Week 80 (27 Jan – 2 Feb 2008)
We’ve been trying to get up a little earlier each day in preparation for the new term. But so far we’ve failed! On Sunday we just managed to leave the house at 9.30am to walk to Kuluva for the 10am service – a pleasant walk and not too hot. There was a little uncertainty whether there would be an English service as major celebrations were happening at the hospital for World Leprosy Day. We also thought that if there was another event starting at 10am the service would be a little shorter than usual. But we’re not African. It was still 2 hours long. After the service we walked over to the celebration area only to find that it hadn’t started – over two hours after the stated time! It seems that not all of the guests had arrived. There was to be a parade of hospital staff and they were standing out in the sun for most of that time. I did suggest that if anyone fainted or took ill, there would be plenty of expert advice on hand. Andrea wasn’t so sure! Although we were invited to sit in one of the visitors marquees, we declined. It would have been interesting to watch the parade and band playing but in the heat, the thought of many long speeches was too much for us. The walk home was hot – up to 29°C – and the house seemed very cool in comparison.
With one week before the term starts, I was hoping that it would be possible for some of the staff to meet and begin preparations. So, on Monday morning, I decided to work on my laptop in the office so that I would be around if anyone came. I managed to catch up with the blog with no interruptions. It’s a little frustrating to say the least. I have a list of about 15 items, all of which require some discussion and preparation but so far there’s no one to talk to! John, the Deputy, was around briefly and I did try to emphasise that having a staff meeting at the end of the first week of term would not be a good idea – some things need to be set in motion from the very start.
Tuesday was another quiet morning so we spent the time on our laptops. Chairs would have been more comfortable. Andrea has produced a booklet of our workshop on managing student behaviour and I’ve found some old notes on Word and PowerPoint which I can use with the S4 class. We’ve had a few messages from friends in Kenya and it doesn’t look good – reinforces the BBC World News which has an African emphasis here. Goods seem to be getting through for now, at least to Arua which is a “hub” for DR Congo and Sudan so a high priority. Prices have risen a little but part of that may be due to the hot season. Yes, it is hot and very dry so we need to keep drinking. But we seem to be managing if we don’t move too much in the afternoon. Mornings are OK though we have felt a little cold at times when the temperature drops to about 23°C! There is a breeze most days – but not of course as I write now in the afternoon and am starting to get sweaty again. I checked the e-mails last night and at 10.30pm our lights went out. We have been using a lot of power recently, partly to see how much we can use. Now we know. I disconnected the laptop and the light returned a few minutes later. I must remember to close the doors and windows next time so that the lights can’t get out!
We had though of going to town to bring the Cassel family out to Ushindi on Wednesday but as we will be going on Thurs and Sat we decided not to – then found it wasn’t convenient for them either. So we carried on working!
Thursday was games day. We played canasta with the Asiki’s followed by lunch then and new game to us called “Quickword”. Andrea enjoyed it but I struggled as you had to think of words in different categories in a given time limit. This was followed by shopping and a cup of tea with the Cassels before returning home. A long and hot day. I’m not sure if I’ve written this before, but Andrea is now driving a little. So far she has got as far as “the bridge” when I take over. This will at least share the driving and help in emergencies.
I worked in the Principals office on Friday morning until he arrived but spent most of the rest of the day doing lesson preparation. Apart from watching a Star Trek episode in the evening. Isn’t life exciting!
The main news from Saturday is that Ireland beat Italy (16-11) in the opening of the Rugby Six Nations Championship. It would probably be unkind to gloat over the other match (Wales 26 v England 19). I heard from Mum that it was a good match. We weren’t able to watch it of course but were at a wedding instead – our first time seeing the whole experience. Milka, a relative of Charles Asiki, married Wilbert. The service was due to start at 11am and we heard later that everyone was ready in plenty of time. Except the drivers of the cars to get them to the church who for some unknown reason were over an hour late! The service was only 2½ hours long and finished after the reception was scheduled to start! Cathy advised us that there would be a gap of about 90minutes between the service and the reception so we went for a drink and plate of chips. We were very grateful as we didn’t eat until after 5pm. We think we also missed the speeches but so did the bride and groom! The reception was noisy, exuberant and had a few quaint rituals e.g. the bride and groom feeding each other. The other most noticeable thing was that as the bride and groom moved anywhere they were accompanied by the 2 flower girls, six bridesmaids and three best men and walked very very slowly in time to the music. I have seen slow marching but it is fast compared with the speed they moved! It was good for taking photos but must have added around 30 minutes to the proceedings! Still, it was a valuable cultural experience and made easier because we knew some of those participating and some of the other guests.
