08/26/08

I spent most of this day gathering books for my class and making sure there were enough for all of my students. Most of the text books I have, especially Algebra I, look like they were recovered from a century-old shipwreck. They have to be the worst conditioned books I have ever seen. In one fashion I would like to have brand new books for the students, at least newer ones. On the other hand, we don’t have the funds to constantly replace books when they are upwards of $120 brand new and even $30-50 used can add up when you need 20+ books. After looking at all of the books, it is clear that you can still teach from them and all the print is legible so, other than aesthetics, there is no reason to replace them at this point. It is a reminder of how being frugal can allow us to stretch our resources (they last much longer than we allow them to) and how God truly does provide what we need even though we may want something else. I had to stop and think of all the things back home that I often want to replace or toss just because I am tired of it, when in reality I should use whatever it is to it’s full extent.

Later today, I went to the boat dock with John. This was my first time going there. We picked up a box which turned out to be a massive amount of canned goods to will be used for our lunches. On the way back I picked up some Pidy brand coffee which is pretty good, but not my favorite Haitian coffee. I heard there is a lady in the neighborhood which roasts her own coffee. I will be on the lookout for her coffee. I even heard you can go by and get a cup of coffee that was freshly roasted and brewed. I look forward to that and hope it is good coffee!