I just read Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. I didn’t realize it until I had finished the first chapter, but the book is actually a collection of short stories. At first I was upset because I had grown, in such a short amount of pages, to really feel the emotions being developed in the narrative. I remember putting the book down to go make some tea, excited to pick up where I left off, only to find a new story being introduced. I feel like an idiot now because on the cover of the book it says “stories by Jhumpa Lahiri.” Haha! The book was enjoyable nonetheless.
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Year: 2008
First Day of Class
My students were supposed to report to school on August 18th but there was apparently a mix-up, so they came yesterday, September 1st. The students picked their classes and then the teachers sat down to figure out the time table. I was assigned two units, Intro to Programming and Algorithms and Network Essentials. I taught these same two classes last semester so I’ve already prepared notes, assignments, and tests; all I have to do this semester is review/revise my notes kidogo (a bit) and show up to class!
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Obama ni mkenya
You’ve probably heard that Barack Obama’s father is from Kenya, so there’s a sort of Obama-mania around here. Here’s how most of my conversations go with the locals:
Local: “Do you think Obama will win?”
Me: “Yes, but I’m not going to vote for him.”
Local: “What? Why not?”
Me: “Why should I vote for him?”
Local: “HE’S KENYAN!!!”
Me: “But that’s not what Democracy is about…”
One teen-aged girl proceeded to ask me if I hate black people. I told her that I don’t care if the next president of the United States is white, black, green, or a tree. American politics make it so that any candidate with drastically different ideas has absolutely no chance to get elected.