Reasons to be cheerful part 1

I can always tell when I am still ill as I am very irritable. So whilst I am feeling a little happier the energy required to teach the kids just reduces me again to a whisper - even with my new assistant trying to support me - she is very young was slightly proactive, and was probably amazed  that it takes 10 minutes to get children to do something. This off course explains why they know phrases like move back but not the words that I was trying to teach them.


I think part of the problem is that I just miss my family especially Nathan, maybe more so this time than last time I went away as Nathan did not live at home last time.  And somehow Senegal seemed more of an adventure and burden though he was Rackou was big enough to fill the void.  The other problem is that I am not well and rather worryingly this is the third serious bout of throat problems that I have had since September. I get them in the UK too and they make teaching very difficult, but if you have ever seen children give up singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm, because the singer could only croak (when not being a frog) you can see what a disadvantage it is.

I do not fully understand though my getting so dispirited as I have met such kindness, really like everyone and have met so many nice people and think that the country is beautiful.

Yesterday I spent almost an hour on Skype talking with Nathan as it was his birthday. The heating goes off at 3 so I was frozen  by the time we finished and headed off home. It is so slippery it takes me ages, so fell asleep the minute I got back at 6. Woke up in time to eat. At dinner to my surprise the couple who are still here invited me to pink champagne, which I am glad to say is much nicer than the usual stuff, to both celebrate Nathan's day and the woman's birthday.  We had an amazing conversation, ranging from Petipa and Diaghilev and Russian ballet, to the poetry of Pushkin and how many popular British tales have been re-told in Russian, to polite forms of language. My poor little brain cannot cope with these nimble and very intelligent people who are talking with me remember in their third language.   So a very lovely stimulating evening and with no internet I was very happy to just crash out afterwards.