Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Day 63 – Wednesday 31st March 2010

Today we celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary, and we expect it to be a memorable one.

We arrive at our pick up point at 7:30am, before we head out to the village of Kilungu. It is about an hour’s drive outside of Tabora in the middle of nowhere. The team travelling today;

Me – Driver and who knows what else when we get there

Armorel – Baby Injection Nurse

Dr Ruth – Doctor

Mama Ndogo – Antenatal

Elizabeth – Pharmacy

Ezekiel – Lab

What a fun, but exhausting day.

Set in beautiful surroundings we come across these buildings, which will be our base for the day. I had now been informed that I would be receptionist for all patients. 90% who only speak their local dialect.

Armed with pen, paper, actions and a few key words off I set. I was doing well and only made a few mistakes, and only got completely confused once. IMG_3963

You would do to if someone aged about 20 said they were 112!

It was a quiet day for the Dr clinic so was soon recruited to the baby building. A small mud hut, where I was put to work weighing babies. We weighed 114.

What fun! Even when they screamed because a white man was holding them. I had a beautiful moment weighing a 27 day old baby and then holding her for 10 minutes while her mum was being spoken to. The local ladies found it hilarious, white man holding tiny black baby.

IMG_3959Armorel injected all of the babies and did an amazing job. A very proud husband here.

A real good days work!

Exhausted we headed out for a romantic dinner to celebrate our anniversary. We had 7 waiters just for us, because as you can see the place was empty. 

P1000536

A memorable day!

 

Day 62 – Tuesday 30th March 2010

Job number two – CV writer

Today I spent another long day in the garden, finishing off the landscaping and planting a range of plants. All stolen from the neighbourhood, no garden centres here.P1000530 

Here is me, my assistant Stanton and Dr Ruth sat on our new garden bench

I am also working with one of the nurses, who is applying to do a course, and am helping her write a CV and personal statement.

The wards are nearly finished, just the last few touches being completed. Armorel also trained the nurses up on how to make up P1000521the beds and hospital corners. It was so much fun to watch, and see them all having a great time. However, for watching I also got roped in and had to learn and practice my hospital corners. Armorel is a perfectionist!

We spent a lovely evening catching up with friends and eating some lovely food before an early night. We are off for a village clinic tomorrow.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Day 61 – Monday 29th March 2010

So Easter holidays begin with a nice lie in, and peaceful day?

I don’t think so. Up early and off to work with Armorel.

Job number one – Head GardenerP1000503

With the wards hopefully opening next Tuesday, they wanted a lovely patient garden to go with them. So off I set with two helpers (both with no English) a spade, a rake and a wheelbarrow.

It was a long hot day but so much fun! I did have a close encounter with a large black and yellow spider but he wasn’t armed with a spade so I was safe.

Certainly one of the best days so far!                      

P1000505 Armorel’s wards look amazing. I can’t believe how impressive they are. Opening day will be so exciting. Its brilliant to see all the nurses and clinic workers coming in to look and seeing their jaws drop. 

Priceless!

An evening of Chapati and beans and now an ER before bed. The next series is about to finish!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Day 60 – Sunday 28th March 2010

An early start as we are at church at 7:30am. Today we are being welcomed by the Cathedral.

The service was completely in Swahili and we must admit we were pretty lost most of the time. We did manage to get up to the front at the right time though and wowed the congregation with our Swahili welcome, though we also got some howls of laughter.

The service was only 3 hours!

We headed out for lunch at Hanneke’s house, a Dutch lady who has been in Tanzania for 20 years, and her two adopted sons. We had a great afternoon eating some Indonesian delights and playing games with the two boys.

039After a quick coffee we headed out into the wilds to the clinic shamba (farm). We had a fantastic afternoon of walking the farm,  well some of the 60 acres, and picking some okra and pepper.078

It is so beautiful out there and so remote. I loved it!

Armorel found the mud!

Congratulations go out to our good friends Jonny and Nai who got married yesterday and to the Southampton boys. I can’t believe I missed us winning a trophy! How many more years will it be!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Day 59 – Saturday 27th March 2010

The electrics are fixed!

