February 10, 2012

Although the temperature had risen slightly, I still had no water this morning. I showed up at the PedInst at 9:00 to get the room set up and promptly unpacked the space heater and rearranged the desks for groups of four instead of the usual rows facing the blackboard. A couple of male students came by to chitchat and then the two students who had accompanied me to purchase the whiteboard came in with the legs for it. The whiteboard is flimsier than I expected and the floor is so warped that it wobbles every time I write something on it. Still, it beats having to write on the blackboard. Many students stood at the doorway watching in awe as the process was completed.

The 9:30 class had only seven students, future teachers who have already completed their practicum. They indicated their practicum was only one month long and they taught classes on their own while a faculty member from the PedInst came by to observe them. The concurred with me that one month was too short a period of time to gain enough experience and comfort level in the classroom. This group is only getting a bachelors degree in education and will need to teach for three years before getting their certification as educators. It sounded very similar to our alternative educator certification process in the States, but ours is intended for people who don’t have a degree in education.

My space heater failed me miserably as it never warmed up the place and you’d not have known it was there unless you stood right next to it. Perhaps it needs to be on for several hours before it puts out enough heat to do so. The female students were quite vocal in complaining about the cold. Nigora came in once again to ask about my availability on Saturdays despite my having told her several times that I don’t teach on Saturdays. Just like Pariso before, she wanted for me to take over one of her earlier classes because she teaches someplace else at that time. I waited fruitlessly for the 11:00 students to show up and then she told me the dean was teaching them in that time slot. I was beyond perplexed and showed her the schedule he had fashioned for me including a class at that particular time. She just shrugged her shoulders saying he was the dean and could do whatever he wanted and so I was free to go home.

I then went to Caritas to retrieve the Tajik dress Takhmina had brought for me to wear to the presentation in Nepal and the Forum magazines I had left behind. I took the trolley and made my way to the printing office to pick up my business cards and finally made it home where I was ecstatically happy to hear water coming out of the bathroom faucet. I proceeded to fill all of my containers just in case as more snow is predicted for early next week.

I took some time to start gathering the documents and sundries I’ll need to travel to Nepal. I contacted Valerie, the ELF I met in Washington, D. C. and currently posted in Almity, so we can have dinner when we arrive there on Sunday. She mentioned a Thai restaurant and my mouth immediately watered.

I called Marydean about Caroline’s proposal to house sit instead of me and she wasn’t interested as she indicated not to recall meeting Caroline on New Year’s Eve and being dismayed that she planned on leaving her fellowship early. I sent Caroline an email even though I know she hasn’t paid for an Internet connection this month. I’ll have to talk to her tomorrow after the presentation.