Monday Morning Again

 Another Monday has come around...at least it's a beautiful day!  Of course, I don't know why I'm surprised by continued beautiful days; there's not much chance of rain until the rainy season gets started sometime in March.  Weather here, unlike in the US, is pretty predictable.  People don't really make small talk about the weather except right at the beginning or end of rainy season, as that's the only time when it's at all uncertain about what the weather will be.  The students usually just give me a bit of an odd look when I comment on what a beautiful day it is.  It is warm this time of year; the highs are in the upper 80s most days.  January tends to be the hottest month here, and we're just a few days into February now.

Monday mornings start early for me; I have a class at 8:10 so I usually ride up to the school with Lewis when he goes around 6:45 for the morning assembly from 7:00-7:30.  The students assemble on the edge of the football field in front of the dining hall every morning right after breakfast for various announcements and usually either a staff or student speaker.  Not being a morning person, I rarely attend assembly any other day of the week when I don't have class as early.

My first class of the day is from 8:10-9:30 with form 3.  After that, I head back to the library to work there until lunchtime.  During the lunch hour, we have a staff devotional and teachers' meeting, and then I am back in the library doing library work/grading papers/lesson planning etc. until 2:50.  I have a class with form 1 during the last period of the day, from 2:50-3:30.  After that, students are often in the library studying and reading and hanging out (we have a pack of UNO cards); I play music and supervise and help with various research questions.

The form one students were sent out to collect types of grass and leaves for something in one of their science classes.

I usually intend to leave by five or so, but I never do; somehow Mondays always turn into long days as I stay at least until dinner (at 6:30) and usually by then I just stay until Lewis is ready to leave so that I can ride with him instead of calling a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) to get home; it's usually after 8:00 when I leave as he does the Monday night devotional.  Somehow there's always plenty to do. It's a long day, but usually a productive one!

Evening devotional in the Dining Hall