long time

I suddenly realised how long it is since i wrote a blog. Last week I went to rolal so another visitor could have my room for a few days. She was a 15 year old girl who had raised a lot of money for educaid and she came with her father who is a supporter.

It is nice and quiet in Rolal but so dusty. Everywhere there is red dust and cars produce a huge cloud that make it hard to breathe.

It is not quiet here in Lumley. For the last two nights there has been all night music playing very loudly. It kept me awake the first night but I crashed out despite it the next. There is a dog in the next compound with a terrible cough, I hope dogs can't get TB, the place is full of posters saying you must go to the doctor if you have a cough for three weeks and that dog certainly has.

I have some horrible fungus infection like athletes foot but nastier. I am now taking some internal pills as well as the cream and sitting with my foot in dettol. Hopefully it will start to go soon.

The boxes of stuff that I sent are still not being released by the docks. Apparently there is suspicion that some of the stuff in the container is for trade and someone is trying to evade the import duty. Maybe Tuesday. Sean has a load of food in his boxes adn he can't wait to get at it.

Jon is coming out on the 23rd march and flying back with me. He is coming to help the IT department. It will be lovely to have him out here.

It is nice and cool out on the veranda now, there is even a breeze. I tend to have an hour's sleep in the early afternoon, its too hot to work. I am surrounded by hills and the black is darker than you ever see in england with all the street lights etc. The blackness is punctuated with lights from the houses with electricity or the occasional fire for cooking. Last night there was a big fire on the hill. The people do it to clear the land, maybe to build another house.

It is mid term break at the moment so no school until Tuesday but I am rewriting a chemistry module at the moment so plenty to do.

Will try not to leave it so long next time,

Pat

Sea, sand and sun

after working hard all last weekend training teachers, Ken, Sean and I decided to take a day off. Sean has a friend with a taxi who has taken us befo9re. Unfortunately the nice car he used to have was taken back by the lady he leased it from and noiw he has an old wreck. We were on our way to t he supermarket to stock up on wine for the trip when the clutch cable broke. Luckily w also had Sian with us who used to volunteer here and now lives and works nearby. she phoned her taxi persona and he came and piked us up. We did not g9o as far as river number 2,our ideal destination but went to Franco's which is a resort a bit closer. Sian and I had a swim and we all had the barracuda fillet and chips with plenty of wine. It was a really relaxing day.

Yesterday was really hot and airless. I went up to the primary school I support. It was very hot and sticky. Thern I took a boneshaking taxi into Lumley to collect my photocopying and do a bit of shopping and then taught a practical chemistry lesson to the exam class. Then I fell asleep.

It was very windy today which was refreshing. My fan has broken but we have had no electricity for over 24 hours anyway. They may be load shedding or there may be a break in the line. Who knows? we just wait until it comes back and use the generator in the evenings.

Today was a quieter day. I was cutting and sorting out lots of cards I made of high frequency words to send out to all the womens projects. On Monday it is sex education day so Ken and I are going to write the questions for the quiz afterwards.

In the last week I have treated people for malaria, patched up a boy who fell on the concrete and took great chunks out of his knee and hand and gave antibiotics for a tooth abscess.

One needs to be versatile but I sit outside my room and watch the sun rise most mornings over the hills and that makes it all worthwhile. and of course, the sun and the occasoal sea and sand helps a lot. Am going to fry some rice with an egg for my tea.

will write next week,
Pat

Busy. busy

We had science day for the younger students today to try and get them to do science later on. I did three one hour demos on the trot in the science lab. I am quite tired now but Ken, Sean and I are out in an hour to get chicken and chips. I am so looking forward to it.

I found a cockroach in my shower. I saw it out of the corner of my eye and somehow did not feel like a shower that morning. Sprayed it. There was the most enormous spider on my wall last night. I don't usually kill spiders but the thought of it walking on me in the night was too much. Sprayed it. Saw one of the little geckos in my bathroom. Didn't spray it.

We are doing training with all the science teachers in Educaid from tomorrow morning for 4 days so more hard work. I feel a trip to the beach coming on sometime.

The head of science lost his stepmother yesterday so he had to go the the funeral today. There is too much death around. We are going to have a big push on TB at the school, getting them to recognise the symptoms etc.

going to have my shower, ready to go out.
will write again soon,

Pat

I'm back

I shan't say anything about it being hot, I don't want to rub it in. they actually think it is the cold season, but I suppose by comparison it is a few degrees cooler than usual in the mornings. The Harmattan is blowing and it brings fine dust from the Sahara so it is hazy a lot of the time and everything gets covered in a fine layer. To me it is a warm gentle breeze.

Ken came out with me. He is a retired biology teacher who worked with Miriam. He is out for a month but hopefully we will persuade him he would love to come again. It is nice to have someone to chat to and he has been to interesting places like India nd the Galapogos islands.
when we finally got back to school it was 12.30 and there was no electricity so we had to unpack by candlelight. The mains voltage yesterday evening was so bad we had to turn the generator on. The lights were too dim for anyone to work. Still, at least Freetown has electricity, no-one else much in this country does.

Time to start getting ready for the day, hope there is some water by now.

Pat

I got a nice surprise when I arrived in my room, Miriam had got a wardrobe built with shelves and a hanging rail. It makes me feel much more at home than living out of bags.

We have run out of water in the flat at thie moment. The kids have to fill the downstairs tank from the tap with buckets and then it has to be pumped to the upstairs tank. The pump was turned on this morning but snce there is still no water, someone has gone to check the downstairs tank. Hope there is water for a shower. I have had my coffee so that bit of the morning in OK.