Monday, June 25, 2018

Very dry, but not very cold this 'winter'

Sorry I didn't update last week. Not a lot had happened, and I was super busy, and it turns out starting to come down with the plague that has not stopped sweeping the school since the beginning of term. Here are a few pictures and highlights to convince you that I'm not totally boring!

* I now am teaching spelling to my students two times a week as the usual spelling teacher is on furlough. This means I have two less preparation periods a week, and makes Tuesday a little wilder, but it's only for three more weeks. Last week grade 2 had a pretty good lesson in music class; we're working on treble clef notation. I've been surprised by how different people do with that.

* I killed a bushy-tailed mouse in my kitchen; it was pretty dramatic. There was broom smacking, no support from my cat, and some fast footwork around the kitchen. That weekend I scrubbed out the mess it had made of my cupboards, and so far all seems to be well. What a hassle!

* We finished up astronomy in science, and started on ancient Egypt in history class. Playing with hieroglyphs is a lot of fun!

* Our biggest chota is due for a rethatching; you can see the supplies piled up inside, and the difference in color of the grass on the inside from the outer layer. I love watching the men work on thatching; it's such a practical and cheap way to cover a roof out here.

* It has been a very mild dry season; there has really only been one cold week so far. We even had a sprinkling of rain last week after a few overcast days! I haven't pulled out my heater, because there hasn't been a need for it.

There are just three more weeks before I head home for my sister's wedding! There is a lot to do before then, but I'm looking forward to the time with family, and the break. Yes, helping with a wedding sounds like a nice, relaxing change of pace!

Parting shot: Though things are really starting to dry out, there are a few lovely flowers still blooming:

Monday, June 11, 2018

Copper Belt Tour 2018

Sorry I didn't write last week; if you were following my Facebook updates then you'll know I was helping chaperone the annual Copper Belt Tour for deserving 7-9th grade students, where they go down to Amano Christian School to play sport against Copper Belt Schools, as well as enjoy some treats and experiences along the way. We left on Thursday and came back on Monday, and I had all I could do to get myself turned around for Tuesday, which is one of my very busiest days. So, here are some of the highlights of our trip.

Thursday--The "Green Machine," the R's Land Cruiser breaks down just as we reach Solwezi. Pam, the 7 girls and I go ahead, while a rescue is launched for Phil and the 6 boys. After grabbing some supper Pam headed back to pick up the boys while Phil and his brother continue to tow the Green Machine in. The boys were feed late at night, and got to bed just as Phil made it to Chingola. All very tired, but thankful for being safely in!

Friday--Slow morning, but a busy afternoon with 6 games in a row for both our boys and girls teams. There were 4 games--2 volleyball and 2 basketball going on at all times, I went back and forth between our two teams taking video, encouraging, and picking up water bottles.

In the evening, we went over to have a sing and fire night with some other missionaries--what a treat!

Saturday--Another slow morning with swimming and some volleyball on the grass at Phil's sister's place. Then on to an afternoon of field hockey. I had never seen it played before; an interesting game! I can see why you'd need mouth guards though...

Sunday--I took very few pictures because I was too busy enjoying an English church service, the music both at church and at the orphanage that evening, visiting with some Amano staff memebers, and watching the kids play ultimate Frisbee. Sometimes memories and people are more important than pictures!

Monday--We had back to Sakeji; the Green Machine was still being worked on, so Phil's brother drove the boys up close to Mwinilunga, where we were met by Gwen in another car. Until Solwezi things were pretty quiet--

But once they had spent the rest of their K30 allowance on junk food, the ride back got pretty interesting...and loud. We arrived back to find the Nchila gate locked, so the sugar-high kids started walking back while we waited for the key. Then it was getting the kids fed with REAL food, staggering home and preparing for the week.

Last week was pretty rough; I was tired and waaaaay behind after being away and not marking for 5 days, and the students did not come back from half-term well. Here's hoping that this week, midterm week will be better, and that I'll get caught up enough to actually enjoy my first weekend off in three weeks!