Ramiro

So now I have left Huambo and am in Ramiro, 40 km from Luanda, in ADPPs headquarters in Angola. I thought leaving Huambo would be good for me. To get away, to relax. In a sense it is but here people aswell are in Obito (mourning) So although it is good to see my team mates it is in no way get away. And I am almost thinking it would have been better to stay in Huambo for couple more days.
Still now it is hard to believe that Tina is really gone. My time here is running out fast. Already flying home on Sunday.
Today we went to crazy over priced art market and to the beach. it was good to see an ocean and just forget for a moment all the troubles in the world. And sort of forgive Angola its cruelty.

Life here can hit you hard

Oi Angola, minha querida, you can be cruel, too many people die here, too close :(

The director and project leader of EPF Huambo Tina Grant died yesterday in a car accident around 17 hours. She was on her way to Luanda for a BG meeting driving with teachers of EPF. There was some oil on the road and the car slilpped. She went out of the car to stop the traffic so that nobody would hit their car. A bus came with too high speed and couldnt stop and hit Tina. She died in the scene of the accident.
We are all very devastated. She was the most wonderful project leader and director to have, always very supportive always helping others. I have no words. The loss is great for us for ADPP for TG I am sure and for everyone who knew her.

What now then? I am currently the only teacher here in Huambo. We dont know yet when the others are able to return. It is free weekend so most of the students are at home. I have been in contact with the local leaders of ADPP and the director of Bie. At the moment the instructions are to keep everything calm. We ( me +2 DIs from Childrens town and Agriculture and one worker Luis who worked very close to Tina) have talked to the remaining students here and explained the situation. For now we are waiting for further instructions from Luanda.

Rest in peace dear Directora. We miss you a lot!

5 months in Angola

I cant believe I have been here 5 months and what a crazy time it has been. Sometimes I hated it then loved it and both simultaneosly. Angola is beautiful but rough. Huambo is like an oasis on the central platou. Thats where I leave, 8 km out of the city past Alemanha (trans:Germany) market behind the trees in EPF (Escola de Professores do Futuro). The village is called Quissala. It takes a good 4x4 car to get there or a Jazi (local taxi). The road is like mountain climbing from one whole to the next. its sandy and dusty and during the rain collection of various sized deep puddles. From the school gate there is beautiful view on the rock of quissala in sunsets and rises and even on a rainy day :)
I live in half of a very small house - one room, onetoilet/bucketshower room, one whole in the wall ( chineses are reconstructing the whole school)
It is suppose to be raining coz of the rainy season but its not. Instead I get to enjoy hot dusty days and cold starry nights. I have 3 weeks left here. The feeling is bitter happy. Sad to leave this wild country and happy to see my family again after half a year. I will write more. But now I really must catch a jazy home :)

So finally July, teaching practice is over. Actually weirdly enough I was even a bit sad to leave. I can honestly say I grew to Bustrup and it was indeed a fine place to pass the teaching practice. A lot happened during the 7 months I was there, too much to account for here. So I wont really bother to go into the details but keep them selfishly to myself. I am good at being selfish - shellfish:)
I am at home now -my last holiday before Africa. Its really great to be away from Denmark, DNS and all that stuff, that stress of exams and responsibility. I have been granted a freedom to be irresponsible and for 2 weeks do what ever I god damn please and I am not taking much to do. I am happily enyoing laZ life of sleeping, walking, meeting some friends then and again, having beer, eating, sleeping when I please and not when its lunch time :P

I could die for a fag right now. U see as my parents house is also my humble abode at the moment, since I am visiting home, and they dont know that I smoke, I can't really do it when they are around. And to be honest I am also out of fags, so I gotta knick some of my stepdads, after they go to sleep and buy some in twn tomorrow :)
well thats shortly it for now....
cheers!

