Back in lockdown and online

Just seen that the last time I posted was end of May. Feels like a time warp since then. I finished marking all the exams for form twos which was quite an undertaking, and then did preparation for report comments. After that I was able to relax a bit. I went to art with Sarah Fynn and also managed a trip to Nyanga with good friends, which was icy but lovely. So glad we did it then, as we have now gone back into lockdown in Zim and interprovincial travel is blocked for the moment. I spent the last week of my holiday suddenly having to think about how to do high school online. Gulp! Art is particularly tricky but brainstormed with my colleague and we made a plan. 

It is a strange case of deja vu but also adaptation to new things for me at the moment. The whole period between now and the last lock down is a bit hazy and I've lost track of time. Sadly a few people I've known have died and funerals were limited in numbers. There have actually suddenly been quite a few deaths, some semi-expected, some not. My one dear friend lost her special dad and she had to travel out from the UK. Whilst travelling here was stressful with Covid, returning to the UK and having to stay in a quarantine hotel has been the pits. I am so not keen to do that to use my air ticket before it expires.

I have also been helping to moderate exam marking for IGCSE art. Art has definitely changed since I did high school art. You now have to put together a portfolio of work, experiment and explore a theme and show progression and structure through to your final exam piece. Some great art has been done by some of the girls. I am supposed to do an online course with Cambridge on marking IGCSE.

So yes, in some ways a lot has happened, but in other ways it's more of the same. My form ones in art are supposed to be thinking of ideas for a massive event to celebrate the end of Covid and design invitations, posters and a menu for it. My one dear student though said she was going to do it for a funeral - um, not quite what I was angling for in my brief. 

Africa Day and 1800 more minutes

 Today is Africa Day. Always makes me think deeply about this wonderful continent of ours and all the places I still want to visit on it. I'm very keen to maybe try go to Namibia with a German friend at the end of the year and then maybe Gonarezhou in Zim if I can with her too. Both on my bucket list. Still not sure when to use my England ticket. I'm not paying a fortune for quarantine and PCRs. 

The rest of this week is going to be a hectically busy one. Tomorrow, I go with the geo and drama departments to the Swedish Embassy for a workshop on climate change. I'm not sure if I'll be taking maths support before that, if I do, I will have to leave slightly early. Thursday straight after maths I hop on the bus with the A level art girls to go to Gallery Delta and then come back to school to do invigilating training. Friday I have professional development at Gateway in the afternoon. Three days, I can do it, just. Thank goodness no more really early mornings this term to do temperature checks at the gate. The guy who does it with me said last week he was manning the station on his own and because he was multi-tasking he accidentally squirted hand sanitiser at a girl instead of taking her temperature with the temperature gun. It went in her eyes, oops.

So looking forward the the three week break in June. Although I don't like having had a 6 month long term, the idea that I won't have to rush out of bed right in the middle of winter is a small consolation prize. Hope to go do some art with Sarah Fynn and maybe go to Nyanga. I might try my hand at doing a Bolivian multi-grain miellie. The other art teacher is having a go herself at the projects we've set our form ones and twos. Have to try using just primary colours and blending, like we've asked our students to.

My form ones are very sweet. Last Friday at the end of the lesson, one very petite girl came up to my desk. She had her mask on and I couldn't hear what she was saying, but eventually I heard her saying, have a nice weekend. They are all still obsessed with the concept of diamonds from peanut butter. I found a cool geology video though that had them bopping in their chairs which explained the rock cycle well, so hopefully they've understood it now.

Nearly the end of a half a year term

 I won't lie, the last couple of weeks have been a struggle. Especially with the very early morning temperature gate check duty which means I have to leave home at 6.15 to get to school on time. Lots of coffee has been needed and a great deal of exhaustion at the end of the week with lots of naps at weekends. The end of term is on the horizon though. We close on the 4th of June, but we have school exams before then and I have training tomorrow afternoon on how to write reports in the correct way and will also have training on how to invigilate exams. This Friday we have another professional photographer coming to give a talk in the art department and next week the geography and drama departments are going to the Swedish Embassy to do a workshop on the environment and the Sustainable Development Goals.

I might get a new NILD student from school. Am still trying to decide whether I will do Level 2 this year. At this precise moment I feel I could cope but school can suddenly spring extra work on you and leave you feeling very stressed. I am also not sure if I am using my air ticket to go to the UK in September or not. It all depends on the quarantine law. I'm not spending more than my air ticket on a crummy hotel and sitting isolated for 10 days out of my three week break in September. My form twos today were bemoaning COVID and how they haven't had a proper social life as teenagers so far.

Am quiz mistress along with another friend on Saturday. We're going to sit and try and gel our joint efforts together tomorrow. Tempted to ask whether it's true or false that you can make diamonds out of peanut butter. My form ones asked me this in geography and am afraid I dismissed it, until I thought I'd better Google and check, and low and behold you can, albeit low grade ones. My form ones are now theorising that if you sat on a jar of peanut butter with enough pressure you would create diamonds and make your fortune. I hope they're taking in the rest of the geo notes too.

Surfacing and reproduction of spiders

 The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirl wind of learning new things, new names and what I'm supposed to be doing. Am really enjoying being in the art department and am getting to know the girls and other staff. The form ones can come up with the funniest things. I get complimented on my dress sense and eyes but I also get asked random questions that have nothing to do with what we're learning. Today I was asked in a very serious tone, how do spiders reproduce. For a minute I thought about it and was about to give a biological answer but then I checked myself and was like, this is a geography lesson. They hadn't done reproductive biology yet and I was not about to go into spider reproduction. Nice try.