So we are off for a Muslim wedding. One of the handymen, Mashaka, is getting married today so we, and most of the clinic staff are off to the wedding. Now the best way for us to explain the fun of the day is to take you through it step by step.

We are told to arrive at the clinic at 12:30pm as we are taking some passengers.

We arrive, when I am thrust the keys to a truck and get asked to follow one of the lab technicians. I leave Armorel and go.

Where am I going?

About 45 minutes later I am in the middle of nowhere about 20 miles outside of town parked on the side of the road, with this other guy.

Suddenly a mass of people appear over a bank. It’s the wedding party. It would appear I am giving them a lift. The only concern is there is well over 100 people and two cars.

Why did I worry? They weren’t all coming.

Only 27 piled into mine. 7 inside, 18 stood on the flatbed and 2 sat on the roof of the cab.

The journey onwards was fantastic fun. The whole group singing and cheering. Only issue was no one spoke Kiswahili yet alone English.

Conversation was quiet.

P1000460We then arrive at the village of the party. My passengers disembark and then so does my guide and the other car. I am sat by the side of the road in the middle of some African village. I have no idea what is going on!

40 minutes later and after making friends with Eve, Frank and Noel, three local children who were fascinated by the car and loved being allowed to sit in it, Armorel and the rest of the staff arrived.

So onto the party. We are greeted and sit and see a number of events unfold, all with the singing of a Muslim choir. They are wearing the all blue.

Food was served. Rice, which you have to eat slowly because of the stones still in it, chicken and then some sheep. P1000440Armorel received the liver, with tubes and pipes attached. I got something a bit lower down the anatomy! (Please note: we do not intend to offend anyone with our concern at eating this lovely food, but found it hard going. Armorel had much more of her liver than I ate, as I struggled with one bite)

After the food was the giving of gifts. In true Tanzanian style you have to dance your gift up to the front and present it to the lucky couple.

P1000471We were giving a mattress!

So up I, along with Armorel and others, danced this mattress up to the front. Hilarious!

A really fascinating and fun day!

Day 58 – Friday 26th March 2010

It is lovely to wake up 30 minutes later than normal, knowing you are in no rush, BUT it is not so nice knowing you can’t have a shower due to the dodgy electrics.

Armorel headed off to work and I stayed at home and worked away.

It is a bit chilly today.

I headed into town to do some odd jobs and managed the whole trip in just Swahili. I managed to buy what I wanted, no one shouted or threw things at me, and I came home smiling. Progress is being made.

No Friday meeting meant that I could head to Friday football. Or can I? The fundi (repair man) has just arrived. I was just leaving.

He has left and is coming back tomorrow.

A fun game of football with 20 headless chickens running around until the heavens opened. I had a very wet cycle home. Great fun though.

Film night was my choice and so we watched ‘The Manchurian Candidate’, Armorel kept herself from falling asleep with some sewing.

We have a Muslim wedding tomorrow. Very intrigued.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Day 57 – Thursday 25th March 2010

One way of waking yourself up is by receiving an electric shock from the taps in the bathroom.

Another way is receiving an electric shock from everything in the bathroom, and subsequently most things connected to a wall and anything with a whiff of electricity.

I think this is a problem.

Apart from that Thursday was another long day. Armorel is continuing to work tirelessly on the new wards which look stunning. You can’t tell you are in Tanzania when you go inside them. Today was the last day of school before the Easter break and I spent marking my end of term exams.

Who should we blame for the not so brilliant results?

Tonight we had dinner with Dr Ruth and Case and Cindy, a lovely evening of a chicken pie and some ice cream for pudding. Very nice indeed.

Off to bed tonight, knowing I am going to work from home tomorrow. It is a lovely feeling!

How do you wash your hands now though?

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Day 56 – Wednesday 24th March 2010

Four simple letters make up the small four lettered word which sums today up perfectly.

RAIN

We don’t know when it started but at some early morning hour and sunshine relief was only found in the throes of mid afternoon.

And boy did it rain! Non-stop torrential, washing the roads away type rain. People not making it to work and the whole town being deserted type rain.

It did bring with it some joys, as I headed into town in the 4x4, water coming over the wheels and my view suddenly disappearing from heavy mud laden spray. Now that was fun!

