Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Victory is mine!

Kind of… I had my first practical today with my Form 4 students. We finally got 4 out of our 5 computers to actually work at the same time. There was a problem with low voltage but we now have a cable running from a greater power source to the school so we can use the computers at the same time. The fifth computer’s monitor is broken, so I’m trying to get a new one soon so then we’ll have all 5 working! Anyways, there are about 60 kids in Form 4 so I broke them up into small groups of three and only took 12 kids to the lab at a time. Each group got about 20 minutes on the computer because I had the class for 2 hours. Things went…ok. For a lot of them this was their first time using a computer so it took awhile for them to get the hand of moving the mouse and such. For half of the lesson I just told them to identify the different parts of a computer and point out the different parts of the desktop that I called out so they would become familiar with everything. Then their big task was to move an icon on the desktop. This was harder for them than it sounds and it took a little while for most people. So, there is still a lot of work to do but things are finally moving along.

So my cat I got during training died pretty soon after I arrived at post after it got in a fight and the wounds got infected. I was pretty sad about it and my Cameroonian friends said they would be on the lookout for another cat. I wasn’t really sure I wanted another cat and I didn’t actually think they were going to look for a cat for me, so my expectations were pretty low. Anyways, yesterday I was taking a nap and heard some knocking on my door and I groggily woke up and answered it. One of my students was standing there with a market bag and he said he had a cat for me. At first I wasn’t sure what he was saying but then he opened the bag and there was a tiny little kitten inside. Apparently he heard that my cat died and knew of a kitten in a small village nearby so he trekked for 2 hours to go get it for me. It was so nice and unexpected and reminded why I love living here so much. People just go out of their way to help you and make you feel at home. So, now I have a new kitten and I named him Milo. He is really cute and already litter box trained (I think 2 days might be a record).

4 comments:

i~RN said...

Congrats on the working computers!
Oh, so heartwarming that your student walked two hours to get a kitten for you! Hey, they must love you!
You sound good. I think about you everyday. Much Love, Robin

Liz Bogard said...

Hi Sweet Connie,
That is great that you have a new little kitten. How kind of that student to bring you one. So glad to hear you are having better luck with the computers. It is interesting hearing about the students' first experiences using the mouse . . that must be exciting teaching them and watching them on the computer for the first time in their life. We take so much for granted here in the U.S. You are amazing Connie! I love you! Keep up the great work! Hugs to You! M O M

Scott said...

Connie!

Your life is amazing! I hope I can see you soon. Do you get to use skype or anything? escottster@gmail.com

Love,
Scott in Ky

it supposed to be anonymical said...

connie bogard, i just want you to know i would walk 2 hours to get you a cat too - allergies and all. because i love you that much.

(that story is probably the sweetest thing i've ever heard p.s.)

love you, miss you,never would i diss you,
heath