I have agreed to do maths support in the afternoons. You can see the effect of not having classroom teaching for a year. Some of my students just have no idea when it comes to algebra. Need to go back to basics. Had geo solar system projects to mark last weekend. There were a couple of projects that were really impressive and creative. From 3D planets made out of play dough or kaylite balls, I was really impressed.

This afternoon we had a dad who is a professional wildlife photographer giving a talk on photography to the sixth form. It was really cool and I learnt quite a bit on field of view, IOS and editing raw files. Had time at break today to sit on the steps with some of the other staff and photosynthesise which was nice. One of the staff was selling M&S, Woolworths and H&M clothes and another lady has eggs. Wish someone was selling milk, there's a shortage again.

Am back home to my beloved dogs. Was house sitting a big great Dane, a puppy great Dane and a pug last weekend and then Snowy, the black dog this week. Have marking and prep work but a friend is having a birthday at Domboshawa tomorrow and then have a braai and church on Sunday. Organising an online quiz tonight.

Music, photography and a long weekend

 We've been doing a hybrid time table this week with some of the school in and some doing online. It got jolly confusing as you had to have Microsoft Teams on video and recording while teaching those at school and it was tricky remembering to do this. I also had to quickly work out how to use Teams and how to do a shared screen, a bit different to Zoom which I'm more used to. In between I have been sprinting up and down to the computer lab to get help with Teams glitches and access to Senatical (a program we use for grades and report comments). I have almost made it through the first week though. Tomorrow all my classes are online so I can work from home.

It's Independence Day on Sunday, so we get Monday off as a holiday (yay!!) Will be going to get the second injection of Sino Pharm (although apparently Doha isn't recognising it as a vaccine for travel purposes). Might meet up with people in Ballantyne Park Conservancy on Sunday morning and hoping to Skype a friend in Australia Sunday afternoon.

Am loving that there is music in the art room (the girls bring their own and we've had Queen, Sia and other music playing) and then yesterday the orchestra was practising next door in the music room. They were doing a good job of Pirates of the Caribbean on strings.

Early mornings and Teams glitches

 I didn't sleep very well last night, so it was harder to get out of bed this morning at the crack of dawn again (well actually it's before dawn - not going to be fun mid-winter, I am not a morning person, much coffee needed. Luckily there is a kettle in the art room so I can make myself multiple cups, I just have to provide the coffee beans). Today passed in a bit of a blur. I had back to back form 2 art classes and I will next time make a note at the time of what each was doing and getting up to in progress as I didn't today and it is very hard to recap as they were all doing similar things but just got to different points. Before school started and then in my only free, I raced up and down to the IT department as my Mac was not connecting to Microsoft Teams and I really need to be. Have been using my mum's as a back up but need my own. There's a lovely lady in IT and she tried all sorts of things but none worked. I shut down and rebooted and tried reinstalling but Teams got jammed and wouldn't budge. In the end I phoned a friend who works where my laptop has just been upped in RAM and a new SSD and they managed by remote access to finally sort it out but it was a mission for them too.

I've started my first online marking. A different approach to how you comment and correct compared to when you have the hard copy but it does mean I don't have to lug too many hard copy books around. I will have to check classwork books on Friday though for geo and maths. Forgot next week is a public holiday so we get a mini break (yay) but it's thrown my hand in dates out a bit.

Saw yesterday that Doha is not recognising Sino Pharm as a vaccine for people entering from abroad. This is not great. We are due our second jab on Sunday at Wilkins Hospital. My sister is still keen for my mum and I to use our existing Ethiopian Airways plane ticket to visit the UK. Don't know what the travel laws will be then. 

A small cog in a big wheel

 As first days properly into the job go, today was fairly good. I found my classrooms, checked out and in adapters for Macs and projectors, ran a maths ratio treasure hunt and for now seem fairly on top things. The onslaught of marking starts tomorrow and navigating Microsoft Teams and marking online (a new one to me). I really am blessed to be mainly in the art department. I get my own classroom with a view out to the playing fields and lots of space. We use digital tools in art making with iPads and there are a couple of cameras. Went back to basic drawing and shading of seed pods today though. A friend who works at A.R.T. Farm kindly donated some beautiful multi-colour grain miellies to us. They are beautiful with red kernels and dried husks. I might even try some drawing if I have time. The art staff help with taking photos for the school and magazine (something I am more than happy to help with!)

Just as I started this new job a window of opportunity has suddenly arisen with getting students to teach English to online in China. It is something I was trying to gain access to after doing my CELTA qualification in Cape Town. The parents of one of my Chinese five year olds that I taught French to in China are looking at starting a school and they have lots of contacts in China to connect with. Definitely a market and there are lots of CELTA and TEFL teachers in Zimbabwe. I am feeling rather old today as another past tutoring student that I took when she was in grade two, is now in form 1 at my new school. I can't believe it is that long ago that I taught her. Her mum was in the flower growing industry and often gave me wonderful bouquets of roses.

