Day 2 in AA

Day two in AA Class was a totally new experience after working on my lesson plans with Benjamin. Even though yesterday was a throwaway class that basically consisted of me making up facts as I went along in a book, I asked, just for fun, what the students had learned. They answered correctly, even though I had forgotten that I had taught. Period one, "The space shuttle, and how astronauts go to the moon." Period 2 "Dinosaur. Herbivore, carnivore, omnivore." Period 3 "Cold air has high pressure. Wind goes from low pressure to high pressure... I mean high pressure to low pressure". Period four... you get the idea. Seriously, every student listens intently and fights to answer each question. They act like Americans do when a magician needs a volunteer at a middle school magic show. There isn't just the handraise... there is the hand having a seizure a yard over each head. Some students stand up and yell "Meester, meester. I know it!". It is too bad that all the kids who want to learn have idiotic teachers like me, while idiot students like me have some of the world's best teachers. I met a couple of Americans, from UNC, randomly at the school this morning, and I think they are coming with us this weekend to this little lake next to a dormant volcano 45 minutes south. If I had enough light to read the name of it, I would tell you, but I don't. Anyway- these dudes will definitely be a couple of rafts in the pool of estrogen that is Cherokee House. Not to say that the girls aren't the kindest people in the world... because they are great, but I just need somebody with whom I can talk about America reclaiming the hot-dog eating title belt.After school I worked on lesson plans with Benjamin, and the differing values of time became very apparent. First Benjamin said, "You stay. I come soon." "Come where?" "I come back soon". 1 hour later... he returned to the room and said "I can not find the worksheets". (Aye cannough fine zee woarkshees). After studying Amharic for 59 minutes I responded in his language eloquently with "yes... I sorry... Ok... fine". Then, an hour and a half past before I asked him to retrace his steps for the fourth time. He finally said "Oh yeah... hahaha. Is in my bag". He walked away laughing, saying "I forget! haha". I guess time doesn't mean much to a country when hours are worth a birr, 11.12 cents. Not to insult Benjamin either because he is the cornerstone to the classroom, translating all the gray areas, which have significantly reduced as the classes get used to my accent and vice versa. During my hour wait, Hareg offered me a Coke but apologized for not having a bottle opener. I joked "It's ok, I will just pop it off with my teeth." Her response was an utterly serious "You can do it." So I did it. The whole time I worked at it, I was thinking about Dad giving me the 5000 dollar smile speech, but I persevered, and now I feel a little more Ethiopian (and a little less enamel-protected). Also, during the lesson plans Hareg's daughter, Abigail (who speaks better English than my 3rd graders) came up to me and showed me her plastic jewel that she had found. I told her that if she found string, I would make her a necklace. She found some, and I made the necklace, adding that if she found anything else she wanted on the necklace, I would put it on for her. She ran off into the gravel play area and came back with a mini-deflated basketball. Surprised, but true to my word I put another hole in the broken basketball and strung it on. She then made the necklace into a bracelet and asked me to string on one more item. I never would have imagined this happening to me, but I am now proud to say that I have made a jewelry, basketball, pencil, bracelet. It looked great (and kind of dangerous) so I made her take the pencil out, and she replaced it with a crayon.One more thing, I gave Benjamin, who wants to be a biology teacher, my old biology textbook (which is state of the art... it has 800 pages, a cd, and a ton of excercises). Anyway... his response was laughing every 5 seconds for the next hour saying "Oh... I so excited!" He then proceeded to read to me every word of the table of contents, saying "I learn about all these things." When he began to read chapter 1 to me, I decided I had to go. I had no intention of rehashing C- memories. That's about it. A couple of Ethiopians came to dinner tonight, which was Ethiopia's only dish, Injari (what I called Jaraar last night). lt was awesome because I got to learn all about Ethiopia's MILLENIUM, new year celebration (since they are 8 years and 3 months different from us). Meg, which I bet is short for something I can't spell, told me the best drinks to buy are dudge (alcohol, honey, and spices) or tellah (alcohol, spices, and pieces of bread). I predict that I will try both, and go straight back to Bud Light... or probation.Deuhnahun!
draft
by Watt Smith