The weather brought with it a cold and subdued atmosphere for us both, which hasn’t been lifted tonight. As again there is no power. It did come on and then off again, on once more and off again and now we sit and wait to see what will happen next.

But there is plenty of battery for ER!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Day 55 – Tuesday 23rd March

Hospital cleaner day two.

One of the wards is nearly finished. We are so excited but please wait for pictures of the before and after.

The beds are in!

Home for a cup of tea with samosa’s in preparation for another night in the dark. This time a scheduled power cut.

Early?

Nothing in Africa is early, expect it would seem power cuts.

The kerosene stove finished off our dinner.

Armorel is having a meeting in the dark with Dr Ruth and I am typing fast to ensure enough battery for ER.

So it’s goodnight!

Day 54 – Monday 22nd March

You value electricity so much out here.

It was a long day at work, and a hard Monday. At school we are on exams week so it is a fairly easy time and an earlier finish time for me.

However, Armorel is in the last throws of finishing off the ward so I became a hospital cleaner when I finished school.

Shattering work!

Then home for a cup of tea BUT no power to have it.

The lights came on after we had succumbed to the bed.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Day 53 – Sunday 21st March 2010

A wonderful day and a glorious morning bike ride to church.

The congregation was up to about 16 today and all went well. No one walked out, no one booed and no one throw anything at me, which some might call failure but I am going for success.

We are living it up this weekend as we were out for lunch again. Margaret who lives down the road is also going back to the UK on Monday so we headed out for a goodbye lunch. I had some lovely fish and chips.

P1000400The afternoon Armorel spent working while I sneaked off to the bar with a doctor and watched the Manchester United vs Liverpool game. However, I have now spent the last hour helping Armorel with her work to make up for it.

We are in the middle of another huge thunderstorm and are hoping power will remain in time for a Sunday night ER.

For those of you who know me well, Abby has just appeared!

Day 52 – Saturday 20th March 2010

No alarm was set and we had a lie in, well until 8:15am, at least.

Armorel was heading in to work today do to some CPR training with the nurses. So after a morning of reading Armorel headed off about 11.P1000383

I stayed and worked on my talk as I am speaking at church tomorrow. I am feeling good about what I have prepared.

Armorel got home about 3pm and we headed into town to do our jobs. We had a list of 5 things. We did one! Not the most productive so it was home for tea and cake.

Armorel also had the last touches to the curtains to finish off.

We then headed out for dinner with a group of doctors who are leaving on Monday. A nice meal followed by the most bizarre entertainment. A band made up of sullen faced individuals who looked like they wanted to be anywhere but on stage. The music was loud and tuneless and provided us with plenty of giggles. Certainly an experience. P1000394

Friday, March 19, 2010

Day 51 – Friday 19th March 2010

The alarm was not joy to our ears this morning and escaping the hold of the sheets was a problematic event. However, we eventually managed to fight our way out and made our way to work.

A quiet day for us both. I spent several hours in a meeting being conducted in Swahili and then translated to English afterwards. I think I missed most of what was going on, as my version took a fraction of the time to explain.

Armorel was busy putting the final touches to the ward and putting together a emergency response kit, something that may have made the incident of yesterday less frantic.

And now it is movie night, and Armorel’s choice is romance.

To endure this pain we have whipped up some ‘Angel Delight’, thanks to my brother and sister in law. Thank you so much!

A taste of home!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Day 50 – Thursday 18th March 2010

We head to bed tonight with thoughts of sadness and frustration. A 3 day old baby was brought into the clinic today, he was very sick and sadly despite all the efforts of the staff the baby died.

It is so frustrating to know that if this was the UK, the baby would have survived.

It’s a stark realisation of the fragility of life here.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Day 49 – Wednesday 17th March 2010

All but the last 6 minutes of the second episode. Luckily for our sanity power came back on half way through the second episode and so we were able to see the drama unfold.

It was another stunning cycle to work this morning on a fresh, even somewhat chilly morning. Armorel was on curtain duty today, ensuring her ward is suitably dressed in finest second hand NHS curtains. The wards may be ready for patients by Monday!

Now that is exciting!

