I have Wednesdays off from teaching because the teachers who are my students here at the school of vet med have meetings that day. As a result I will be teaching 2 levels of classes on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Because I was free today I traveled back to my former school to visit the teachers I knew there and to leave some presents for the baby born last year to 2 of the teachers, and one for the little girl I knitted the sweater for. It was fun to surprise them all by showing up and I already have several invitations for dinner.
Before climbing the stairs to Aptech, I stopped by to see the family of dogs who live behind the school. I was surprised to see that the junk yard in which they live has changed and there is more construction back there than before. There are only 3 dogs back there now: the papa dog, mama dog and the fluffy puppy. No signs of the other mother dog, the one who was being ostracized last April just before I left, nor any sign of the smallest puppy born in January 2010. I'm not sure if they recognized me (although I made sure to wear the same color coat as I did before), but by the end of my visit they were much friendlier than when I arrived. I am certainly surprised that there isn't a new litter of puppies this year.
I started out early this morning from my room and caught a free-lance taxi to get to the northern part of the city where Aptech is. We got ensnarled in a traffic jam and when the things came to a standstill, the driver motioned for me to get out! I did make much better time walking and ended up walking all the way to Baga Toiruu, the street I lived on and where the school is, but I wonder why he wanted me to get out. He wasn't going to make any money sitting in the traffic jam and at least I was willing to pay him. Maybe he just wanted to cut his losses and turn around and hope for a fare going in a different direction. That's one of the delights of being here: without the ability to communicate so many things end up simply as guesses.
It rained last night and on and off during the day today. First time I've seen rain in UB, although it rarely amounted to much more than a drizzle.
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How fun to surprise those teachers at your old school! Not like you lived there and could just pop in. What a hoot! I bet there expressions were priceless -- good thing they remembered you... I wonder if the dogs roam about and that you will find them somewhere else. Are there pack of dogs at your new apartment location?
ReplyDeleteWas the visit a surprise? Too fun...
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