"I haven't been sleeping since November. I've been sick!" said Matebello this morning.
Why? Because in November she took what's called the J.C. exam, which every tenth grader in Lesotho must take and pass before moving on to the next level. The results of this exam get published as inserts in the national newspapers. Students find out their grades the same time everyone else in the country does, and in the same way, by buying and opening up today's newspaper. Everyone's got a copy, everyone's selling a copy.
Matebello passed, and she passed well. She and her friends clapped and jumped and shouted for her. Bet she'll rest well tonight.
In fact, out of the thirty students of mine who took the exam most ought to rest well tonight. Actually, that's not entirely true: Twelve of them failed. They'll be sleeping roughly. What I should have said is that me, I'll sleep well tonight because only one of the thirty students failed English, the subject I taught them. I'm pretty proud of that. That's a good percentage. It relaxes me. Around the village I expect folks to be like, "Ntate Greg did his job. Almost all of his students passed. We'll continue making him feel welcome around here." And I'll continue to be diligent for them.