Solomon our driver died, RIP

Solomon one of the college drivers died today, that brings the death toll of our colleagues for this year (since September) up to two. He had been sick on and off for some time, but nobody knows with what.

We developed an English workbook for the kindergarten and a big Alphabet book to accompany it, drawing the pictures for this book has been the bane of my life this week and I still have four or five more to do!

We now have the internet in our office which has made our office very popular with members of our colleagues' families. One of our colleague's sons has just graduated with a degree in Applied Maths and Computer Science, however he couldn't figure out how to switch the computer on or how to turn on the printer and without realising that he had disconnected the switch for the server, it makes you wonder did he actually ever get within ten feet of a computer during his degree.

This week on Wednesday we have three other volunteers coming to visit; Nigel who is doing research into valuing teachers, Liza who is trying to database Non-Formal Education and Julian who is an IT volunteer in Debra Birhan so it will be full house and they will stay till Saturday. Then as well as them Emma another volunteer from Asossa who is a democratization advisor is coming with her friend and her mother on
Thursday so there will be loads of us around. I wish visitors could spread themselves out so we would have something to look forward to each week rather than all coming together but Murphy's Law!

At the moment we are trying to figure out when Ied will be. Ied is the end of Ramadan and is a Muslim festival and a public holiday here. The Muslims only know it is Ied when the full moon appears in Mecca or something like that. So it could be Monday or it could be Tuesday we have to wait for the sound of singing from the mosque which will be hard to differentiate from the regular singing which comes every evening from the churches and mosques. We have workshops this week in the college so we don't want to think it is Ied and not turn up and leave all the participants sitting there waiting.

Today we had Steve, Addis and Addis' sister for lunch. We cooked a feast of roasted vegetables, Moroccan beef, garlic bread, crème caramel, and chocolate cake. It all went well even though our oven threatened to blow up in the middle of it all, but we caught it just as the plug started to melt. It is a far cry from when we use to have to just cook on the kerosene stove and the very damaged electric ring!

I bought a new pillow yesterday a foreign pillow as I am sick of my Ethiopian foam one which no matter what I do ends up like a big ridge and my head is about 20 cm off the bed when I sleep. I bargained the new pillow down to 50 birr (€ 4.50); Jill had seen them in Addis for 130 birr so I really thought I got a bargain. It is like a pillow at home, when I told Addis she had to see it and bring her sister to see it, as she
couldn't imagine a pillow costing so much.

Addis has a new mobile now and although she is still fighting with telecommunications for a sim card. One of the lecturers in college has given here a long-term loan of a sim card he had so for the moment she is happy.

So that is all the news from here, I hope you all have a good week.

Ciao Orla