DP Daily Prompt: Oasis

A sanctuary is a place you can escape to, catch your breath and remember who you are . Write about the place you go to when everything is a bit too much.

My sanctuary in right in my home, I do not have to go too far.  There are times I do feel I must forget about everyone and think about myself only, the best place for me is my bedroom, there is no one else there but me, I sit or lie on my bed and think about how I have fared in my life.

I was never interested in having too many material things, I enjoy looking at my album think about the times my friends and I spent time talking and discussing what we have enjoyed the most in our lives.

For me the best part was when I was a student at,Holy Cross College, there were thirty three of us in dormitories, I was with my classmates, there were five of us. I remember we were not allowed to sit on our beds, we were provided with small stools made of cane, it was not the most comfortable one to sit on, but we did fine.

Every morning the bell rang for us to go for breakfast, as soon as we came down the stairs, Sister Joseph Mary would go upstairs to make sure we made our beds, of course we did not disappoint her.

Then there was Sister Augustine Marie the Principal, she’d watch us as she went along the path to her office, one thing that bothered her was if she found us chatting, not studying, she’d call us to her office and reminded us why we were there.

Despite all that, we managed to sing, and voted who was the best. Salma was the best, she had a tutor who came once or twice a week to teach her some popular songs.

The atmosphere in the hostel made us feel we were one big family, every now and then we had a few  who loved to talk behind our back, they were few and we ignored them.

Now when I think of those times I wonder about my classmates and others, how they are and what keeps them busy.

I was always quiet and lived in my own little world, I enjoyed singing songs I learned in school. Occasionally I’d hear my mother calling me to help her thread the needle, or look after my youngest brother.

Now they are memories which makes me sad that I’m no longer with them. I do thank God that I had an enjoyable life growing up, sure we had fights with each other, but at the end of the day we loved each other!

link: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/dp-daily-prompt-oasis

DP Daily Prompt: Money For Nothing

Yes, I am no different from anyone else,I need to earn money to take care of my every day necessities. My ultimate job was teaching in a school. I got enough certificates to fulfill my ambition to teach. Once I got the required education, I applied for a job in a local school. As luck would have it I got the job I wanted. I left my first job to see what was available in the big city. There were plenty, I chose the one which had living quarters.

The school was charming for a woman like me,I lived on the premises which meant no extra expense for travelling. It was hardly a week when I realized this was not what I aimed for. I felt the walls of the school closing in on me. I was expected to teach and work after hours taking care of the kids in the dormitory. When I objected the principal said,

“it’s nothing only your presence is enough.”

I consoled myself by thinking, if my being there would solve any problems, why not, in return I had a room and a bathroom and the food was free. Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? I was an inexperienced twenty three year old trying to make a living. It didn’t take me long to face what this free this and that meant.

It meant leaving my bed at 5 a.m to see the seventy five boys ranging from five to twelve were up on time, got themselves ready. Sure I didn’t have to dress them up or help them with tooth paste and brush or whatever else was needed to get ready. But I had to get them lined up to walk to the dining room for breakfast.

Next they were lined up to go to their respective classes  at seven a.m., school was over at 2 p.m. . Then it was the drudgery of making sure they had their shower before lunch. Kids and water well that was something else I knew can be troublesome. The shower would be on and the boys would slide on the water that reached the verandah from the bathroom.

One day I was exhausted I felt the need to rest. The boys were taking a shower as usual the water flooded the verandah,why wouldn’t it the showers were turned on full blast.Well my absence for those few minutes gave the kids ammunition to go wild which they did. Two of them bumped into each other while sliding, one broke two front permanent teeth. The other one was fine. The principal was informed, he came running. I was summoned from my room. I came out I was calm and I already decided if he tries to get angry with me,I’d quit the job on the spot.

So the interrogation began, “Where were you?”

I replied, “I was in my room taking a break.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“Yes I do.” I was rebellious. What can he do, I told myself ,he can fire me and boy am I ready to quit this horrible job.

The principal realized by my behavior that I didn’t really care if I lost my job, he calmed down and after showing his anger with the other members of the staff, he left.

I learned from that incidence, all I needed to be was  firm . I was hired to teach,which I was performing without any problems. I knew I could get plenty of jobs teaching,my record was clean, all I had to do was make it known I was no pushover!

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/02/15/prompt-money-for-nothing/

Little Nelson taking a break!

DP___ Daily Prompt: Decisions,Decisions

I made one of my most important decisions by reasoning. After completing my degree,I was interested to get admission in the ‘Bachelor of Education Program’.To fulfill my ambition I went with my classmate to Mymensingh.It is four hours away from Dhaka city.When we arrived there,we were told it was too late.The admission was filled. We were disappointed,when we turned around to leave,we bumped into the Principal. She was an amiable lady.She asked us why we were there.We related our sob story.Immediately the lady told the Vice Principal to admit us. Her reason was these two have guts and she liked that. I looked around the building,everything looked dark and gloomy,the high ceiling and the dim light did not stir up my desire to be there.

I started reasoning, is this the place I want to study.I was already freaking out about the atmosphere there?I saw everything negative there.The worst was, I will have to ask my brothers to pay my tuition fees and boarding house fees once again.I started thinking am I being unfair to my brothers? After all they have paid for my schooling for six years,I cannot ask them to support me for another year. This was a major dilemma for me. I went back to Dhaka with all these negative thoughts,ghostly building,more money,what was my recourse I asked myself,I only saw all the doors closing in on me. I remember Julie Andrews  saying’ when the  Lord closes one door,he opens another’ in ‘The Sound of Music’.It only happens in movies I mused. I still didn’t come to any decision. That day I had nothing to do,so I went to the common room in the residence,where we all hang out and read newspapers,journals or just simply gab. With my mind in a negative mode,I picked up that day’s paper. It seemed a door was starting to open up for me,there was an  Ad for Scholarsip in various Faculties.I was delighted to see there was one for Education as well. I tore off the part I needed.I came back to my dormitory and wrote an application for the scholarship for B.Ed.

I patiently waited to hear from them.A few weeks later a man in uniform,came to my uncle’s house informing me I had an interview with the Director of Public Instruction.Next few days I couldn’t sleep. Now I was afraid I may not get the Scholarship. The Lord did open the door for me,I was selected.All my reasoning finally paid off.