The daily show

Here is what a typical day looks like for us, and surprisingly it is not much different from the States.
5:40 am Wake up (Russ sets his cell phone as an alarm). I make breakfast, Russ cleans up. Breakfast is a choice of oatmeal, cold cereal, egg, yogurt and/or toast. The sun has already been up for a while.
6:30 am Leave the house (we have been driving the past few days as we check out a car we might buy, otherwise, catching a ride with a neighbor. Driving has not been a problem.)
6:40 am Arrive at school (unless there is significant traffic). School starts at 7:00 with homeroom and then class begins at 7:15. Russ does not have class first thing every day. I cannot begin to explain what kind of schedule this is, some kind of modified block schedule. My first week at the school involved staying in the science teachers’ room, working on some things on internet. I started subbing in the third grade and this upcoming week I am running some groups and subbing for middle school English. Russ may have two or three classes a day and they may be one or two hours each. But there are also a lot of meetings. There are three twenty minute breaks during the day – one at 9:00, one at 11:00 and one at 1:00. The day ends at 1:00 for the primary kids and 2:10 for the secondary school. We have tried to bring snacks such as fruit or biscuits (tea is at 11:00). Lunch
consists of an English-style pie, a sandwich, yogurt, or dinner leftovers.
2:10 pm Some days there are after-school activities. Russ coaches middle school softball with the other American teacher Shelley on Tuesdays, and there are a vast array of sports, clubs, and other activities.
3:30 pm We are usually home by this time and take a short nap. Most everyday the floors need to be swept because of the dust. We generally take time to relax and cool off.
5:00 pm Usually we eat an early dinner because we’ve eaten early all day. Dinner can be anything from a vegetable curry to bangers and mash to a big salad.
6:00 pm It’s nice to go walking in the cool of the evening. Sometimes we go by ourselves, sometimes with other neighbors.
7:00 pm The sun has set and this is when we shower. Most often, it is cold water and that is refreshing. If we want a warm shower, the water heater must be turned on 45 minutes ahead of time. Sometimes we visit other people, sometimes we are in the house doing school work and reading.
9:00 pm We are usually in bed by this time. There is a fan in the room and it keeps the air circulating as well as providing white noise so we can sleep.

I can’t say that we have had a typical weekend yet, but they are definitely more relaxed. We have a washer in our house and then hang the clothes out to dry, which doesn’t take long. We now have a car and that helps us to get around. Saturdays are big shopping days, although it is somehow easier to drive around. We have discovered many different stores, the latest being World Foods, which had a wonderful selection of international foods and surprisingly not much more expensive than the regular grocery store. We will definitely not go hungry here. We are also drinking a lot more water (even Russ!)

Our internet access is a little frustrating. We have limited access at school and are still on our neighbors good graces for occassional blogs and skypes. We will not have our own until our papers come through, but we are hoping to piggyback off a neighbor once the account is unlocked (which no one seems to know what to do).

Life is good and time is moving along.