With one week before the term starts, I was hoping that it would be possible for some of the staff to meet and begin preparations. So, on Monday morning, I decided to work on my laptop in the office so that I would be around if anyone came. I managed to catch up with the blog with no interruptions. It’s a little frustrating to say the least. I have a list of about 15 items, all of which require some discussion and preparation but so far there’s no one to talk to! John, the Deputy, was around briefly and I did try to emphasise that having a staff meeting at the end of the first week of term would not be a good idea – some things need to be set in motion from the very start.
Tuesday was another quiet morning so we spent the time on our laptops. Chairs would have been more comfortable. Andrea has produced a booklet of our workshop on managing student behaviour and I’ve found some old notes on Word and PowerPoint which I can use with the S4 class. We’ve had a few messages from friends in Kenya and it doesn’t look good – reinforces the BBC World News which has an African emphasis here. Goods seem to be getting through for now, at least to Arua which is a “hub” for DR Congo and Sudan so a high priority. Prices have risen a little but part of that may be due to the hot season. Yes, it is hot and very dry so we need to keep drinking. But we seem to be managing if we don’t move too much in the afternoon. Mornings are OK though we have felt a little cold at times when the temperature drops to about 23°C! There is a breeze most days – but not of course as I write now in the afternoon and am starting to get sweaty again. I checked the e-mails last night and at 10.30pm our lights went out. We have been using a lot of power recently, partly to see how much we can use. Now we know. I disconnected the laptop and the light returned a few minutes later. I must remember to close the doors and windows next time so that the lights can’t get out!
We had though of going to town to bring the Cassel family out to Ushindi on Wednesday but as we will be going on Thurs and Sat we decided not to – then found it wasn’t convenient for them either. So we carried on working!
Thursday was games day. We played canasta with the Asiki’s followed by lunch then and new game to us called “Quickword”. Andrea enjoyed it but I struggled as you had to think of words in different categories in a given time limit. This was followed by shopping and a cup of tea with the Cassels before returning home. A long and hot day. I’m not sure if I’ve written this before, but Andrea is now driving a little. So far she has got as far as “the bridge” when I take over. This will at least share the driving and help in emergencies.
I worked in the Principals office on Friday morning until he arrived but spent most of the rest of the day doing lesson preparation. Apart from watching a Star Trek episode in the evening. Isn’t life exciting!
The main news from Saturday is that Ireland beat Italy (16-11) in the opening of the Rugby Six Nations Championship. It would probably be unkind to gloat over the other match (Wales 26 v England 19). I heard from Mum that it was a good match. We weren’t able to watch it of course but were at a wedding instead – our first time seeing the whole experience. Milka, a relative of Charles Asiki, married Wilbert. The service was due to start at 11am and we heard later that everyone was ready in plenty of time. Except the drivers of the cars to get them to the church who for some unknown reason were over an hour late! The service was only 2½ hours long and finished after the reception was scheduled to start! Cathy advised us that there would be a gap of about 90minutes between the service and the reception so we went for a drink and plate of chips. We were very grateful as we didn’t eat until after 5pm. We think we also missed the speeches but so did the bride and groom! The reception was noisy, exuberant and had a few quaint rituals e.g. the bride and groom feeding each other. The other most noticeable thing was that as the bride and groom moved anywhere they were accompanied by the 2 flower girls, six bridesmaids and three best men and walked very very slowly in time to the music. I have seen slow marching but it is fast compared with the speed they moved! It was good for taking photos but must have added around 30 minutes to the proceedings! Still, it was a valuable cultural experience and made easier because we knew some of those participating and some of the other guests.
posted by J & A McAdam at 9:27 AM
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