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So I guess it's time again for my seemingly semi-annual blog report.

Things are coming down to the wire as I round the midway point on my last year in burkina. I hesitate to use the word legacy, but it would seem that my overall impact on the big L will make it self known over these next couple of months. This really hinges on two things: the successful implementation of the library and the performance of the troisième class on the BEPC. I certainly have other objectives to meet before the school year is up (tree planting project with 6ème, painting a few world maps, running the Ouaga marathon) but in all honesty I feel like those objectives are secondary.

The recent progression on the library grant happened startlingly quickly. Upon returning from Benin, I got indirect notification through my Mom that the grant had gone through. After that the funds came in very quickly thanks to the generosity of many, in particullar my god parents who ended up footing nearly half of the project bill. Unfortunately, the initiative that the donners showed was somewhat curtailed by the gelatinous process of getting the funds actually transfered to me. Rarely am I brought to the understanding that my final employer really is the United States government; the bloated, comatose leviathan which expedites nothings save war. But anyways I can't really complain. I'm taking advantage of this time to organize my A-team of painters for the world map project, inform myself with the librarian pro-tips and make sure that all my vendors are still in business. God willing, there should be a functioning library in the big L by the start of the third trimester.

As for getting some good test scores out of the 3ème class we seem to be on track. I'm about a month ahead of schedule on the official program which I think is a good call as many things could come up to cut out time in the remaining months. Unfortunately, I have come to understand that to be perfectly blunt, I'm not qualified to teach this class. Most of this stems from my imperfect communication skills (usually forming phrases too technical and inaccessible for my class) but also I have to note that in the united states we are bred to be specialists and not generalists. When I know the material (IE antibody-antigene interactions, microbiology etc) I bombard my students with information far beyond what they need. When I don't know the materail that well (the digestive system), I tend to give awkward explanations that are too general. But beyond this, the most difficult aspect is the fact that I have not ever taken this course and have never gone through the Burkina Education system. All the other teachers have the benefit of being able to teach to the test- only the facts that can earn their kids points. I however attempt to summarize what information I gleaned from the various state published resources but I'm working against that handicap.
Also there are tons of examples where I am forced to make a decision between teaching what I know to be true and teaching the facts published by the state. For instance I know that the lymphe and the interstitial fluid are two entirely different substances, and I know that the heart is NOT indefatigable. I oft start off on one tac (such as teaching what's published by the state) and then forget what zany statement they profess and switch back to what I learned. Meanwhile the kids are terribly confused as I have given them to separate conflicting explanations to one of the several thousand concepts that they have to memorize.

I'm sure that there are plenty of teachers in Burkina that are less qualified than I (either through incompetence or indifference) but I want to be among the best. I guess come June we'll see how the grades stack up.

In other news I recently finished "Atlas Shrugged", Any Rand's magnum opus. Final rating 5/10: she had some good points, and the angle of the book was strikingly novel in our current climate but honestly it could have been 200 hundred pages (au lieu de 1200) and she would have gotten the same message across.

I've come to the understanding that movies are now made in three dimensions in the states. It's disappointing to discover that the future happened while I was away.

I'm writing a short story in french in the style of Guy de Maupassant. It's part of a rivalry with a fellow volunteer- we both find are selves . He's writing his story in English however because he isn't as prestigious as I. My story draws heavily form my conflicted feelings towards my catholic upbringing, along my experiences as a fish vendor in Marseilles.

It's looking more an more like doing a third year in Mali is a sure thing. I leave the details for another blog post but it seems I've nabbed a pretty good gig.

Anyways, I'm working on a hosting solution for my photos so those should be up pretty soon.

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