Growing Pains

Not to complain or anything but I have gotten off to a bit of a rocky start during my first few days. I still have not gotten my mattress. Meanwhile, I have not had a decent night’s sleep in a few days. But the mattress fiasco has been the least of my worries. The stove I bought at the Nakumatt is not working. Therefore I have not been able to cook myself a decent meal nor have I had hot water for a bucket bath. Assuming the problem to be only a broken regulator, I went back to the Nakumatt in Meru to exchange the regulator and pick up some more things and get some food. It turns out regulator works fine and that the problem is a faulty propane tank. So now I have to bring the tank in and exchange it for a new tank. Then I bought some other things and I went to the check out only to have my card declined due to insufficient funds. So then I went and tried the ATM and found the same result. The trip was almost a complete waste except for meeting up with a friend for a little while.

I have been thrown into the fire in terms of teaching. I was under the impression that I would be learning from some of the other teachers at least during my first week. But I already have my own class which is Class 1 (equivalence is 1st grade.) I am responsible for teaching KSL, English, math, social studies, and science. The kids are great but I have not had any time to prepare because I have been so occupied with getting settled in.

Finally, it seems that most people around here speak the tribal vernacular of Meru. So that has made things more complicated. But perhaps the most challenging of all is that the sign language used at this school is very different. So that in itself will take some getting used to.

But things are starting to look up. The Peace Corps figured out the issues with my bank account. I found someone to drive me into Meru, so I do not have to deal with the daunting task of dragging the tank down to the road, bargaining with a matatu, dragging the tank through Meru to the Nakumatt and then starting the whole process over again to get back to my site. I have also found a carpenter to build me some furniture at a very reasonable price. The staff here at the school do take good care of me and I can tell they want me to be as comfortable as possible. One of the workers whom I mentioned in my previous post is always checking up on me They were constantly calling me and texting me when I was in Meru to make sure I was OK.. I am lucky to be in the company of such caring individuals.