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:

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!

Sick, encouraged, and very busy!

I had every intention of updating last week, but what with having a lot to do to get ready for the week and having a cold I was trying to get over, it just didn’t happen. I’ve been super busy these last two weeks trying to get everything in motion again, trying new things in my classroom, trying to get curriculum and projects solidified for the person coming after me, and trying to get better. At the end of last week the cold blossomed into a full blown sinus infection, which if you’ve never had one, really takes it out of you. Thankfully I was off this weekend, so I holed up in my house drinking fluids, resting, and irrigating my sinuses, ‘cause I ain’t got time for that. It seems that my strategies are working, as I feel much better today. In fact, I cycled over to the farm to take my turn picking up the fresh milk, and I managed to make it up the big hill on the way back without stopping!

Last Friday we had a tea as the whole school—workers, staff, and students, to celebrate and thank our workers. We also wanted to honor the retirement of a long-time kitchen worker. Lots of the kids formed long lines going around and shaking all the worker’s hands, and the oldest kids helped serve.

For the first two weeks of school we had a couple visiting who were a huge blessing; Josh took a week of special assemblies and spoke on Sunday evenings, and Keri who has training in special education and support needs was able to give lots of practical suggestions and advice and gave us some tools to help our students in areas where we are weak. She spend time in our classrooms, took kids out individually, and was a huge encouragement. There are still many things that need work, but I feel more equipped to finish this year now.

One thing I’m working on with my kids, is having a growth mindset. The first week of school they each colored 2 pieces of this poster, and then a couple of them helped me with the final assembly. They did a great job, and it was a handy object lessons for accomplishing big things.

On that note, I’m doing the Do Hard Things conferences/book with the seniors for Sunday school, and am praying that it resonates in their hearts. The first session went well, and I’ll be doing the next one in a few weeks. One hard thing that I’m working on in my classroom right now, is trying to replace a negative habit of calling others out and laughing at them with more positive things. It’s going to take a while to unlearn something they have been doing for years, but I want my classroom to be a safe learning space, where my students learn to respect and value all kinds of people. It’s not all the three R’s in the classroom…

Parting shot: I've seen more flat spiders in my house this term than I have in a long time. I rather like them as long as they stay on the wall and flat. It's when they're on the floor (and almost impossible to see) or rising up to scuttle faster that they creep me out a bit!

Close encounters of the snake kind, a new term, and 24 hour power again!

Well, the students are back, and term 2, 2018 has started! I was missing 6 students on Saturday, so we just talked about a few new things I’m going to be trying, did the “Span the greatest distance” activity, and started work on a big poster project. I am going to be trying to do quite to teach my students about and encourage having a growth mindset this term; I can’t wait to see the finished project! Today, Monday, was our first full day of school, and things went pretty well. I'm super excited about several of the topics we are learning about this term, and hope the kids will be too!

This afternoon while I was coming back from my bike ride on the airstrip, I turned the corner of a road on the edge of station and found a large cobra crossing the road just beside me. It looked pretty surprised to see a person on a bicycle coming through, and I was pretty surprised that that stick that looked rather snakelike was actually a snake. I decided the best course of action was to keep going, and I assume the snake carried on with his day after I passed. It sure got my heart rate up though! I'm so thankful that the snake wasn't aggressive, and I didn't have to find out if I can cycle faster than a cobra!

A huge praise around here is that the hydro station that has been offline for repairs for the last 3 ½ weeks is finally back up and running again! Having power 24 a day is a pretty big deal… It means that the kitchen can operate normally, teachers can photocopy at any time, and laundry can run when it needs to. It's amazing what a difference having constant power makes!

Last Quiet Before the Start of Term 2

There is really very little to report about last week, but I’m okay with that! There has been no sign of the mouse returning, so I’m hoping he either decided to find a less painful food source, or he died of his wounds. The weather has been lovely; breezy and with a hint of coolness even under the heat of the afternoon that says dry season is well and truly started! My propane tank at long last ran out, so I had to scrap a batch of bagels and there was a weird loaf of bread (popping yeast doughs into the fridge will only get you so much wiggle room). I took a load of yarn to the craft container and took care of the watchman for a few days while the cook was away. I also learned how to change a bicycle tire and inner tube as my back tire was not only punctured, but the tire itself was finished.

On Wednesday I tagged along with Ruthie, Anna, and Jill to help with an activity at a local orphanage. Coloring and activity books are something we take for granted, but explaining how to do mazes to kids who don’t have a lot of English is an interesting challenge!

Something that has made life rather interesting has been that our hydro power station is still waiting for a part to repair the flood damage sustained the day we originally tried to leave for town. So, that has meant having to run our big and small generators for 240 power—fridges, most appliances—in the mornings and evenings. Thankfully there is always 110 for lights and electronics, as that comes from a solar charged battery array. Prayers that the part will come in and make it up country soon would be appreciated—this could make term quite interesting!

Parting shot: On Sunday I spent some time enjoying the river sans students and saw some beautiful dragonflies. The kids arrive back on Friday, so the process of battening down the hatches is beginning!

Most creatures great and small can stay out of my kitchen, thank you very much!

For most of the last two months, I’ve been fighting a bushy tail mouse in first my pantry, and then rampant through most of my other cupboards. The cheeky thing is the size of a chipmunk, and it has happily pooped and nibbled its way through way too much of my kitchen. I have had to keep my silverware, utensils, and kitchen linens in the dining room for the last month, and I have tried various do it yourself poisons and traps. The only thing with the traps was the mouse is big enough to get the goodies without setting the trap off, and I wasn’t sure that the traps were big enough to kill it. Well, it came to a horrifying climax on Friday of last week.

