10 more sleeps......

Tuesday 22nd March

Time is just flying by! Now into our second round of English tests for the kids…. It has taken me ages to write all the test papers, but I am really pleased with them all as this time they will be truly tailored to the different levels of the kids in each standard. Hopefully now we will not get kids with zero marks as they will be sitting papers that should allow them to answer the questions so we can properly level them.

The improvements and progress at Precious is astonishing. We have had our first ‘crop’ from the greenhouse, most of which went to market to be sold to generate income for the school, but the best bit was what we kept and fed to the kids – they were so delighted to see they had ‘sukuma’ for lunch (shredded spinach) which is above and beyond the normal repertoire of food. The vegetables grow so fast it will not be long before more is able to be sold…. This will prove to be a real turning point for the school as the ultimate aim has to be that the school can stand on its own two feet and generate enough income to cover all expenditure.

I’ve found a flat for me and although technically didn’t need anything until mid-June when I finish the project, it is vacant and I pick up the keys on 1st April (no, no joke!). So excited… it’s a two bedroomed apartment, lounge and kitchen, sparsely furnished (but sufficient), in a secure block… with a pool! So just 10 more sleeps in an overcrowded room, with 3 sets of bunks, a snorer, a talker, a couple now (who want to sleep in the same bed as they always hold hands at night….yugh….. where’s the bucket?) and Bekks (she’s just normal!)

Came home after a weekend away diving in Diani [south coast] (more about that in a minute) to a filthy flat… nothing had been done over the weekend so spend time cleaning away everyone’s mess, swept, mopped, wiped, tidied etc….. I will not miss this side of the project whatsoever! Group dynamics changed yet again with new arrivals in (cosy couple)… I am so worn out with all of this.

So diving this weekend….. what can I say other than it was amazing in many senses of the word. The diving was probably some of the best I’ve done out here – did a wreck dive that was so completely engulfed in marine life, and three other dives that were brilliant. But hilarious moment on the walk out to the boat, listening to a South African talking to a Brit…normal questions… SA: Where are you from? Brit: Torquay. SA: Oh really, a SA friend of mine moved to Torquay years ago. A chap by the name of ….[can’t remember name, but now I’m thinking what a stupid thing to say….how many thousands of people are there in Torquay and you think that this random guy diving here in Kenya is going to know your mate. At this point I’m thinking well I know someone in Torquay (that’s were Michelle lives who was here last year) but I’m not going to be stupid enough to ask whether he knows her] . Small discussion ensues where Brit endulges SA man but unsurprisingly, no, he didn’t know his mate. Mmmmm… this is really going to be fun trip. Anyway, chatting away in time inbetween dives, and inevitably end up talking about being out here volunteering and generally bubbling about Precious, and Brit says that he has a friend back home who came out here for a year and sounds like did much the same volunteer work as I was doing. Oh really? I reply, only for him to go on and say her name is Michelle! Yes, same Michelle! Well I roared, and then told the pair of them what I’d thought of their conversation earlier… ha, ha….. small, small world! Yes, I had to buy the beers afterwards!!

Tap is still such a bundle of laughs, half an hour of trying to get my feet move quickly enough, left foot still remedial compared to right, sweating profusely, sports bra paying dividends, trying not to feel too much of a prat when have to do arms as well as feet (sure I should have done Irish Dancing instead), and trying not to be too envious of the teacher’s pet, who is (I reluctantly have to say) brilliant at tap…. Well she did do it as a child.

And, best of all, have just been ‘recruited’ to accompany on the piano one of the local choirs in Mombasa. Oh, forgot to tell you I went to a classical concert here… Classics in the Quarry. Absolutely brilliant… cost 1000 ksh (about £8) for three hours of quality opera singing [and food] by the local owner of great Italian restaurant, and a female singer from Nairobi, plus brilliant performances by a guy called Phillippe on the saxophone. Well, Phillippe runs the choir, shortage of pianists here apparently, and someone told someone who told Phillippe that I played piano, and bingo…. I start next Monday…..after tap……30 mins to stop sweating, get myself to where they rehearse. Another funny twist and turn to my new life here in Mombasa. Priority now is get my clavinova piano shipped out here, (plus stool and music) so that I don’t keep having to ‘borrow’ Cherry’s to practise on…..not that playing on a baby grand piano overlooking the Indian Ocean is any kind of chore for me!