Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Naange no wuli

That is to say, the sun is hot. Damn hot. The cold did not last... at all.

So finished the first semester of school, gave compositions, and tallied grades.

9th grade: 58% fail, 40% pass. nice..
10th grade: 40% fail, 59% pass. a little better.
11th SE: 42% fail, 58% pass
11th SS: 27% fail, 73% pass- my best class.
11th SM: 17% fail, 83% pass.

Some highlights from the tests:
--when asked to translate "comment vas-tu?" searching for the response "how are you?", some students chose to answer the question. One 9th grader wrote, "Ayame fay ind you." (I'm fine, and you)
--When asked "what time is it?" for 14:15, one 10th grader wrote "it is tentyfour tenty-five."

Some real stars in those classes! Haha good times nonetheless.


Got a new cat, his or her meows sound like Donald duck...so that's been fun haha.

Went to Dougaya again, this time with Lisa- same unending hospitality and a lovely time.

And sadly on 8 Feb, I found out one of my best girl students- who's completely motivated and smart- which is a hard combination to find in the girls here, just got married. She'll be moving out of Guinea with her new husband, and more likely than not- not finishing school. Completely heartbreaking for me. Total bummer. Some things in this culture I love, and then there's things like that that totally bum me out.

Anywho- that's about it for now. Love and miss you all- as per usual. Keep me posted on your lives

<3

10 comments:

Unknown said...

What is the new cat's name? I hope that this one is healthy! Just think- you'll get to see Ariel (not to mention friends and family) in a few short weeks!

mom said...

Hey, Rachel,

Sorry for grades and star pupil leaving but maybe she'll surprise you and go to school. I know, I can dream, too. Can't wait until April, still working on travel. Happy Valentine's Day!! love you and miss you, too.

Old Time Tom said...

Good to know you had some good students, the impact you have on the girl who got married may show up many times in her future, and may have a lifechanging impact. Enjoy! Happy Valentine, hope you get theone we sent, looking forward to hopefully see you in April, Love, Honeg & Popop

Unknown said...

i miss you a lot. I always try to call you, i never succeed

Cat said...

Bah it sounds so amazing!!! I can't wait to get to Africa... only like 6 more weeks!! Then we can share African student stories! Hope all is well... miss you!!

Cat said...
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Douglas Milewski said...

Joy turns two this month. She'd send her love if she knew how to write. Our cat Squirrel turns four. Jenny turns forty! You can still see pics at http://pics.livejournal.com/dacuteturtle

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Somebody mentioned this evening that their back hurt, to which I replied: "Is it your back?"....no response. Amateurs.

mom said...

P-I-T-T Let's go Pitt!! Just beat number one UCONN. Hey, hey!!