Staff Blogs

 

Bilibili School, Kenya

The First Day - February 2011

admin on: Bilibili School, Kenya

I remember reading a poem about someone who really did not want to go to school. His mother was given every excuse including feeling ill, not wanting to get out of bed and being bullied...and then right at the end of the poem, mum tells him to get out of bed and stop making excuses because, as the head teacher, he to run the school!

I felt a little like that as I boarded the plane to go to Kenya. Every excuse bombarded my poor brain. I did not know anyone flying out with me; I missed my family; I should be back at St. Andrew's with the pupils I knew; I did not know what Bilibili School was going to be like and it was going to be nearly three weeks before I would get home again.

It is difficult to strike up a conversation on an eight hour flight but, fortunately, I was sitting next to Meryl, a Shropshire teacher who had been to Kenya before and had now brought her entire family with her this time as she had loved the experience so much. She began to allay my fears and, as I set foot on Kenyan soil for the first time in warm early morning sunshine and soaked up the African ozone, I began to relax. Perhaps a little too soon! The journey from Nairobi to Kimilili by minibus was torturous. Poor suspension and drivers determined to drive on the wrong side of the rode to avoid the crater-like potholes made the next twenty-four hours very uncomfortable. Fortunately, the scenery was spectacular.

As we drove the length of the Rift Valley and began to see some of the wildlife, I became excited again at the prospect of crossing the equator for the first time. Tourist "shops" - little more than tin huts and mud cabins selling a range of "ivory" animals, African clothes and head wear - tempted everyone to spend a little money - and help the local economy. I was reminded of children on a school trip as they ignored the purpose of the visit in their hurry to buy souvenirs! The real magic was when we stopped to see one of the shop owners demonstrating the magnetic compass trick - anti-clockwise in the southern hemisphere and clockwise in the northern hemisphere. And then there were the compulsory photos in front of the huge "You are at the equator" sign with the Swahili word of greeting - "Habari" I began to feel that we had arrived and the rest of the journey to our overnight stay became a little more comfortable as we approached midday and the African heat began to help us all to doze.

 

                                                                         The Rift Valley                                  

               Shaking hands with Peter at the equator. Peter is a university lecturer who helped organise the transport

 

3 comments