3 months to go...

Yep, that’s right I’m leaving in 3 months and yes, I have very mixed emotions. :)

I’ve felt pretty burnt-out and bitter and I’m working to push past that. When I am conscious of those feelings, I do a lot better job of not letting them affect me as much. I’ve also felt like I’m stuck in a weird limbo of not wanting to start new projects that won’t get finished within 3 months but then being stuck with too much time on my hands, which inevitably leads me to think about home and then I start getting worried about how I’m going to adjust, what I’m going to do, what will be different, yada yada yada.

So to fight that- I am starting two new projects that I will finish before I leave.

1) I’m now teaching at Chaminade Secondary School. This is the all boys boarding school where Matt and Chris (and Kat, Sarah, Emily and Dugan) teach/taught and these are the boys that always come to the door to ask questions or to borrow things. I have been with each of the two Form 4 classes (equivalent to seniors in high school) and I think this will be a fun new challenge. I have a ton of new names to learn and instead of teaching the class with the purpose of just improving the lives of the students (as it is at MIRACLE), these students have to be able to pass their Life Skills test in order to pass their Senior Exams. I hope it continues to be a source of energy and fun for me.

2) When school starts again at MIRACLE next week, I’ll be taking some trips into town to gather information about all the NGOs that are there and what they do. In our social office at MIRACLE, people from the surrounding villages always come to ask for help with different problems. We don’t have the money or resources to assist with most problems but we end up feeling guilty that we don’t help because these people are really in need. So I’m going to find out about all the NGOs in Karonga so that we can accurately recommend where they should go so that they can receive help. It should be a fun project and hopefully it will be helpful long after I’ve left. Or at least for a little while.

That’s life here these days. Thanks to all of you who still read this and send me emails. :)