At school we played Verb, Noun and Adjective Alphabet Bingo. Yes it is something I made up. Basically you have to try and get a verb, noun and adjective for each letter of the alphabet. We had great fun! In particular we had fun with spelling words, especially when it contains an ‘e’, ‘i’ or ‘r’, none of which they can pronounce.

A couple of favourites from today were;

“Sir I have a verb for ‘I’, Enjoy”

“Q-u-e-l”, that’s not a word in English. “Yes it is, its queue”

And the same boy “m-w-a-w-a-k-a”, that’s not a word in English. “oh”

I promise you I am trying to teach them something.

We have power tonight. It feels very novel.

Day 48 – Tuesday 16th March 2010

Three things of significance today...

We met the man about the car, and we won’t be having it. 75,000 shillings a day! That’s £35 a day and more than our house costs. Very annoying!

Secondly, we are in the middle of an amazing storm. The lightening is constant, giving tremendous bright skies.

And last but no means least is that we have no power, and haven’t had any all day.

We are currently playing a game, how many episodes of ER can the laptop play using just its battery?

 

P1000354Oh, and because not much happened, have a look at our guest room! This is what you get if you come to stay!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Day 47 – Monday 15th March 2010

It is still dark! Its like being back in the UK, on those early mornings when you never see the sun. Though its never 30 degrees!

We are up early this morning as we are cycling in to work and have no idea how long it will take. Its sort of downhill most of the way!

It was a wonderful morning cycle, clear blue skies and a fresh breeze as we head out into the countryside. Beautiful!

Another busy day at work. The clinic was manic, with so many patients, so Armorel was certainly busy. Monday’s I teach for 2hrs40mins non-stop at the beginning of the day but them am off for the rest of it, but the morning is exhausting. Nothing else exciting to report.

And not much excitement from this afternoon. We had a storm which knocked out the power and we didn’t get it back till about 9pm. Very annoying as I was halfway through baking biscuits! (I won’t mention what happened when the power return, but a baking disaster story)

Luckily the power returned, as Armorel was about to lose it, cold dinner and no shower is not a good combination.

Tomorrow we are meeting a man about a car that might be available for us to borrow. Prayers for wisdom would be appreciated.

Is there time for another ER?

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Day 46 – Sunday 14th March 2010

We awake to beautiful sunshine, and another glorious day.

A very peaceful cycle to church woke us up significantly and Armorel was ready to speak words of wisdom. The only problem was we didn’t have a congregation, let alone a Vicar.

Time ticked on and slowly a trickle of people arrived, and although we were now very late we had to make sure everything was in order. Very amusing!

Armorel spoke wonderfully well, a real wise lady my wife is! The vicar so impressed she has been invited to speak at the Cathedral! Good girl! I am next, my talk is this coming Sunday!

We were heading out for lunch today to the school managers house. A lovely meal with him and his family and tour around his small holding of fruit, veg, chickens and pigs, one just about to give birth. A very relaxing afternoon with good company.

And then we were out for dinner! We were doing well. We headed down the road to Margaret’s house for pasta. Again a wonderful meal with great company. We spent most of the evening talking to Jay who is a 50 something Indian / Tanzanian / Brit who was brought up in Tabora. A really lovely man and great conversation, even when we were talking about tax and pensions!

Now it is bed! School tomorrow and we are going on bikes!

Day 45 – Saturday 13th March 2010

So I changed my mind and went for comedy. What a mistake, a terrible film, ‘Anger Management’, not a good end to the day.

We set no alarm this morning but we were still up by 8am. We had a number of things to do in town so headed off around 9:30am on our bikes. A really lovely ride, you get to see so much more that is going on. The only downside is the saddle sore backsides, worse when your saddle has no cushioning at all.

The afternoon was a lazy one for me. I did some Swahili and P1000366generally pottered about before my Saturday afternoon world service fix. Armorel on the other hand was very busy. She is speaking at Church tomorrow so was busy getting her talk ready. Not even a power cut stopped her.

