On Your Marks!

Today is the Isamilo International Swimming Gala. This annual event involves schools and swimming clubs from across from across Tanzania for two days. 

As staff many of us are involved in timekeeping. There are strict rules and there are three timekeepers per lane. The middle time is adjudged as the official time and as judges it’s important to be accurate especially in the shorter races. 
                It’s hot out here so plenty of sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat are a must in the baking Mwanzan sun.          

New House

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Photos of our new house and garden in the compound, complete with compound Dog (Macy). All this courtesy of a new colleague and fellow blogger Naomi. Thanks!

It’s great to get a sense of where we will be.

Mwanza – New House

Exciting times 😀

 

Hidden Costs

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Moving abroad isn’t cheap!

What awaits us?

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I thought it about time I shared a little about our destination. This is obviously prior to arrival but gives an idea of what awaits us. There are probably many gaps which only be completed when we live there.

East Africa Bucket List

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In just 20 weeks we leave for Africa and whilst there is still a lot to do here I have started to look at what awaits. Today is the start of the Easter Holidays in the UK. The school days at Isamilo will be long but the holiday periods will be longer than in the UK. Whilst I know that  I will devote some of that time to the usual marking, planning and preparation that makes up the teaching life there will be time and hopefully money to travel.

Many years ago I said to Anita that for my 50th Birthday, I’d like to take a balloon flight over the Serengeti – the proximity of the wildlife park and the date of my birthday ( I will be 50 whilst in Tanzania) makes this a definite reality.

Here is a ‘bucket list’ of things I’d like to do.

Small World

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Mwanza is a place I had never heard of until a few weeks ago even as a self-confessed “Eater of Atlases“. Judging by many conversations many others are similarly unaware Most if you reading this have probably never heard of it either. It seems very much off the beaten track even though it is the second city of Tanzania and a major port on Lake Victoria.
And yet in spite of this fact I have been amazed at the number of people we know who or have met casually who have been to the place.
Firstly Anita’s cousin Helen who lived near Mwanza whilst working in Tanzania. We knew she had been in Tanzania but never realised how close to Mwanza she was.
Secondly a family at Church (the Wishearts) who worked nearby in Musoma in development.
Another church family (the Williams) have a daughter who currently works at Isamilo International School.
A third church couple have links to a mission in Mwanza and have visited several times.
Last night at the Birthday Bash, Anita got talking to a lady called Katy who has just returned from living 3 years in Tanzania of which four months were spent in Mwanza.
I am sure that there will be more strange connections in the coming months.
What a small world we live in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How did I get here?

T Minus 175
Taking up a job in a foreign country in a city you’ve never been to and a school you’ve never visited is a daunting thing to do.

Granted – teaching is teaching is teaching and I’ve been doing that for twenty-six years.

Faces change

hour by hour,

day by day,

week by week,

term by term,

year by year.

Even so  the role is essentially the same. Even changing country doesn’t phase me too much. I have spent (albeit very briefly) some time in a Gambian school and found that in spite of being on a different continent there were many similarities.

Classroom at BUBS, Brikama, Gambia (May 2006)

Time spent travelling in the Gambia with colleagues in 2006 was a great experience and fired up a desire to return to Africa at some point. This desire had actually been with me since I qualified in 1988- before I’d even heard about my future wife Anita who was then a development worker in Malawi.

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To be honest the death of my dad, 10 weeks later put these things on hold for a few years. The needs of family were paramount for a time.

Within a couple of years I was appointed as Head of ICT at my school. This was a new challenge and one which I relished. It was exciting to take the reins and plot the future of a subject. There were pressures of course but I relished the challenge. I built a good team around me. Much of my first year was spent interviewing, it took time to find the right people and we didn’t take the first available person who applied. From the latter part of 2009 I had my Team and I believe it to be a fantastic group dedicated teachers – who I will miss very much.

The ICT Team – Admin Assistant: Sue; Teachers: Naveed, Bernadette, Debbie and myself; Network Manager: Darrell

ICT Teacher Nik (at Angkor Wat, Cambodia whilst on World Challenge)

Lord Williams’s has given me great opportunities – I have mentioned already the Gambia Trip. Our school is partnered with a national school (Brikama Upper Basic School) and as part of an Staff trip. The next opportunity arose last year as I was able to partake in a World Challenge Trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. This trip accompanying sixth form students lasted nearly 4 weeks and incorporated a combination of Treks, cultural visits, some development work and lots of travel.

