Reality kicks in...

It was inevitable that we would run out of excitement and reach the 'why are we here?' phase and 'please can we go home?'.

I think I was fairly accurate in my predictions for that being in week 2.....here we are 2 weeks from our arrival in Tanzania and I'm questioning what on earth made me uproot us from our perfectly lovely middle class English lives and stick us here (emotional children at bedtime).

Good question really....
I'm getting what I was after; which is a challenge for all of us, putting us out of our comfort zones, forcing far more time together without digital relief. Wanting to put something good back into the world...M currently achieving this....I have stagnated on motherly duties. It's far more dramatic being a surgeon and saving lives/training others to save lives.. but we did agree that before he came that he would get on with doing this. I (as most of you know) will only be able to throw myself into things once I've reassured myself that the children are settled....terrible guilt complex. I have managed to set up palliative care training to start next week for the current clinical officer (plus any other interested hospital staff) in the hospice with the aim of mentoring him over the coming months.

Reasons we are wobbling:
R & I have both been feeling rubbish the last few days, so much so that Mark brought back a malaria quick test kit for her yesterday (negative result- phew!). Hopefully her preteen resistance to parental guidance on mosquito avoidance will now diminish. I suspect we picked something up on the plane and add in the heat means we've felt wiped out.
Plus a few days of just being in our house as no school most of the week....home schooling has been more successful than predicted... but the heat means we have been far less active than at home and I think cabin fever is setting in.
And the reality of school being pretty boring - lots of rote learning and long periods sitting still.
Getting used to a housekeeper being around much of the day (that feeling of always being on show) and lots of coming and goings of people to the house.
Girls missing their lovely friends (me too!!)
And it's just so hot!!!!

Solutions:
A) all come home
B) pull our socks up, stop fretting about school/work and do whatever works for us all
C) go on a lovely weekend break to Peponi (Kiswahili for heaven)
D) give ourselves a few more weeks and work out how to survive the weekdays

So...currently working with B, C & D......I am taking the girls tomorrow morning to the coast & M will join us in the afternoon in the hospice car for the weekend.