After an exhausting day today, facing every one of my 5 classes, I can't begin to fathom how anyone could possibly choose to spend their life as a K-12 teacher. I just barely had the energy to not collapse in front of my final class after teaching 4 hours in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. And I'm at the "prime of my life" and with a 2-hour break for lunch! This does not bode well for the future.
I feel slightly better about teaching than I did yesterday, though today I got the belated experience of school administration drama and gossip. I was privy to it (whereas before I would likely not hear about it) because this time I was at its center! The story is that after the GRE two weeks ago, Peace Corps was looking for me after a mix-up. They called my friends, they called my supervisors, and searched long and wide with their hands perched on their brows (I assume) but no trace of Adam. Finally, they called Erin who was sitting next to me at the time. At no point--and this is going to sound incredible, but it's true--did they try to call my phone. Good job, gumshoes!
Regardless, when they called the Director of my middle school, she had the gall to tell my boss that I had only taught twice so far this year because that's all she had personally observed me doing. She failed to mention that she spends 90% of her time in a different city. This led my boss to e-mail me, once they had found me, that he "questioned my commitment" to serving, as if not leaving after 1 1/2 years isn't evidence enough. I found it fairly insulting, and told him so via email.
Furious at this blatant lie, and happening to catch her at the school on Tuesday, I made a beeline for her office. (School and town officials here are about as difficult to meet with as Major Major Major Major, if you catch the reference). Unfortunately, disabusing her of her false notions proved more difficult than I imagined. As it turns out, it's exceedingly difficult to argue with someone in a language on which you have, at best, a precarious grasp. Imagine trying qrgue with a person based entirely on their body language and tone--as you didn't actually understand what they said. (To ask them to repeat in dumbed-down language is effectively to throw up the white flag).
By the end, with a tactical series of raised index fingers and arched eyebrows (I learned everything I know from Stephen Colbert), I think I won the debate (it's hard to tell), and she agreed to call my boss and set the record straight. At the end of our meeting, she smiled at me and asked: "So, do you think you can teach me English?" I agreed and suggested we set up a schedule in the future, which actually means "no."
A few hours later, I ran into the middle school secretary as she stopped me in the street. "I can't believe what she did! She's so mean, and really doesn't do her job well. You teach here every day and she spends all her time in Fianarantsoa!" (This is a loose translation). While she's going on and on about it, the vice principal of the middle school walked by. I thought 'it's a good thing I wasn't saying anything at the time.' He stopped to greet us and shook our hands. Then, turning to the secretary he said "Did you hear what was said about Adam? What a bitch!"
