Wednesdays

There are 9 classes in our year group. That is not a typo,9. There are more children in this one year group than in the entire school that I taught in in Kenya.

The staff in the year group are all pretty different,but we have one thing in common,we pretty much hate Wednesdays.

From when the bell goes at 7.26am (I actually just found out our official starting time by looking in a pupil's planner...that pretty much says it all about the place I work in)we are with our class until 2.45pm,with 35 minutes for Arabic. We have snack duty,so eat with our class and then we all, let's be honest, (pupils and teachers) pretty much are sick of the sight of each other by the end of the day.

It is always a day that the tell-tales are vocal and most annoying.
"Ahmed said I was a giraffe boy"(or insert any other word, even if it doesn't make sense).
Me-(In my head-What the hell is that..!?)
"Well,are you? No."(or some other useless words of wisdom.It is Wednesday after all!)

Any child-"Faisal said the 's' word!"
Me-"Faisal,what exactly did you say?"
Child-"I told Kareem to shut up"
(In my head..oh fuck..I hate Wednesdays.)

Today,of all days, I was baking biscuits with my class (not for fun,there are maths and topic links there...). Such light relief it was, the 5 minutes of quiet time at the end, eating the biscuits, made it all worth while!


Wednesdays end with ICT. 26 laptops in one classroom with 7 year olds. Imagine the fun!  Usually we play the game of who can go the longest without asking me a question. Ahmed always loses.

As the gates open and the parents flood in to collect their little people,there is one Year 2 teacher sitting on a bench while the other eight are high fiving each other,  thankful that at least we don't have Mr.Sean's class!!

Tomorrow is Thursday. The last day of our working week. Hooray!

The popular, Kenyan, Ringtone

I am not one of those teachers that spend their evenings with friends talking about the pupils in my class or the things they get up to. (I have to admit that I did this in my first year of teaching-but how can you not when a TV is thrown out of a classroom window by an 8 year old!).
Anyhow, sometimes we just have to share.

At assembly this week I could not stop smiling. They showed a music video of a song that a pupil  ('Sammy Vee') had a hand of producing.  He and his friends from class are in the video, (and if you knew these children, you would know they are just so special-friendly, enthusiastic, hardworking...) and it was just great to see what these amazing children have been getting up to on their weekend! Ringtone, the Kenyan artist that the song was produced with, is a popular urban gospel singer here, who apparently has a big future.

Hope you like the video!

I really like the song-it got some playtime on a UK radio station recently. Hope you like it!

School camp

Two tent evacuations in the biggest storm this season. But the rain didn't dampen our camp spirit.

I am now going to put a face mask on, drink a Lemsip and watch some Mad Men. That should get rid of my streaming cold! Who doesn't love spending the weekend with 50 8-year-olds?

Namaste

It's hard to blog when you spend all your time working. It's great to take a break from the routine at school, a little visit to 'India' for the day was just what was needed.

I'm on holiday next week-horrraaay! You will hear more from me then. 

Om shanti.

Notes from Nairobi

This might be hard to believe-but this week I feel my life has been too boring to blog about.

The 'w' thing is the 'w' thing no matter where you are. OK, there are differences here and there- but you get used to them so quickly that it becomes your norm: I made clay cartouches in the dark the other day-we had just cut and rolled the clay and the thought of packing it up was too much to bare, just because of a power-cut...so the class didn't blink and eye and I am very impressed with their in-the-dark-clay skills!!

The drive to and from work is now part of my routine- it is a bit of a drive, I have to admit, but I enjoy listening to the radio whilst dodging (!) those that are walking or cycling to and from their 'w' thing on the valleys.

I've hardly gone out this week-I had too many mojitos celebrating a friend's birthday (I forgot it was his birthday and not mine!) at the start of the week-that I have laid low for a couple of days.

And well that's it really- I'm sure my duties strolling around the field in the warm sun will also becoming boring after a while...but not yet! Do you hate me?

Well don't-due to our little inspection, I will probably be doing the 'w' thing all weekend.

Surfing in Nairobi

I've lost track how long I have been here - it's not long but it is October.

I'm lost under weekly plans and observation guidelines; our inspection is nearing and everyone at the 'w' place feels a bit sick. I could work all hours of every day at the moment. My bags and boxes aren't unpacked, but it will happen at some point.

This morning I made time for me and a muddy trail run in the forest near my cottage; spotting a dikdik and vervet monkeys on the way. I've also been testing out my new wheels...yep..I am now 'surfing' in Nairobi!

Community Development Project

Oh, I have been so excited about completing and sharing this project! 

The Community Development Club at school, that my friend Erika and I lead have been linking up with a local school for the deaf. We have been learning sign language (don't test me though!) and we had a big 'Survivor' event to raise money for the school.

The children in the club decided that the dining hall needed a renovation.

Over the past month broken window panes were replaced, curtains were made along with curtain rails, new plastic bowls and cutlery purchased for the lunches and tables were made to measure. The chalkboard was even given a face-lift!

