Looking for Ms. Mars

So the last week has sorta been a nightmare but I want to say that I have handled it really well (I think) and until last night I was a positive attitude kind of girl with a get back on the horse look on life. Then I lost the music, sigh there is always a line and Africa crossed it. So here is the story. Monday I went to school and was there the whole day because the process of making a test that is actually on paper and the students don’t copy from the board is quite arduous. First you have to type the test on a typewriter on this special paper, and then you have to run it through this hand cranked copier machine. (If you have watched Animal House lately there is actually one of these machines displayed (though it must use electricity because the secretary wasn’t cranking anything). Anyway, it’s a lot harder than it sounds because you also have to barter for paper because they won’t give you any since it’s so expensive. The other professors were a lot of help but I can’t help feeling like my entire computer skills will have to be relearned when I get home. Now, as this took me the better part of the morning and I was teaching two long classes in the afternoon I was at the Lycee all day. During my 15minute break I sent a text message to a friend about giving her my encyclopedia Britannica so I know I definetly had my phone. Then I went to 5eme to teach for 2 hours. I forgot to mention that I have a cold and I couldn’t breathe out of my nose and felt awful. I slept most of the day before. Anyway, I try and teach the 5eme class and they are acting ridiculously. So finally I tell them that they must finish the work on the board and they can’t leave the class until I see their work in their notebook. So I place myself at the door and literally 100 kids bum rush me! They are climbing under my arms and pushing me out of the way and it’s a bad situation. So finally I look at most of their papers and I let the rest go because I don’t have a lot of fight in me. I get my bag and flee the premises.
But what happens when I finally get home and all I want to do is eat something and sleep before my Girls Club meeting? My keys aren’t in my bag but my house is locked so I know I had them. My neighbor gives me my spare set and I let myself in. I decide I deserve to pity text a friend and when I look for my phone it isn’t in my bag either. So I jump on my bike and go and look at the Lycee, and it’s not there and no one has seen my stuff. So Rachel calls my phone for me and someone answers and says their name and then when they realize I’m looking for them they hang up. So I get home and I have my girls club meeting and everything is great and I decide to take care of my locks the next day because maybe someone found my keys and you really can’t get any good locks in Ndelele and I really don’t have any money in town because I lent it out because Cameroon forgot to pay their teachers for the last two months so I thought I would help my colleagues eat.
So I get up and one of my neighbors comes over and says the radio has found a phone and it’s probably mine. So I rush over there but the time I get there the radio is closed and I have a class. So I get to the Lycee and the Discipline master who is my friend is really pissed about the whole ‘people stealing the white girl’s stuff thing”. HE has the kids on their knees the whole day trying to figure out who stole my stuff. I feel horrible because I know 99people didn’t still my stuff and they have a test coming up and they need to review. So I finish some work and go back to the radio. I end up waiting there for an hour and missing a class with my little kids at the Ecole Bilingue to find out that there was no lost phone and my student had misheard the announcement which was an advertisement for a call in show. (oi )
So I get home and I’m super bummed out and haven’t eaten again this day and I decide to grade some tests. The students did horrible on the test and it takes me the better part of 2 hours to grade them all. So I finally finish and I’m ready for some food and some rest when Rachel arrives and invites me out to fete Obama. Needing some friendship and to get away from my sad situation I grab some stuff and leave because people are waiting for us. I am out 2 hours and when I get home I realize a couple of things. One my stuff is all misplaced and two my iPod is nowhere to be seen. Someone has used my keys to come in my house and steal my stuff. After closer inspection I see I have lost my camera, my calculator, my markers, my flashlight, as well and a bag of pens my mom sent me (don’t ask me why they stole my pens). This is really crappy so I go over to Rachel’s for some support and she calls all the bigwigs for me. The mayor, the commandant of the gendarme, the discipline master, and Ruth who works for safety and security with Peace Corps. So the Commandant comes to my house and takes a report, the mayor visits me today and I need to call Ruth.
Here’s the good news, after more threats the students gave back my phone and we didn’t know who did it because they just left it on a table in a deserted classroom. However, the idiots made videos and took pictures with the phone so hopefully someone will recognize them. It just sucks because there haven’t really been classes all week because of this and had I have changed my locks earlier or hidden my iPod this wouldn’t have happened. I have no idea why the idiots didn’t take my computer or my radio but maybe they were too obvious to steal or something. Anyway it looks like my phone is okay which is awesome but the loss of my iPod is really horrible. I had tons of media on it and I was using it as a hard drive as well as an iPod and it was my source of entertainment during the day. I’m pretty bummed. I do have enough saved to buy another one and sent it to Yaoundé so if they don’t find it I might do that. Anyway it’s getting better I guess. If anything everyone has been really great and really supported. It really isn’t frequent that stuff is stolen in a small town like this and people seem to think they might be able to find my stuff. I wish we had a Veronica Mars in Ndelele so I could hire here. Anyways Love you all! Elyse