On Sunday morning when we were leaving for church, a guy who lives on the street that we give art materials to and a cup of tea arrived. Someone had kindly donated a notepad for him to record his experiences on in a digital format. As a thank you he whipped out a box and said he had a present for me. I wasn't quite sure what he was giving me but it was a tiny black kitten. I felt terrible but had to say I couldn't take it, as I just can't with our dogs and also starting a new job, I'm not home to look after it. I really felt bad though as he was only feeding it bread. 

Surviving

 I changed classes this week and have had children on the spectrum and others slightly more challenged than what I am used to but surviving. We're doing the Amazon and tomorrow we're going to make a giant tree with all sorts of animals in the canopy and understory. The one little boy is very taken with tapirs, even though he calls it the animal that looks like a horse. They are quite sweet kids but when they all want my attention at once it gets a little stressful.

I luckily was home early on Monday and had my dogs inside with me. Otherwise I might not have noticed that poor old Jasper was bleeding from his rear. I panicked and called a friend who is a vet and she confirmed that it can be a symptom of poisoning which I had thought of. There have been dogs poisoned in Monavale recently. My mum had the car so called a friend Vee, and she kindly went and got sedatives for Jasper to take him to the vet. He bites so he has to be sedated. Unfortunately yet again these took a while to kick in. Eventually my mum got back and went with her to the vet with Jasper. Long story, it wasn't poisoning and not gastro as they initially thought. Seems to be a mass on his anus that burst. We have to monitor this and if he bleeds again or gets any more lumps we must take him back immediately. I want to get a second opinion to be sure.

Well yesterday I was finally given my start date for my new school next term. Unfortunately it is immediately after Easter - eeeek! I have done prep but that is a month earlier than planned because of the government changes to school terms. Not much time left at all and we go on until June. This year is going to be a killer.

Have also just been told my medical aid terminated my contract with them last year without telling me. I have still been paying. They have now tracked my payment and seen I did pay but I have a whopping bill for physio that I have to pay. It's when things like this happen in Zim that you really get irritated.

Last weekend feels like years ago

 Almost at the end of the first week back to face to face classroom teaching. I can't believe we've only been back a week. Feels like way longer and the stuff I did last weekend feels like a lifetime ago. I will be taking the other class next week. Did a fairly comprehensive (well I hope it is), list of instructions for my replacement. I find out tomorrow what I'll be doing for the other class. One of the students isn't back at school as his parents don't want him to be yet, so I have to prepare a whole separate work pack for him. Will have slightly more students to teach. After this week I only have one and half weeks left at school, before I start my new job. I will be sad to leave and as I said previously, was just beginning to really enjoy my current class.

Having to explain a lot of English words to my Russian student. Yesterday it was the difference between engaged and married. One of my other students decided to add their two cents, and according to him, when you are engaged, you tell the other person that you like them. I had to adjust this definition a little. Another thing that came up was voice mail boxes. I tried to explain that in the past there was no WhatsApp, and you could only text, phone or leave a voice message. This blew my students' minds - no WhatsApp - how did we cope. I also said there was no WI-FI. Another shattering revelation. I decided not to go as far back as dialling and just a phone call and landlines. I think they would have thought I belonged to the dinosaurs then.

Went to see my personal trainer and good friend this afternoon. She has baby tortoises which are just too cute! Her little girl is amazing. She can already say "baby tortoise" and she is only a year, one month old. She can also fit puzzle pieces onto a wooden puzzle and follow fairly detailed instructions. Her paediatrician says she is very advanced for her age.

Tomorrow is Friday - hooray! I teach my ZIMSEC O Level student English online tomorrow afternoon. Seeing a friend on Saturday, going for sushi at Vanilla Moon on Sunday and getting some help on using Microsoft Teams. Also might do family games on JackBox. Two weeks until Easter. This year is an odd one again.

Possibly changing teaching hats again

 I'm really tired today, more so than yesterday. We did fun things like art and a board game yesterday, today was more hard work, so I guess that's why. It's a different kind of tired to online teaching tired. I finished house sitting today and was given Cote D'or chocolate, so am sitting munching yummy chocolate and recovering. I think I mentioned that yesterday my Russian student gave me chocolate for the first day. It was a sort of marshmallow covered in dark chocolate. Apparently it is Russian tradition that you give your teacher a box of chocolates on your first day of school each term. Maybe I should go teach English in Russia. It seems Russian children are taught to hold their teachers in almost the same level of esteem as the Chinese and are very polite. It makes such a pleasant change from some of my Zimbabwean students that I had to deal with last year. May my Russian student influence the rest of my class in a positive way.

Having said all that, it seems this week may actually be the last with my class. My colleague who teaches grade 5 had an emergency last week with her son, whom I taught for the last previous three years. They thought he had a burst appendix but it has turned out to be a rare gut disease and he had to have major major surgery today, poor boy. I might therefore be taking his mum's class next week and the person replacing me next term will take over my class early. Not quite sure yet what work I'll need to prepare for the different class. Will be sad to say good bye already to my class as we were just connecting but might be better for their new teacher to get familiar with them and thier learning challenges now.

Saw my high school biology teacher on Saturday and she has very kindly said I can have all her biology teaching material as she no longer needs it. It includes slides and all the A Level biology practicals. Very valuable but I've just got to figure out where in our house I can store it as there are boxes and boxes of it and our house feels like it's bursting at the seams. Felt honoured though that my teacher said she couldn't think of a better person to give it all to.

