Week 20 (3 - 9 December 2006)
The last Sunday service of the term was a little disappointing as so many students were late. But I suppose it is in the middle of their exams too. The school Chaplain was the preacher. During the services the students often do ‘presentations’ which are mainly songs from different groups. During last week we suggested that the staff should do a presentation of a Christmas carol and there seemed to be some enthusiasm. In the end only John (our neighbour), Andrea and I could manage the rehearsals for the songs we thought the rest of the staff knew but were new to us. This morning it was just the three of us who ‘sang’. There were other staff there, but when invited to join in even the very musical ones said it would be too difficult for them!!!! Now they know how we feel! But it was OK and the students just enjoyed us making the effort. I would have preferred a ‘proper’ carol though. So far the only traditional carol we’ve sung is “Silent Night” – but at full volume! Apart from the last Bible study, the rest of the day was quiet and spent chatting with Lyn. It was James’ Dad’s 87th birthday today. Yesterday some of the family were able to celebrate with him and it was great to receive some photos today via the internet. Thanks John.
James took Lyn to the airport on Monday morning. We had aimed to arrive by 8.30am but were slightly delayed and became a little concerned that we would be late. Lyn didn’t seem to be too worried – and rightly so. We arrived 15 minutes after the designated check in time to find that the check in desk (or more literally ‘table’) hadn’t opened. It didn’t open for another 10 minutes or so and the queue never got above two people. One of the guards even had time to chat and try to convince us that there was a need for more AIM people in his home town of Jinja! I wonder if Heathrow could learn some lessons from Arua International Airport. I managed to get another gas cylinder on the way back. We were a bit concerned when we first arrived that we might run out of gas during the first 3 weeks before we had a car. In the end it lasted for 3 months which isn’t bad considering we cook (I mean Andrea cooks) on it and all our water is heated on it. Not all our water, just the hot water. But we don’t need to heat the hot water. I’m trying to say that if we need any hot water we must put cold water on the cooker, in a saucepan or kettle, to heat it up. This is for washing and drinking. Andrea has also been experimenting with cakes in preparation for the birthday on Wednesday. It’s possible that further experiments are required. Enough said. Anyway, while I was visiting the airport and getting the gas, Andrea took the S1 for their Chemistry exam which I then spent the rest of the day marking. It seems that a few have learnt something new. Most haven’t. Yet.
We had nothing planned on Tuesday except to prepare for the birthday. My job is to put up the one Christmas decoration we have so far. And think about where to put up some balloons. The blowing up of the balloons will have to wait until tomorrow as the rubber has considerably higher permeability than at home i.e. they deflate quickly. John arrived to tell us that there was a staff meeting at 2pm but in true African style, it took him about two hours to tell us! Well, we gave him a drink and we chatted about other school things, particularly what happens at the end of term. The staff meeting, our second so far, was interesting. We asked a few questions for clarification because we’re new but the answers were not as clear as we might have imagined. The end of year exam results will not be ready until 20th Dec when the staff meet to review them. They go to the students and parents on the 22nd Dec. The dates for next year are still not known – apart from the start of term (5th Feb). We also wondered what was going to happen about the presentation of the goat. But that will have to wait until next term – and so will you to find out what it’s all about! Following our earlier conversation with John, I found some of the PLE (Primary Leaving Exam) results for the students in preparation for a database to analyse results and performance. It is over a year since I’ve done a proper spreadsheet and the data for 160 students in total should be a bit simpler than for 1600 students. But I’m sure that I can make it more complicated if I try hard enough! It would seem to be good use of my time during the Christmas break and might help to highlight strengths and areas for development in learning, teaching and assessment. Later in the afternoon, John asked if we could type and print a letter to go home with parents so that there would be time to get it photocopied by Thursday. After some editing, we were able to oblige.
The big highlight of Wednesday was the party. Most of the day was spent preparing for or at least thinking about it! I did manage to escape for a while as two women (Andrea and Mary) in or around the kitchen was a bit tense for me. Not that they didn’t work well, it’s just that the anticipation of what I’d be asked to do next was toooo stressful! I hid in the Principals’ office and immersed myself in an Excel spreadsheet. And nearly drowned as I realised how much I’d forgotten in 18 months. I’ve set myself a project of creating a database of students results but it’s really a way of indicating that their filing system isn’t, well, as system as nothing is filed or kept up to date.
