Bonne Année (Monday, 2012 January 2)
[N.B. I’m posting a lot of text-only posts right now because the front page of my blog has like sixty pictures and it takes forever to load.]
School restarts tomorrow, marking the first time I’ve taught class in about a month. I’ve forgotten my entire schedule and lost my place in each class. I’m not sure what the hell I’m going to do about 3rd sequence, which basically just vanished. So in other words, business as usual at the lycée. The good news is Boris finally left today, liberating me to pursue an afternoon of housework and finally some video games. Bathed for the first time in three days, cooked for myself, and generally doing much better. I really would have preferred another day off, but what can you do?
Preston mentioned that he was getting a little ready to go back to school, that he was starting to feel useless without classes to teach. Sure, but I’m also tense about going back into duty. Back to the grind, back to the soul-sucking tedium of it all. Maybe I should spend less time in the lab, or maybe I can stop going to classes so much.
Last year, at the beginning of winter break, one of the senior Volunteers sent us an email saying something along the lines of "Congratulations! You’re 2/3 done with the school year, because the rest of the year is as a Swiss cheese of vacations and holidays." And with the 2012 on the calendar, I feel tangibly as though I have entered the home stretch. Seven months of service left! This is doable, right?
Last year, I resolved to be focused outside instead of inside. Did I manage it? I’m not sure.. a part of me is saying that I’ve only succeeded at pretending to be focused on the outside when really spending much more time inside. I still greet everyone I see on the street, and I’ve got a few more friendships with people here in village than I did last year, but I still play stupid games with conversations and when I’m in the lab after school, sometimes I just sit there and read. So a partial success, let’s say. This year I think my resolution will be: get creative. Make something awesome. And get through this thing in one piece.