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Preparing for the Journey

No Comments »3rd August, 2011; Category: Ethiopia 2011, Traveller's Tales

Mum and Dad came to stay for about four days to help me with some jobs.  Paul and his teenage son Paul are moving in after the sale of their house, so I had a bit of work to do to make it liveable for someone other than me!  Dad tidied the shed, and did an absolutely marvellous job.  Mum and I maintained that it was good enough to live in, and I think the resident rat really appreciates Dad’s work!  Dad also did a little garden tidying.  Meanwhile Mum cleaned out all my kitchen cupboards and helped me to pack up the spare room for Tom to move into (the furniture, all crappy second hand stuff, is going into the shed so he can move in his own furniture and feel a little more comfortable).  Meanwhile I packed, weighed and packed again, checking my list and checking it twice.  I don’t think I forgot anything, although I think I might have packed too much… Oh, well. Why be a martyr?

In the meantime, I was also busy having last coffees with dear friends and catching up with people.  I celebrated my 40th birthday on 22 July and had a lovely dinner at Glendalough Estate, a new gourmet pizza place in Armagh, just out of Clare.  It was such a pleasant evening, and I felt much loved by my dear family and friends.  Sunday morning was my commissioning service and Alan and Geoff from SIM in South Australia came to support me.  Tuesday was “hot chip nacho” night with some of the crazy kids I teach with.  If you’ve never tried melted cheese on top of hot chips, then topped off with salsa, sour cream and avocado, well, you just haven’t lived!  Genius idea, Emilie!  That was followed by Toblerone fondue into which we may have dipped Mint Slice biscuits…

I finally wrapped up everything at school, including handing over the International programme (at its busiest time of the year) to Melissa and Rachelle, who will do a fantastic job.  I may even let them keep doing it next year!

It was quite frantic at times, and I really did wonder how it would all get done.  However, as my dear friend Carolyn reminded me when she sent me an SMS with Isaiah 40:28-31, “…those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagle; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

So finally it was all done.  I am exhausted, but starting to relax enough to enjoy the journey, and not just feel a little panicked!

Ow! My arm hurts!

2 Comments »11th June, 2011; Category: General

One of the true delights of travelling to a developing country is the need for vaccinations.  Yes, I am being a little sarcastic… did you not pick up a tone there?  Actually, needles don’t really phase me that much.  Just as well, really!

Of course, the list of vaccinations one needs for Ethiopia is extensive and expensive!  I have been getting mine at the Travel Doctor – TMVC in Adelaide.  There were several vaccinations that I could not get in my home town – there is not much call for Rabies vaccinations in rural SA, thank goodness – so it made sense to get them all done in Adelaide.  So far I have had Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (thankfully all in the one injection); Hepatitis A and B, a Flu vaccine (just for fun!); Yellow Fever (essential as Ethiopia is in the endemic zone and if I can’t produce my International Vaccination Certificate, I can be forbidden entry into an infected country, or more importantly, when leaving and entering the next… such as when I want to come home!); Typhoid; and two out of the three injections required for a Rabies vaccination.  Still to come is the remaining Rabies vaccination to complete the series and a Meningitis vaccination.  So far vaccinations have cost me about $750.  The government graciously allows a Medicare rebate of $11.55 per visit, and I believe I can make a claim on my health insurance, but I haven’t got around to that yet.

In addition I will be taking a Malaria kit with me.  I am not going to be in a high-risk Malaria area very much (Addis Ababa is at altitude so Malaria is not a risk), so will only need it if I travel to an area where Malaria is prevalent and start to develop the symptoms.  The idea is to self-medicate until I can get to a doctor.  The other part of the idea is that prevention is better than cure, so an insect repellent containing DEET is essential, as is a chemically treated mosquito net.

Then there is the gastro kit!  Even with all the care in the world, there is highly likely to be several cases of gastro in the offing!  The health guide that the Travel Doctor gave me helpfully describes the difference between “common travellers diarrhoea”, giardia and dysentery!  I don’t have my kit yet, so am not sure exactly what is in it, but from the health guide, it recommends that the kit includes an oral re-hydration solution; antibiotics; Loperamide, which acts as a “pharmacological cork” as a short term solution to enable you to travel if needed; and a nausea treatment.  Here’s hoping I don’t need it much!