Anyway, the party. Or should I say THE PARTY. The invitations indicated a starting prayer at 3.30pm. No one arrived until 4.10pm, but this gave us time to finish the last bits of icing on the cake. Or rather, to stem the flow of icing off the cake as it was too warm for it to set properly! Shortly after they arrive – all twenty plus children – the pastor who baptised Godwin stood up and gave a 45 minute sermon!!!!! We’re not sure who he was preaching to (or about!) and we discovered later that he was asked to do a short prayer only. This is Africa! We did a short speech, as requested, followed by Godwin’s Dad before lighting the candles, singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and nearly frightening Godwin out of his wits by trying to get him to blow them out. We showed a DVD on African Animals that someone from church had sent us via Lyn but after 20 minutes the whole party moved outside. A pity, as the children were enjoying it so much. We cleared up then joined them only to find that a meal had been cooked – unknown to the Chairperson of the Organising Committee and the Secretary! John, our sensible neighbour who arrived after the ‘sermon’ got all the children together and asked if we could show the rest of the DVD to them. We spent the next 40 minutes watching the children watching the DVD chattering away so excitedly that we couldn’t hear the commentary! Apparently, they were giving the animals their own names based on how they looked and moved. This was the best part of the day and what we had originally intended for the birthday. I think it must be one of the most memorable and enjoyable times we have had so far. So many thanks to whoever sent the DVD.
Thursday was the last day of the exams. At midday we joined the rest of the staff to do a dormitory check for books and belongings in the wrong places so that no school materials were taken home ‘by accident’. Some of the students’ lockers / boxes were fine, others were a mess. I found only one with partly eaten bread and a dirty place and another with a few insects (cockroaches?) inside the box. It was a bit unpleasant but part of the school life. The final final assembly scheduled for 2pm started at 2.20pm and at 2.18pm we were asked to give the students some advice about what to do during the long break. As others were speaking first we had a little time to think of something but not discuss it. The whole assembly lasted an hour. Later in the evening we attended the ‘devotions’ to be a ‘presence’ on the last day only to find that as the generator wasn’t working the video they had planned to show wouldn’t be shown, John was going to speak at an extended devotions. He got us to sing the songs we did on Sunday – and the students seem to enjoy our attempts! The session lasted for nearly 3 hours. Andrea finished by telling them the St Patrick’s Breastplate prayer – which we’ll do again next term with the actions.
The other main news today is that we have managed to book tickets for a visit to the UK from Friday 29th Dec to Tuesday 16th Jan. This is mainly to see family but will try to visit as many friends as we are able. The exact details of our visit are still being sorted out.
The little hiccup of Friday was that just as I’d switched on the laptop to check e-mails in the afternoon, knowing that there wasn’t much battery life left, we had a visitor. This means a drink. Fortunately, I had water. Unfortunately, the laptop decided to have a sip too. Fortunately, I’d just switched it off before the water leapt out of the cup. The mouse pad was greedier and almost drowned. Needless to say, but I’ll say it anyway, I wasn’t happy. After some rapid drying, I was actually very glad we were in a hot, dry climate where water evaporates very quickly. The machine worked later that evening except that it wanted to type m’s and %’s in preference to anything else. It was OK by Saturday – when I actually typed this after a recharge. Never a dull moment here! Don’t you wish you could experience it too! Sorry, I didn’t hear your reply!
We had three little visitors as we were getting ready for our Saturday expedition to town. They seem to be less frightened of us and enjoy exploring the muzungu house. So Saturday saw us buying our Arua – Entebbe – Arua tickets. (Sunday and Monday had gone home from school – yes, students do have these names!). We had a more leisurely time in town as we had given Brenda (Mrs Neighbour) a lift and promised a return lift. This worked out better as we stopped for a drink early on and felt less rushed. Andrea found a part of the market she lost since arriving at Ushindi and bought a cabbage. The excitement is endless! She said that it was even more amazing that she found her way out again as its like one of those mazes used to test rats and mice. I’m saying nothing here. But I shouldn’t scoff either as I was equally delighted at finding a drill and bits, which is much better than finding a drill in bits. We had tea outside again – hence adapting to the African ways - but also had a little visitor again. Tracy invited herself in, chatted away in Lugbara and helped Andrea wash dishes & vegetables. The problem with typing on a laptop in late afternoon is that it’s light when you start and pitch black 30 minutes later. Outside I mean, and hence in the house so that I can’t find a torch to switch on the light. If I don’t use a torch to sort out the battery / inverter / extension lead and light then I could have a shocking experience. So the moral is: a torch is necessary when you use a laptop.
