So not much of note really happened on Sunday other than the usual wondering about football scores and things of that nature. Oh and there was another tribal dance to commemorate a local parish feast day, no biggie. That mass did last for 3 hours and I felt like I was gonna die in there, but at least there was some lively music throughout from the showchoir.
But on Monday I went to school, taught my class (which is going slowly, but still going), chatted with the students, and was treated to some spicy spaghetti and yam meal that the students have the option of buying during their 30 minute midmorning break. I was having a good time talking with the students and joking around with them, but quickly became the subject of hoards of laughter as soon as I bit into a yam covered in the sauce only to realize that it was one of the spiciest things I had eaten to date. So much for having respect for the teacher! I spent the rest of break fanning my mouth off an chasing after the laughing students who lured me into the trap of spiciness.
After school, there was a large soccer match in the little clearing. Colin and I were much obliged to partake in it as the children have quickly realized that it is very beneficial to have BIG people on one’s team when playing against the lollipop guild munchkins. About halfway through the match, it started to rain. I told Colin that I wanted to stay because I love playing in the rain, and he was reluctant to stay with me. A short while after that I had some mud kicked up into my eye and ear while defending the goal and quickly ran to wash it out. No sinks or hoses here so I ended up standing under the roof of the school using the concentrated falling rainwater. I got most of it out I think, and managed to clean the rest of it out of my ear when I showered later that night… much much much later.
After that little episode, the rain started to pick up so Colin and I decided to call the game and head back to the monastery. The only problem was that we had our bags and school gear/clothes with us and no umbrella or raincoat. So we decided to run back to our rooms (1/4 mile away) and grab our stuff and then return with the waterproof items to protect our school stuff. It was a great idea and all the kids got a kick out of the two white guys sprinting down the road in the pouring rain. We briefly reminisced about our previous rain running experience on our way back, and bid a few “good evenings” in our sopping wet clothes to some of the chuckling monks only to reach our doors and realize that our keys were in our bags! Good work Greg!
So we ran back, got laughed at again by my students who were all freezing their balls off (Colin and I forgot that this is their winter as we were now shirtless since our shirts were already soaked and provided no protection for us from the elements). It was also on this return trip that I said we should be careful because “my shoes aint got no soul…and they aint got no rhythm and blues either!” Our soccer shoes are pretty much a piece of rubber held onto our foot by a piece of cloth, which gives one an excellent feel for the ball, but is not exactly a good running around over jagged rocks and sticks kind of shoe. We grabbed our keys and dashed back to the sounds of the bell signaling the commencement of mass. I told Colin, who had previously hurt his toe, that I could make the final trip and bring his stuff back. He was somewhat skeptical, but reluctantly agreed.
I sprinted back, again to the laughter of my students, who were now huddling in the corner of the room for warmth. I wrapped up mine and Colin’s things with the coats, to this time even more laughter, as the students thought it was absolutely ridiculous to be using a coat for a bag instead of a person, and jogged back. I was pooped! And the only thing that kept me in a quickened pace was the fact that a worker at the monastery handed me an umbrella to use on my most recent trip back to the school. Not a huge problem in the rain, in fact I even considered using it until a thought it over and saw a huge lightning bolt race across the sky! Yeah, better just accept the fact that I wasn’t really going to do anything for me at this point anyways. Oh I also profusely thanked my students for staying and keeping an eye on our things/protecting them from any prying eyes.
I made it back to the monastery in time to catch Colin on his way to mass (which had already started). I told him to pray twice as hard as I wasn’t going to make it in time. I ran down the hall to plug in my computer for the purpose of charging my ipod, which had died earlier that day and then went on to take a freezing cold rainwater shower in the dark, which was reminiscent of the polar plunges in Lake Sag. (clarification, I was already soaked from the God given shower, but had kicked up a ton of mud and rock, which made it necessary to actually soap up).
And to top off an already exciting and interesting night, we had a fruit salad for dinner! Colin and I finished off our platter and then half of another one. We felt slightly “piggish” but then thought of all the meals where we had eaten fluffed up cornflower. All feelings of piggishness were very quickly dismissed!
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