The power cut did however stop dinner and so marmite on bread in front of ER was our evening entertainment.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Day 44 – Friday 12th March

It was a struggle to surface this morning in our lovely new bed, but with a perfect blue sky we were soon up and on our way.P1000353

I was excited / nervous / unsure as I arrived at work. There was a meeting planned to discuss my recommendations and proposals with all the staff, which I was sure would be a good challenge and debate. I left the meeting less than enthralled but we did make some process. You will all know how I don’t like baby steps when giant leaps are on the table. I am working hard to not feel too despondent and annoyed, this is certainly a challenge.

Armorel’s day was hot and long, seeing a range of patients and trying to work out their complaints. She was being tested on her comprehension of Swahili. The verdict was....as long as they speak slowly and get to the point it is a pass, if they waffle or go off course, it would be a fail. She then headed into town to do a range of home visits.

Not forgetting it was Friday it was now time to head over and play some football. We were on our bikes so cycled home and then onto HAPO day centre. It is really hard work on sandy roads, with a hot sun and no gears. What exercise though!

My day was not getting better.

The football wasn’t happening today!

It was a slow cycle home.

P1000358Pizza and movie night with sodas is now in order. It is my pick tonight, comedy, action or something else. 

I think I am up for some action! Good night!

Day 43 – Thursday 11th March

We have survived, and yes we have power too! This is so exciting.

AND a hot shower. Not to be indulged though, a strict time limit is set. Since arriving in Tabora, I have been practicing the art of quick shower to see how fast I can wash and shower successfully. I have been getting close to about a minute.

Today I did not rush, 2 minutes of warmth.

Off to work we went. I spent the day trying to teach students the difference between ‘at’ and ‘on’, and Armorel taught her nurses how to put on sterile gloves. Both seemed to go well, though I am not sure my teaching has sunk in, I hope for the patients sake Armorel’s has.

I also attempted to teach ‘left’ and ‘right’, but marking their books later I either need to improve my handwriting or pronunciation. Here are just a few examples;

“Turn light”

“On the reft side”

“ hose 3 rigft said” (meant to be there are three houses on the right hand side)

Armorel also had to look after two 1 month twins. They arrived at the clinic with malaria and one also had pneumonia. They were pretty sick, but by all accounts very cute. A lot of hard work and a few drugs later saw them leave with their mum on the road to recovery.

That is why we are here!

Tonight, we were off for lasagne and even some garlic bread at Dr Ruth’s house. It turned into quite a party with 9 of us enjoying a lovely feast, with a surprise meringue for pudding. The bar has been truly set for entertaining.

Following dinner a game of Jenga was played. Jenga is actually Swahili for ‘Build’, so a very apt name and game. After being dubbed the ‘master of Jenga’ after the first round, the pressure was on and I succumb, knocking the tower down with an early foolhardy move.

It was then home for an ER, series 5 is drawing to an end, and bed.

P1000362 Oh…and this is our new house!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Day 42 – Wednesday 10th March

The alarm goes off and I get up.

Armorel doesn’t.

She is not in work till 12pm!!!

I make that sound dramatic when actually she is having the morning with Kim and our home help to ensure that everything is in place and sorted. A very important job, especially when so much work needs to be done.

Today was a long hot day, and I was more than ready to escape at the end of the day. Luckily Armorel was not finished much after and we headed to our new home. Still so excited.

An evening of unpacking and sorting, while putting up a bed with our new ‘man’ John was had.

Our ‘Man’ is the best way to describe John who lives on site and basically looks after us, security, maintenance, everything. We are so blessed; he is an amazing man and has a wonderful family of four, his wife Joha, daughter Zawadi and son Baraka.

Tonight is our first night at home alone!

Day 41 – Tuesday 9th March 2010

We awake in our lovely new house to…

… no power, and so no morning cup of tea.

A quick reminder that we are still in Africa.

I suffered a hunger attack at work today unlike anything I have felt for at least a day or two, but was saved by running over to the clinic and stealing some biscuits. The highlight of my day.

Armorel on the other hand had a ready supply of biscuits on hand for a 6 hour meeting. I would have needed more than just biscuits.

Tonight we have just enjoyed the new house, and talking with Kim and Tim. They now go tomorrow. They got a text from the airline saying they can’t get a plane for Thursday so you have to go Wednesday instead.

A typical event and warning to anyone visiting. Who knows when or if you will escape!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Day 40 – Monday 8th March 2010

Moving day!

