Appying for funds from DSA

I had really good information: Due to one of the ladies in my mothers group, we're eligible to apply for funds from the Diplomatic Spouse Association! The application is due the last day of November, so we need to hurry up! I e-mailed Reverend  George, asking him what his current priority list was like and we decided to ask for funds for more floors (they don't have cement flooring in all the room and this makes it hard to put a desk there, not to mention when it rains) and fencing around the school. My mother is meeting the ladies wednesday to talk about it, so I need to make an application very, very soon. This is a great opportunity, but I still face the fact that they might not accept the application (very frustrating!). I had planned to visit the school on Saturday, but it didn't work out because of my busy schedule this week. Reverend George and I had a long conversation by telephone and mail and I got a lot of information and inspiration. He is going to e-mail me quotations shortly and we discussed the budget.

This is how a floor in a classroom can look. Imagine this when it's the rainy season!

Performances

We started up with a dress rehearsal, with audience coming from our neighboring schools. It was really tough, because every thing needed to be in order and the nerves of the cast were not! We finally pulled together and only experienced a few glitches in all the technical stuff and only a few moments of confusion. It is nice to know that rehearsal really pays off. The next couple of nights went on smoothly and we got a lot of appreciation for all our hard work. Today is the last play, so tomorrow I will be back to a normal life with school work and my Cas work.

   Tickets                                                 The entrance

    The cast and crew

Macbeth is coming to ISK

Due to my workload the last week, I haven't been able to update my blog as much as I have wished. However, I want to inform you of what I've been doing. No trips to the Nest or Excellent school, no football and MUN and minimal homework has been the routine - just work, work, work for the Machbeth play, going up on the 17:th. I'm the assistant stage manager and these weeks has been filled with, painting, fixing wardrobe, props and various technical stuff. We had a few setbacks: Duncan was forced to drop out of the play, due to a very heavy IB schedule, and Macbeth himself, was ill during rehearsals. I just hope (and think) we will be ready for the 17:th. All of this week, we're working until 8 pm and all through the weekend. Drama is one of my favorite subjects, and I'm doing the higher level IB. It's very surprising though  I've never done any types of performances in my previous life. I discovered, during 10:th grade (when I had to do two credits of fine art), that I enjoy drama a lot, and are actually quite good at it. I just love working backstage and these days working on the set are so much fun and very educational. I also discovered that Drama helps me in other subjects. My oral presentations has become a lot better after taking drama and to read all the plays I've been reading makes me have an advantage in English.

Busy 2/11

Today I was very busy. I’m working backstage for the Macbeth performance ISK is putting up, and today was the start of two busy weeks. My teacher tells me I should expect to get out of school at 6 pm this week and 8 pm next week. I’m working as a stage manager and props manager and it’s very interesting to practice the things I only studied. I love drama and really enjoy the work, so the only problem I’ll have over the next weeks is fitting in my schoolwork, my training and of course CAS. I will not have the opportunity to go to the Nest in a few weeks, and that is quite sad.

I did however manage to find some time to make a poster for the Swedish Christmas market. We applied for funds in April and got what we needed to buy 16 new blackboards and almost 90 new lecture chairs. One of the conditions from the Swedish society is to bring a 70x100 cm poster to the Christmas market and give them all the receipts. Luckily, I’ve taken the photos on my visit to the school - but I still had to design the poster! I knew that the deadline was coming up, but had a hard time getting myself to do the design. I finally decided to do it very simple: Write some headlines and print them and a lot of photos, and finally glue them to this big poster. To make it look a little more professional, I begged my parents to give me a nice frame to put it in and luckily they did (because of IKEA there's always old stuff around). 

I’m actually quite happy with the result, even if it took ages to decide what images to use, print them, cut them out and finally glue them. The whole operation is very important though. It will inspire the Swedish community to buy more (expensive) Swedish candy and other Swedish foods, buy more drinks and food on our parties and be OK with that most of it is overpriced. 