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For me this was a great opportunity to re-experience the developing world (especially in Cambodia) and I loved it! I especially loved Cambodia – the people were friendly and the country was amazing. Angkor Wat was a highlight but so was the week working in the orphanage. Most of the time we were painting a dorm – but I managed to sneak out a couple of times to spend an hour or so in the classroom where orphans learnt some English.

I returned to the UK wondering whether it would be something I’d like to do more permanently. A conversation with Mum in the Autumn had a profound effect – in essence she wanted to release me from any feeling of burden to stay in the UK. She was aware that I was becoming more jaded with the mood music in education – especially towards ICT. My school had decided to make ICT optional not core, partly in response to Government decisions to demote ICT from its core status, this was a concern to me.

Having reflected through Christmas I decided that I would actively seek my next job abroad. I started scouring the TES and within a few days came across several jobs in Thailand – these appealed to me, I told Anita but for reasons unknown to me I did not pursue them. Then on the 17th January a job appeared in Tanzania at Isamilo International School.

I pondered for a week by myself and checked out as much as I could on the net, quickly coming across a blog called Bousies in Mwanza. This blog had a major impact – giving as it does a real insight into expat life – I can’t recommend this blog enough  – it has inspired me to write this blog myself. One evening I came across a post incorporating a video of a road trip around Mwanza, this gave such a feel of the place. Other blogs have also been inspirational – check out some of these on the right of the page.

The following weekend a conversation at the BETT Show with my brother about education in general further confirmed in my mind that I should apply for and so I shared this with Anita. Another week of deliberation and then I went for it.  Elsewhere I recount the speed of the process from application to appointment so I won’t repeat it here.

So this has been my journey so far. As a Christian I believe that God has been a part of it every step of the way and this is the right time……………  and there’s more to come!

Juggling

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There are so many preparations it’s sometimes difficult to decide what to do. It’s a bit of a juggle.

Yesterday we had valuations on the house which are encouraging, however we play things in the future. The market is moving apparently which means it’s to the advantage of sellers. Even so the rental market is holding its own – so there are plenty of tenants wanting properties.

The car is a bit of an issue as (in a different world) we bought new in the Autumn. We’ve probably lost money. We could have done with keeping the old one which was on a three-year lease expiring in May. It can’t be helped, but it’s annoying.

Once in Mwanza we would ideally like a car as with a family of 4 it might be a challenge otherwise. Cars tend to be much older, a little pricier than UK equivalent, but hold or gain in value apparently. We need to be able to fund this and many other things in the coming months.

Also yesterday, I spent some time filling in Forms – though some of this was impossible to do (needing clarification) and a need for new passports (see below)

The kids need new passports and we need to get those sorted today. A bit of a chore as we can’t find Bekah’s. The replacement needs us to get her identity certified which was luckily accomplished due to seeing friends yesterday one of whom is a teacher (funny that!). Also Matt has changed so much since he was 7, that he needs to have an authorised photo too! We are seeing the same friend this afternoon (thanks Rowena!).

On other fronts we are looking to see what injections we will need and have therefore booked appointments at the local health centre and with a MASDA clinic. Luckily for me (Graham) I had a number of injections for Cambodia / Vietnam which should cover much of what’s needed.

The Head at Isamilo has helpfully sent a couple of links to international Churches in Mwanza ( Newcastle
Christian Life Centre and Mwanza International Community Church) and I have looked at their websites and Facebook pages. They both look fine and we will be wanting something which has a western flavour and with a good youth program with a good mix of expats and nationals. On first glance these both look fine – surreal that one is a branch of a Newcastle church. We will need to do some more research.

On the clear out front Anita is working on the Lounge and Bedroom cupboards (a bigger job than it sounds) and compiling a list of ‘must haves’ for Mwanza.

The kids both have paper rounds and the weather is sunny and dry (a rarity in recent months).

Even so I have a pile of marking to do (it’s electronic,  it’s actually a virtual pile! ;-D ). Nonetheless I must stop tinkering and get on with it.

For now life in UK has to continue too!

Wow!

190 Days to departure. (T minus 190)

What a fortnight!
Wow seems to be the most used word, as I have let the world know of my new job.
Two weeks ago I hadn’t yet applied for the Head of ICT at Isamilo International School. Within 4 days I’d had a Skype interview and a job offer. Now we’re off to Mwanza in Tanzania this August. There’s a lot to do as we disentangle ourselves from the UK. This blog will chart our progress and life in Mwanza from August. It’s going to be an adventure. Wow!