arts and crafts

So this week’s idea from colleen as to what I could be doing is arts and crafts for all the classes. I still haven’t quite gotten my reading schedule down in the classes…I know that 3rd and 1st grade have set times but K and 2nd are still eluding me…but now she wants crafts for all the classes…that is reception (3 year olds) to third grade…so Monday I was in the 3rd grade room as that is when their art period is. We did fingerprint designs—trying to be creative with the creatures made and to write a story to go with the picture…I tried to do an example sheet that had a tree (fingerprint leaves), a lady bug, a man (when asked the kids said it was a groundnut—much better for my story) and elephant…so my groundnut man went walking through a forest where he met some friends (ladybug, fish and elephant) simple…the kids loved it…we had hyenas, dogs, butterflies…

auditions

Last Monday we held auditions for our Christmas play…when the kids are all under 8 years old and there are no speaking parts I would never have imagined having auditions but there we were with papers in our hands to rate the various “actors.” The problem was that the 3rd graders of course would do the best the first time around…they know the story and they understand more of our English directions of where to walk and what movements to portray. But I think we got it figured out and have a selection of children to play the different parts (Mary, Joseph, innkeeper, registrar, angel, king, wise men, star holder, angel choir (all the rest of the girls) and shepherds (all the rest of the boys). Rehearsals have been going on all week and will continue through the month. We did have to change out our Joseph as he didn’t want to walk with our Mary but that comes with using children in our performances Our performance will be on November 25th in the church…I hope we’ll be ready (and I do think we will be)…

sunday school

Some weeks ago I went to church (I have been since then but this is for the story). Isabelle was here and we had sat down for the service. We listened to the different choirs and at the end of that time there was an announcement for the children to leave for Sunday school. Then we bowed our heads for prayer. I put my head down and before I knew it Willeke was right next to me…and she said would you mind doing Sunday school. I’ve done it once before (I did have more warning) and was given coloring sheets and the story (Abraham sacrificing Isaac—not easy for Sunday school). Well, ok. We went out and were pointed to the top of the church under the trees where there were about 15 kids waiting for us. And that was it…no story or supplies or anything…now I’m pretty confident in my bible knowledge and being able to tell stories and keep kids busy but with no notice and no planning my mind was completely blank. Luckily the ter haar girls were there and they helped me lots. Singing songs while I rack my brains for something to do for the next hour (or so…)
I decided on the good Samaritan and who is my neighbor. Most of the kids are Malawian and many of them don’t speak much English at all…so I told the story with as many motions and movements as I could. And then we acted it out…with robbers, and a priest, levite, Samaritan, innkeeper…it looked like they were enjoying the story and understanding though really I have no idea. Then we sang more songs and played duck, duck, goose. I think it was pretty successful but I’m going to have to come up with some more ideas as I think I might get sprung upon again…

electric mower

For a country that often has power cuts and water shortages and now fuel shortages I was quite surprised when Jamie Veitch from next door (for the time I’m house sitting) came by with an electric mower to cut the grass at Ute’s house (on the other side of me). Jamie is 14 and very interested in everything horticultural and agricultural…he’s got a plot in the garden, has his own chickens and helps around with all sorts of the outdoor things. Ute was out of town and due back last Saturday when Jamie came by. He asked if she was home…not yet. Oh well can I plug this in here. Um ok. He ran extension cords all the way next door. Found out one of them didn’t work and had to switch them out. Then he disappeared for a while. Came back later and asked again if she were there. Not yet. Does it not work? No it does work. What are you waiting for? Permission…so I gave him permission to cut my neighbor’s yard…he gave me a skeptical look but I told him I would take all the blame. So he got started. And it was very nice…of course he’d waited so long that he didn’t get to finish before it got dark but he made a great start and Ute was very happy when she got home. I mean who wouldn’t be if someone else cut your lawn?
Found out later that he had sent ute a text asking if he could do it…she didn’t know the number but responded that if it was Jamie it would be ok…but then along with everything else the texts are usually still coming through but at great delay…I’ve gotten ones that were sent at 2 pm but they came through after I was asleep—so around 11…luckily I don’t usually have much trouble falling asleep again…

clinic

We’ve had lots of new epilepsy patients—not surprising as word gets out that the medication is free (paid for by Africa Burn Relief). This entails making sure that people are really having seizures and not just coming for free stuff. Most of the time it really is (or they answer the questions correctly in describing the seizures). There are only 3 medications here for epilepsy and I think that mostly they have been eclipsed in the first world by other drugs to control (or try) seizures. We’ve been having different people see the clinic patients as Dr. Morton has been out of the country. This always takes a bit longer because the doctor isn’t familiar with the patients—not that Dr Morton knows them all but still…last week we had a new patient and while trying to get some background information the translator tells us that the woman is confused. Oh, well that’s not good. So the dr asks some basic questions to find out how confused…what day is it? Where are you? What is this (holding a pen, point to a chair) the woman was able to answer (Tuesday, hospital in nkhoma, pen, chair) then he pointed to the computer on the desk and asked what it was…well, the woman looked and looked, turned her head for a different angle—she just didn’t know what it was…comes from living in the village without electricity… goes to show you how much we take for granted…she was trying…she’d just never seen a computer before. Well, turns out she wasn’t confused per say—she just wasn’t answering the translators questions…

