...just another manic Monday...

..."oh, oh, oh....wish it was Sunday...cuz that's my fun day..."

This is my new theme song. I don't know who it's by, or where it's from, but as long as I love it...it's all that matters. Hahaha. I make myself laugh (someone's gotta...)

*Ahem.*

Ok, so the weekend was great, as seems to be the tradition thus far. Friday night we had dinner at my house (late, around 8pm) with people from Rainbows of Hope and Justin, the other new teacher at the school. I passed on the invitation to go dancing (I know, but I needed sleep!!) which I think was a good decision because they didn't end up getting back until 5am! Ugh! I was happy to be in my bed (although less happy about being woken up...but c'est la vie). On an unrelated note, I get up at 5:45am every morning. I KNOW, I'm as shocked as you are. Luckily, I'm the only one up at that hour and I don't actually have to interact with anyone until I get to school...at 7:30am...hmmm....I have continued my tradition of coffee in the mornings.

Saturday I spent the day lesson planning and used up the last of my laptop battery. Luckily we got light on Saturday night and I could recharge it. (yes, that's right, we don't have light on a regular basis. I do a lot by candlelight as it is pitch black by 7:45pm.) I went to PZ (an area in town - downtown, I suppose you could call it) to visit Adama and spent the night at her apartment there. We went to a relative's birthday party which was another fantastic Sierra Leonean experience complete with loud speakers, and Emcee, dance performances by 3 sisters, and some good food. Adama and I were 'escorted' home by Alimamy one of the boys that lives in her apartment so that we'd be safe in the dark. I'm sure you can imagine how needing an escort really appeals to my sense of independence. *wince*

Sunday was rainy. I had breakfast with Adama and her mother and then we headed to my place in between downpours. I spent the afternoon napping and then talked to my friend Aroun who made it back to Bo (a city east of Freetown) alive after a brief visit in Freetown. I pretended to do some more lesson planning in the evening, but spent most of the night writing in my journal by candlelight. Sooooooo romantic, just me and my leather-bound book...

And now, it's Monday. My lessons are finished for the day and I've had a few minutes to catch up on some internet-time. Our satellite was down all of Friday so it's been a while. Sorry! And speaking about lessons, I need to get back to some planning for the rest of the week. Tuesday night is the school's Open House night - parents will be coming to check out the new teachers, take a look at the curriculum and just generally wander about the school. I still need to put some finishing touches on my bulletin boards and make sure I'm ready to meet the people!

Hope you're all well. What's new and exciting for you?