There’s something different about
the week after Christmas. I guess some of it is Christmas excitement gently
subsiding whilst other bits are from the clashing of holiday mentality with
going back to work for a whole 3 days before relaxing again. The festive
feelings were helped by several treats in the delightful form of Christmas
pudding, Christmas cake and delayed Christmas presents. In some ways, the fact
that the presents were delayed so much has pleasantly stretched out the
Christmas season (like when you can’t be bothered to take the Christmas
decorations) but I don’t feel too inclined to write to thank those responsible.
Yes late Christmas presents! |
In fact, the evening made it even
better as we finally started on the rather large Christmas pudding we’d been
given. However, as might be expected, nothing’s quite as simple here.
Unfortunately, the Dr doesn’t have a microwave so I’d travelled to the village
and back with the pudding before stopping off at BJH (which also doesn’t have a
microwave). It took a brief tour of mzungu houses in Senior Quarters before I
found the right combination of someone being in and having a microwave (thanks
Manna) before I set the wheel of the microwave in motion and then drove back
across town in record time where the Dr had been coordinating her heating of
the brandy sauce. It worked beautifully.
I actually managed to get some
work done on Wednesday and Thursday, but more exiting by far was realising that
there were lots of job I was no longer needed to do or that required my
participation only in the form of sitting passively behind the administrator in
question in an supportive way (something I like to think I’ve always been good
at). This has happened several times recently, and I find it really encouraging
and also releasing.
Yes Ginger! |
As much fun as the various games
and banter were the first night, the most notable thing was my meal. We’d gone
to the posh restaurant that’s a 30 seconds walk from where we were staying and
I’d dodged the expensive meals and gone for Kiddy Ribs, holding out hope that
it was one of those places that cooking so much it didn’t really do kid meals.
I was not disappointed; all I’ll say is that if a kid can eat that many ribs he
deserves to have a medal placed round is incredibly fat neck. Unfortunately,
when everyone joined in for an attempted repeat the following night it seemed
someone with greater experience of children had taken over in the kitchen as
the portion was decidedly manageable.
Just after the New Year |
Monkey! |
January should have quite a
different flavour to it. I’ve got a few new jobs lined up, the most unusual one
being teaching a clinical officer to drive. Still, I’ve also got the final
stages of quite a few different projects, some which are still going from when
I started such as finishing accounts ’10-’11 take 2 (now with improved
software), general banking dramas (starring Barclays and Stanbic in a battle of
ineptitude and lost paperwork), trying to convince the government to give us
the money it owes us and then little things here and there which it would be
cool to have done before I go.
And then there’s life beyond
January! Five weeks from now, I’ll be back in the UK
which is an exciting but also sad thought. I’m very very excited about what
2012 has in store, but I’m also starting to occasionally feel sad about
leaving. I realised it’s the first time I’ve left somewhere on my own and of my
own decision (as in not as part of a group leaving to go off somewhere as at
school, Bible college or uni) and it’s also the first time I’ll be leaving
without knowing for certain what I’ll be up to next to (though I’ve got some
things lined up in Feb that should be life-landmarks ;)). I’d really appreciate
prayer around what God wants for me when I get back, that He’d give me wisdom
in finishing well here, both with work and relationships and that he’d guide my
emotions to His plan.
*Loads of the chicken have been
dying from a chicken disease that’s making the rounds at the moment. I find
some parts of that sad. Thankfully Bernard is doing well plus, with the demise
of his competition, he’s now started to rule the roost! If he ever starts
crowing outside my bedroom window, I’ll start to be seriously conflicted.
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