Week 73 (8 - 15 Dec 2007)

Photos: Just to show the frost on the leaves at around 9am in Winchester! We are experiencing temperatures of around -1 to 6 deg C compared with a minimum of 17 degC up to around 30 deg C in Arua at this time of year.

We gave Mum a lift to the United Church in Winchester on Sunday morning. No drums to be heard and only one guitar. We stayed for coffee and spoke to two ladies who lived in Kampala for a while and an ex-Army chaplain who spent some time in Kenya. Mum treated us to lunch at a local garden centre restaurant – one which has a beautiful view over the valley and specialises in local dishes. The game pie was delicious (but the chess pieces were a bit hard). James’ Aunt Mary, brother-in-law Brian, brother John and partner Amanda, joined us – it was great to see them. We returned to Mum’s for coffee and James’ sister Libby joined us. We showed a few pictures of Ushindi – it seems so strange looking at where we were just a few days ago but it is another world.

With Christmas looming we decided that we needed to make an early foray into the shops in Winchester on Monday morning. Just after we parked it got very cold and wet so we had to take refuge in some shops every few minutes just to thaw out. In the end we spend all morning and most of the afternoon looking in bookshops and charity shops. It was surprising how tired we were in the evening.

On Tuesday we were beginning to feel a little the worse for wear – just tired and beginning to relax a bit from the last few days. We spend the day catching up on bits and pieces e.g. making a list of the photos to be printed and sorting out wool. Libby & Brian allowed us to use their internet connection in the evening to catch up with e-mails and order photos.

On Wednesday we took Mum to church for lunch i.e. we left her there. I think she was one of the younger ones as a lady of over a hundred arrived at the same time. We then went for our major culture shock experience. We tried to switch that part of our brain off (not to difficult in my case) and I managed to ignore the vast choice of “squash” type drinks that caught me out last year. But the number of cheeses struck me instead. We’ve only been able to get cheese recently in Arua and sometimes get it from Kampala. I did wonder how one of our neighbours in Ushindi would react to a Tesco’s. We are very fortunate in this country and it’s all too easy to forget, even for us after a few days. As a special treat, we bought some apple Tango and Walkers crisps to eat for lunch. It’s a long time since we tasted these! Andrea’s “culture shock” came at the checkout: she didn’t have to wait ages while the cashier wrote out every single item on a receipt! We worked on the internet in the afternoon. Andrea read some of the blog for the first time! She was surprised how detailed it is. I wonder if that’s something I need to change? I tried editing the first few and decided that took as long as writing it in the first place. I could write less of course and only include significant events. But what’s significant? We’ll see. In the evening we went out for a meal – at the church. They were running “Manna – food for the soul” and this was the last in the series. It was very much an “Alpha” course format with a choice of discussion groups to join after the meal. We sat in on the art one – very interesting but too short! There was a short session together at the end. Again, very different from anything we’ve experienced in the last six months.

Thursday morning was for packing and sorting. We were finding it hard to work out whether we were coming or going as we will be oscillating between Winchester and Brentwood for the next month and our belongings are divided between the two places. The journey to Romford took 2 hours and there were no traffic jams, even on the M25. It did seem strange with so many cars and smooth roads! There were no cyclists or pedestrians in the road either.

We stayed in on Friday preparing ourselves for the visit to the dentist after lunch; and catching up with the blog. I realised how much I don’t like visiting the dentist when the receptionist told us that he wasn’t in and they had sent a letter – to Geary Drive. We’ll probably get it in about a month. We rearranged the appointment and visited the shops instead. Almost as painful for me as the dentist! Again the choice of things struck us both. We spent a pleasant evening catching up with the Goldings – and even met Sarah as she returned home for a short break.

After another quiet (Saturday) morning we set off for the optician. Much less painful than the dentist although I seem to have a touch of dry eye – very common in hot countries and explains why I have found it more difficult to concentrate in the evenings when there is less light, my eyes suddenly water or feel a bit gritty. No explanation yet for why my concentration is poor the rest of the time. There was a particularly cold wind today so we were forced to take refuge in some shops on the way back to the car. We’ve (i.e. Andrea) nearly done all our Christmas shopping too.

Week 72 (2 - 8 Dec 2007)

Photos: The BIG match (Thursday) to celebrate a birthday - but the birthday boy fell asleep during the match!

This was the last Sunday of the term and the Principal usually preaches at the end of each term. He agreed to incorporate his message with the Advent service that Andrea had planned, based on Christmas readings and carols. The time of the service was moved from 8am to 10am but some of the teachers on the site still managed to be late! The student readers did very well and the girls sang two carols we didn’t know. During the offering I managed to play a guitar medley with two other boys. I followed the music and they followed me, improvising as they went along. I think it was OK. We decided not to attend the opening of the new Emmanuel Cathedral in town – it was too hot and there would be a lot of people there to join with the Archbishop and other clergy.

