The 'Norms'

Thing that have become normal that I may have never mentioned before:

• Laundry is done once a week in a machine by Esnath (housekeeper); weather permitting because everything is hung out to dry.
• I have not figured out the reasoning for this but the females have to wash their own underwear but the males don’t. I have gotten used to it now.
• All the teachers are on a rotating schedule of when it’s their week to do dishes and keeping the common room clean.
• At school I normally supervise during the break.
• Before I left I got two seasons of Friends from my sister and I have watched them over and over; enough that I could tell you what happens in each of those episodes ( I could have probably do that before but nor I can do it in detail!) Ha! Though since my hard drive died I no longer have those shows.
• I drink more real coffee here than I did at home.  I started drinking Ricoffy - a fake instant coffee and then I got a french press (Or what South Africans call a plunger) to drink real coffee and I now cannot go back to the fake stuff.
• In the classroom we have a rug and to get it clean I sweet it everyday because there is no vacuum. (It’s weird sweeping carpet but it works good enough)
• Every two weeks I write up an up-date to my supervisors telling them how things are and something that has been eye opening or I have learned from.
• I have to keep close records of my finances because I have to submit them at the end of each month.
• During breaks at school I have to close the door to my classroom otherwise I get visitors…monkeys! One day I was sitting in my classroom with the window open and a money jumped up into the window but I chased it away before it came in.
• I don’t have a shower here only a bath, so I have learned how to have quick baths rather than long relaxing ones where I watch a T.V. show or something. There are some days by bath water is a little grosser than other days...those are the days I don't bath!
• I rarely eat meat. This is not a choice it is just what we get for meals.
• The country has something called ‘Load Shedding’. It’s when parts of the country’s power is turned off for a few hours to reserve energy.  The whole country in under the same energy resource and because the country is growing more than they expected they have to turn off the power to different areas of the country to preserve that energy. It usually goes off for two hours at a time. And is often over meal times. There is a schedule of when each area is getting Load Shedding but I never look to see when it is, so it is often a surprise. I have eaten a few meals by candle light...don’t worry mom no romantic candle light dinners.
• After a hot day and then a day of rain there are these bugs that hatch and are everywhere. They call them flying ants but they are not the same as what we would call flying ants in North America. The are these little larvas with four wings, they fly around and then after awhile they will land and loose their wings. There are a few people who will eat them, either alive or after they have been cooked. No I have not tried them and don’t plan on it.

I am sure there are more and as I think of them I will write them down for another post about the norms of my life here!

Until next time....take the time to notice the 'normal' things in your life.