First day back and murder in the neighbourhood

 It was actually a feeling of relief when school finally kicked off back in the classroom today. I had mixed feeling this weekend but when we actually just got on with it and got back to proper teaching it felt so much better and you realise it is so much easier explaining things face to face and interacting and getting feedback. I'm going to feel quite sad leaving my current class in two weeks time as they are really nice kids and I am enjoying having only six students while it lasts. We did art today and they made robots, and then instead of swimming we played a board game friends had given me on survival skills. At the end of the day my Russian student gave me a box of Russian chocolates. The packaging is entirely in Russian so I have no idea what they are called. They were a sort of marshmallow coated in dark chocolate. Never been given chocolates on my first day. As a friend put it, let's see if I'm still popular at the end of term. (Although technically that's in two and a half weeks time, still unsure on the whole private school term debacle).

Had fun picnicking at Ewanrigg Botanical Gardens yesterday. My friend Lucy didn't realise how far it is and halfway along the road off Enterprise she started wondering if she had enough petrol! We got there and back though, although we kept my friend Claire and her mum waiting as we thought we were close but still had a little bit more to go. Lucy (the Borrowdale Madame) announced that her neighbourhood had become dodgier of late. Something out of Desperate Housewives has happened, which is actually quite a sad tale. I watched the St George's online mass in the evening and it turns out an old boy murdered his brother, there seems to have been drugs involved, and the mother and gardener helped bury the brother in their front garden in Borrowdale. It all came to light when the brother then had a car accident and had to be put on Pethidine and started uttering things about it and the doctor on duty told the police. A bit horrific and hard to think of in Harare!

Bracing myself for what could be a very long term

 So after weeks of waiting, government finally announced we could resume face to face school this coming Monday. The pickling point being though that private schools have had almost a full term of online lessons and are ready for a holiday. The private school boards took this up with government but were flatly told that they weren't supposed to have been having online school and that we must follow the government dates or risk being unregistered. Hmmm, this means we might get a teeny tiny break over Easter before continuing through til June (aaaaaargh!!!) This also means my new job might get pushed forward and I don't really get a chance to switch hats before launching head on into high school. So yes, I have rather mixed feelings about Monday's return and a little apprehensive about what this all means. I'm not alone.

Am therefore enjoying my last weekend before hitting the storm and taking a bit of time out. Watching some Master Class before my subscription ends (enjoying the Billy Collins on poetry and may watch Neil Gaimon on fiction). Did some body balance with my sister (have shed a few more kgs, but some of it has been down to stress. For a couple of weeks have woken up in the morning to a feeling of panic over what I have still got to do and have had a nagging feeling of anxiety. This has died down a little thankfully). Went to a friend's little girl's birthday tea today and am going out to Ewanrigg Botanical Gardens for a picnic with friends tomorrow.

It seems some medical aid companies here are in the process of procuring vaccines for their members which is good news. The one my mum and I are on is one of them. My sister is hoping for us to get over to England in our next school holidays but at the moment we have no idea when those are and there is the teeny risk that we go back to everything, there is a sudden surge again and then we're back to square one with lockdown. I guess if vaccines can be obtained it might lessen the effect but it is all a guessing game. We have until December to use our Ethiopian Airways tickets. I don't really want to go all the way over to the UK though to be cooped up inside. There's also the current situation where you have to do the paid hotel quarantine that costs more than your air ticket.

Sadza and anti-vaccers

 It's been a busy week, even though half of it was half term. On Tuesday I drove out to Hatfield to see my best friend and her little girl and we had a wonderful time going round her garden, with her showing me all the cool bugs, fungi and plants they have. There were puff ball mushrooms and all sorts, including tortoise beetle nymphs that looked pretty alien. Was a special time. Managed to dodge police there and back, even in Mbare. On Tuesday evening the housekeeper where I am house sitting invited me to a lovely birthday meal for her daughter. We were going to have sadza and chicken but in the end it was home made pizza and chocolate cake. They surprised me with sadza this evening, with dried muriwo they had made mixed with peanut butter (yum!!!) It may be my turn to cook. Angelina has said she will make me mutsine with dried black jack leaves. It is apparently rich in Vitamin C. Makes me think of the film Gather, that I watched last year about Native Americans cooking with traditional harvested plants and their cultural heritage. We had an interesting discussion around the kitchen table.

I went in to school today to begin the hand over process for next term. It felt a bit weird describing my life and routine to someone else. Turns out the other teachers are all quite staunch anti-vaccers. I did try explain the biology behind the vaccines and how they work but they weren't having any of it. It's amazing people will trust what's inside sausages and take medication but don't want to be vaccinated. A local private doctor here went today with all his surgery staff on a mini bus taxi to Parenyatwa Government Hospital and had the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. We wait and see how they all do on it. There is speculation that for schools to reopen we all have to first be vaccinated. Technically you can't force people.

Had some good news that it looks like I may take art next term in my new job and then just form one and two maths and geo. Quite excited for that as the art department is well known and it will give me a selection of subjects to be teaching.

Some times I really don't like Avondale, but found a decent policeman

 Did a whole bunch of errands today and dodged police road blocks to get across town. Found a teacher's book for ZIMSEC English with the listening comprehension texts. Then went to a friend's parents' house to pick up Body Shop products (so excited!!) and I was allowed to photograph the set of a scene from the movie, The Power of One, which is in their back yard. Sold some shoe sole implants I had bought for plantar fasciitis that I never used in the end as it went away. Did the deal outside Bon Marche. Then headed to school to collect marking.

