on me. It was disgusting. There are no diapers here. It was bound to happen, but I had let my guard down and was no longer paranoid every time I held a baby, so I was completely taken by surprise.
Yesterday I went and worked in the fields with the people in my courtyard. I cut a bunch of red mil, which is used to make dolo, something like a local beer. The family doesn't drink ever, and they have harsh words to say about people who drink, but apparently it's ok for them to sell mil to other people so that they can get drunk. I'm not judging really, I just think it's kind of bizarre.
I also took a couple of pictures of my big 6eme class. They thought it was great. I told them that I had family and friends at home who wanted to see what the class is like, and I wanted to send a picture. After the class, a girl came running after me as I was riding away on my bike, and gave me a note. The note says hello and thank you to my mom for letting me come here to help teach them. There are some days when I want to beat them with a stick (which one of the other professors actually does), and other days when they are really great.
So Obama won, which makes everybody here happy. It’s weird though. Most people in America can't find Burkina Faso on a map (or have never heard of it even), but everyone here knows that there is a huge election going on in America. Really everybody, not just the people in cities, or just the functionaires (teachers, police, etc., the people who speak French basically). There are tons of people in my village who don't speak much French, have no electricity, but yet they still know about the election in America. They listen to news on small battery powered radios. I'm impressed, and happy about the new president.
I'm in the process of putting up a bunch of pictures, so if that works at a decently quick pace, I'll have lots of new pictures on photobucket.