As I’ve blogged about before, I’m planning to apply for more funds for Excellent School in Mathare in april and the Christmas market is a way to earn the money. I know I’m going to have to work hard at the market, selling food, candy and lottery tickets, so hopefully the board of the Swedish Society will consider my application. I can only hope, write a good application and wait....

Work in progress........

Finished!

Taekwondo 30/10

This Taekwondo class was a different story from the last one! We practiced kicks and did a lot of sparring. A friend from Sweden with a black belt in Karate was visiting, so he joined us. We all got a little carried away so my sister put on all of her protective gear. I really had to strain myself to just mark the kicks and not kick her for real! We had a lot of fun and were sweating buckets! I also had a very enlightened  talk with Max about self control. In Taekwondo, you have to keep really cool and strategic when fighting. If you get angry, you'll just lose the game - because you have to be "one step ahead" of your opponent and really plan your attacks. At the same time, the moves, kicks and punches should really be in the back of your head all the time and be executed without even thinking. This is why every kick has to be practiced so many times and even if you're a black belt, you'll still have to practice even the most basic kicks!

Taekwondo 23/10

Last session was not good at all. I was a bit annoyed when I started warming up. Furthermore, my inability to concentrate was adding and I became very negative towards myself (because I could not preform the most simple of kicks) and of others. It was not a pleasant feeling and I just wanted to get out and take a shower. However, I am planning to, after the football season, continue and increase my time in Taekwando. Instead of being just satisfied with a yellow belt, why not a blue or red?
It is vital, in any activity, to come with a positive behavior and open attitude. This was maybe not the best day of my life, but very educational in order to understand the importance of bringing a positive attitude to the training session.

Max getting help from his son to massage me.

14/10 - 25/10 Excellent school exam fees

I recieved a text message from reverend George telling me that he needed 30 000 Kes to pay the fee for the national exams for grade 8. Knowing that this is really important, whereas I contacted the Swedish ladies asking them to contribute with 5 000 Kes per family. I was really happy that they were more than willing to contribute and quickly I got 20 000 Kes in place. I asked my mother to contact her friends to ask for another 10 000 Kes. 

On sunday we’re going to the beach for the brake, but when we get back I hope some more has agreed to contribute. Hopefully I’ll be able to get the last 10 000 Kes in place before November 7, because that’s when it’s due! 

Thanks to Karin, Linda, Åsa, Christina, Jeanette and the Öberg family for giving the money needed! Unfortunately, I couldn't join the group going there on tuesday because of school, but I’m happy my mother managed to deliver the fee for the exams to reverend George, he was hugely appreciative for this! No kid in Excellent will be excluded from Secondary school because the fees for the exams were not paid!

The Öberg family also brought notebooks, pens (for the older students) and stuffed animals (for the kindergarden classes) from Sweden to the school. The children in 5:th grade in Sweden wanted to make pen-pals in Excellent school and the kids happily accepted.  This is a great way for both Swedish and Kenyan kids to practice their language and writing skills as well as exchanging experiences and learn about other countries. The father in the Öberg family is a priest, and this is great - Reverent George usually think the Swedes has a bad connection with God. Now we could prove him wrong! I hope this restores some of his faith in the Swedish people! 
It was very successful in both getting the funds needed, but also for my own experience. I felt awkwardly by knocking on the doors and ask for donations. Personally I would not like to do the door knocking process again.

I also got to see pictures of the new water tap that we managed to raise money for. It is fantastic that they now have their own water and can wash their hands and clean the toilets without carrying the water so far. Imagine that these small things we take for granted can actually be so important. The sanitary situation is really getting better in the school because of the money we raised. Both concerning the new toilets and the water tap. Hopefully no kid will get sick just by going to school. My mom also arranged for a visit to the school on Saturday in two weeks, so I can join. I’m really looking forward to it!