Final Fling

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Final Fling Blog 5th JFinal Fling Blog 5th July 2009

3 weeks and we will be back in England—it seems so close yet so far away!
We are busy in these last weeks writing the modules for the teacher training that will take place in the last week we are here-I am getting quite quick on the key board The lap top is one of the most useful items that we brought with us -infact we should have brought 2. Much of the training is based on making the lessons in the official Punjab texts books more interesting and inter-active but I am also working on sessions about reading/book corners and making books, bullying and Early Childhood Education! It is going to be an intensive week!
We have had cupboards made—not quite as we designed but the carpenter is used to making the one type of cupboard! We visited wood shops and hardware stores and it was nearly as exciting as buying the computers!!!! We have found a couple of good book shops in Lahore and will take a trip there again soon to buy books, flash cards and some wall charts. We can get rulers, compasses and other stationary items from smaller shops in Kot Rahda Kishen and I think it will be good to support local traders. I am looking for rectangular plastic containers to store the items but haven’t seen any yet—just round ones—but I am sure we will find something suitable. We will put some small pots of paint and brushes in the cupboards so that the students can paint them—it is a shame that we won’t be here to see the results but school doesn’t start again until the end of August—perhaps someone will send us photos? I am looking forward to the training session when we can present the cupboards and explain to the teachers how generous our friends and colleagues have been in England.

Geoff and I took some leave recently and spent some time in Islamabad and Murree and crossed the Wagga boarder again to visit Shimla in India to get away from the intense heat here in the Punjab plains.
VSO organised the Murree trip as there are only 9 volunteers here in Pakistan now and as the office is also going to have to lose staff they thought it would be good to have a get together before we all go our separate ways. They hired a coaster and we drove up into the mountains to the hill station of Murree—it was a jolly trip just lacking the crates of Guinness and larger! Murree was very busy and rather like Blackpool! However the weather was cool and there were some beautiful views. They had asked us to provide some entertainment for the evening but after the incident with the ‘Inshala’ song in February I stuck to a game of pass the parcel with forfeits! It took a long time for the ‘go out of the room with 2 legs and come back with 6 legs’ forfeit to be realised!!!
It was good to see the other volunteers and people who have become important to us over the months we have been here and quite sad to realise that it is all going to end soon.

Our India trip had its ups and downs, and not just due to the amazing mountain roads! We are ‘regulars’ at Wagga now and I wonder how many other westerners have as many Wagga stamps as us!! Once in India we got a good air conditioned coach to Chandigah at £3 a ticket each . Our accommodation in Chandigah was not such a bargain and even though we had the ‘honeymoon’ room I will not be recommending the hotel to my friends!! If Geoff had taken me there for our honeymoon there I don’t think our marriage would have lasted 3 minutes not 32 years!
Our journey continued on a local bus [Geoff did check t

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Photos

More Home Economics
In the last week of term each grade took it in turns to cook lunch. This is 'Shammie Kebab' It was OK!! Like a very soft spicy pate/burger.

the computer lab
We had a proper opening ceremony with a ribbon and speeches plus coke and sweets!