mouse

When I got home from the lake I was actually locked out of the house… (logistics on Friday when I left were a bit confusing) not a problem other than Ute who had just moved out but still had a key left on Sunday for a week of eye surgery at the northern part of the lake and Natasha who moved in over the weekend was at work and I didn’t have her number yet…but as we drove up Estelle was coming out of the hospital and I got the number I needed…got the key and the information that there was a mouse in the bottom of the cupboard…shut with a chair so it wouldn’t get out. Ok. Send Miriam on her way to Lilongwe…had forgotten about the mouse until I went into the kitchen and saw the chair against the cupboard door. Hmm…so I peeked—first one side, nothing…then the other and it was sitting there staring at me. We had a little staring contest and he was kind of cute…but then I didn’t want him in my food cupboard…didn’t really know what to do so I called james—no answer. Tried reinette—same thing. Then Wilfred our gardener arrived. I told him about the mouse and he came up to help me. We took out the stuff on the floor piece by piece and checked it all for the mouse and then found him in the bag of ground nuts (peanuts)…then Wilfred took care of it…it was a dead mouse when it left and I hope it was the only one…

end of october!

It’s been a good week. I spent the weekend at the lake with some other americans. Miriam I met on the plane on the way here. She works for USAID in lilongwe. She had organized a cottage that sleeps 6 and said she had an extra place if I was interested—I am always interested in going to lake…the others worked with her or with the embassy and they came for varying amounts of time. Miriam and I were there from Friday to Monday…and it still didn’t feel long enough (it never does). She had brought her 3 puppies…mutts from the SPCA here (retriever and maybe ridgeback mix). Sweet dogs but I don’t think they had ever been out of lilongwe…goats and monkeys got lots of barks and the pig just got stared at…they were excited and confused by the lake and the beach but by the end I think they were loving it.
It is getting so hot here. We are moving into summer and at night the winds seem to stop and it is just hot. Not easy for sleeping but not impossible (yet). During the days I often get the feeling I’m melting. But I haven’t actually done that yet. When I got back from the lake I moved into the Jones’ family house as they are gone for a month to visit family in india. Rob is the pharmacist at the hospital. He and Ritu have 3 little girls—2 of whom attend ebenezer. (it is funny/scary to hear them—they go from a proper english accent to malawian english very quickly and easily…they learn things at school and when they come home to share they often do it in the malawian way they learned and then mom says where did my english girls go? And they can then do it in english…) Of course there was a power cut Monday night so I explored the house in the dark and got all settled in…excited for the view in the morning…
Tuesday was epilepsy clinic and it was too hot. And there were a lot of patients…I onlyhad 10 on the list that were scheduled to come…of course there were about 8 more who came because they were either running low on medication or had run out because they were supposed to have come a previous week. And then we had no one to see the patients…and then we found someone who could see them but we had lost our translator…and while I admit to being able to understand some of the answers…I can not translate in any sense of the word or work. But we did finally make it through…I will have to find out what they are going to do with the information I’m recording and keeping…because if it is not going anywhere or going to be helpful—I think I could spend my time much better elsewhere.
Wednesday I was back at school and it was announced (I was consulted beforehand) that I would be moving out of the classroom—we don’t really know if Magrate will ever take full responsibility for her class if I’m still there—and into more of an administrative job. I will be helping with reading in all of the classes (K-3) and other adminy stuff…money taking for school fees, and I don’t really know what else. Ken and Colleen have to go back in December to South africa for Ken to have back surgery so they won’t be back for 3 months and in that time I am to move into acting principal I think. We’ll see how this shapes up.
Helping with the reading is fun…different levels and different ways that the teachers do it…some in groups and some individually…recognizing words (sight words that are just memorized) and sounding out phonically. Of course I also have to work out with teachers when they are doing their reading…as it all seems to happen in each of the classes within the same hour…and try as I might I’ve found it hard to be everywhere at once.
Power cuts have gotten more frequent—almost everyday and at varying times in the day…sometimes from 530am to sometime in the afternoon, or off at 2pm to 6pm, or 530pm to 8 or 9…not usually the same back to back but it is keeping us on our toes. The fuel crisis is getting to be very bad. Both petrol and diesel are very hard to find at the stations…and when they do have the lines are enormous with vehicles and with jerry cans…and there is no order to who gets first or how that all works…Ken was in line for about 10 hours one day and he got to the pump and they put the sign up that they had run out. Times like this I’m ok with not having a car…