Tamba Tamba

It has been a fairly busy but good weekend and the first two weeks of school haven't been bad. I won't lie, I was quite apprehensive starting back at school as I was utterly exhausted when school finished last term. Having to do extra teaching in the afternoons to supplement my income made my days pretty long. So far I don't have many extra students (I do need them still). Waiting to hear back from some and I may have more high school students this year. I have continued with my National Institute for Learning Difficulties (NILD) student for educational therapy this term and that is going much better than last year, when my student seemed to hate every minute. He genuinely seems to enjoy it now which is a big relief and makes it much easier and more enjoyable for all.

Didn't have my Chinese student online this weekend as he is celebrating the Spring Festival with Chinese New Year - year of the rat. Happy New Year to all. Instead I had my friend Lucy's son's fourth birthday at Tamba Tamba - an indoor climbing and exploratory jungle gym. I was asked to photograph it. Am not used to so many little children squealing at once but it was a good afternoon. I then came home and finished preparing dinner for friends where I am house and cat sitting.

This morning I went to church at St Georges and the priest gave a refreshing homily where he touched on depression and instead of saying it was demonic or stigmatising it like other churches I have been to have done, he referred to it as the absence of God's light and showed compassion through what he said and how people can reach out to those around them. Was chatting to the deputy Portuguese ambassador after church and apparently Lindy Hop which is swing dancing that my cousin is into in Cape Town is also popular in his wife's home city in the Czeck Republic. People spontaneously start doing it in the city squares and they have converted old warehouses into art galleries and spaces for Lindy Hop socials. I must tell my cousin Jaimie.

I ended up going to the History Society's talk which was also at St Georges and Paul Hubbard gave an excellent presentation on the events of Rhodes' death and burial. Never realised they had to get his body all the way from Cape Town to Matopos and quite how much pomp surrounded it. As Paul said, almost more than for Queen Victoria's. He also gave insight into why Rhodes specifically chose Matopos and not somewhere else. He hopefully will give another talk on Rhodes' legacy and the whole Rhodes Must Fall movement. Paul is giving a talk at Bottom Drawer tomorrow on the history of Bulawayo. Going to see if I can go between teaching and choir.

In choir we are starting a new programme of sacred music and quite a complicated piece called Jesus and the Traders by Kodály Zoltán. I hopefully will be able to sing in the concert in May but it is going to be tricky as I will be away for four weeks from mid April for my mum's birthday.