Not getting enough sleep

Well, the fourth years finishing exams means that the rest of the school is about to start them. Today was the first day for the third years and the second and first years will start on Monday. I have 8 exams during this set of exams. I've been up past 11 every night this week (and past 1 twice) writing exams, which is a far-cry from the 9:30 bedtime I maintained during my first two terms. The other teachers are baffled that I'm still teaching lessons all along. They asked me why I wasn't in the staff room most of the day. I just walked out rather than trying to explain why I think it is helpful for students to have a teacher in the classroom.

Fortunately, our deputy principal brought some tree seedlings to school this week, so I really enjoyed that activity with the students. The students were really impressed that I could dig a hole and plant a tree (some students actually didn't fully grasp the concept and were planting seedlings that were still in plastic wrappers). I've encountered this a lot at school and I used to think that was because of their perception of Americans as being very removed from manual labor; I have since learned that it is because of their perception of teachers as being very removed from manual labor (I would stand jaw agape with all of my students if I saw any of the other teachers wielding any kind of gardening tool).

My topic in life skills this week was drugs. With my third years, we talked about alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and miraa (a leafy plant that is chewed as a stimulant). With the second years we only made it through the first two topics. All the third years who had been suspended for smoking marijuana were back for the lesson (one day after their trip to "jail"), including one who was expelled (I don't understand what these words mean anymore). One student asked what marijuana plants look like. Fortunately, lots of people here have T-shirts and handkerchiefs with the plant on it, so one student pulled her handkerchief from her desk and all the students' eyes widened with understanding. I felt like this was one of the most important and productive lessons that I had given all year, and it still baffles me that most schools do not make real efforts to teach students about these topics (unless you count caning students for any kind of suspicious behavior, which most of the teachers at my school deem sufficient) considering how rampant the problem is in schools.

I took all of the students into the lab this week (not all at the same time, though). I'm glad to report that I have no scars to show for it. It was really sobering to realize that the first years hadn't even held test tubes yet. They felt such pride just pouring compounds from one test tube to another. The bulk of my time in the lab, however, was spent putting out fires (not figuratively). Students were learning how to use the new Bunsen burners and apparently several of the hoses leak. I had forgotten how much I like fire. :)

My mind keeps coming back to exams. I wrote this set on the computer, which was really nice. I'm way more organized this time around, which has been somewhat refreshing, but has led to the title of this post. I had a few essays earlier this week to distract me, but now I'm in exam mode. I'm dreading the part where I will have to grade 8 stacks of papers in 36 hours. The principal makes it sound like we might close the day before Thanksgiving, which means I might be able to meet other volunteers and have a celebration. Unfortunately, this sleep deprivation may well continue until that point, so I'm expecting to be quite the zombie for Thanksgiving.

Today marks one year in Kenya for me and my training group. I'm usually pretty big on anniversaries, but I'm actually kinda numb to this one. Oh well, congrats to the 30 volunteers who have made it this far.