The exams on Monday were fine although I was asked to arrange for someone to cover the Deputy Principal’s exam as he had gone to Kampala until Thursday. The Director of Studies was in briefly and the Principal was on business elsewhere. Our friends, Anne and Allan, from Kuluva spent the afternoon and evening with us telling us about their trip to Kampala and the dedication of the new cathedral. I think the break from the usual routine made us realise how much we were looking forward to having a break from Ushindi and to visit the UK again.

The monthly and end of term Staff meeting was moved forward from Friday to Tuesday so that we could attend. It was a long, hot meeting and a little tense at times but I believe we made some progress. The Principal was indirectly referring to some of the plans for next year that we have been thinking through and starting to set in place some of the changes. It’s a pity that neither the Deputy nor Director of Studies were able to be there. Andrea and I have managed to complete all our marking and report cards so have a couple of days to finish off some admin then tidy the house and pack up ready to leave on Friday morning.

We still seemed to be fairly busy on Wednesday even though the only scheduled item was a science meeting to discuss the staffing for next term. We will limit our teaching to two classes each on no more than three days i.e. leaving two days each week clear for other duties either within the school or elsewhere.

The last exams started on Thursday morning – and they have all started on time. The students seemed to appreciate not having to wait around wondering when they would start and they learnt very quickly to arrive on time – even if it’s only 30 seconds before the exam was due to start! It was also our last early morning call in the dormitories – I’ll miss the early sun and fantastic atmosphere as it rises as well as the friendly greetings given by the boys. During the last two weeks only one other teacher appeared for the morning parade, and that for just two days this week. So today we were on our own. The students sang the National and School Anthems with a more enthusiasm than usual and we congratulated them on their punctuality in getting up and arriving at the exams. It seemed to be a more personal atmosphere and wonderful to hear them laughing and see them smiling as we said our goodbyes and wished them well over the long break. It was one of those special and memorable occasions and very different from our first few weeks at the school. In the afternoon there was a special football match between the supporters of Arsenal (in their “new” shirts) and Manchester United. This was to celebrate the third birthday of Asuta Godwin, son of one of the teachers. Asuta fell asleep on Andrea’s lap and that may be why Man Utd won 3-0. Later in the evening I was able to show some photos of the year to the students followed by the film “Home Alone”. The students seemed to enjoy it and there were no problems of misbehaviour afterwards even if they were excited about going home and a little slow to settle.

Our early morning starts for the last three weeks or so made our early rise on Friday a little easier to bear. We aimed to leave the site at 7.15am as we were giving a student – which turned out to be three students – a lift into town. Many of the other students were also preparing to leave and waved us off. Cathy and her son Jonathan took us to the airstrip and waited with us until the plane arrived. Arua is still my favourite airport. You can watch your luggage all the way to the plane while having a leisurely drink and samosa in the restaurant. Nothing is hurried, no tannoy announcements or screens to check. It’s obvious when the plane has arrived. And it’s hardly crowded with only 18 passengers per plane! The flight arrived early in Entebbe and we were taken to Sophie’s Motel – a new one for us. It was comfortable and we rested in the morning and had a leisurely lunch before checking in for our BA flight via the internet. The Carpenters took us to their home for a meal in the evening and it was great to catch up with them as well as do some planning for the forthcoming AIM Conference on our return.
The weather was a little cool for us and the heavy rain woke us early on Saturday morning. Preparation for the British weather perhaps? We met two other AIM people who were travelling on the same flight as well as a British doctor who had been on our flight from Arua yesterday. The waiting around went fairly quickly as we chatted. Although the flight left a little late we made up most of the time. We both watched three and a half films on the way and hope that we can finish the fourth one on the way back! I think we missed the small screen so were trying to catch up. Libby and Brian met us at Heathrow and we arrived in Winchester with my Mum around 7pm. It’s great to be back but it will take us and our stomachs a little while to rest and adjust.

Week 71 (25 Nov - 1 Dec 2007)

Photos:

Left - Mary and her husband Isaac with Tom and his newly renovated wheelchair (see Wednesday)

Right - The Ushindi School Board Meeting (under the mango tree) (see Saturday)

Sunday was supposed to be the school Advent service but was postponed until next week as someone from the Arua Deliverance Church came to preach. He was very entertaining and the students and staff all enjoyed the service. It was a little different from our experience and we would have welcomed the opportunity to discuss further some of the things he said – our interpretation of what is said is not always the same as what folk here hear. Hope that makes sense.

