sometimes I wake up screaming

School started this week, this Sunday to be precise. It was going smoothly all week until today, Wednesday. One day before the weekend and I was exhausted. It’s so hard trying to teach a bunch of noisy, chatty 7 year olds when all you want to do is fall asleep on your desk.

My schedule is as follows:
Sara wakes me up at 6:30 each morning, to which I immediately reply “wake me up in 10 minutes.” So I’m up at 6:40 and ready to go at 7, when the van picks us up. This is when my quiet morning ride is interrupted by the previously mentioned co-workers. Although our relations have definitely improved since my last blog, it’s very hard to remain in like with them when they are coming between me and my pretend sleep on the ride to work.
At work, every morning, without fail, the other teachers instantly begin with a chorus of complaints. “I swear, I am not doing any more work until the Internet is turned on as soon as we arrive,” or “Where is the photocopy lady? How am I supposed to get my grammar sheets out to my first class if she isn’t willing to arrive here at 7:30 AM!”... Okay, enough ranting, the truth is, after the hell of the morning with the other teachers is over, they are really not that bad.
The kids (and teachers) have morning assembly outside every morning at 8. This is where they do a few “exercises” (a basic upper body half-assed stretch), then shout out the national chant and song. It is always very hot, but it doesn’t take too long. I bring my first class up to their room and begin my upward battle of teaching, which I prefer to call “finding enough crap to keep thirty brats occupied and quiet for an hour and ten minutes.” The kids aren’t really that bad. Keep in mind that I was particularly tired today and a good teacher I did not make.
One thing I do well is remembering these kid’s names, close to all 90 of them. This is a particularly difficult feat as, for instance, I have 5 Youssef’s in one class. Thankfully, many of them have distinct features, like the albino-looking one (thank God comedy still exists in Egypt). A few of my favorites:

Kareem: who is one of the smallest boys in any of my classes, with a very mousy voice and an adorable face. I call on him more than anyone, I admit, simply because I love hearing his voice.
Mohamed: You have to see this kid to know how much I love him. He never talks out of turn, he is smart without being a suck up and he is the most patient kid I’ve ever met. I love him.
Laiyla: Her eyes fold when she smiles, which is all the time. Smart kid, and so sweet.
Mahmoud: Very old for his age, has a twin sister in the class who does slightly better on paper, but I know he is the intelligent one. A real good kid.

All of the kids are smart, really. The school is very good, as the parents pay a lot of money to send them there. They surprise me every day. There are a few kids who are behind the rest of them. Thankfully, I have an assistant, so I think I’m going to begin to set aside a little in-class time for them to meet with her in a smaller setting so they can catch up and get the individual attention they need.

After school, we usually come home and take a nap. I wish I wasn’t so tired when I got home so I could go to bed early and wake up refreshed and blah blah blah…but it’s just not working out that way. When we wake up from our naps, we either go for a walk, do some work or watch several t.v. programs to which we have become addicted. These include and are limited to (as there are all of 6 English-speaking channels): the Biggest Loser, Wings, and Seinfeld. If you think its lame to like the Biggest Loser, I ask you to watch one episode and not to cry at the “dramatic transformations” taking place each time. It’s our favorite show.

I promise you all that we will actually do something exciting this weekend and you will have pictures. I am just too tired to do anything real during the week. I better get used to this job soon or I won’t have much energy for anything shortly. Well, I will write again soon and I hope everyone is well. Please write back if you feel so inclined. I love getting emails from you all.

abigailbullen@gmail.com

sarahendo@gmail.com