Pistols at dawn....

Tuesday 4th January 2011

Just said goodbye to Jono at the airport. We have had the most amazing 11 days together and the time inevitably has flown. We have been on safari but we were so, so lucky with the game drives and saw all of the big five, up close and personal! The photos have been posted on facebook but will try to sort a link out somehow to link them to this blog at some point.

We’ve spent the second part of his time here diving, and again been really lucky with the visibility and spots – sharks and turtles in abundance. Funny how I reverted into ‘mummy’ mode though – with Jono as my buddy, keep checking that he is alright, checking his air….wouldn’t normally do that with anyone else, but he’s my boy! What will I be like when he goes on active service I wonder?

School starts again on Monday 10th  so will be finishing off the grammar programme in the next few days and enjoying these last few days on my own in the apartment. As well as doing my tap dancing and sailing this year, I have also decided to do my divemaster and possibly my instructor qualifications for diving. A year of learning many new things – back outside of my comfort zone….hardwork but fun hopefully…. Well the tap dancing definitely will be fun…..not sure you’ll ever see a video of that though!

Monday 10th January
4.30am…. listening to the ‘call to prayer’ from all the mosques that surround us here…it is a wonderful sound to wake up to (now, did I say that back at the very beginning…mmm…don’t think I did). The apartment is now well and truly full again, but everyone seems lovely. Living here now are 3 girls (from Aus, China and Canada) and one guy from UK who’s 60 who's come out here one year after his wife died who he’d cared for for many years. He’s out here for a whole year, and seems a really nice guy. There’s many more volunteers at the house but haven’t really got to know them yet.


….Oh blimey, he’s an early bird too…bang goes my bit of space in the morning! Thankfully though he’s not one of those people that feels you have to chat all the time…he’d better not take my seat on the balcony though that I always watch the sunrise from otherwise they’ll be pistols at dawn!

These last few days have been quite busy really (well busy by Mombasa standards, not by past life standards). I have completed 3 exams for the divemaster qualification (and passed them all, 90%, 95% and 100%) which is a good start however these are the ‘easy’ ones. I am not looking forward to the physics, physiology or dive theory papers! I have also assisted in some of the courses at the dive centre, although need to be a little less willing I think, as spent about 3 hours in the pool being a ‘victim’ in the rescue course…didn’t bother to put wetsuit on, but oh, bad decision…the first time I have had goosebumps in Mombasa..I was so, so cold by the end of it, they nearly needed to practise their treatment of hypothermia.

Off shopping again this morning to the bookshop to get the last lot of books needed for the volunteers and classes for teaching which starts tomorrow now ..can't wait to get back into school and see the kids again. I have been given standard 6 and am only teaching English, and for the rest of the time will be supporting the other volunteers in their teaching of English to make sure that the grammar programme becomes fully embedded and hopefully we can really accelerate the children’s progress. Off to watch the sunrise (will it work if I put a towel down on the chair do you think to bag my seat?!)

First tap dancing lesson tonight…..bet I won’t be able to move in the morning (will that be my legs from dancing or sides from laughing I wonder?)