James took Lyn to the airport on Monday morning. We had aimed to arrive by 8.30am but were slightly delayed and became a little concerned that we would be late. Lyn didn’t seem to be too worried – and rightly so. We arrived 15 minutes after the designated check in time to find that the check in desk (or more literally ‘table’) hadn’t opened. It didn’t open for another 10 minutes or so and the queue never got above two people. One of the guards even had time to chat and try to convince us that there was a need for more AIM people in his home town of Jinja! I wonder if Heathrow could learn some lessons from Arua International Airport. I managed to get another gas cylinder on the way back. We were a bit concerned when we first arrived that we might run out of gas during the first 3 weeks before we had a car. In the end it lasted for 3 months which isn’t bad considering we cook (I mean Andrea cooks) on it and all our water is heated on it. Not all our water, just the hot water. But we don’t need to heat the hot water. I’m trying to say that if we need any hot water we must put cold water on the cooker, in a saucepan or kettle, to heat it up. This is for washing and drinking. Andrea has also been experimenting with cakes in preparation for the birthday on Wednesday. It’s possible that further experiments are required. Enough said. Anyway, while I was visiting the airport and getting the gas, Andrea took the S1 for their Chemistry exam which I then spent the rest of the day marking. It seems that a few have learnt something new. Most haven’t. Yet.
We had nothing planned on Tuesday except to prepare for the birthday. My job is to put up the one Christmas decoration we have so far. And think about where to put up some balloons. The blowing up of the balloons will have to wait until tomorrow as the rubber has considerably higher permeability than at home i.e. they deflate quickly. John arrived to tell us that there was a staff meeting at 2pm but in true African style, it took him about two hours to tell us! Well, we gave him a drink and we chatted about other school things, particularly what happens at the end of term. The staff meeting, our second so far, was interesting. We asked a few questions for clarification because we’re new but the answers were not as clear as we might have imagined. The end of year exam results will not be ready until 20th Dec when the staff meet to review them. They go to the students and parents on the 22nd Dec. The dates for next year are still not known – apart from the start of term (5th Feb). We also wondered what was going to happen about the presentation of the goat. But that will have to wait until next term – and so will you to find out what it’s all about! Following our earlier conversation with John, I found some of the PLE (Primary Leaving Exam) results for the students in preparation for a database to analyse results and performance. It is over a year since I’ve done a proper spreadsheet and the data for 160 students in total should be a bit simpler than for 1600 students. But I’m sure that I can make it more complicated if I try hard enough! It would seem to be good use of my time during the Christmas break and might help to highlight strengths and areas for development in learning, teaching and assessment. Later in the afternoon, John asked if we could type and print a letter to go home with parents so that there would be time to get it photocopied by Thursday. After some editing, we were able to oblige.
The big highlight of Wednesday was the party. Most of the day was spent preparing for or at least thinking about it! I did manage to escape for a while as two women (Andrea and Mary) in or around the kitchen was a bit tense for me. Not that they didn’t work well, it’s just that the anticipation of what I’d be asked to do next was toooo stressful! I hid in the Principals’ office and immersed myself in an Excel spreadsheet. And nearly drowned as I realised how much I’d forgotten in 18 months. I’ve set myself a project of creating a database of students results but it’s really a way of indicating that their filing system isn’t, well, as system as nothing is filed or kept up to date.