This morning we were feeling quite sentimental over this house as we ate our last breakfast of toast and honey. A quick estimation shows we have eaten about half a litre of honey since we arrived.

Is this normal?

We have never kept a close track of our honey consumption.

We headed off to work, all was normal, driving merrily along, when suddenly the road disappeared.

Luckily for us, ‘disappeared’ was in the sense that we could no longer see the road, and not that the earth had opened up, swallowed the road and left a huge chasm in its place.

The road had become a mass migration path for hundreds of blue and white dressed kids, all traipsing their way along. Having a vehicle with an audible people scattering device i.e. horn, worked wonders and we experienced a biblical style parting.

It would become apparent later in the day that the president was in town again, we must be a popular location or maybe he is stuck here, and they needed a full crowd to greet his speech. So, it would seem that half the schools in town had been conscripted to attend.

All this and we hadn’t even arrived at work. What fun and games would that bring us?

Well, not a single bit of fun for me. To maintain sanity I dreamt of Starbucks cheesecake.

Armorel’s day was much more productive. The ward is coming along fast and the builders are pretty much finished. Armorel’s “Monicaness” (Friends reference) and obsession with cleanliness is also keeping her and the other staff busy. She also had some fun with a tiny baby and nebuliser.

Then it was home time, and the joys of packing up. Luckily the hard work and packing on Sunday paid off and we were ready within an hour, and just a quick journey up the road and we are home.

We are both so excited to be here, and feel so blessed to be in this house. Photos are coming soon we promise. We are just trying to take ones that don’t make the house look too amazing, and you start to wonder about our cushy lives in Africa!

We go to bed tonight with, wait, no, nothing. Its quiet!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Day 39 – Sunday 7th March 2010

The church choir do have beautiful voices, and the when they sing the hairs on the back of your neck really do stand up.

Sadly at 6:45am on a Sunday morning their harmonies got a very different response.

We are moving! (not in response to the singing, well not fully)

Tim and Kim who are heading back to the States have asked us to house sit, and when we show you some pictures you will see how blessed we have been. It is a lovely house, very spacious and in a great location.

So we started packing this afternoon and are starting the move on Monday. They go at the end of the week, but we are going to stay from Monday night to get to know the quirks of the house, the guard dogs and the home help.

Packing is always a horrible task and although we haven’t been in this house long, we will be sad to say goodbye. I, in particular will miss my desk. We have become quite attached in these blog writing sessions, but I hope a close relation will be found in our new home.

It is a hot and sticky afternoon, and we have spent a good couple of hours on Swahili. It is getting hard to motivate yourself to do some language everyday but you really do need it, so we use tea and cake to convince and bribe ourselves to get down to work.IMG_3842

We also had to do some acting today. Armorel decided that we should have had a photo from last Sunday when we were filling our water tank with buckets, so I was forced out of my Sunday best and sent up to the roof, just for a much staged photo. I hope you feel suitably entertained and informed by our afternoon of photography.

Tonight it is still hot, and it is sticky too.

Even a bucket shower is appealing!

Day 38 – Saturday 6th March 2010

I lost in the final!

I thought dreams were meant to be better than that!

We both had the day off and had to take one of the clinic cars to the garage first thing. So we headed in to town knowing we would have the morning to kill. If only there was a Starbucks.

In fact time flew by. We wandered around the market and brought some kangas for Armorel and then sat eating samosas and drinking sodas watching the world go by. If any of you visit this will definitely on the list of things to do.

An afternoon of Swahili and listening to the world service followed and then we were heading out. Tim and Kim, the American couple leaving this week, wanted to take us out for a goodbye meal, so head to the Golden Eagle. We had a fun evening, with Armorel having a wonderful curry platter that was enough to feed the 5000.

We got home, had a lovely Skype chat with my folks and sister, and headed to bed for another ER.

Winning Wimbledon or being a Doctor? Tough choice!

Oh and as some of you have been complaining about not having enough pictures, here is my bus!

IMG_3839

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Day 37 – Friday 5th March 2010

How glad are we that it is Friday! We are exhausted!

Today was a hot day, pushing high 30’s!

My half Friday turned out to be a myth, again, as we had a meeting after school with parents. In Tanzania you have to offer these meetings if you want to change anything in the school, so parents can have their say. Interesting idea!

