I have to go to the dentist in the Antananarivo to fix a broken tooth. In Madagascar, you invariably bite into a tiny rock while eating rice. It’s a real bummer.

Right now I’m on a 11 hour bus ride going north. Upon arriving in the capital, I’ll go to my appointment at 9:30 then head back home again. I’ll get off the bus then go teach class. It’ll be a real humdinger of a day, but it has to be done like that. If not, I’d miss teaching on Tuesday. And there’s no one to teach them if I’m not there. I can’t miss a day of school. Viggo fun fact: I only missed one day of school between 4th grade and my junior year in high school. And I was really sick that day. So all my life I’ve always shown up to work or school no matter what, even if hung over AF.

Post trip to the capital:

I’m back. I quickly returned and immediately taught. I was a little surely and my first class, a 3 hour class, was talkative, naughty, and disrespectful. This has happened many times before so I’m always looking for ways to correct the students’ behavior. I had them sit out in the courtyard under the sun for 10 minutes without talking. If they talked I reset the clock. I circled them with my timer like a frustrated teacher who has run out of answers. One kid mumbled something so I squatted down in the dirt ’til I was eye level with him and looked into his little mischievous soul, like a scene from a coming-of-age film. But unfortunately, I’m the villain.  How did it get to this? I don’t want to by an asshole, but nor can I turn a blind eye to their unacceptable behavior. And I’m aware that if I was a more competent teacher I would appropriately have the class under control. Therefore, I’ll work to get better so the students spend more time learning and having fun than squatting in the dirt on a sunny day.