News Update--From Final Exams until Christmas

12-25-08 Merry Christmas! Final exam week went by fairly quickly. I even got my grades turned in by last Friday (but that may be due partially to the fact that I had six tests right in a row, and no tests on Thursday morning. However, I had everything graded by the end of Wednesday, and quite happily logged into Skype on Thursday morning to be surprised by my friend Desi also being online! One reason that this was so exciting is that Desi is a fellow student missionary--but in Africa. There's still a fair bit of time difference (she was headed to bed, I had just started my day), but it was good to have a conversation with her. It was definitely a boost!

Last Thursday was our Christmas program. It went really well, compared with other programs we've had this year. After starting a half-hour or so late, the groups flowed smoothly and the kids sang and everything was good. Well, not entirely. My sophomores had refused to practice, like I said two posts ago. We had gotten to the Wednesday before final exams, and they still wouldn't practice. They would just sit there and stare at the blackboard blankly. Frankly, it drove me up the wall. Blessedly, I stayed calm in front of the class (though I really wanted to explode, and, for those of you who know me rather well, you know that would not have been a good thing) and it was only through God that I stayed calm in front of the class. I ended up venting to the coordinator for the program, and when he had the sophomores during the next period, he asked them if they would practice. He got no answer, and so he said that they didn't need to be in the program. Instead, our principal had them clean the rooms where we had the performances (before and after) and they were still required to come. I don't know how many of them actually showed up, but a few of the ones who usually behave did. Figures. On Friday, one of my sophomores' moms told me that they had all known the song. *sigh*

You know, I remember my sophomore year of high school. It wasn't that long ago, you know. I remember how most of us thought that a lot of stuff we had to do was "stupid." So, in a way, I can identify with the class I sponsor. But here the apathy is much deeper. In my class, we would still get things done, whether we thought it dumb or not. We still participated. I've talked with our principal about my class--and part of the problem is that no one in the class wants to be a leader. At least, no one wants to be a leader in the sense of getting up front and getting things done. They would all rather have someone else do it. Then there's me, the sponsor. It's my job to help them lead, not to lead. And it isn't for lack of potential, either. There are lots of leaders in my class--they all just want to do different things, none of which are what they're supposed to be doing. They have the potential; they lack the motivation. Last Monday (12-15, I think), we were supposed to plan for our class party on the 19th. Okay, that's not difficult, we've planned class potlucks before. So, I write the list of foodstuffs needed on my blackboard and ask, "Okay, who's bringing what?" Crickets. (Well, if there were crickets on Ebeye, which I think there aren't.) I finally got most of the food volunteered for, and asked if they wanted to do anything else, like play games or something. No answer. So I sent them on to geometry class. Friday came, and I had six kids show up on time to eat (a seventh had to join another class because she came late). Six kids is one-third of my class--and most of that one-third did not even bring what they were supposed to. The kid who lives across the street from the school didn't even show. *sigh* I ended up combining my party with the party of Emily and the juniors. It ended up being a fine little party, but I still was disappointed. Despite thoughts that they wouldn't show, I was hoping that they would.

Enough of my angsty venting. Here's something funny that happened during the last performance (which was the Kindergarten/Preschool). Little kids began running out of the room and scrambling to the street. Why, you ask? Oh, because the Christmas parade one of the churches was holding was throwing candy to the kids. It was also blaring a siren that was completely annoying. Our little kids on stage kept singing, though I'm sure that they wanted to be running to get candy as well. I actually have video of their performance, and every so often, there's this blur that runs past. It would be another small child, dashing towards the door. We staff were just silently laughing and trying to pay attention to the kids on stage. They did a really good job of singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Sunday, December 21st, was a day that I spent mostly in bed. Somehow, I got laid out by some sort of illness. It wasn't bad enough for them to call up a taxi and take me to the hospital, but I did stay in bed most of the day and try to sleep. I had about two good hours of sleep once I moved to our principal's couch (because their house was dark and quiet, unlike my bedroom, which gets direct exposure to sun almost all day long). I slept all night, and am now (as of Thursday) feeling much better. I don't know why I got it, but I'm really glad it's gone.

We've had no Internet for about four days, and I haven't felt the need to pay money for the Internet at NTA (I am cheap like that). This post may be a reason to go to NTA, but I'd rather have the school have Internet, because it's cheaper to me. (No, it's not free. Ten dollars of my stipend goes to using the school's Internet. Not a hardship, considering that then I have reliable (well, most of the time) access to the Internet. Plus, the Internet being off is due to NTA, not to the school. And so here I am, using the Internet at NTA, to check my email and post this.

Tonight we're going to have a Christmas dinner and just hang out with each other. Last night we had a Christmas Eve party--we exchanged gifts, using the Steal game method, and then played chess and Uno and had conversations and such. I actually won a round of Uno! Yay!

Oh, I almost forgot. I have broken the two hundred pound barrier. That's right. For the first time in a long time, I weigh less than 200 pounds. I came in at 197.5 pounds, and so I went out and got celebration pickles and Pringles. They were expensive, let me tell you. The jar of pickles (it was a big one, because I wanted to economize and because I wanted to share) cost me $6.15. Oh, but they were good! And very much worth it. More later.