All was going wonderfully well until I ventured to Avondale shopping centre, with the one and only thing on my to do list being to drop off stuff for recycling. It literally took a minute. When I got to the bins this random guy wondered up and wanted to know why I was dumping my "rubbish" there. I had cans and plastic bottles. Sensing he wanted to make trouble I studiously ignored him and tried to empty my sack of bottles as quickly as possible. Returning to my car though I discovered my wheel had been clamped. Fuming I asked the person sitting in the car next to mine if they had seen who did it. They said I should ask the security guard. The security guard sauntered over and said ah, but I had parked on a yellow line. The marking in the car park was not really visible to show it was supposed to be yellow. He then said I would have to speak to the manager. This unfortunately turned out to be the man who had pestered me at the recycling bins. He nonchalantly said well I would have to go to the Milton Park police station wouldn't I and pay a $1000 fine. 

I was prepared to pay this to be able to get home but said I couldn't get to the jolly police station if my car was clamped. The manager shrugged and said well then he'd have to call the local policeman in the shed by Nandos. Well here I totally lucked out, the policeman who came over turned out to be a thoroughly decent gentleman of a member of ZRP (we need more of him in our lives in Zimbabwe). He politely asked me why I had parked where I had parked and I explained I just wanted to drop off recycling and I hadn't seen the nearly obliterated road marking and realised it was a yellow line. He said he would have to escort me in my car to Milton Park police station. I said I wasn't comfortable having a stranger in my car with COVID and said could he not write up a docket and I promised I would go and pay. He didn't harass me, intimidate me or belabour the point of my offence. He simply said that criminals tend to park in yellow bays so they can easily slip out and follow cars they want to hijack and the police therefore have to ensure these bays are kept free. He said it in the most straightforward, down to earth manner and said if I could please tell my friends who shop in Avondale this (I promised him I would and have now done so). He then let me go!

There are honourable officers in ZRP!

Pancakes and death by a fever tree

 Had a lovely catch up with a friend in England yesterday. She had severed a tendon in her finger on Saturday slicing a piece of cheese with her Christmas present extra sharp knife. Although it was a pretty gory tale, she humoured me with funny anecdotes and spared me some of the grisly details. I was laughing throughout her narrative. Hope her operation on the said finger goes well today. Her description of being on gas and oxygen was hilarious.

My Nigella Lawson pomegranate jewel cake turned out really well, if I say so myself. Possibly could have done with a thicker layer of pomegranates on the top and more juice to pour over but the pomegranates from our garden were not all edible as some had gone mushy inside, pity. You seem to have to catch them just before they turn. Could try the cake with lemon or orange perhaps too. The almond flour works well and it came out quite light and airy - I managed with folding in the egg white. Was my first ever Nigella recipe. Will have to try some of her others. Her fried haloumi with chilli and lemon looks good.

So just after chatting to my friend I went for a walk in the garden with the dogs and just after I went inside with rain coming down and a bit of a wind, I looked out my bedroom window and was like, oh my gosh, the fever tree has come down. It came down right where I had been standing ten minutes earlier! Luckily other trees broke its fall slightly but it has damaged the fence a bit and it will all have to be removed. The tree cutters rocked up punctually at 7.10 this morning. I've requested we keep about six tree stumps to put up in the shade area with plants on to remember the fever tree and add to aesthetics.

Told my class on Zoom this morning it is Shrove Tuesday, or rather I tried to get it out of them - one got helped by his mum. My new Russian student had already been busy making pancakes at home before the lesson but he said Orthodox Easter is later than ours. Off to collect some Body Shop products I ordered and to try source a ZIMSEC O Level text book with the listening comprehension texts for my online student. My mum will be online for a funeral of a girl who was only two years older than me and was in my mum's first grade 7 class. She sadly died of cancer two weeks ago.

I nearly had a Valentine's date

 So have been getting WhatsApp's from a guy who is overly keen. Trouble is he's not interested in a long term relationship. Bright and early this morning he messaged me asking if I was free this afternoon. With still being in lockdown we're technically not supposed to meet up. He left the ball in my court with regards to what plan we should make. I suggested tea in my garden. He seems interested in only one thing though and I called it off. He had lost his phone and forgotten who I was on his new one, when he initially made contact again. All a bit pressured and rushed.

Instead I spent the day baking, and doing an oil abstract painting in the kitchen with my two ever faithful hounds. Been a good break from work. I haven't really taken a day off from preparing for Chisi since New Year's Day. Still have quite a bit to do but I really don't want to over prepare notes for Form 3, if I am in fact taking Form 1 and 2. I need to find out a bit on what the school uses for making videos for online. At this rate we may still be in lockdown next term. Who knows. We're supposed to have a government announcement tomorrow. They better not tell me we're going back to classroom teaching on Tuesday! I may just throw an apoplectic fit.

This week is half term, which means I have half a term left before the April holidays to prepare for Chisi! Eeek. I don't really want to be preparing lessons from scratch whilst trying to do all the marking I'm going to have.

And we wait ...

 Still don't know what happens after Monday with lockdown. I am presuming we're not going back to classroom school, but who knows! It's already half term next week for our school online. Bit of confusion about work pack hand ins with it and keeping books. Hopefully everyone will understand what I've said on WhatsApp. Means I will get a fairly hefty marking load the week after next, groan - but hey, it's all preparation for next term when I will have way, way more books to contend with.

