The Way Things Work...

Today I have been bombarded with images of the way things work here in Dar. (or don't work here in Dar.) It all began this morning as I walked to the top of our school grounds to run and pray around our soccer field. (Our pitch is elevated at the top of our campus... not sure why... it usually only has the affect of allowing the soccer balls to roll a LONG way before we can retrieve them.) I stepped onto the pitch, and SQUISH!... mud everywhere. Did it rain last night? I'm sure I would have heard it... No, now I remember... there were firetrucks at school last night, emptying the water from our swimming pool!

Why did the swimming pool have to be emptied? Because the water was green.

Why was the water green? Because we had extra people in it.

Why do extra people make water go green? Because the Chlorine isn't working.

Why isn't the Chlorine working? We have no idea....

or had no idea...

After getting fed up with the pool, our coordinator took two bottles of water, put the on the desk of our building and grounds supervisor, and said, "Order water tests." His response? "We have already done this." He handed her a document two years old that said our water on campus was NOT SUITABLE FOR USE IN A SWIMMING POOL. In fact, it was "Not suitable for domestic use" at all. So why did we empty the pool? Because somebody filled it with the wrong water.

and where did the water go? Onto the soccer field... leading to a quickly scrawled email from our Secondary Principal... "The soccer field is closed until further notice."

My journey continued in the Teacher's Lounge this afternoon. Our Lounge is in our new Admin building here on campus... the one where the air conditioning has been broken for three weeks because the company installed a central a/c system and nobody in all of Tanzania knows how to service it. I noticed a hole in one of the walls in the bathroom this afternoon... a random hole in the middle of a tile with strange wires sticking out of it. What is the purpose of this hole? I don't know. Why is it there? I have no idea. What are the wires for? Who knows. And why doesn't this hole-wire setup go anywhere or do anything? Your guess is as good as mine.

Finally, on my way back to my office after homeroom this afternoon, I noticed some "maintenance work" going on outside one of the classrooms. (and by classroom I mean the old building that has severe termite damage... huge sections of it fall off daily. Not kidding. Pieces of the wall actually fall down daily.) What was the maintenance work you ask? Termite treatment? no.
Roof supports? Nope.
Replacement of broken glass in windows to make the room secure? Not even close.
It was patch work. Using a saw, one of our workers was widening a hole so he could repair it. Repair a hole in a building that is literally crumbling away because of the termites.

At least I can rest assured that our students here will be safe from "domestic use" water, overexerting themselves on a soccer field, wires that carry power and small holes in the walls of their classrooms.

The Return of the Teacher and Girl Gab aint all Bad!

One of my housemates from last year has returned to sub for the Bible Teachers who are on Home Assignment with their Children until Easter Break. It is so great to have Lisa back in town! The first day back at school, I was walking to the office and I heard a loud voice calling, "MISS CONNELL!!" I turned around and saw Lisa running towards me. So I responded, with equal enthusiasm, "MISS HENDERSON!" We hugged, jumped up and down, and squealed as only two extroverted, uninhibited women could do while surrounded by astounded students. (Just the ones who were new this year... everyone else understood what was going on.)

It's nice having Lisa around again... and since we have already been through the "You're driving me crazy, rinse your dishes!" and "Well, you ate all the peanut butter!" it is much easier to just hang out and talk. Like old friends... picking up right where we left off.

Last week, we went out for coffee to chat, hang out and talk about our vision for the Youth Group here at HOPAC. (Since the Bible Teachers were also my co-leaders, Lisa has stepped in to help with the Large Group Teaching on Friday nights.) It has been great to watch God at work... at first, Lisa and I had very different ideas about what God wanted us to do. But, after much girl gab about various feelings, emotions and desires for the future, God gave me a topic for the next theme: Heart Surgery. Lisa had also been wanting to do something to encourage our students to give away their WHOLE hearts to God... not just part of it, or to just connect intellectually with Him, but their WHOLE Hearts. And of course, our current theme will end the week of Valentine's Day... so starting a new theme with the word HEART in it is just cheesy enough to work for Youth Group!

maybe we should decorate in red and pink that first night...

...maybe not.