Shorter Days

This week when I went to work it was dark, and when I came home it was also dark. That is not cool. In spite of the depressing weather, I did make a small bit of progress on the novel and on the chest. The tent is working out well, just so long as it isn't too windy.

At school I messed up one of the tests - I gave the higher level test to my lower level class, but nobody even noticed even though it said the level right on the top and some of the questions they had never seen before. Strange. Most of it was the same, so I will just adjust the grading appropriately, but it seems that I always make mistakes with this class, they are a difficult one.

We have been thinking more about whether or not to buy a house. With Naomi's mom being sick now is not a good time, but we also don't want to stay in Rotterdam for a long time, even though there are some nice areas. Buying a house under sea level still makes me nervous. We don't want to stay here for too long either because it is a moldy, drafty place right next to a busy road and a metro crossing.

Naomi is interested in working on a PhD at some point, and if she could get accepted at the University of Michigan, we would love to move to Ann Arbor. These are all just thoughts at this point. Right now we have good jobs (I just got a full contract!) and except for the weather are doing well, but Naomi will start looking into some programs for the future...

Jack awoke feeling disoriented and under attack. The sharply spoken French pieced into his skull like so many long, sharp beaks of the tropical birds that were creating cacophony all around him, flying from tree to tree with a dizzying ferocity. 

His head began to throb as he brought his hands up to touch his dried out face. Putting pressure on his lips caused them to crack, adding a slicing sensation to his world of pain. The woman who was busy accosting him in French quickly grew tired of watching her words land with no impact whatsoever and she grabbed an arm with more strength than some of Jack’s weightlifting buddies, yanked him to his feet.

Birthday Week

I really noticed that my seasonal depression started to kick in this week. It is a good thing Naomi got me a light for my birthday that is supposed to help with that. I am meant to use it for 15-30 minutes every morning. It wasn't cheap, so I hope it helps. The lack of sunshine is terrible!

Just to put things in perspective, hot, sunny, palm-tree-littered Rome is the same latitude as Ann Arbor. That puts us well into Canada, but with a rainy, British climate. Quite the contrast when I think back to living in Mali.

This week I did finish the tent outside so that I can work on the furniture projects in this awful weather. It doesn't look pretty, but it is quick and easy to set up and take down. On top of that, it cost basically nothing, so I would say I optimized the situation pretty well. Now all I need is the motivation to get to work!

The skeleton - made from wood and bamboo found in our garden. 

The awning that I had to fix is the roof and some plastic given to us makes the sides.

Inside is warm enough (for now) and fairly dry. The workbench was free too...

Rain

It seemed like it rained more than not this week. Now the sun is finally shining, but it has been a depressing week. I didn't get a single thing done on the chest in part because the awning that I will use as the roof for the tent I am building broke. It was super-frustrating to fix, but it is finally working again. Today I hope to finish up the tent so that I can work outside.

School was uneventful this week. I have started to give my intern more tasks, which means I have less work. That is nice. I used some of this time to come up with a little project for some of my advanced students. I will give them the chance to test out of the next unit and then they won't have to show up for class, they will be doing some research in the library instead. Sure is nice to have that option available!

Part of this week's addition to my story:

Before getting a chance to speak, he heard, “heyloo...freend, how deed...sleep? Hoteyl...Pareedayse, eh?” The connection was bad, and Jack missed every third word or so. It sounded like the man on the other end was driving. But then, he is a taxi driver, Jack thought to himself.

“The hotel is very nice. Thank you for bringing me here. I would like to see the city. Will you show it to me?”

“I not heere yuu...louuder...driveeng,” came the garbled reply.

Jack twisted the phone closer to his lips and lowered his head slightly, nearly shouting into it he slowly said, “can you drive here? I want to see the city.”

“Ahhh, yees me freende...coombing nowa.”

Jack turned to the host and with a “merci” handed her the phone. She talked with her cousin for a few more minutes as Jack wandered off toward the pool. He sat down in a chair and the heat of the morning sun lulled him to sleep. 

Stormy Weather

This week at school was a bit shaken up due to testing that either made it so I needed to keep the kids really quiet, or that I was relocated to another room. At least there weren't any quizzes or tests, so there wasn't grading for me to do. The first year students are working on a project that I designed where they need to make a floor plan of at least one floor in their house (measuring everything accurately), turn it into a digital representation, and calculate the perimeter, area, and volume of each room. They are doing a great job with it and seem to be enjoying the work, so hopefully I can come up with more projects like this one!

November has brought about some cold, windy and rainy weather. This means I haven't made much progress on the chest. I also haven't finished the tent because the cable got all jammed up yesterday, and I am still not quite sure how to fix it. I did finish a few things, and a couple friends who came for dinner on Friday after we played squash were pretty impressed.

Naomi got some bad news about her mom this week, had several nights away from home, and a few doctor appointments. Needless to say, she has had a rough time, but is in good spirits now. This morning we went to a little pancake party that our neighbors put together. It was nice to meet some of the people that live near us, although as we live on the end of the street and won't be here for too long, we feel a bit disconnected.

I did get a bit of time to work on the novel since being outside was rather a no-go, so below is the latest little excerpt...

Progress on the chest has been slow lately.

Souleymane meditated on these words as if they came from the Koran itself. They carried him past the temptation to slow down, to let his mind wander, and in his darkest moments, to quit.

Day after day Souleymane grew more disciplined, more focused, and more committed to the vision of Fahim. By the time he could converse, read, and write fluently in both French and Arabic, he had no idea how much time had passed. 

While the other boys stayed together during their daily run into the desert, Souleymane pushed faster and farther past them, gliding over the sand as if it had turned hard like the reddish-brown earth of his birthplace. Every day felt the same. Every day he stretched his mind and body to new limits. He had all but forgotten the shell of the person whom he once was.