Return Trip. I arrived in Dakar last Saturday night after one of the smoothest trips I've ever taken. Ironically, no one checked for my visa upon my return. Though I had my usual pre-return blues (they begin after 4 weeks back in the States), it's good to be back "home."Teaching. I've just completed the 1st week of my 5th year teaching at Dakar Academy. I've always enjoyed the students here, but this appears to be the nicest crop yet. This semeseter, my responsibilities include:
- Elementary School music: grades K-5, meeting 2x per week for 30 minutes each
- Middle School music: grades 6-8, meeting 2x per week for 45 minutes each
- Chamber Choir: 9 high school students selected by audition, 2x per week for 45 minutes each.
- Overseeing Elementary Chapel (speaking and leading music, and finding others to do so)
This week I invented a musical game that the 3-6th graders really enjoyed.
Campus. The picture above is an old one, but shows an area of campus largely unchanged since I took it: the elementary school building (6 classrooms, a small kitchen, two bathrooms, and in the middle, the 2-story auditorium where I teach) and elementary playground.
Weather. The weather is always noteworthy here, even if it's weather as usual. As expected at this time of year, it's hot and humid. Thankfully, the power has stayed on for a whole week, so I've had the benefit of my new (used) air conditioner at night. It's also been cloudy. We had a welcome downpour today, wiping the dust off the leaves and washing much of the the humidity out of the air (and turning High School PE class soccer games into a mudbowl).
I would not be able to take this same picture today, because a new, 3-story classroom building covers the spot where I stood to snap the shot. In addition to the badly needed additional classroom space, the bottom floor of this new structure provides a great benefit: a shady, breezy, open area for lunchtimes and other large gatherings.Birders Alert. I awoke to what I believe was the sound of an owl in the middle of the night earlier this week. A colleague thinks she saw one on campus recently. I've never seen an African owl, but perhaps I'll be able to post a picture of one here someday.
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