This morning I was up and scrambling eggs at 5.30am in order to get Rose and Joe to Chileka Airport in time for a transfer flight to Lilongwe to pick up their Air Kenya flights to Nairobi and on to Heathrow. They arrive early tomorrow morning. I should think by the time Joe gets back to Norwich on the train from London he will be utterly exhausted. We had a bit of a panic the night before last as it seemed that diesel was unobtainable in Blantyre and we had planned to hire a car and drive back to Dedza yesterday via a visit to Mua Mission, and thus give ourselves an easy journey from Dedza to Lilongwe to catch the lunchtime plane. We reviewed a few options but eventually decided the simplest, if not the most environmentally friendly, was to book them on the morning flight to Lilongwe and have an extra day in Blantyre. We had done the booking by 9.00am and filled the day with pottering round Blantyre, buying last minute gifts and souvenirs, having lunch in Veg-delight, and sitting around at Mitsidi, talking, swimming and reading. It was a nice relaxing day. As we had been swimming in Lake Malawi we also sorted out the anti-bilharzia medication for R and J to take back to the UK and take six weeks after the swim. It's much cheaper and easier to get it here.
I felt really sad when I got back to Mitsidi. I have had such a lovely time with my children, just as I did when Jack came in January. I was wondering what on earth possessed me to leave them for such a long time, although I know that the answer to this question is complicated! However I also know that it would never happen at home that I would have their undivided attention for a whole fortnight and so much high quality time spent enjoying ourselves together. They all have their own lives in Norwich, with their own friends and social circles, but here they are visiting my world and so I saw so much more of them. Both Rose and Joe have said that they would like to contribute something to this blog, following their visit. I look forward to their contributions and to hearing their thoughts and feelings about their African experiences.
This morning I have been catching up with my emails as a way of thinking my way back in to a working frame of mind. It has been rather too Malawian an introduction in that I have struggled with the internet connection and lost material through losing connections. How frustrating it is, and how daft am I not to have got into the habit of drafting EVERYTHING in Word just in case!
I have a lot of lecture and activity preparation to do in the week or so until term starts again. Also I plan to have a good look at the classroom, give the toilets a good clean, and consider how best to display some of the student's work with a view to encouraging them to display children's work in interesting and stimulating ways. David worked for a week after I had gone away with my children to the Lake so I daresay he is well ahead with his lecture prep. I am looking forward to his return in a week's time and also to meeting his Dad again. Jed is here for at least a couple of months. It is a bit of a time of change at Mitsidi. We have recently welcomed Melvyn, an engineer who will replace Malcolm who is off home in a couple of weeks, and Adam who is a JCB expert, among other talents. Giacomo, an architect, has been here a couple of weeks and is already having a significant effect on the development of the Children's Centre. Tony Smith the founder of Krizevac is here for a month. Philip and Sharon are off back to the States very soon. Jan and Lindy's children and mine have just completed visits and are off home again, so it has definitely been a time of change. I wonder how it will all feel when everything has settled down.
But first there is Easter, and then May 1 will bring the blessing by the Archbishop of the new IT training college.
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