Sunday, July 28, 2013

passing time in town

Friday morning a bunch of us left Sakeji headed south and eventually to various destinations. With good company to talk to and no problems along the way we arrived in Solwezi shortly after 2. Hannah and I were dropped off at the lodge where we were spending the night and the others continued on their way. After a long HOT walk into town to get some money from the bank, Hannah and I soaked our feet in the pool (it was too cold to swim) and enjoyed some time just hanging out together. Neither of us slept well that night, not because of the accommodations but rather from excitement I think. the next morning our we got a 5am wake up call (which we didn't ask for) and the taxi arrived to pick us up at 5:30am. I thought this was WAY too early as our flight wasn't till 7:20 and it was only a 15 min ride to the airport but such is life. When we got to the airport it was still locked up for the night. So we sat on the curb freezing! Finally the night guard came and brought us a bench to sit on. he also let us know that the airport didn't open until 7. despite the wait, the flight wasn't too bad, although a little chilly. we flew in a Cessna Grand Caravan, which as Hannah put it was like flying in a 15 passenger van. :) there were 12 seats for passengers and then 2 pilots. once we arrived in Lusaka we got a taxi to take us to check into the flight house and then we headed out to the Cultural Village where Hannah did some souvenir/gift shopping. We had the rest of the day to kill time as Hannah didn't have to be back at the airport until 8 pm for her evening flight home. We spent some time window shopping and enjoying lattes together. it was nice just to relax and not have a pressing schedule. back at the flight house we chatted with some elder missionaries until Hannah had to go. I went to bed early to try and catch up on some sleep. today I slept in a bit before heading to town. I did some craft/gift shopping at the market, had some lunch and then headed home to rest for the afternoon. I have 2 reports to get ready which is what i'm supposed to be doing right now. :) tomorrow morning I head to the airport to catch my flight to London. i'll spend the night there before heading on to Toronto on Tuesday. can't wait to get home!!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The end of another term draws near and the usual excitement and anticipation builds. Watching my students playing board games quietly together I realize how far they’ve come, not just academically but socially as well. They’re learning to work out their own differences without shouting and tears; sharing and playing fairly and encouraging each other. They still have a long way to go, but it’s such and encouragement to see that they’re actually growing. Although this is our shortest term, it always feels like the longest to me but I’m not sure why. I think it’s because the excitement of going to school has long worn off for the students and now it’s just “boring”. Usually by third term they’ve come to grips with the fact that this is school life and they start trying again. I probably also has to do with the fact that I am so excited about going home to Canada on the holiday. God has worked things out so well, as usual. I wasn’t sure how I would get down to Lusaka as the cost of a flight is usually out of my price range but then I found a cheaper flight with another airline. Of course they don’t fly to Sakeji so I had the issue of getting to Solwezi. Of course God worked that out too. The Towses are heading down to Lusaka (and incidently flying on the same flight as me to London) and are more than willing to give me a lift to Solwezi. They weren’t sure they could give me a ride all the way down but when they found out it was just to Solwezi they were more than accommodating. On the way back here there are 4 other girls flying in at the same time so we’re all catching the same flight to make it easier to get picked up in Solwezi again. Still not sure who it’s going to be picking us up, but I’m leaving that in God’s capable hands! One week today and I’ll be in Canada! Hope to see some of you there!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Not 'Mommy' Material...

On Friday night I decided that I not cut out to be a Mom! I think being an Aunt is more my style; love 'em, spoil 'em and send them home! What caused this realization? I only got 1.5 hrs of sleep on Friday night because I was babysitting a nearly 2 mth old. I have to admit, I just like sleep too much to give it up! I was fully prepared to get up in the night for the midnight/3 am feedings etc.; what I wasn't prepared for was not being able to fall asleep b/c the little boy makes so much noise! He is definitely a grunt and groaner and he cries out in his sleep. Half way through the night I put his cot in the next room, knowing that if he cried I'd still be able to hear him. However that only lasted about an hour because he decided to snort milk out his nose and then proceed to choke! Thankfully I wasn't asleep yet and heard him but after that I felt I couldn't put him in the other room just in case. Previous to that I had a great afternoon with him. It was kinda fun having a baby around to play with and talk to... as long as I can send them home before I go to bed! (I didn't have my camera with me so I didn't get any pictures, but I'll try and get some tomorrow to add to the blog.) Saturday I was sort of wandering around like a zombie. I warned my students that I was very tired and that it probably wouldn't take much to push me over the edge. For once they listened and didn't push. In the afternoon I had sports with the seniors. I decided that playing soccer might wake me up... it didn't. I have a huge scrape on my knee to prove that playing soccer when really tired is a bad idea. Apparently my brain was too tired to send the "keep moving" message to my knees! It must have looked really funny b/c one moment I was running with the ball and then next I was on the ground. Saturday night I was asleep by 9:30 (which is way early for me!)and slept right through till the alarm went off this morning for breakfast. Unfortunately I still managed to get sick! I should have known that the end of term cold was lurking around the corner waiting to pounce. :S Hope I can shake it before I head home!