The best part (and the most time consuming!) was painting the mural. The pupils decided on the design and an arty teacher friend, Esther, drew all the outlines and directed us (read led) with the painting.

It has been a long process but a lot of fun. We had to recruit other teacher friends to help with all the hard to reach bits!!!

Our favourite wee man!

We sang, gossiped, wobbled on ladders and tables (!), 'nearly died' (well-that was Esther!),danced, took photos, ate far too many Pringles and painted...and painted...and painted!

"I can't see! I can't see!"

"Ahhh. That's better!"

 All the hours were worth it! The 'grand opening' of the hall was today-with the usual Ugandan pomp and ceremony. The pupils (at both schools) were amazed at what we had ALL achieved! So were we!

After a long morning painting...think the fumes went to our heads!
Erika, Esther and I

Well done team! x

School days

There seems to be no more special events at school to get us through the final push of the term. Last week we had Inter-house Athletics, our Fun Run and a day off. A five day teaching week now seems unusually long at the 'w' place.

We cheered on our houses and then slipped and slid through the school grounds during our Fun Run.

 But now the fun is all over at school, time for assessments and reporting. Sighhhhh.

Acholi Quarters

Today my teaching partner and I took 39 eight year old students around a slum, the Acholi Quarters, in Kampala, as part of our Community Development Project. The school has an ongoing link with this community of displaced people from the North of Uganda, but it was my first visit to the area. The community is made up of over 10, 000 poor and vulnerable people (virtually every mother has a child with malaria)  .The community was friendly and welcoming and we got shown around the little maze of mud huts, latrines, animal pens and rubbish tips.

We went with the aim of making observations and sketches of their very basic community playground, making notes of unsafe materials (mmm...all of it!) so that we could design and build a new playground after raising funds for it. My teaching partner and I hardly took any photos, which is a shame, but with so many children and so many twists and turns and alleys, we didn't really get a chance.

For many pupils, if not all, it was the first time they had been so up-close and personal with these types of living conditions. Many were quite happy to be able to hide behind a clipboard and be very busy and important, rather than try to interact with other children we met, but I was still SO impressed with them. Visiting the area could be understandably intimidating for anybody, at any age.

The pupils helped each other jump over sewers and avoid muddy puddles and showed respect to the living conditions of the community. I heard no 'eeeuurrrrhhh's' or 'yuuuucck's', even when they noticed what was on the slide (!) and only one pupil got a bit upset when he got a bit of mud on his leg! (I think everyone will have extra long showers this evening!) Our pupils quietly observed, watched their step and then got excited about what the new playground, that they will create, will look like.

We all may live in Kampala, but the community we visited today is a million miles away from our lives. Every now and again, we need reminders of  how lucky we are.

Sa-far-ri so good.

It has been such a busy term so far at school but an enjoyable one. I have managed to get on my yoga mat twice weekly and am wobbling less (when I stand with both feet on the mat..!!!) and have found a new running buddy; one that speaks to me continuously as we run and doesn't mind if I just huff and puff my replies! And of course-Jane and Sven have returned to their home in Uganda...need I say more!

Saying all this I have found time to plan my next two holidays; surly a  teacher's prerogative! My October and December safaris are now all planned and booked. This was harder than  first imagined; trying to select my favourite places to stay  as well as trying to show my visitors some animals...although I am sure my mum would be quite happy if all she spotted (with binoculars) was a giraffe....in the distance(sorry mum!!).Not that I want to wish my life away or anything, but... I am super excited!

I shouldn't get ahead of myself though, before my safari adventures I have; a girlie pampering session with my dear returnee friend, the Goat races, the Entebbe Tri-atalon (do I sound enthusiastic!!!??), report writing and a camping trip with 40 eight year olds....oh the joys!

The count-down to the holidays has begun!


Bush dining- can't wait to do this in October!



Ready, Set, Enjoy!

A couple of weeks ago we were told at school that we had to work at the annual Fun Day!
Now, any event with the word 'fun' in it leaves me a bit dubious. Yes, between the hours of 12-7pm, I was supposed to have 'fun'. Set times for fun never seems to work; it's like an over-planned night out that never gets started!

Never the less, I had heard the stories of the previous year's event and it did sound fun! It basically is, yet another excuse, for the owner of the school to hold an event in the impressive school grounds and spend huge amounts of money on the teachers and parents at the school, reminding them (us) why they either work their or send their beloved children to the school. He does this by feeding them very well and by getting them all rather tipsy on free booze!

So, when we were told that we would have to 'work'  you can imagine that a few eyebrows were raised in the staffroom. As the event approached were were asked to sign-up for activities; we then realised that an 'adults only' team game would count as 'work'.

I spent Saturday in a 6 legged race, spinning around a pole (copius amounts of beer was also consumed), getting an egg repeatedly thrown at me...until it cracked...and then taking part in relay races in the pool.

And you know what...the clue was in the title...it was a Fun Day!
I have a great job!