Aside from all of this, I will need to take my medications for things like headaches, colds, back pain (Heaven forbid that I hurt my back again) and a first aid kit with me in my luggage.  These items can’t be posted as customs in Ethiopia automatically confiscates them.  This is one area where I won’t be skimping in terms of how much I am packing!  I got no less than seven colds the year I taught in the UK, thanks to having no immunity to the local bugs, so I am guessing the smorgasbord of new bugs in a school in Ethiopia will be many and varied!  Yay!

Why painkillers are such a blessing!

1 Comment »11th June, 2011; Category: General

I had intended to write blog entries every couple of weeks over the past three months, but was resoundingly sidelined by a major problem with my back in late March.  I was reasonably uncomfortable during the MKPFO training, but it got a whole lot worse a couple of weeks later. I have a bulging disc in my lower spine which was diagnosed in 2007.  I have since discovered, rather painfully, that these discs can result in your pelvis rotating out of alignment, causing excruciating pain down your leg.  I ended up with chronic inflammation in my back and left leg, and it took a full two months and a lot of anti-inflammatory drugs and pain killers before it was healed enough for me to function normally.  I went through a period of about 6 weeks where I couldn’t drive the car (left legs are required for the operation of a clutch!) and a good month where I was averaging 1-4 hours of sleep a night.  I now appreciate in some small way what parents of a new born baby suffer with sleep deprivation (and why it is used as an instrument of torture!) and how much people with ongoing chronic pain suffer.  I also appreciate the value of an appropriately used pain killer!

As a result I had to take into consideration the possibility that I might not be strong enough to travel on the plane to Ethiopia, much less cope with no access to a physio when I am in Ethiopia. I put my plans on hold until the end of May.  Thankfully, Bingham Academy, SIM and my school in Australia were all supportive of this, and all were happy for me to postpone for 12 months rather than cancel altogether.

I only really recovered about three weeks ago and have been playing catch-up ever since.  I think I have only been able to successfully use my brain for problem solving and planning for the past few weeks and have ever so much school work to catch up on, much less planning to move to Ethiopia for 5 months!  We are in the middle of planning for the implementation of the new Australian Curriculum for English at the moment and I have had so much to do so that my replacement (a teacher at my school will be appointed to take my role as English coordinator in my absence) will feel comfortable enough to keep going with the planning.  I managed to develop a pro forma that will help us to review our current curriculum and align it with the new one. We trialled it on Friday during our Student Free Day and it seemed to work, so we are all systems go!

So my physio has given me his blessing, I’ve let Bingham know I am definitely coming, and my application for long service leave is on the boss’s desk waiting for formal approval.  I will have flights booked this week and am now working through the logistics of moving to Ethiopia.  In the meantime, exercise and stretching are vital activities to re-strengthen my back.  I have returned to my pilates class, although I was “demoted” to ongoing beginners (I was in the advanced class), and I can feel the muscles getting stronger every week.  I am also going to pack the “good” painkillers, just in case!  For those of you who pray, I would be grateful if you would pray that God will continue to strengthen my back so I can be useful to Bingham.

Mission Kid Pre-field Orientation (MKPFO)

2 Comments »30th March, 2011; Category: Ethiopia 2011, General

On Friday 18 March I flew to Sydney for the MKPFO training being held at the WEC headquarters in Strathfield.  This was the first time a course was run in Australia, although a pilot programme had been run a couple of years earlier.  A similar but much longer course is frequently held in the USA and the UK.  It was organised by Missions Interlink which is “a network of Australian mission agencies, Bible colleges, churches, support services, and individuals serving Christ and engaging in cross-cultural and global mission.”

I have to admit I wondered what I could learn from a course like this, having taught for 17 years, and having already done the Missions Interlink Short Term Training (MIST) course last year.  However I have decided to take advantage of any training offered to me, going with the attitude that it is arrogant of me to assume I know everything.  Even if there is not much new, it is valuable to be confirmed in what I already know.  As it turned out, it was really useful, and while there were things I already knew, there was plenty of new information, and a wonderful opportunity to meet others who were planning to do very similar work to what I was planning.

