Community! Hell yeah!!!

We spent this week on the island working in Mkwiro Primary School along with a fairly large group of project volunteers (PVs). PVs are volunteers who come for 2-6 weeks to do one activity either Marine or Community. We’re EMs (Expedition Members), the Expedition being the first 10 week programme of Marine, Forest and Community, which is the first half of the total programme we are here for. I can’t quite believe we’ve only 2 weeks left of the Expedition already, 8 weeks seems to have flown by at times. 2 weeks left of the Expedition then we have 2 weeks off, kind of anyway. Kate’s folks are joining us for that first week which we’re both really looking forward to. It’s like a bit of home being brought to us and for me, still being unfamiliar to this being abroad for longer than a holiday business, it’s nice to have some experienced hands coming to join us for a week.



The second week will be a fair amount of lesson planning for the second 10 week expedition when we’re based in Shimoni, on the mainland, teaching at the Base Academy. There’s also been talk of a 4 day intensive kiSwahili language course for GVI staff (which will include us by then) which I’m really torn about. On the one hand I’m really keen to learn as much as possible whilst I’m here. On the other hand that precious week being filled up with full on days would be a bit of a shame when it’d be an ideal time to get out and see a bit more of this amazing country. Especially as once we are staff members for the second 10 weeks, we’ll be a lot busier. The staff here work really hard, often only getting one weekend off a month, sometimes going 4-5 weeks without a weekend off. I know from what I’ve written before we have some cruisy times but this isn’t a land of tropical tans in Paradise. We haven’t come on an extended beach holiday. In fact, there is no beach on the Island, just hard sharp coral stone all the way round. It’s hot like a holiday, but that means we are working in the heat, cooking in the heat, trying to sleep in the heat along with 6 other people in each room in bunk beds and, if you’re so inclined, trying to exercise in the heat as well. As I write this in my journal it’s 9.30 on a Saturday morning. I’ve been up since 6.45 but awake since 5 because of heat and sun-up and this is the rainy season so it’s cooler than normal.



That’s the plus side of the rainy season, the heat abates a bit particularly at night and the Island is lovely and green compared to the dry season. There are a few down sides. The mossies treble in numbers and intensity. And they’re pleasant compared to their neighbours the sandflies. Seriously, every sentence is interrupted at least twice as I try and swat the damn things away from me. Sandflies are the tiniest little bugs as well, smaller than a pinhead. You can’t feel them land, you can’t feel them bite, but about 2-3 days after they’ve bitten you come up in the itchiest red bumps I’ve ever encountered. I’ve seen a few people so covered in these they can’t sleep for days and are reduced to tears. The only antidote is to stay covered in Deet and keep your fingers crossed. Some people reckon it works, some people don’t. It’s not very pleasant showering in buckets of salt water and the minute you’re dry covering yourself in such noxious chemicals but it beats being covered in bites. So there, for those of you that sit at your desks reading this on a Monday morning and cursing my name with your imaginations full of pictures of Paradise, think again. ‘Paradise’ on this island is the name of a mangy cat who steals our lunch if she gets half a chance. And from what I hear about the weather back home, we can’t even gloat about the sunshine. BAH! But anyway, enough of this rant, I’ve vented my spleen, I’ve expunged my negative thoughts and re-established my equanimity [deep breath in…deep breath out…aaaaahh…AARRGGHH! SWAT SWAT SWISH…DAMN…THOSE…SANDFLIES!]



So anyway, back to this last week in Mkwiro School, it’s been a very cruisy week. Up at 7, start lessons at 8.15 or, if no lessons first thing then some lesson planning. No more than 2 lessons per day always in the morning then lunch from 12:30-3. 3-5 either painting the local nursery classrooms, here’s Kate in Science Corner or, maybe a games lesson with the kids [hey I didn’t say I wasn’t going to gloat at all in this entry] …Games lessons, brilliant, I get a whistle and a ball and 30 kids on a patch of dirt to entertain for an hour. The boys all want to play football and the girls all want to play dodgeball and whoever doesn’t get there way, or loses a game, or even a point puts on a display of histrionics that’d make a premiership footballer weep with admiration. Remembering my own school days of PE and now being the man with the whistle rather than the kid being whistled at has been hilarious. Powertrip I hear you say? Certainly not!...ahem



But histrionics aside the kids are generally pretty good. Like any school I guess, some are great, some are good, some are a bit sulky and a few are downright bloody infuriating. Too cool for school, but it made me mutter one or two silent apologies to teachers I may have (errrr) ‘aggravated’ during my years at school.



The lesson format is 5 of us troop into a classroom and stand in a line at the front. The lesson leader, “Good Morning Class”,with a deafening response of “GOOD MORNING SIR, HOW ARE YOU?”, “Fine thank you class please sit down”, “THANK YOU SIR WE WILL THANK YOU!”. The lesson leader then assigns the other 4 tutors to a group of about half a dozen kids. The next hour and a quarter alternates between the lesson leader giving instruction at the blackboard and the tutors helping the kids at their assignments. I say ‘helping’ but it’s more a combination of cajoling, coercing and then threatening them with the loss of a precious team star if they don’t shut up and get the hell on with it. The team with most stars at the end of the lesson get a sticker for each team member. Never underestimate the power of stickers, for these kids they’re a matter of fierce competition and intense pride and gloating rights for the team that gets them at the end of the lesson.



Since starting to write this a few days have passed and we’re now back on Marine, our last week of dolphin spotting. Day 1 we spotted 4 pods of dolphins varying from 6-12 in each group. 2 of the pods were really shy and kept going down on deep dives, which makes them really hard to follow. 1 group was really playful, following the bow-wave of the boat and playing around right in front of us, with one particular juvenile coming out of the water for closer look at us [PICTURE]. The final group stayed curiously close together…until we realised they were (ahem) otherwise engaged. Well baby dolphins have to come from somewhere I suppose!



As part of our survey day we all do a 500m snorkel along various reef edges looking for turtles. Monday Kate saw one, a Green Turtle, identifiable by the number of pre-frontal scutes (but then of course you knew that didn’t you), a real thrill for her. The first one either one of us had seen in the water like that since we’d been here and she was buzzing for the rest of the day. I wasn’t jealous at all! But the next day, although it was our first day out that we didn’t see any dolphins, I had an amazing spot of a Hawksbill Turtle which once it caught sight of this ugly creature bobbing about on the surface of the water above it, shot off at a pace that defies belief from what looks like such a cumbersome creature.



Aside from spending days surveying for exciting animals we are constantly surrounded by all manner of fauna. Lizards, snakes, bugs, birds all manner of wildlife. This pic, for those lacking in lizard-listing skills, is a chameleon we spotted just climbing along the boundary fence of our base. Putting on an awesome display of a multi-coloured masking skills, although I think trying to blend into Kate’s shirt in the background was a bit beyond even this amazing creatures abilities!



To be honest, yes it’s marvellous to be surrounded by so many exotic creatures (apart from the snakes and spiders), but it’s having the time to look at them that makes the difference and learning to appreciate that they are everywhere. So if you get a chance this week try and spend 5 minutes to stop and look for an interesting wee creepy crawly or some such creature around you, they are all over the place. The prize of a sticker goes to the person with the best tag to this post with a comment about their top sighting of the week.



Ps We really really do appreciate the wee tags and comments people post although we may not get time to reply to them all. So thanks and keep them up.