Do you ever get the feeling that you have too much to do, and you really don't know where to start, so you just sit on your chair, watching your cat sleep and listening to 'Top of the Pops"?
That's about what I'm doing this morning. I have quite a long list of things that need to get done. And some of them need to get done, like, well, two weeks ago. But I just don't have the gumption this morning to start tackling them. So. I will continue to sit here until it's time to go to my next meeting in 20 minutes.
And I will try to enjoy these few minutes of "nothing" to think about some of the good things of the past week. First, we've had so much city electricity! I have only had to use my new back up light twice in the past two weeks! What a difference to life it makes to have electricity most of the time! It's also been pretty nice and cool all week. We've had so many beautiful, overcast days. Upon waking in the morning, it's been a chilly 24C in my room! At the moment, it's only 27C in my living room, and with the power running the fan, it's downright pleasant. I did enjoy the workshop last week. Everyone seemed to enjoy our lesson on Moringa, and it was a good experience to teach with one of my colleagues here, who I have not really taught with, or even worked with too much. But it was really good to get to know him better, and to see how we could work together quite well. I think it was good for our relationship!
I also got an email this morning that a workshop that I'm teaching next week is still going to go on, but there are only going to be 6 teachers there to train, instead of the expected 30! And, Monday is a public holiday here, so the workshop isn't starting on Monday anymore! Which means that I have another day to prepare, and I only have to prepare to teach 6, and not 30! Which makes a HUGE difference when I am planning to print literacy books for each of them to take home. It was going to take me many, many hours to produce 30 copies of 3 different basic literacy books for them. Now I just have to print off 6 copies of each book.
So that was a bit of good news, though a bit bittersweet, as it would have been so wonderful to have this opportunity to train 30 teachers! My organization is not paying for the training - it's being sponsored and organized by a different organization, and they have just invited me along for a few days to train the teachers that they are gathering. So it's a real opportunity - and just the sort of thing that I would love to do more of. None of the logistics issues or the expense - I just pop in and do the training :) So it's a bit disappointing that there will be only 6 teachers... but at the same time, with all the other things going on, I have to admit having only 6 teachers takes a little of the time pressure off of me. And it's easier to get 6 teachers to do some practice teaching, instead of trying to organize 30 teachers to practice!
Ok, it's about time for my meeting - and I should probably put something other than an old t-shirt and trousers on! Looking smart for meetings around here is a very high value - shows that you respect the folks that you're meeting with. So the fancier you dress, the more valued and respected the folks you're meeting with feel. So, better run to find something a bit nicer to throw on...
That's about what I'm doing this morning. I have quite a long list of things that need to get done. And some of them need to get done, like, well, two weeks ago. But I just don't have the gumption this morning to start tackling them. So. I will continue to sit here until it's time to go to my next meeting in 20 minutes.
And I will try to enjoy these few minutes of "nothing" to think about some of the good things of the past week. First, we've had so much city electricity! I have only had to use my new back up light twice in the past two weeks! What a difference to life it makes to have electricity most of the time! It's also been pretty nice and cool all week. We've had so many beautiful, overcast days. Upon waking in the morning, it's been a chilly 24C in my room! At the moment, it's only 27C in my living room, and with the power running the fan, it's downright pleasant. I did enjoy the workshop last week. Everyone seemed to enjoy our lesson on Moringa, and it was a good experience to teach with one of my colleagues here, who I have not really taught with, or even worked with too much. But it was really good to get to know him better, and to see how we could work together quite well. I think it was good for our relationship!
I also got an email this morning that a workshop that I'm teaching next week is still going to go on, but there are only going to be 6 teachers there to train, instead of the expected 30! And, Monday is a public holiday here, so the workshop isn't starting on Monday anymore! Which means that I have another day to prepare, and I only have to prepare to teach 6, and not 30! Which makes a HUGE difference when I am planning to print literacy books for each of them to take home. It was going to take me many, many hours to produce 30 copies of 3 different basic literacy books for them. Now I just have to print off 6 copies of each book.
So that was a bit of good news, though a bit bittersweet, as it would have been so wonderful to have this opportunity to train 30 teachers! My organization is not paying for the training - it's being sponsored and organized by a different organization, and they have just invited me along for a few days to train the teachers that they are gathering. So it's a real opportunity - and just the sort of thing that I would love to do more of. None of the logistics issues or the expense - I just pop in and do the training :) So it's a bit disappointing that there will be only 6 teachers... but at the same time, with all the other things going on, I have to admit having only 6 teachers takes a little of the time pressure off of me. And it's easier to get 6 teachers to do some practice teaching, instead of trying to organize 30 teachers to practice!
Ok, it's about time for my meeting - and I should probably put something other than an old t-shirt and trousers on! Looking smart for meetings around here is a very high value - shows that you respect the folks that you're meeting with. So the fancier you dress, the more valued and respected the folks you're meeting with feel. So, better run to find something a bit nicer to throw on...
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