I met with the HOD for geography on Monday and they gave me a whole lot of stuff on my flashstick and two text books. We did the transfer on the traffic island in the Food Lovers car park in Sam Levy's. This is all if I'm taking form 3, we don't know yet until it is all time tabled. Makes me not want to forge ahead with preparing powerpoints if I might not be taking that level. Am still working through the maths text books. Don't know yet where I will pick up from next term for that either. I think I am used to junior school where you have it all planned and forecasted in detail. It doesn't seem to work that way in high school.

Next week I will be house sitting again nearby for three weeks. Sadly the old lady I used to also look after at the house passed away from what started as COVID and ended with flared up emphysema. Very sad. She was 86 though, but still sad. It's the first person I know personally who has died from COVID.

In other news, there was a crocodile captured in Ballantyne Park today. It was happily waddling down the flower bed on someone's verge. Never know, along with the Madagascan cuckoo, we might get one in Monavale. The stream in Monavale is pretty full.

Life and death

 Life continues under lockdown. I finally have the maths books for Form 1 and 2 for Chisi next term. They follow the IGCSE Core Maths for those classes, fairly straight forward but harder than standard Form 1 and 2. I still don't know if I'm taking Form 3 or Form 1 and 2 geography. Be nice to know. Form 3 is going to be a lot more work in preparation as I have to create loads of case studies. It would also be nice to get an indication for maths and geo where I am likely to pick up from next term. All of this would help me get on top of things while I have the extra time. I understand they're all busy with online school though.

Have caught up with a few friends I haven't heard from in a while online. The one, I did ecology and botany with at UCT and we worked together a lot and did things like preparing our bug collections for entomology, going after the elusive cicadas together and then mounting them to hand in. We also spent a month doing fieldwork together in Kruger Park with some others. Good memories. Another friend I've been in touch with a bit more recently, but found out her film, Ava From My Class, has just been selected for the Sundance Film Festival. We had a lovely catch up yesterday.

Sadly heard that a friend who was only two years ahead of me at school, died yesterday after a long hard fight with cancer. Very very sad as last year it sounded as though she was winning. Thinking of her family and loved ones.

Today was my last day of having physio. If it gets sore or inflamed again I can go back, but for now I am good and must keep doing gentle exercise to build up strength. No running or jumping yet, but will get there. Might do a month's fitness classes with my friend Lucy under my trainer Demi.

Quite a lot of people I know are saying they have COVID. I'm not sure what government plans from next week. I some how don't see us going back to school, but who knows what they will decide. We're still keeping a low profile and not socialising much and wearing masks. Ivermectin seem to be getting the go ahead overseas as the go to drug.

Getting back to getting fit

 Had physio this morning and we worked on balancing on my dodgy ankle (although the physio said not to call it that). She had me wobbling on a balance ball, a trampoline and then ... a balance board (definitely the hardest). Although I didn't feel I mastered balancing too well, she said she thinks she only needs to see me for one more session next week. She also gave me the go ahead to start doing things like squats, but not running just yet. I therefore did a core and tummy session at home in the shade area after my Zoom lesson this morning. I had Jasper and Elsie come to inspect what on Earth I was doing. Might try do a Body Balance or Pilates/Yoga work out with my sister later. Will see.

Have been asked to help tie up a friend who has moved to England's personal estate here and would get paid out the country for it. Just depends on how long lockdown lasts for but might be able to next week. Am honoured they trust me enough to ask me.

Stayed up late last night watching The Handle Bards production in India of Twelfth Night. I know the basic gist of the story but am afraid both my mum and I got lost as to who was who, as the play only had four actors who doubled up in roles. Recognised the opening lines "

If music be the food of love, play on;
	Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
	The appetite may sicken, and so die.
	That strain again! it had a dying fall:
	O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet south,
	That breathes upon a bank of violets,
	Stealing and giving odour! Enough; no more:
	'Tis not so sweet now as it was before."

Thoroughly confused about halfway, we decided to call it quits and go to bed.

I attempted a self portrait out in the garden. I'm not that happy with the product and don't think it looks like me. May try again. So far was just using water colour, but may try add some oil pastels, maybe.

Aspiring to Hussein Salim ... well trying!

Today I took a break from preparing to teach geography next term and got out my art supplies. Sarah Fynn has set the art group two projects for lockdown. The first is a selfie self portrait, in which you exaggerate and emphasize one of your features. Haven't done this yet. The second is to chose a cluttered surface in your house (lots of choices in ours) and do a still life. Then ... and in this here lies the challenge, you use a section of your still life to etch and print from, rolling out black oil paint and printing off this. You then work colour into your print and try take your inspiration from the work of Hussein Salim. As one person in the art group put it, "Love his work, but oh God help!"

So I finished my still life, but have yet to try printing and experimenting. Might be fun to try more still lives along this process. Bathroom shelf, dressing table, art counter. The still life was harder than I thought to draw but got me going with ellipses. 

Enjoying having time with my dogs. They both are snouting out mangoes and a blind worm! There are lots of purple-glossed snakes in Monavale. There is a plan to make a bird, snake and insect book for the area. 