Having failed to get the morning parade cancelled, Andrea and I thought we should give the prefects some support as they too have exams. Therefore, on Monday morning we visited the dormitories (one each) at 7am to persuade, cajole and encourage the students to get up – at least for exam preparation if not for the morning parade. We had our own exams to invigilate and were encouraged when all three exams began at 9am. Not a common occurrence during the last four terms. We continued for the rest of the week and no other teachers appeared at the morning parades to give out important notices. We didn’t have to punish any students and after a few days they were all up by 7am, if not all dressed and ready. By 7.30am the site was quiet as all the students were busy working.

At 8.20am on Tuesday no other teachers had arrived so I decided that maybe it was time to start stapling the 9.00am papers together. At 8.58am two of the other teachers arrived and were a bit surprised to find the papers ready on the desks in front of the students! In the afternoon I had a very productive meeting with the Principal and Deputy as we discussed the role of the Teachers on Duty.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday followed a similar pattern of exams, marking and meetings. All the morning and afternoon exams started on time and the meetings were very productive. On Wednesday we took Mary (our lady who “does” for us) to town to get some large saucepans which can be used to bake bread on a charcoal fire. Her family were complaining that they would not have muzungu bread over Christmas while we are away! Mary usually bakes extra bread and takes some home three times a week. As we are so busy with marking and reports we had to stress many times that we would stop at her home for a cup of tea only – not a full meal. But she couldn’t avoid giving us some cake and biscuits!

We were back in town on Saturday for the Ushindi School Board Meeting (combined Primary and Secondary). It was very pleasant having a meeting under the mango tree! There are some major issues concerning the rented land and buildings the junior school uses and the discussions have given us further insights into Ugandan ways. In a previous board meeting it was agreed that we should explore the possibilities of more ecumenical services on Sundays at the secondary school. Cathy took us to see Father Aquilino, a local Roman Catholic priest whose Uncle used to own the land the secondary school is now on! It quickly became clear that we were thinking along the same lines – the need to explain carefully why different churches worshipped in different ways, the need to plan the services carefully and not to do anything that would be difficult or offensive to those of other traditions. Ushindi is not a Church of Uganda (Anglican) school but seems to have adopted many of their traditions even though the students come from many different backgrounds.

Week 70 (18 - 24 Nov 2007)

Photo: Andrea, Joyce and Mary sorting through our very own home grown soya beans. We ate them in the next few meals - and survived!


On Sunday morning Andrea was feeling better (but not yet 100%). I knew she was improving because she was starting to point out some things that she found irritating. I wasn’t responsible for all of them! We even managed to sing a “new” song with two of the students during the service. Well, they sang while I made strange noises with a guitar. Some readers will know it, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God”. Hardly new to us, but the students do have a limited repertoire which we’re trying to extend. Adaku John, Deputy Principal and neighbour, preached the sermon – and included three songs! Later we discussed the initial plans for the Advent service planned for next week. John told us that someone had been booked to preach next week and asked if we could delay the Christmas service until the following week, the last Sunday of term. This is when we wanted it anyway but were told that the last Sunday of each term was reserved for the Principal. We asked John to remind the Principal. Also, last year the “carol” service was an additional service on Sunday afternoon. “Why?” we asked. No obvious reason was the reply – a reply we’ve been given several times now. Our spirits lifted considerably when John said that he had been wondering why the morning services were at 8am. He had come to his own conclusion too. No guesses – “no obvious reason”! So he was very amenable when we suggested that the Advent service begin AFTER breakfast, say 9.30am or even 10am. The food that often accompanies such special services could be taken at the normal lunch time and not an extra meal and the kitchen staff could prepare it rather than the girl students, with the female teachers who would then miss the service. I’m not brave enough yet to suggest that the male teachers and boys prepare a meal. So we’ll see what happens. Students were busy preparing for the examinations so the Sunday afternoon Bible study didn’t happen. I talked with the few that turned up (30 minutes late) about future studies and if there was a better time as Sundays seem to be so busy for them. The study we were going to do was on the Sabbath – the day of rest.

Andrea managed to teach on Monday morning, but slept for a few hours afterwards. For those who might be concerned, it’s not malaria or typhoid but seems to be a virus like flu resulting in some aching, tiredness, loss of appetite and diarrhoea. There seems to be something going around. Mary and Joyce (our thrice weekly helpers) have been looking after our plot and harvested some soya beans. So they were put out to dry in the sun. It seems a lot of effort for a few beans which would cost around £3 to buy, but if you have no money it’s worth it. For us it is an experiment, so Mary and Joyce will be given some beans and we’ll eat the rest. Andrea is Teacher on Duty this week but as we discovered that some of those scheduled to be on duty during this week and next will not be around I volunteered to swap to this week so that I could cover for Andrea if she could not manage some duties.

