Jobless

Yesterday was my last day of work. M finishes tomorrow. An unsettling thought that we will then both be unemployed .....and for the first time in our working lives are not stepping from one job into another. Strangely not feeling at all bothered and rather looking forward to our ‘holiday’. M keeps reminding me that we will actually be working and likely well out of our comfort zones....and there I was picturing the Indian Ocean.

R has written her first post and can’t decide if she should be writing to her friends or as if she is explaining to a stranger what we are up to. I feel much the same.

Perhaps it would help if I offloaded the thousands of questions I am fielding......from the children, from others and from myself. I wonder if I shall ever be able to answer them all:

Why are we going? (Altruism;itchy feet; to open the girls’ eyes to the world.....)

How many deadly snakes are there in Tanzania? (I’m sure R did tell me......but they won’t come anywhere near us...will they)

And do we need to check under the toilet seat? (Hmmm....hopefully not in our house)

What are we doing there? (M will be operating & training, I’ll be helping in the hospice....maybe some other stuff eg ecg training, family planning)

Do they cane children in school? (Help...I hope not)

Do they speak English? (The hospital staff and teachers do....)

Are there great white sharks? (No....they’re all out at reunion island)

Can we drink the water? (Definitely not.....except from the filter in our house and the amazing water to go drinks bottles we’ve been given)

Are there African tooth fairies? (Absolutely, though I’m not sure what size they are)

Are we getting paid? (NOOOO)

How many Tanzanian shillings are there to the pound? (About 3000)

Why is it called Tanzania? (L has answered her own question....combination of Tanganiyika and Zanzibar)

How many cupboards does the headmistress have and how many cats does she have in each cupboard? (????)

Will they like me? (Why would they not?)

Can girls wear shorts or do they need to cover their knees like women do? (Answers please)

How much suncream should we take? (Total indecision.....do I buy an industrial 1L or take out shares in Piz Buin?)

Does Father Christmas stop in Tanzania? (Of course, but only to people who celebrate Christmas, and he is respectful of local customs, so children in Tanzania may have different things in their stockings compared to the U.K. or Australia....where apparently they get iPads!!!)