Internet, wherefore art thou

 Yesterday was a bit of a frustrating Monday. The night before, something went pop and flashed at home and most of the lights and internet went. On the way to school on Monday morning, I got a phone call from the deputy head, to say the internet at school was also not working but they were trying to get it fixed. Since there was no wifi at home we continued on to school. When it was time for my online Zoom call with the class, I set up a hotspot off my phone. This worked for 15 minutes but we were waiting for some of the students to join. I then ran out of data and when I topped up and tried to reconnect on the hotspot, it no longer worked - arrrgh! I told my students to get on with the stuff they could do on their own and then got busy with photocopying while waiting for the internet to be fixed.

I was supposed to also have my first online English lesson with a Form 3 boy I'm coaching. That in the end had to be postponed to today and in the end so did a Zoom session with my class. We contacted an electrician to try sort out our home internet and power situation but he hadn't arrived yet when I left for physio this morning, so I went to a friend's and used the vacant flat next door to conduct my lesson (social distancing observed). Managed to have a fairly successful lesson with my class and a first language lesson with the Form 3. When the electrician eventually made it to our house, I could have kicked myself for not figuring out what the problem was. All the points that had tripped around the house were connected to our solar inverter, and as I had suddenly thought, just before the electrician arrived ... it was the fuse in the solar inverter, that I have already been shown how to change! We had thought the flash came from the lounge socket but it must have been the kitchen. Well now we know!

In other news, there seems to be a shortage of milk in Harare. It's gone up in price quite a bit, and is very scarce. I was delighted to discover though, they have started a recycling spot outside Avondale Food Lover's Market, under Refuse Collection Services. Was able to empty our collection of cans and bottles there and it is much closer to home.

Felling of an alien

 Seeing your hewn and dismembered limbs,

I find myself a little emotional

even though you are but an alien.

The massive storm last Tuesday

injured you, and there was nothing else we could do.

I will miss your purple hue

and your bulk has been removed.

A paradise flycatcher's nest is gone.

Oh jacaranda, who knew

that I would lament the death of you.

Giving my first ballet class

 We heard the Madagascar cuckoo in our garden today which was very exciting. It was bucketing with rain though so I didn't go out and try catch a glimpse of it. Hopefully it will be back. A friend suggested we record the time we hear it and where on the Monavale Nature WhatsApp group so we can try tell if there's more than one. Be nice if it wasn't all on it's lonesome blown across from Madagascar by Cyclone Chalane.

I signed my contract with Chisi today. Deep breath. It is going to be a lot of work. Still unclear which forms I am taking. Be nice to be preparing now. Am carrying on with my online course on inquiry-based learning and getting useful online tools, in case we're still in lock down, heaven forbid.

Spent this afternoon assembling my class's work packs. Last year my students tended to not bother to stick in their worksheets which resulted in them having a discombobulated, amorphous mass of floating papers that never saw the inside of their exercise books and very little to show for all the effort I'd put in to making their work material. SO ... I have painstakingly cut out and stuck in EVERY sheet into this year's students' books for them. My what a time consuming exercise! Here's hoping it pays off (although I have my doubts still). Am done now and everything is boxed for Monday's collection. I think I will make a start at preparing the next two weeks' work next week as it is so labour intensive. Everything hinges on dear E.D. and what he says for the end of January, but it won't hurt to print out two week's work ahead of time so it's not a rush after his announcement (which we know not when will be).

Tomorrow I have said I will teach a friend's little girl, Emmy, some ballet over Zoom. Have already picked out the Sugar-Plum Fairy and have some ideas up my sleeve. It will have to be demonstrated on my better ankle but should be fun. Hope the music plays OK over Zoom. 

Balancing balls and floating across the Limpopo

 Had an early physio session at Hands On with Maud this morning. She got me to do calf raises and then try balance on a balancing ball ... well that was interesting! Still some way to go and it is still quite painful. Am keeping up my exercises for my achilles at home.

Got back home to tree fellers in the garden. A jacaranda was damaged in Tuesday's storm and is threatening to keel over. It leaves quite a hole in the garden though and the tree fellers just missed my tibouchina, narrow miss. 

One of my best friends from university days, Warren, got in touch yesterday and we had a lovely catch up this morning. Had to laugh, he suggested that if things become dire here Corona-wise, he would meet me at the South African border by the Limpopo River with a queen size mattress, and my mum and I can float across to the other side. I pointed out, the problem would be that he had the mattress! I would need to bring it. But hey, that's the plan, crocodiles and all.

I go in to Chisi tomorrow to go and sign my contract. It is looking like I might teach Form one and two geography rather than Form three, but will see. I have been going through the IGCSE text book and putting together resources already. Form one and two would be easier though and would help me adjust in a bit more gradually rather than jumping off at the deep end.

Of rare birds and work packs

 We are resuming with work packs and then online lessons. Was in yesterday sorting things out and still have a bit more to do before the work goes out on Monday. We're doing it for two weeks and will then assess what ED says from there. I have a sneaky feeling though that we are going to be at this for a while. The death rates for COVID do keep rising. At this rate I might be teaching online when I start at CHISI. Am doing an online course on inquiry-based learning and online tools you can use for it. Am a bit new to student-led learning.

Tomorrow I go for more physio on my achilles tendon. It's still a bit tender. I am not entirely sure what I did to it. Might have been while I was training last year, but it flared up over Christmas and at one point I was hobbling around, not able to walk properly. Have been given exercises to do for it at home by the physio and going to try do Pilates with my sister online tonight. Don't think it's up to Zumba just yet. Would be nice to exercise though, I miss the endorphins.