The power is back on at Kuluva – after two weeks. So on Tuesday I hurriedly packed our various electrical bits and pieces and looked forward to working in a quieter place than our house. The electricity is fine, but the usual occupants of the house at Kuluva, Ann and Allan, will be returning from Kampala at the end of the week. So we have Michael digging outside and Lucy cleaning inside. They also have long and loud conversations with each other and anyone who passes by. But talking to people is more important than working and if you’ve never had the opportunity to study beyond primary school it’s hard to understand the need for quiet when working. But at least I’ve been able to catch up on some things that don’t require as much concentration. That’s my excuse for any spelling, typographical or grammatical errors in the blog for the last 7 days.

Little did I know how busy the next few weeks would be – this is the first chance I’ve had to write the blog and it’s now Dec 11th, and we’re back in the UK so I’ll have to mentally make the jump to a different continent and time zone!

The exam period started on Wednesday with the S3 Chemistry practical – three shifts of 1 hour each. The students were great and there were no problems. I met with the Principal for a couple of hours in the afternoon and discovered that the Director of Studies will be out of school for most of this and next week. He is responsible for organising the examinations. I offered to take over and make sure that the things we discussed on the training day were implemented. We also discovered that the BBC World Service were now broadcasting on FM and that we could receive a clear signal fairly easily. It was wonderful to hear the clear British voices reading news with some longer words and standard grammar!

On Thursday Andrea invigilated her S2 Maths exam while I marked the S3 practical paper. We went to down for lunch and some supplies before returning in time for Andrea, as Teacher on Duty, to supervise the student’s communal work. Most of the lessons have stopped now even though only S3 have the practical exams. We’re not sure why S1 and S2 lessons have stopped and we plan to teach them at least once each on Friday.

We have been noticing that the students have been more reluctant than usual to attend the morning parade at 7.10am. This could be because the teachers on duty are not always there to supervise and that there are no lessons or other activities until the exams begin at 9am. On Friday morning the Head Prefect suggested that the parade be cancelled for the exam period. There are advantages and disadvantages of this but I mentioned it to the Principal later in the day. He was not at the assembly but the Deputy Principal and Director of Studies arrived in school just as the afternoon assembly was starting. We didn’t have time to discuss the morning parade with them but the prefect on duty made the request in his report of the week. Both the DP and DoS told the students that the parade was important and would not be cancelled. At 7pm a student, Elnai James knocked at our door. He had been bitten on his foot by something a few minutes earlier and his face was starting to swell. It was swelling visibly as we spoke to him. We arrived at the hospital within 45 minutes and by this stage he couldn’t see out of one eye. He was treated quickly and the allergic reaction was halted so he was able to return to school with us by 9pm. That must be the quickest trip to and from the hospital yet and I think the car is still recovering from the flight over the bumps! Our stomachs were still trying to return to their usual place a few hours later. We wondered what would have happened if we weren’t there to recognise the allergic reaction (Richard had a similar reaction some years ago) and to act quickly. We think there were no other teachers on site at the time.

Andrea spent most of Saturday working i.e. marking in the staff room and being available for the students. This gave me a quiet day in our house where I was able to catch up a little. In the afternoon the Deputy Principal decided to sort out the chairs – many have been left out around the site overnight. Each student was to be given a numbered chair to look after. I missed the main activity but Andrea described the resulting chaos in some detail – even some of the student suggested better ways of organising the activity. We wondered why it could not have waited until Monday when other teachers would be around and all the students would be sitting on the chairs rather than being spread over the whole site and in the middle of other jobs such as washing their clothes. Someone had also decided that the S2 could do their exams in two rooms to give them more space – there are 48 in this class. Last week I had suggested, and I thought it was agreed, that S2 should do their exams in the hall and the spare chairs stored in one of the two vacant classrooms. The need for an extra invigilator had been overlooked. I reversed the decision and arranged for the students to set out the tables in the hall. On Sunday the Principal came and I explained why I had done this – he understood and was happy with the change. Just as we were settling down to watch a DVD at 8.30pm there was a knock at the door. Not unusual but we had a strange feeling that this would mean another trip to the hospital. We were right: one of the girls had collapsed 30 minutes earlier and hadn’t come round. It took a while for her to be admitted – and stayed two nights. We returned very tired at 11pm