Daily routine
Someone asked me recently to describe what it is that I do on a typical day and week. So here you go--some days are really interesting; others aren't.
Classes start at 8:20, but we have staff devotions at 7:45 each morning, where we have a quick teaching and then pray. (What a blessing it is too to start your day at work like that!) Each day my teaching load is different. I work with two students from 9th grade and two from 10th grade (there's another French teacher who teaches the rest of the class). Then I teach 7th grade (19 students) and 8th grade (12 students). 6th grade (16 students) will start for me next week (please pray for that! I just keep thinking kindergarten cop). So far it's been a good workload. I spend quite a bit of time planning and trying to figure out how to teach 13-15 year old kids (my experience is with high school students). It's all about creativity and simplicity for them. At 10:05 each day we have a 20 minute tea and muffin break, which is so nice.
School gets out at 3:25. During basketball season I coached on Mondays and Fridays, with games on Wednesdays. Now I've got some more free time. But in general each night I've got something going on. Monday night I have Bible study; Tuesday night is floor hockey; Thursday night is soccer. After that I'll usually put in 2-3 hours grading and planning. This Friday I'll begin a new ministry! I'll be teaching English to some boys from a different neighborhood, as part of a small Christian organization, Strong Hearts Ethiopia. Looking forward to that.
On Friday nights I go out to dinner with the other teachers. That's one thing that I can't get used to—eating out. It's just so incredibly affordable. About eight bucks for a nice meal plus dessert. (Same quality around 25 dollars in U.S.) We went out last Friday to the "nicest restaurant" in Addis. It was great food. I had stuffed chicken, appetizers, dessert; meal, tax and tip all for 16 dollars. (Would have easily been 70 dollars in U.S.)
On Saturday afternoons I play basketball. (They've got a real nice gym here.) Then three days a week I run around campus. I'm going to run soon outside on the roads—I hope! It's too difficult to run during the day because of the pedestrians and traffic, so I've heard that, this being Ethiopia and all, you'll see Ethiopians running on the "Ring road" that circles the city—a kind of expressway—at 5AM. Otherwise you'll have to go out to the countryside to see people running. (I've only seen one person running during the day since being here.) So maybe I'll make it out there on the road early in the morning sometime soon. I can no longer use the elevation as an excuse. (We live at 7,850 ft.)
Sunday I go to a different church each week. I've been making my rounds and still haven't chosen one. I either go to the International Evangelical Church (IEC), which is a contemporary non-denominational church. The praise and worship there is great. Or I'll go to an Anglican church, where lots of the Bingham teachers go. It's where I go to satisfy my traditional worship service yearnings.
After Sunday brunch it's back to work for 3-4 hours to get ready for the week.
During the week I try to go outside campus as much as possible to remind myself that I'm living in Ethiopia. If it weren't for the Muslim and Orthodox calls to prayer (5 a day for the Muslims, I don't know how many for the Orthodox; but they're loud. People can't say they didn't hear the call in the morning because they're as loud as my alarm clock.), the occasional power and water cuts and the dogs who bark at night (stray dogs are a fixture here in Addis—they're every where), I'd say we live in a bubble. So I like to go out to the market, or a café, or even to get my shoes shined. (I'll have to take a pic of that, but there are teenage boys on every corner shining people's shoes. That's another thing about the developing world: there's lots dirt. You always come back from town with dirty shoes and pants—no need to try and brush them during the day in the city; dirty pants are part of the deal.)
But maybe I go out simply because I like being noticed. "You!", they always say. Or sometimes "Hello!". "Foreigner!" is my preferred salutation. To the latter I either respond with "Nope, I'm a native." (which perplexes some) or "You're really clever!" They can also yell out their English word of the day. A few weeks ago someone shouted out "Microsoft!" as I walked by. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
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