Week 67 (28 Oct - 3 Nov 2007)

Photo: Solar panels being attached to the roof - at last.

The Rev James Ombanya preached at the service on Sunday morning. He is the Assistant Chaplain at Kuluva Hospital and an HIV/AIDS counsellor. He is an entertaining speaker and all the students were glued to his every word. We were also interested in how he structured his sermon and mixed in relevant humorous stories to which the students could relate. In the afternoon there was a meeting for parents about health issues and school fees – it was visiting day too. It was interesting but not as entertaining as the service! We were able to chat with some of the students who didn’t have visitors and may inadvertently “adopted” some Sudanese students. Others who didn’t have visitors seemed to look more than a little wistfully at groups of parents and students chatting.

With all our travelling around and extra teaching recently it was good to be able to spend a little time on Monday just catching up. During the next two weeks I should be able make up all the lessons missed due to our absence at the start of last term. Manessah (and Isaac) arrived after 4pm to fix our roof. I did say that I was beginning to wonder which Monday he had meant in his text on Saturday evening! I had also thought of letting him know that we would be away for December and the start of January so that he could plan in advance! But he found the “blunder” which caused the leak and solved it fairly quickly. He completed the remaining work – apart from the hole, salt and powered charcoal for the lightening conductor and the bulb that needs to be replaced. But I think it would be easier for me to do those that try to arrange for someone else!

Our friends, Ann and Allan, who have recently arrived at Kuluva from the UK, have had to go to Kampala for a month. They have kindly given us a key for their house so that we can have a retreat and be able to use our laptops more easily. It’s very kind and today, Tuesday, is my first trip – Andrea has stayed at school today and will come tomorrow on her own. So I hope to be able to catch up with the blog, e-mails and some planning which is easier to do on a laptop than in my head!

I’ve just had a short break from writing the blog and as I looked out the window saw five large monkeys playing in the trees about 50 feet away. Then I heard some rustling in a bush about 10 feet away and turned to see two more enjoying a midday snack of fruit. We eyed each other warily for a few minutes before I left to get something to eat myself! Who needs a wildlife safari or zoo when you can just look out the window! However, the monkeys can be a pest too – I won’t leave out anything they might pinch!

Even with a full day of electricity I didn’t manage to do all I had planned and was exhausted by 5pm. But at least there is an opportunity to return next week – or earlier.

Andrea walked to Kuluva on Wednesday for her day of electricity - I left the laptop there so she only had to carry it downhill on the way home. She seemed to have a fruitful day. Mine was full of interruptions and eventually I had to explain to Mary (our home help) that I needed time to think and could not do this with too much noise in the background. Mary and Joyce had been talking almost non-stop since they arrived at 11am in the usual Ugandan way i.e. loudly. She apologized and fully understood explaining that Africans do talk loudly and forget that muzungu’s (white people) often prefer quiet, especially the older ones! My meeting in the afternoon with the Principal was looking at the job description of the Deputy but had clear implications for the role of the Principal too. We finalized the areas but need to work on how they could be carried out.

After teaching our lessons on Thursday we went to town for supplies, which included a roast chicken with chips at the Catholic Centre. The chicken didn’t fight too much and eventually lost – but it was a tough one. Andrea was feeling a little rough so when we arrived at the Asiki’s she had a rest on one of their very comfortable Ikea chairs. Yes, Ikea in Uganda. Hm. Not in Arua though. Meanwhile I was working with Cathy, the Principal and another school governor to re-write the school mission statement. Cathy noted that she had no idea where the first one came from and couldn’t understand it anyway. I thought it was just me being thick. Anyway, they chatted and I noted then pulled together their seemingly random thoughts and they made surprising sense! SO I was given the “opportunity” to write it up to present at the next Board meeting. No one else had made any notes. Must remember to forget a pen next time. Is it possible to remember to forget? It is possible to forget to remember as I do that all the time.

My left knee was “paining” as they say here, on Friday morning. I think it must have been the way I was sitting yesterday. So I need to rest it. No arguments from me (but no sympathy from Andrea either!) She’s beginning to feel a little better i.e. starting to do more than any normal person again. Our roof is still leaking and the patch is growing. Assembly was OK and for a planned short one wasn’t too long (45mins). I took the student devotions, when Levi, the equivalent to a traffic warden, was called. Afterwards I did a patrol around to make sure prep. time began. S1 were expecting a history test at 8pm. A good time for a test methinks?

All the other teachers seem to have left the site on Saturday – but I’d planned to be Teacher on Duty from Friday evening anyway. There weren’t any major problems but it’s difficult to relax or do anything useful when you might be interrupted at any time. Some boys asked to go to get their heads shaved. More than usual. They looked a little sheepish when I wondered if they just might find if the football was being shown anywhere. Some admitted openly that they hoped they would so I wished them well and to make sure they were back before dark – on one condition. They had to stop by the house to report in and to tell me the final score. Manchester United were playing Arsenal and those teams have more supporters here that any other teams. While they were away I managed to get the final score on the internet and they were a bit surprised that I knew before they got back. (2-2 by the way.) We investigated the school’s generator and managed to show a Planet Earth DVD in the evening. They couldn’t hear the commentary but provide their own and really enjoy the animal chases.