Time for a new post...

Apparently, there are at least two people out there who miss my posts. Maybe there are more, but I have only heard from two. :) So here I am, back to try to pound out some news for all you lovelies.

As a side note, I do have to mention that I remember back in the day, when I still wrote mass emails, instead of having the blog, that after being in a new place for a few months, the emails became fewer and further between, because as always, even a crazy, new place, becomes "normal" eventually. And I think the more you move around, the quicker a place will become normal. But anyway...

I do have to say that coming through the airport on our way back was such a different experience from the last time/first time we came in. We stood in the immigration line (in an non-air conditioned room, packed with people, luckily lacking in mozzies this time) for about an hour, and got through the rest of the airport quickly. All our baggage was there, surf boards in tact, and we made it out to our drivers without being man-handled by any locals. I suppose we wore much more confident looks on our faces this time round.

Coming home was nice. Joel and I both unpacked quickly when we got home, happily stashing all our new stuff in cupboards, etc. I went for a run, we ate dinner, and by 7:30 I went to bed. Jet-lag and all that.

I have to admit that a few days before we left Australia, I started having heartburn, and by the time we were in the airport on that Sunday morning, I was in constant pain. I had to buy heartburn chews in the airport. I knew what the heartburn was about- I was nervous/fearful about coming back to my work situation. I don't want to go into it too much, but lets just say, last semester didn't go according to anyone's plan. My co-teacher (who also happens to be the head of department, and this year is the only one with experience/training in our program) was really ill for the whole semester, and out for more than half of it having surgery and then recovering from it. She is, thank goodness, well now, and back to work. But last semester was hugely stressful for me for a myriad of reasons, not least of which was the amount of pressure I put on myself, so I'm not just blaming others, but it was what it was. Coming back, I knew that she would be back, and that in a sense, we would be starting over again- stressful in a different way. So, I can't handle work stress, and when it happens, I get scared, and I get heartburn.

Of course, going back the first day wasn't as bad as I might have imagined, but, after being back a few days I made a choice. I decided that the co-teaching method, having 40 kids in one classroom with 4 adults all working together is just not my style. It's certainly not that any of the people I have to work with aren't wonderful- they are, but, I just find the whole thing too stressful, especially in a situation where I am not really an equal when it comes to knowledge of what we're meant to be doing in class. So, I applied for a change of grades. I knew that there were a couple of teachers planning on leaving next year, leaving vacancies in Kindergarten and Grade 1, both of which would be acceptable jobs for me. Luckily, my request was granted, although it is not yet determined which grade I will be getting. Either way, I am looking forward to having my own classroom again next year.

To deal with the stress of this school year, I decided that I would try to run instead of eat. So, since returning to Angola I have run 22 kilometers- which for only being back 10 days, I don't reckon is too bad.

The only bad thing about it is that a couple days ago I started having this pain along the outer edge of my left foot. It hurt when I walked, when I touched it in a certain place, but not when I was running (of course!). Last night as Joel and I lounged on the couch, I made him rub my foot, and then I kept asking him, "Do you think it's broken? Do I have a fracture? A hairline fracture? A stress fracture?"

I was annoying him, and being a bit silly, but it was funny. Today, when I was making lunch, I shifted my weight, and I got shooting pains all through my leg, starting at that spot in my foot. So today, when I was scheduled for an easy 3km run and some weights, I decided to skip it all, and rest my foot instead. Unfortunately, I also ended up eating unnecessarily, but, that is really a whole other problem that I won't go into here. I don't know how many days I will have to rest before the pain stops, but I reckon this is one of those important moments when I either rest it sufficiently, or end up with a chronic injury. Because I really, really do want to be a runner, I will choose to rest it sufficiently, and tomorrow, I might do some alternative exercise instead- yoga probably.

Which reminds me of something we did just before we left Melbourne. On our last full day, we decided to head to the shopping center one last time to get a few odds and ends, and so that I could get a massage. Joel decided to get one as well. As luck would have it, there was a Chinese massage place right there in the local center. Actually, from what I saw, they seem to be everywhere. But the thing for me was, they were Cissy's Massage, straight out of Shanghai, in Melbourne. The masseurs were pretty much "off the boat" as one might say, speaking barely a word of English, the tables and we were covered in sheets (instead of oil) and they even pulled out the cupping cups. I was pretty excited, because I have to say that, although I have had quite a few massages since leaving Shanghai, I have not had as good a massage as I got in Shanghai, since then.

Well, the lady that took me, touched me once, and gasped, and for the next hour as she beat the living crap out of me, just kept muttering, "So stiff, so stiff!" She used her hands, her elbows, the cupping cups, her knees, some oil, some paddle shaped piece of wood, hot towels and more to try to work some of the tension out of my body. I think she succeeded a bit, but, if her reaction when we were leaving was any indication (she handed us an appointment/VIP type card and kept repeating "come back, come back") she was pretty sure there was more work to be done. The last masseuse I saw in Latvia also said to me, "I can't tell a difference between your flesh and the table. You are like a rock. I won't be able to do anything for you today- I'd have to see you at least 10 times before I could even start to work on your shoulders."

So, the message is pretty clear, those ladies aren't mincing their words, I need to relax, I need regular massages. Of course, the only time that my body wasn't "like a rock" was when I was living in Shanghai, when I was having weekly massages, because they only cost $10 a session. Neither Latvia nor Angola has similarly priced massages. :( But, here in Angola, I might just have to bite the bullet, and pay the price, because I really feel that this is not a luxury kind of pampering myself kind of thing, but like a necessary for my health kind of thing. Before I end up with, well, I don't know what chronically tense muscles can do to you, but I'm sure it ain't pretty.

So, that's where we're at. Well, that's where I'm at. :) Joel is doing well; he's back into his sports and his surfing (getting used to, but loving the new surfboard), and plugging along in his classroom, where he is much happier this year than I am. We do have a long weekend coming up in two weeks time, when we will be taking another little road trip to a place called Malange with the same friends that we traveled with in October. So, at least I should have something truly interesting to post after that!