Jaws!

Friday 28th January

Can’t quite believe that it’s nearly 6 months since I left the UK! Time has absolutely flown, and I’ve just had great fun going through some of my past blogs (yes, you’ve guessed…not sleeping and up in the early hours – why change the habit of a lifetime?) Particularly chuckling at some of those awful experiences in the Seychelles, and reliving the bus crash! Amazing what you actually forget over time, and feeling rather pleased that I’ve kept a blog to keep this old brain alive with memories…. And of course to share them with all of you!

Time seems to be going really quickly at the moment. I am still very busy with the grammar programme, which is really, really going well. The volunteers are doing a great job and it will have enormous benefits to the kids over time. And I’m learning so much too! It’s fair to say, I’ve become a bit of an ‘English’ expert, well I’m definitely ahead of the kids, and slightly ahead of most of the volunteers, and am enjoying doing quite a bit of team teaching, demo lessons and thoroughly loving teaching standard 6.

We had a real ‘moment’ this week….. I have a clear difference between them in terms of ability to write and understand English, so whilst one half did a free composition, I went right back to basics with the other half. And it was just wonderful – we had a simple picture of a classroom with some kids in to work from, and each told me a sentence, which I wrote on the board exactly as they had said it. So we had sentences like “Picture is at the wall,” “Four childrens in class,” “Ruler, book is in table” etc. Together we then corrected the sentences, and then in table groups they worked to get the corrected sentences into some kind of logical order which they then copied into their books and then read out loud to the others. They were so pleased with themselves to have written a piece of writing that made sense and their confidence now to read and write in class is growing daily – I can’t tell you how proud I am of them! I’m planning to this once a week now with them, and I know in a very short time, that they will soon be constructing basic sentences themselves and will be able to write their own short composition.

Communal living continues to have its challenges, although I have to say the group at the apartment at the moment are fantastic. We’d decided though (with two of them ill) that the prescribed (not very good) cleaning rota could be improved, and sat as a group to devise our own one. Everyone very happy with it, all doing their bit, apartment a lot, lot cleaner, all signing up when a chore was completed. Aagh, but we hadn’t told staff what we were doing… so, said duty rota got taken down, all of us ‘spoken to’ individually, and now we’re back to square one! Mmmm….. how many months left have I got?

Weekends pass mainly underwater, either diving or in the swimming pool completing my skills for becoming a divemaster. Mind you, got attacked whilst diving last Sunday by a couple of Titan trigger fish. They can generally be quite aggressive, but we think that they were probably protecting their eggs, but these two kept coming at me, and circling me…very menacing. Think I’ve seen a film many years ago like this. What I didn’t know at the time is that they have an upward ‘cone’ which is their territory which they will defend ferociously. My natural reaction to their attack was to swim up – wrong! Needed to swim down and away out of their ‘cone’. My buddy then saw what was happening and indicated for me to swim down, but too late…one came at me and bit my leg (they feed off coral so have jaws and teeth that are very strong), Boy it hurt – just as well had full wet suit on as if hadn’t there would be a chunk of flesh missing….maybe wouldn’t have minded if it was one of the cellulite bits, but oh no, let’s go straight for the muscle! Massive, massive bruise, teeth marks and very sore…but no, didn’t cry, was very brave…. and carried on with dive.

Also had my first windsurfing lesson last Sunday – almost as funny as tap dancing! I had my instructor in absolute fits of laughter, and spent most my time in the water rather than on the board! But thoroughly enjoyed (and exhausted) myself and will hopefully go back for more this weekend.

Planning to do a 'Zumba' dance class after tap this Monday - watched it last week and it looks great fun.....so, going to have a go!!  I know, very bizarre that I'm doing all these new things here in Mombasa, but.... why not?!