From the time I landed back in Lagos in late August, I feel like I've been moving nonstop ever since. I returned to work only two days upon my arrival. Probably a good thing as it gave me little time to dwell on my separation from home. What a wonderful summer I had! Returning proved to be easier than I had anticipated and the warm welcome from the locals did much for the soul. How happy they were to have all of us return.
We've been in school now since August 24 and we are well settled into the school year. My new class of second graders are great. I have 16 students right now, and very similar to last year they come from all parts of the world. The transition this year was so much easier than last. It didn't take near as much work to get things started which enabled me to invest more time in being better prepared with lessons.
We have a whole new crop of teachers this year, twenty three to be exact, along with a new Superintendent. It's been fun getting to know all of them. I feel like I am still getting to know many of them. Our new Superintendent has been a terrific addition to the AISL community, both with the Nigerian population as well as the International staff. He came in without hesitation and started doing an overhaul on the school and residences. We were and still are all overjoyed to see the change that continues to take place around the compound. He gives more than his 100% and expects nothing less from his staff. I like that!
It feels like our year is moving along so rapidly. So far this year, we've already had our Back-to-School Night, a band concert, Family Orientation Day and Nigerian Culture Day. Not bad for a little over one month of school! It feels like I've been back in Africa much longer however.

The rainy season arrived much earlier than normal around these parts. Its rained every day since I've been here and I have to admit, I'm extremely tired of it. Yes, it's still very warm although there have been some pretty cool days too, but I'm ready for that hot African sun to reappear. Rain here is what snow and ice is to the Pacific NW. It cripples the drivers ability to get where they need to go and delays people from getting where they need to be on time. Traffic is horrible on any given normal day so you should see what rain does to it. You're better off not even getting in a car. It down poured for the entire day one day last week and many of our student's drivers weren't able to get to the school to pick them up on time when school got out at 1:30 until 9:00 that evening. That's how long it took them to get through the traffic. The drainage system here is nonexistant so the streets just get so flooded. Any morning it's raining, we know to expect late students. Crazy, isn't it?! As much as it rains though, an hour of the hot sun that emerges each day is enough to dry everything up.
I may be getting a break from all the rain very soon. I have an opportunity to attend a Teacher's Conference in South Africa for a week in October (Jo'Berg) with three other teachers from AISL. When I got news that I was chosen as one of the teachers to attend, I was elated! I spent 10 days down in that area last year during my Spring holiday and enjoyed it very much. From what I understand, we'll have some free time to roam around and see things so it won't have to be all work and no play.
Life continues to be very fulfilling for me in Africa. I've decided to try a different way of keeping everyone updated on my life over here this year. I hope you'll take a moment to log on to my blog when you're sitting at your computers and I'll do my best to keep it updated.
(photos are taken from Nigerian Culture Day)