December 9, 2011

Another crispy morning with temperatures hovering around 25 degrees. Before heading to my classroom, I took a peek at a bathroom on the first floor that my predecessor had told was available to faculty members only and even though it wasn’t always clean and there was no toilet paper, it had a door and could serve in an emergency. The door was open and I could see it a western-style toilet and definitely one to seek out when my bladder was about to give out. Since working in Tajikistan is so similar to being in Nepal, I’ve taken to carrying a roll of toilet paper in my school bag just in case.

The classroom with the whiteboard was occupied, nothing new there, and I had to find an empty classroom down the hallway. The one available had another horrible blackboard and the students kept asking me to read the words out to them for they couldn’t make them out. Mercifully, the other classroom became available for the second period and we all trooped into it. Students are enjoying the grammar exam practice as I force them to explain to me why they’ve made a particular selection by explaining the grammar rule associated with it. This is very challenging for them as they’ve never done it before. They keep telling how grateful they are to know there are specific rules and I tell them that although English can appear to be a capricious language most of the times, it’s indeed a logical one.

                                            We dubbed these the "wedding cake" buildings

My third class of the morning was cancelled due to another exam. I was more than happy to leave early since I needed to make all the photocopies for the workshop tomorrow at Quorgunttapa (not sure about the spelling since everyone writes it in a different way). I decided to print a mini-booklet of 20 pages, double sided, with practical ideas to get the students talking in any class. The photocopying place was much accommodating as I got there close to lunch time and they normally close for lunch. I made 20 copies and then another set of conversation handouts for the students who will be waiting for me at the American Corner in the afternoon. Peter has confirmed that the taxi driver recommended by the embassy, who has the required seat belts and is properly licensed, will pick me up at 8:00am in front of the Children’s Theater. I’ve prepared cards for the “Famous Pairs” activity and a set of questions for the teachers to get to know each other. I hope all goes well. 

Ryan emailed to ask me to come over for lunch on Saturday so we can plan our trip to Istanbul, but I asked him to postpone it for Sunday.