2 months

Sitting in the classroom. Only one student is here, all the others are outside somewhere or smoking. I cant help but feel relieved to have a sort of quiet afternoon :)
In 2 months I am finished with this teaching practise thing and to be honest I have no lust for more.
Am sick and tired of danish language and welcome the thought of being stuck with learning another one - portuguese !
Studyweekend was nice. Thats a good thing me saying that coz I havent really enoyed the previous ones much. Seeing some first year students confused with too much free time in hand I was rather amuzed and advised them to enjoy it while they can. I am dreaming of my own next study period where my only responsibility is to study and clean now and again....next year
The next project is Angolan work visa which is quite a pain in the arse to get !!!!!

Pondering upon what sort of holiday could I possibly arrange for myself in the next month ( financial situation is not very supportive). I just wanna go somewhere, sleep, relax without any duties to think about!

out

April ?!?!?!???!?!?!?!?!

Last time I wrote it was January, never ending January and now its already like 10th of April. I dont seem to remember much in between. Sometimes time just dissapears and reappears again. Its my first day back to work after Easter. I went back to my school to write exam paper..it was a weird week though, nothing really happend but evewrything and everybody seemed out of place somehow.
This morning I spend babysitting the boys in the carehome coz they didnt want to come to school. Nice first day :) My back hurts :(
I try to look positively ahead, waiting for July, when all this is over ( kids screaming in the background). No more teaching practice and some other wonderful people have the pleasure of taking over :)
I will just swet through my exams, go home in between and head to Angola in august, which reminds me I really ought to start with portuguese fast!!! or I will be in serious trouble when I finally get there.
mmmmmm just the thought of leaving Denmark makes me smile , no offence Danes, but sometimes I get utterly fed up here!!!
School day is almost over so I better go and trot around, check what the students are up to.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot: the horses are sent back to their owner but now the care home is thinking of having hens instead...fair trade ???

whats new dogggggg?!?

So whats new, I mean really whats new. It has been a while, a long while since Ive written anything. Well I was busy with changing my positions in teaching practice. As if now I am working in Bustrup (since November actually). In the day time I'm a co teacher in a girls class and my mornings and evenings are spent in a care home for students who go to this school, just 5 min walk from here. The place is so much seriously better then the previous places I worked. Although I still probably never become a teacher, its definitely a better environment to pass by my teaching practice.
Ive been home for nearly 2 weeks at Christmas. It was fab, I could be plain laZ all day long, no questions asked. Im working like 7-8 days a week, saving all the free days so could have holiday later on. I must say it is exhausting to be around the kids 7 days a week without much brake. But somehow I hope the time will pass by quicker this way and before I know it'll be all over :) Then in the summer its only exams and then on the road again...Africa, Estonia...who knows :P Well in any case away from go' ol' Denmark for half a year.
I still don't av too many ideas what to do in the class. Sometimes I help students individually but other than that, not too much.
I avent hd any teacher meetings here since I started so I don't really av a clue what they think of me but am sure it is not wowaweeewa. But since nobody has also not put any major complaints on me I carry on just as Ive been so far.
I also av the task to take care of the horses in the care home in the afternoons. No problems there. Its quite simple and just the question of doing it so the horses are fine.

Am I bored????? well yeah sometimes, everyday is more or less the same unless some student freaks out. Sometimes it really seems as if time is standing still here. I have the feeling that it should be already at least march but its only mid January and June seems oh so god damn far away. Anyway thats it for now. toodles

Another study weekend.Its a miracle I am here in the first place and not long gone from Tvind, Dns and all that. I have quit my job in Casablanca nad although it sound easy, it took more then 2 weeks of meetings and many many mental breakdowns for me. I just couldnt anymore...Too much was too much. Well Yesterday apparently was my last day of working there. I spent it painting fence boards for something like 6 hours. Then I did nothing for a while and finally helped with dinner cleanup before leaving. I didnt say anything so I dont even know if the boys know Im not working there anymore. Well it seems like Im the only one trying not to make a big deal of my leaving that job. I dont feel the need to do that. I mean I think 3 weeks is long enough period for quitting a job. Am I glad to get out finally??? oh yes sure. but now theres a question now what????? which will be discussed in the study weekend. I feel like Harry Potter in the 5th book. Everybody staring and talking about you and everytime new people are added I have to explain everything again, defend myself, agree I failed the job...blah blah blah BLAH!!!!!! And teachers convinced I did nothing there since august... I mean thats like a hit in the gut...I mean seruiously common!!! anyway enough of that crap before I get more upset...bloody circus I say !

