Day 122 (Saturday 4th June)
Today was my birthday celebration day. By chance my post from home arrived today which was really exciting. I got three parcels from Mum & Dad, Jenna Upson, and my old flat mate Jenna. They contained food and memories from home, and I am so so thankful! I went swimming with the girls at the hotel we have been to before although the weather was quite cloudy. The girls still managed to get a bit red, and we had good fun.
We ate dinner out and then went to the girls to watch a film. We watched 50 first dates which is girly, but aesthetically pleasing for most guys!
Day 123 (Sunday 5th June)
The girls and I went to a different church today which we had been invited to by one of their guards. It was a special service, and I think the best way to describe it is interesting. It was the longest service I have been to, three hours. They had very worrying viewpoints on the roles of the different sides in the crisis here. There was a drama half way through about the crisis which was scarily realistic with gunshot sounds and people pretending to be dead etc. Some of the people in the congregation walked out, but we stayed although a little freaked out at how realistic it was. At the end they said “If you die in the crisis will you go to heaven or hell”. We were all a bit like “what was that all about”. It was really over the top. The sermon was then about singing, and they were saying if you don’t sing you’re not worshipping God. So the whole thing was a bit of a disaster which is why I’m not mentioning the church or denomination on here, all I will say is they really should no better.
So when I got home I watched a decent preach from Terry Virgo on Titus 4. I then spoke to Mum & Dad on Skype, followed by Jon Caws. Was great to hear from home.
Day 124 (Monday 6th June)
Today was a normal work day at Gyero. I held the teachers meeting today because tomorrow the girls and I are taking the Gidan Bege boys on an outing. It was positive and went well.
I worked from home in the afternoon, and had a chilled out evening. I chatted to Gaz which was nice.
Day 125 (Tuesday 7th June)
I drove to Gyero today in the infamous red mini bus I managed to borrow from Peter Fretheim to take the Gidan Bege boys on an outing later on. The bus is infamous because of features like the very cracked windscreen, lack of handbreak, and no need to put your foot on the clutch to change gear. I do think it’s better than the one I had before it blew up though! I used the opportunity to take a load of stuff for the school out there, and enjoyed the challenge of driving the now very rough (due to rainy season) dirt road to Gyero. After school I picked up Ali and Abi and we drove to Gidan Bege. We stopped for fuel on the way and couldn’t get the petrol cap back on so we had to leave it off. We pilled the 16 boys in as well as us, it was a big squeeze with them all on top of each other! It was amazing to see the excited look on their faces, they were so happy. They never get to leave the centre so it was a massive treat for them. On the to Rayfield Reservoir we were pulled over by the road safety police. None of us have been pulled over by them before. They asked for our paper work and we all prayed really quickly and before we had handed it to them they said it was fine and we could go. We were amazed because we had all the kids piled in, and they are infamous for not being nice at all when they pull you over.
At the reservoir we played games and football with the boys, and gave them minerals (fizzy drinks) and biscuits. They were perfectly well behaved which was a huge relief, I think because they appreciated it so much.
When I got home I was shattered because I hadn’t been home since leaving early in the morning and I got an early night.
Day 126 (Wednesday 8th June)
It’s strange to think I get home eight weeks today, the time is flying by! Today is my working from home day, and I spent most of it shopping for the school. Shopping here is not like at home, you don’t just go to Tesco and buy everything! You have to go to a different ‘shop’ for each thing, and they may or may not have what you want. Buying printer ink is a weekly joy, I go to the same lady each time and have a fixed price with her. She never has it though and has to send someone to try and find it from another place which takes ages. I tell her every week to get some and keep it for me, but it never happens! Another thing they wanted was Izal (which I think you used to be able to get in UK). Its a really potent disinfectant they use for the toilets. The box made me because it also has the following use “For personal protection always add a little Izal to your wash bowl. This is a good protection against infection after contact with crowds”. Do I really want to wash with something they claim is six times as strong as other disinfectants and used to clean the toilet?!
For dinner I made the Nigeria dish potato porridge and then got hungry again and made a chip butty! I’m hoping my cleaner comes soon because I knocked a plate off the arm of a chair and it smashed into a million pieces on the concrete floor. My excuse for leaving it there is that they don’t give us any form of brush to sweep it up with. Luckily it smashed under the table so I can avoid it, and haven’t managed to get any plate in my foot yet!
Day 127 (Thursday 9th June)
I was really bad and overslept for the 9am education committee meeting today, but felt less bad when I got a text saying only one person went and they live at Gidan Bege where it was held. They have rescheduled it for next week. I went to Gidan Bege and when I arrived they were having a meeting with a group of people on national service. It meant my meeting with the teachers was delayed, but I’m getting used to Africa time and felt a bit bad for not being at the earlier meeting. It went quite well, and we discussed options for taking the boys out again. I’m hoping we can take them all swimming which will be so much fun, but really stressful I’m guessing!
I went to the girls house for dinner, which was a bit delayed because Ricky had to break into their house. Angie had visited them with Noah (their 2 year old son) who bolted one door as Angie shut the other which latches locked. I’m glad my house is a lot harder to break in to with it’s metal door and four bolts! We had a nice evening, and enjoyed chilling together.
Day 128 (Friday 10th June)
I woke up to pouring rain this morning, and thinking there’s no way I can get to work (motorbikes won’t take you when it’s raining). Luckily Nicky was going and she text me asking if I wanted a lift so I was able to get there. I had a normal day at work, and then got a bike home because it had dried out a little bit.
I spent the evening with Lynsey and Lyndsay we got something to eat, and went to Barcardi for a quick Friday night drink.
No comments:
Post a Comment