TIA

Seven days have flown past and I’m mostly pleased with our progress so far. I had hoped that we would be moving into our new classrooms tomorrow but it looks like we’ll have to wait at least another day. A classic TIA, (This Is Africa), situation. For those of you who are puzzled by TIA it’s an acronym from the Leonardo DiCaprio film Blood Diamond. It’s a great movie if you haven’t seen it. TIA means that you can’t expect things to happen in Africa the same way they do in the West. This has its ups and downs – most noticeably in relation to meeting deadlines and attention to detail. Having waited this long to finish off our school building project I guess another couple of days isn’t the end of the world.

Tomorrow we will be sending our first students off to High School. The boys, (Tony, Kevin, Victor, Ben and Nicholas), are suitably excited and apprehensive. Attending High School means that they will have to be boarders at their new school.  We have managed to buy all of the things that they need to take with them to their new ‘home’. I’m sure the pink melamine cups will be fine! Fortunately, (for us at least), the school is not very far away, in Oyugis, our closest town, so we will be able to support them in their studies by visiting at parents days and being on hand to sort out any difficulties they may have. Many High School students travel a great distance to attend decent High Schools and don't see their parents or guardians very often. The school our lads will be attending, (Agoro Sare High School), has a good reputation and we are as confident as we can be that they will do well there.

I’m hoping that the coming week will be equally encouraging for our Agriculture College students. To foster a sense of collegiate identity we asked the students to design the college uniform and they have come up with a great proposal – practical, smart and green, (in colour). We’ll need to get the local tailor in to measure them up. Assuming the school building handover happens this week we will be able to make their classroom a more suitable base for them. In anticipation of future success as goat breeders we will also, probably, take them on a field trip to one of the local livestock markets.

As we all settle into our new routines I have noticed a worrying personal trend developing – getting into a ritual! So far this is limited to setting out the soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, bottle of water, nail brush and towel in the same place every night in the shower, (always using the same shower cubicle). Our showers are attached to the side of the house that my room is in. They have a wooden frame and are covered by a thin sheet of metal. They don't have a roof so you get an amazing view of the sky at night while you are taking your shower. The shower ritual is, to be honest, a fairly minor obsession and is entirely practical. If you arrange the soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, bottle of water and nail brush any other way they just fall off the wooden beam supporting them and you have to spend five minutes scrabbling around trying to pick them up off the floor. I don’t see myself slipping into the “Who moved my cheese?” mindset any time soon but you have to be sensitive to the early warning signs.