I set the traps as usual, and shortly after going to bed I heard a SNAP. Only, it sounded like a something was in it snap. So, I got up and investigated. To my horror, when I opened my pantry door, there was the mouse very much alive with the trap on its face, on the eye level shelf where I had often seen it. I quickly found a pan to put over the mouse so I could think. Now what? I couldn’t just leave it there with a trap on its face all night! So, I decided I would take the pan off the mouse, sweep it in, and then take it outside and …deal with it. So, I grabbed something to scoop the mouse into the pan, lifted it-

and the mouse free of the trap bailed off the shelf, hit the floor at my feet, and whisked out of sight at the back of the pantry.

Great. I looked at the trap and saw a good bit of blood spatter on it; not too surprising, but also not great. I now have a maimed mouse, that I can only hope will go outside and die of its wounds and trouble me no more. Yes, it has been tormenting me for weeks, but nothing deserves to suffer and have such a messy end as that!

After the mouse trauma, I was looking forward to a quiet Saturday. Oh no—a snake, I suspect harmless, got into my house and I had to deal with that. My cat engaging it in the hallway alerted me to its presence, and with the creative use of a bucket and the blunt force of a broom I ended that snake’s home invasion career. No more critters for a while, please!

Parting shot: A beautiful sunny afternoon of the type which is becoming more common now that dry season is finally on the way! And, isn't my avocado tree looking good?

A flood, plans change, much is accomplished, and a grueling drive

Well, I guess Zambia wanted to make sure that I would never forget my last shopping trip! Where I live upcountry there has been a lot of rain over the last month, and particularly the first week of holiday. So, it was with some trepidation that I planned a trip to Kitwe for shopping, dentist, visiting, being off station, and bringing three other people who needed a ride up. We were supposed to leave on Tuesday, but I woke up around 4am on Tuesday morning and lay awake listening to two hours of steady, heavy rain. It had been raining when I went to bed, and I was getting pretty concerned about the state the roads would be in. Remember, I live 67k down a dirt/clay/sand/undrained and poorly maintained road from where the pavement stops. So, when I loaded the car in the rain and picked up Ruthie and Anna, I wasn’t too optimistic about our chances of getting out. Sure enough, the ‘road’ was a river pretty much all the way to the main road, and I took one look at the lake on the plain and knew we wouldn’t make it. So, we turned around, made a hot breakfast, and spent a lazy day waiting to see what the weather did. We found out, that over 4 inches of rain had fallen on our already saturated ground. This is what the river just below the school looked like when we came back; I've never seen it so high!

Wednesday morning it was clear, and it hadn’t rained in the night, so we went for it. It took a about 12 hours, but we made it safely to Kitwe and to the Fernandos. Ruthie got a picture of what a good section of the road looked like:

We were welcomed with a delicious meal, cleaned up, and fell into bed. It’s almost as tiring to be a passenger on these roads as it is to drive them! During the next two days I got my dentist appoint, we did a lot of shopping, enjoyed eating out, delicious Sri Lankan food, and visiting with Fernandos. The night before we left we sang by candlelight as I did my best to play by ear on their old piano. I’m so thankful that the Lord has brought such wonderful people into my life!

Saturday morning we loaded up the car, said goodbye, and headed to Chingola to pick up the three Ronald ladies.

Once there we left a few things to come up on a truck, did a masterful job of packing everything and 6 people into the Patrol, and headed out.

However, the trip up country was rather eventful. First, we got stopped at a police checkpoint minutes down the road and were informed/realized that our car’s fitness (inspection) was out of date. Oopps… The lady had heard of our school and let us go—much to our relief! Then, once we left Solwezi, we started to hear what we thought was the back right mud flap scraping on the potholes, but quickly realized was actually the tire. And it was starting to shred a little. So, we pulled over, shifted as many heavy items onto the left side of the car as we could, and I resumed driving favoring the right side as much as possible. This significantly slowed our progress down, and it was full dark by the time we finally hit Mwinilunga where the pavement ends. I got out, locked my hubcaps, and began the worst part of the drive in the dark.

The last 67 kilometers took just under three hours and was one of the most stressful driving experiences of my life. As there are not lights by the road and very few villages would have much electricity, I was driving with just my headlights. I had a very heavy car, and it was already 8pm. Soon, the road got wet, and then it started raining, which lowered my visibility to about two feet or so. And then the mud got bad. So bad that the truck was stuck at least two times, but was able with the aid of low four wheel drive to get us out. Once we hit the last plain before Sakeji, we found more huge puddles, so Pam and Anna got out and walked some of the worst ones so I could see where the best place to drive through was. In all, it took us just under 3 hours to drive that last stretch, and I was absolutely exhausted from the mental and by then physical strain of driving. We got the car unloaded in the misting rain, and then I took a blessedly hot shower and fell into bed.

I am so thankful for the change to get supplies, that the car made it back up with only minor damage to the tire, and that I didn't get us terribly stuck in the mud. All the crazy road trips I've taken before, and especially in that vehicle, were preparation for the greatest driving feat of my life. I can't say that I'm sorry I won't have another chance for such an exciting road trip, but boy have I made some memories... I'm enjoying some quiet as I recover and keep working on things in my house!