Wake Me Up When September Ends

This weekend marks the end of September 2012 and we’ve spent it working hard at resting and doing nothing. I seem to be more adept at doing nothing than Madeleine is, but then I've always said that resting and doing nothing is more of a guy thing. My Saturday basically consisted of listening to music, resting, reading, resting some more, listening to some more music, reading some more, and resting still some more. Madeleine’s day consisted of doing the laundry, going to the fish market, going food shopping, doing some more laundry, preparing dinner, and doing a bit of school work. We are both really getting this African gender role thing down pat, if I do say so myself.

We both finished the week super exhausted and came home Friday afternoon running on empty.  Even Eric, our guard, seemed taken aback by our lackluster disposition. We decided to drag ourselves to the gym thinking that an hour of working out would somehow boost our batteries… at least that's what my Men’s Health magazines always insinuate. Never believe anything you read in Men's Health.

From left to right : Madeleine, neighbourhood goats

Septembers are always rough on all teachers, even the young ones. Its a time when you build structure...a bit like doggie training but with kids. Ours was nothing short of frenzied, if not frantic…new school, new country, new environment, new everything. But we succeeded in getting over the hump; the monsoon rains have stopped, the extreme heat is about to hit us, we’ve gotten used to the Gambian Dalasis, we've bonded with the neighbourhood goats, and we’ve almost reached cruising altitude at school. Oh yes, and let's not forget my successful abort from plummeting into a complete nervous breakdown after losing my passport for two weeks. Now that two week nightmare in itself almost led me to the loony bin threshold.

In any case, its been a pretty impressive opening act, I must say. Not to plagiarize my Green Day friends here but I’ve woken up when September ends, and I'm really looking forward to the road ahead.