15th May


I continually look online for any recent articles on the political situation in Uganda at the moment, with the riots and arrests. This comment was wrote on a local newspaper in Uganda on the riots in Kampala. These simple words spoke loudly to me, how true they might be; 'A harmless rat once pushed to a tight corner may turn out to be so dangerous. I look to the future and fear destroys my heart. All I ask myself, where is 'the pearl of Africa' heading to?'
I hope peace is restored! Always in my thoughts! X

21st May

Turtle class are around 4-6 years old (I think!) and have been at All Young School for nearly one month now. Being such a new class they're still nervous, but slowly opening up to me with their cute smiles and giggling moments.
Like most young children learning English they're quite robotic but Turtle class especially. As soon as they hear the music they start clapping their little hands or if I say "helloooo" with my voice going up and down, they will copy exactly. I think if I put on a Jamaican accent, they'd repeat it as best as possible!
Before the lesson Mark heard me saying to Linda, 'okay okay' and he copied me. "Linda I'm teaching them some extra new words today…"
"When I say, stand up, sit down or game time, you say, okay!" 14 young Chinese children, eyes wide looking up at me repeated "Ooookaaaaay!"
"When someone does well in the game, we must say, very good" and I put my thumb up. Again everyone raised their small little thumbs and robotically pronounce, "V-e-r-y goooood!"
During the game when one team scored some points, I looked over to Scott and he had turned his body looking at Marley, raised his thumb and proudly said "Very good!" Ahh, I was so happy!

23rd May

Checklist:
I have a boy named Marley in my class but yet to have a Bob to join him!

Children:
7 year old Edison named his silkworm after me
5 year old Larry gave me a heart shaped box of Ferrero Rocher

Finishing Turtle class, I saw Freda stood outside, she'd been watching my class. She just smiled at me but this smile was different. It reminded me of how I used to run the line in football, cross the ball and the run back up the line looking at dad. He used to just give me 'the' smile, no words needed as we both knew it was a good job. And this was the same with Freda, it was that kind of smile!...

25th May

My left eye had swollen over night and the local eye drops from the pharmacy yesterday weren't any help and so off I went to my second home, the hospital!
My sore, red eyes were an allergic reaction to something. What it was? Well as usual the doctors don't like to give me any answers! Basically I should have gone to the hospital Tuesday when my symptoms first started, as I was taken for an emergency muscle injection into my backside to calm down whatever it was in my body sending my eyes wild!

1am
Each time I blinked or tried to close my eye the pain literally made me shout. I took some sleeping tablets to see if that would help me to relax but nothing changed. Crying from just my right eye, I knocked on Steven's door, "I can't shut my eye! It really, really hurts" I was tired, making me more upset, "I just want to sleep, it hurts!" Next thing Darcy was in a taxi on her way to the apartment to take me to A&E.
After a quick examination, my sleeping tablets had kicked in and I felt like I was drunk, in a dream, walking around a hospital! I was given some eye drops and cream, to apply to my inflamed eye and I left the hospital just about seeing out of the slit in my eye.

26th May

The inflammation had gone down and now this morning with my red, blood shot eyes, I just looked like an upset drunk! This is actually a better description than what I had been looking like!

x x x