Three Months+

It's been a little while since I've posted, so an update is in order. It has been a fairly quiet several days. Last week was the first week of exams. But all my exams are next week: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So soon I will have many, many exams to grade. I'm certainly not looking forward to it, but somehow I'm not dreading it, either. It is what it is. I'll do it and be done with it.

I am also in the midst of the final flurry of work on my book. I have gotten all the copy-edits from my publisher. They are not too extensive. I am also doing a read-through and copy-edit of my own. I think I will finish this in a few days. I will then begin entering all the edits. This should be straightforward. The only part I'm a little worried about it the figures. I think that many will need to be slightly re-sized, although I'm not quite sure how many yet. This process isn't too difficult, but it has the potential to be very time consuming. I also may need to mess with the photographs some. There are also some typesetting details that I will need to tend to. The final main task for the book is to make an index. I think won't be too difficult, but it will take some time. The manuscript is due back to the publisher on April 13. I have 39 days.

Wednesday I went to a football match between the Rwandan and Nigerian national teams. It was a qualifying match for the African Cup of Nations. Rwanda earned a 0-0 tie. This was a bit of an upset, as Nigeria was heavily favored. The game was fun to watch and it was a fascinating experience. There were surprisingly few foreigners at the game. I'd like to see another match sometime.

Today began with several hours of steady rain. It cleared up in the afternoon, but remained cool. I doubt it got warmer than 75. I went for a nice evening run. The streets were surprisingly empty, although there were more cars than usual parked by the church.

The days ahead will hold much editing and much grading. I plan on doing little else, aside from eating and exercising. Classes have been over for two weeks, and there are three more weeks before the second semester starts. I have settled into a dull and solitary but fairly satisfying routine. I work a lot, exercise, cook simple meals at home and occasionally go out for Indian or Chinese food.

I have now been in Rwanda for over three months. And I will return home in almost exactly four months. The crickets chirp and I hear a radio and dogs barking half-heartedly in the distance. A little while ago a plane took off. I can see more lights on than usual in the science building.