So today there was a flurry of activity on the Monavale Nature WhatsApp group. Several people had recorded what we thought to be a variant of a red chested cuckoo. It didn't seem quite right though, so I asked friends who are avid members of BirdLife. Long and the short of it was it turned out to be a far rarer Madagascar cuckoo, which was last recorded in Zimbabwe in 1998 and which has never been photographed here before. Everyone in the group is very excited and chuffed it decided to visit Monavale and it was photographed!

New year, back to school in the time of Corona

 Well yet again the rules have all changed with increasing cases of Corona here in Zim. Hopewell Chin'ono has reported that there is a bad outbreak in the high density suburb of Harare, Kuwadzana. Wondering what the situation is like in Epworth, where our gardner Given lives. The government has imposed stricter lockdown again and we are back to square one with trying to teach. Our head and deputy head are going to decide tomorrow what we do as a school. The deputy head said my grade 7's aren't a ZIMSEC exam class so don't really qualify to return. (Government has said only ZIMSEC grade 7s and then O and A Level classes will resume next week). It is also debatable whether we can do work packs as it is non-essential work. This means we might not get paid. The family I worked for in Borrowdale Brooke are keen for me to be a tutor if schools don't go back. Trouble is would mean I have to get across town everyday. A friend said maybe I can live there for the next month - I don't know about that.

I could do with the extra time to try get on top of preparation for teaching geography in the second term. I have made a start but it is vast and I am going to have to put in a lot of time on this. The style of teaching has changed since I last taught a class. It is very much more student driven and enquiry based learning. I am balking a bit at how to get across so much detail, whilst still letting the students take charge. I also need to find out where I will pick up from next term, to help me with developing my plans. Although I will need to be familiar with all the first term stuff I didn't teach too. Think I would find it a little easier if it was my own subject, biology, but it is what it is. I will also be taking form one and two maths, need to check if we're following Cambridge for that.

I have a physio appointment tomorrow but otherwise keeping excursions to only the essentials. Supposed to be playing family online games tonight with family in the UK and Cape Town.

Black mark on my house sitting career

 When I went to bed last night, Oscar was still on her side, but there was a lot more oxygen circulating and I think I had done all that I could. I was reluctant to go to bed though and deep down didn't know if she was going to make it to morning. I'm afraid I went through first thing this morning and she was lying still at the bottom of the tank, no gill movement and starting to turn black. I knew she was gone, but couldn't bring myself to turn off the pump. I messaged the owners to tell them, but they didn't reply. When they got in just before lunchtime their son got out the car and headed to the lounge and I had to tell him. Was a horrible moment. I honestly don't know what else I could have done though and thinking on it, Oscar had stopped eating before the tank became murky due to the power cut. I do feel bad though, my first pet sit fatality to date.

Am back home now and sorting out my life and trying to think about school. My dogs are happy to have me back and have been reading emails from the great danes. I will miss the two great danes and in a way, poor old Oscar. I couldn't bear to sit in the lounge where her tank was when I waited for the owners to come back. I guess these things happen but I will not do fish in future, or snakes.

Isolation and keeping Oscar alive - just one more night Oscar!

 Although I personally didn't come into direct contact with the person who has COVID and only saw a person they were in contact with, the next day, I am still being careful. A friend is having a braai tomorrow and when I explained, she said she'd rather I didn't come tomorrow. I understand. Have been feeling a bit nauseous today, but think it's from too much rich food over Christmas. I went to bed early last night but woke up at what must have been midnight to fireworks and the dogs in distress. My medication usually makes me sleep through most things but I woke up. I couldn't rouse myself though to get up as I was barely awake. The dogs were in the kitchen, so couldn't run away or hurt themselves. I hate fireworks.

Spent the day at home, listening to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and clapping on an online app when prompted. On Wednesday, before I went into isolation, we were having coffee with Sr Paulette at Veldemeer's when I had the dress rehearsal trial run for applause. We must have looked funny as there were my mum, Sr Paulette and I, clapping into my phone and saying bravo in the middle of the restaurant. Today we had to turn the volume down of the concert when prompted and clap. It was being filmed but golly, a whole minute or more of clapping is quite something. I think we must have flagged halfway through and it probably is quite comical viewing. The concert was lovely, but I don't know that I am volunteering to clap online again!

I started looking at IGCSE geography and then stopped. I will contact the school and ask for the text book and access to online Cambridge resources next week. I did wake up this morning though and think I now have four months to get ready for the second term. We wait and see what happens about school for this term and whether it will have to be online again or not. I will have to adjust my lessons a bit if it is work packs and Zoom sessions again. I know one mother is not going to be happy at all if it is back to remote teaching, but there is nothing we can do if it is.

Made a ghost mobile for my godson instead, watched My Octopus Teacher again (highly recommend - made me think of friends and family in beautiful Cape Town, where the documentary was filmed) and then ... suddenly had to try revive Oscar, AGAIN!!! Had been noticing the pump wasn't churning up the water as much and Oscar started to flag this afternoon. I even got the whisk out again. Thinking I couldn't whisk all night and trying to think of a solution, I propped the pump up a bit with a rock. I had cleaned out the filters this morning. This still didn't do much so I phoned my friend William, the fish doctor!! He talked me through some things and eventually said I should try prop up the pump a bit more. This has made the air circulate better but Oscar is still looking pale and is not looking great. If she can just last until 12 midday tomorrow. I sincerely hope she doesn't peg on this my last night of fish-sitting.