The meeting was scheduled for 2pm.

At 1:55pm we went for lunch.

At 2:30pm we returned from lunch and sat in the office.

At 3:15pm we went to have the meeting. Crazy!

The meeting started with 10 parents on the topic of food. By the time we moved onto the last agenda item, pass marks (why we needed to discuss this with parents I do not understand!) we had 45 parents and it was 4:45pm.

An interesting meeting, I think. My interpreter fell asleep at about 3:45pm!

By the time I got home Arms had been home a while and we crashed. I had missed football! One day I may get this half day on a Friday and play.

Movie night = the film ‘Wimbledon’ with sodas.

“Am I too old to win Wimbledon Armorel?”

“No dear”, as she signed and rolled over.

Day 36 – Thursday 4th March 2010

A chilly morning today saw us both leave the house with jumpers on, but the day soon warmed up.

Nothing too exciting happened at work. The builders are nearly finished in the ward, and Armorel has been put in charge of setting it all up. She is meeting a man about where to put the curtains tomorrow.

School was busy, just shy of two hours trying to explain the past tense, and why for regular verbs you add ‘e’ or ‘ed’, but sometimes ‘nt’ and how stopped gains an extra ‘P’. We are moving slowly.

Tonight is party night! How many wazungu (white people) in one room?

15!

Dr Ruth held a gathering to make sure all of us from different circles could meet. A lovely, hot, evening of pizza, quiche, rice, beans and a strange meat thing, shared with missionaries, doctors, students and tobacco company people.

A late night though, we didn’t get home till 10pm!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Day 35 – Wednesday 3rd March 2010

Power!

Just in time last night to have a warm dinner.

Today, Armorel set off early, as she was heading out to a remote village, Mwkashindi, for a mobile clinic.

It really was a tale of two days. I spent the day sat working in a cold wet office and Armorel went deep country, drove off-road and had an amazing, yet tiring time. I was and am very jealous!P1000348

Armorel’s main role was seeing babies and giving them injections and vaccines. I think they saw 149 in the day. The village is very remote. You drive out of Tabora for about an hour, then turn off the road and drive cross country for nearly another hour. When the heavens open, as they did, it becomes quite fun driving. There are rivers and all sorts to conquer. P1000316

They do this trip once a month, so I have already booked myself as driver and hanger on.

This evening we had Margaret and Emma ,who work for a charity supporting AIDS orphans, come for dinner. Our first bit of entertaining. It is an amazing project run by volunteers which just aim to support these orphans as best they can, and they have Friday afternoon football, so I am going to head down there if I can escape work on time.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Day 34 – Tuesday 2nd March 2010

And we wake to no power.

A busy day for us both today. Armorel was sorting out the clinic and managing office and space moves. They are working hard. Tuesday is a non-teaching day so I sat and wrote English schemes of work. Never have I had so much fun.

Another day of Mr bus driver and we returned home to power!

For five minutes only!

A lazy afternoon of reading and a gentle walk around the block, whilst praying we may have some power to cook dinner. We will see.

Day 33 – Monday 1st March 2010

I have never heard such loud thunder.

2:30am and the crack of thunder made me literally jump out of bed! And boy has it rained, and it still is. 5 hours non-stop. Getting to work will be fun.

I teach first thing on a Monday and the storm must have woken the kids early as they were silent, and greeted all my questions with a blank expressions. We were talking about an accident so soon woke up when I demonstrated a scream. One boy nearly fell off his chair.

We then played some quizzes running around the classroom. By the looks I got, I don’t think that is the ‘done’ thing in Tanzania.

Armorel had a busy day revitalising the triage room, spending hours cleaning and sorting the place, and what a transformation. She is definitely leaving her mark of cleanliness and efficiency.

Tonight, we were heading to Tim and Kim’s for a taste of America dinner, BUT, what I didn’t mention was that the power went off just before we went to bed last night and is still nowhere to be seen. We didn’t fancy sandwiches so headed out for some food. It was a lovely evening and we are both really sad this couple is leaving in a couple of weeks. We really hit it off and felt we could have some great times.

So we head to bed with no power.