Nonsense

So today I was informed by my headmaster that I would not be teaching English. The school, as it turns out, requested a science or math teacher from Peace Corps which Peace Corps no longer provides – no one in my training class is here to teach anything other than English and they know that. So, naturally, I am frustrated but I persist. “What will I be teaching then?” The response was even more annoying, “Computer Science, and running the English club.” Aka I will have almost no hours of work per week and will be teaching computer science in a school where there are 26 computers but these cannot be used because the district didn’t get electricity this term. Meaning I will be drawing computer screens and keyboards on the blackboard to teach my lessons. Also, my headmaster informed me that it was good I didn’t have my full 15 hours a week of teaching so I could have more time for community integration. 15 hours is nothing, there is still plenty of time for integration, I literally don’t have enough things to fill my days at this point. Needless to say I was annoyed and I demanded to know who would be teaching English, because clearly I am the most qualified English teaching at this school. I was promptly introduced to the other English teachers and my anger heightened to an irrational level. The highest level English teacher – the level I was told I would be teaching – and realized the man couldn’t differentiate between L’s and R’s. He said my name Michere, and asked that I “Prease not be angly. ” All the other English teachers then proceeded to tell me that I would be doing the most teaching the English club which is not mandatory. No one could really tell why I was protesting so hard that these English teachers are all qualified to teach other subjects, whereas I am not, and my English is perfect. Finally when I couldn’t get anyone to listen to me I stopped speaking in my slow English teacher voice and unleashed on them in the kind of English two native speakers would use with each other. Naturally, I was confronted with blank stares until someone finally said, “You must speak slowerly we cannot understand.” To which I replied, “THAT IS EXACTLY MY POINT! I AM THE ONLY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER AND ITS SLOWER!” Clearly I had lost my patience at this point and declared that this was not the last time we would have this conversation because I WOULD be teaching English come 2012, and stormed off to my house. Luckily it started raining shortly after and Rwandans are afraid of the rain so no one came to bother me. UGHH this is utter nonsense. There is my rant. I just thought I’d fill you in on the types of illogical decision making I deal with on a daily basis. I have no way of knowing this for a fact but something along the lines of the man who will be teaching high level English is related to someone  important, had some other kind of clout, or is simply a man and I am a woman and thus despite the fact that I am here so that these children can learn English from an English speaker, I will not be doing so. To calm my rage I have begun drawing a mural on my walls in crayon, I can’t wait to see how the other teachers react when they  see that. Weird life.

**As of time of posting this the schedule was readjusted and I am teaching 15 hours of English