Anyway, the party. Or should I say THE PARTY. The invitations indicated a starting prayer at 3.30pm. No one arrived until 4.10pm, but this gave us time to finish the last bits of icing on the cake. Or rather, to stem the flow of icing off the cake as it was too warm for it to set properly! Shortly after they arrive – all twenty plus children – the pastor who baptised Godwin stood up and gave a 45 minute sermon!!!!! We’re not sure who he was preaching to (or about!) and we discovered later that he was asked to do a short prayer only. This is Africa! We did a short speech, as requested, followed by Godwin’s Dad before lighting the candles, singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and nearly frightening Godwin out of his wits by trying to get him to blow them out. We showed a DVD on African Animals that someone from church had sent us via Lyn but after 20 minutes the whole party moved outside. A pity, as the children were enjoying it so much. We cleared up then joined them only to find that a meal had been cooked – unknown to the Chairperson of the Organising Committee and the Secretary! John, our sensible neighbour who arrived after the ‘sermon’ got all the children together and asked if we could show the rest of the DVD to them. We spent the next 40 minutes watching the children watching the DVD chattering away so excitedly that we couldn’t hear the commentary! Apparently, they were giving the animals their own names based on how they looked and moved. This was the best part of the day and what we had originally intended for the birthday. I think it must be one of the most memorable and enjoyable times we have had so far. So many thanks to whoever sent the DVD.
Thursday was the last day of the exams. At midday we joined the rest of the staff to do a dormitory check for books and belongings in the wrong places so that no school materials were taken home ‘by accident’. Some of the students’ lockers / boxes were fine, others were a mess. I found only one with partly eaten bread and a dirty place and another with a few insects (cockroaches?) inside the box. It was a bit unpleasant but part of the school life. The final final assembly scheduled for 2pm started at 2.20pm and at 2.18pm we were asked to give the students some advice about what to do during the long break. As others were speaking first we had a little time to think of something but not discuss it. The whole assembly lasted an hour. Later in the evening we attended the ‘devotions’ to be a ‘presence’ on the last day only to find that as the generator wasn’t working the video they had planned to show wouldn’t be shown, John was going to speak at an extended devotions. He got us to sing the songs we did on Sunday – and the students seem to enjoy our attempts! The session lasted for nearly 3 hours. Andrea finished by telling them the St Patrick’s Breastplate prayer – which we’ll do again next term with the actions.
The other main news today is that we have managed to book tickets for a visit to the UK from Friday 29th Dec to Tuesday 16th Jan. This is mainly to see family but will try to visit as many friends as we are able. The exact details of our visit are still being sorted out.
The little hiccup of Friday was that just as I’d switched on the laptop to check e-mails in the afternoon, knowing that there wasn’t much battery life left, we had a visitor. This means a drink. Fortunately, I had water. Unfortunately, the laptop decided to have a sip too. Fortunately, I’d just switched it off before the water leapt out of the cup. The mouse pad was greedier and almost drowned. Needless to say, but I’ll say it anyway, I wasn’t happy. After some rapid drying, I was actually very glad we were in a hot, dry climate where water evaporates very quickly. The machine worked later that evening except that it wanted to type m’s and %’s in preference to anything else. It was OK by Saturday – when I actually typed this after a recharge. Never a dull moment here! Don’t you wish you could experience it too! Sorry, I didn’t hear your reply!
We had three little visitors as we were getting ready for our Saturday expedition to town. They seem to be less frightened of us and enjoy exploring the muzungu house. So Saturday saw us buying our Arua – Entebbe – Arua tickets. (Sunday and Monday had gone home from school – yes, students do have these names!). We had a more leisurely time in town as we had given Brenda (Mrs Neighbour) a lift and promised a return lift. This worked out better as we stopped for a drink early on and felt less rushed. Andrea found a part of the market she lost since arriving at Ushindi and bought a cabbage. The excitement is endless! She said that it was even more amazing that she found her way out again as its like one of those mazes used to test rats and mice. I’m saying nothing here. But I shouldn’t scoff either as I was equally delighted at finding a drill and bits, which is much better than finding a drill in bits. We had tea outside again – hence adapting to the African ways - but also had a little visitor again. Tracy invited herself in, chatted away in Lugbara and helped Andrea wash dishes & vegetables. The problem with typing on a laptop in late afternoon is that it’s light when you start and pitch black 30 minutes later. Outside I mean, and hence in the house so that I can’t find a torch to switch on the light. If I don’t use a torch to sort out the battery / inverter / extension lead and light then I could have a shocking experience. So the moral is: a torch is necessary when you use a laptop.
posted by Anonymous at 8:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home