It was early morning when pink elehfants first opened her eyes. The sun was already showing its first signs of waking up too. Pink elehfants stretched and got herself up rather slowly. As she stepped outside she shivered for a moment in the brisk morning air. She lifted her tront and greeted the sun and the rest of the world by a loud tutututututututuuuuuluuuuu. It was Wednesday morning which meant morning run 3 times around the 10 tree hall. She put on her sneakers and started with a slow jog towards the 10 tree hall. Right about half round she decided to call herself Matilde for a day. Her running stopped to halt by a sudden peculiar noise. She looked around not seeing anybody. Suddenly a long, very long hairy nose popped out of the near by bush, then long stripy ears and too large blue green eyes. A wide smile crossed Matildes face, it was her old friend, a kuthimuthi called Bernard. Kuthimuthis where rather strange creatures. Generally shaped like a big dog with stripy years and white round spots covering their entire body. They are easy to recognize by their really long nose which is used for finding berries under the bushes. They are for some reason extremely fond of orange juice.
Matilde hadn't seen Bernard since last winter and had missed him a lot. They grew up together you see, playing sunhopping and magicpotions all day long. Matilde was also relieved to skip the Wednesday morning run and instead sit down next to Bernard to find out what he has been up to.....to be continued........

well hello hellooo hellloooo ( with a hollow voice)

I finally found my passweord....gosh brain has been damaged in some multiple ways so that I managed to forget my login details. I gotta admit it has been some quest to find those out. so then Ive been up to as much as writing my first exam this summer in this school. twas about School and Society and I only got 8 as my grade. I must say I was mighty dissapointet..I was writing and rewriting this thing for 4 days and I was pretty proud when I finished...but oh well I guess next time I choose some booring and theoretical topic. This time I chose one called School in the Third world.
After that its been work, home, work , home. I worked in a summercamp in Hellebæk this summer with a wonderful co-teacher Safra with whom we shared 11 wonderful, absolutley craZ girls, who managed to keep us runing from 7-8 (sometimes 5) in the morning till 11-12 at night...in short it was a love hate relationship job..we loved the kids and hated their behaviour.
I also managed to do some building..some destruction and some painting...nothing impressing but well I guess the money has to come from somewhere.
Now I have barely started my school/teaching practise in a care home called Casa Blanca. Unfortunately its situate in cold Denmark.
hmmm well what is my job...on my way to figure out...cleaning..hmmm..sometimes cooking...some talking...wondering wat the hell am I doing here ???
then some days in day school in Tvind...so far asking the same question but then organizing some practical activities on tuesdays and some evening activities and some sleeping at night (the last one is for me)
And ofcourse DANISH...Im learning it slower then I ever thought I would, somehow Ive lost the motivation and will...
Just been in homeland for a week, besides busy running around it was fab to get a way. to be in my rightful environment again and lay on the couch when feel like laying on the couch or meet friends when feel like meeting friends..well u get the point.
Im really hungry again..its 1 hour till lunch...my luggage should arrive today with all the wonderful sweets. the airlines left it in CPH...yesterday my KARMA slapped me in my face for all the not nice thoughs and stuff Ive been doing...hmm being evil basically. first the plane to CPH was late and then we had to run and run to make it to the next flight to Billund, th luggage obviously didnt run as fast. then in Billnd I got the nice surprrriiise. The bus to Vejle was more expensive then expected meaning when I was about to buy a train ticket to Holstebro I was 3 kroner short resulting me letting go of my pride and asking kroner from a perfect stranger........hmmmmm....urrrrrrrrrr I almost missed my stop...well I made it anyway..late midnite to Casa Blanca and this morning to Dayschool...
so shortly thats it and no Pink elehfants today :)