There were nine other people who were participating, from a variety of mission organisations, including Interserve, WEC, CMS and OMF.  Most were teachers but some were going to be working as house parents. Destinations included Thailand, India and Ethiopia (and not just me!) .  There were some who were yet to decide on a destination.  The course was run by John and Janine Barclay from Interserve who have lived and worked overseas for many years in Nepal and India, including at Hebron School, a missionary kid (MK) school in India.

Topics covered included:

  • crossing cultural boundaries and transitioning into new cultures
  • understanding Third Culture Kids (TCKs)
  • working and living in multinational teams
  • Christian and International Education
  • educational options for missionary kids (homeschooling and boarding)
  • English as a foreign language (EFL), multilingualism and special needs
  • living in restrictive societies and security issues
  • child protection
  • boarding and dorm parenting

Of particular interest was the discussion of the needs of Third Culture Kids, or TCKs.  A TCK is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside of the parents’ culture.  The TCK builds relationships to all the cultures, while not having full ownership in any.  Although elements from each culture are assimilated into the TCK’s life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background.  Third culture kids can include the children of missionaries, aid workers, media representatives, foreign services workers, corporate workers, military personnel, and educators, a very diverse groups.  Similarly, children of immigrants and refugees, and those growing up in bi/mulitracial families can have similar experiences.

Some characterisitics of TCKs can include:

  • being highly mobile (becoming “global nomads”)
  • bcoming bi/multilingual
  • being aware of and sensitive to other cultures
  • being flexible and adaptable
  • being observant to cultural cues and clues
  • having a broad world view
  • being rootless and restless…

They are certainly kids with unique needs and it was really helpful to discuss their strengths, challenges and how we can best support them as teachers in the context of an MK school in another culture.  Teenagers are complex beings at the best of times!

One of the amusing slides John and Janine showed us was one titled “You Know You are an MK when…”

  • You don’t have a driver’s licence at 18, but you’re on your third passport
  • You speak to your siblings in a foreign language when you don’t want others to understand what you are saying
  • You can travel around the world without staying in a hotel
  • Most food tastes better when eaten with your fingers
  • You know how many timezones you are from GMT
  • You have memorized your parents’ deputation speech
  • You want to take your shoes of at the door

So all those MKs and TCKs out there: let me know how true this is, and maybe add to the list!  I need to learn what makes you guys tick!

Work Permits: the bane of my life!

5 Comments »12th March, 2011; Category: Ethiopia 2011, General

In order to work in Ethiopia full time, I need a work permit.  Work permits are granted to business people or volunteers after they enter Ethiopia and give the holder the right to work, either in salaried or voluntary positions, in Ethiopia.  Once a work permit is granted to an individual they are then also given a Residence ID which gives them the right to reside in Ethiopia.

The documentation required to  apply for a work permit is extensive!  It took me a couple of months to get it all organised.  The list of documents required included:

  • copy of my birth certificate
  • copy of my passport
  • three letters of reference from past employers
  • a letter from my doctor declaring that I am in good health
  • 16 passport photos
  • transcripts of my results for my uni qualifications
  • the original certificate of my highest qualification, notarised, then sent to the Ethiopian consulate in Melbourne for authentication

All this documentation was sent to the Sydney office of SIM, who then couriered it to SIM Ethiopia who will gather and safely store it all.  SIM will double check all incoming documentation to ensure there are no mistakes on documentation, check that nothing is missing, and to make preliminary application for work permits before I arrive in the country.

The most complicated and stressful thing to organise was not in fact the 16 passport photos, but the notarised degree certificate.  I had to take the ORIGINAL of my highest qualification, in my case my Master of Education (TESOL) to a notary public to have it notarised.  Notary publics pretty much don’t exist in rural South Australia, and I live 150km from Adelaide, so had to take an afternoon off work to get to my appointment.  Getting an original certificate notarised is fairly rare, so naturally I thought I needed to get a copy notarised… No, no, no!  It needed to be the original!  An expensive mistake at $150 a pop!

Once the original was notarised, I had to express post it to the Ethiopian consul in Melbourne.  Did you know that the A3-sized express post envelopes are not in fact A3 size?  They are actually 1.5cm short of being A3-sized… My degree certificate is A3-sized.  Thank goodness for packing tape!  At any rate it is done, was posted to the consulate where they authenticated it, has made it to the Sydney SIM office, and is now being couriered to Ethiopia.  I am a bit anxious about it being sent all the way to Ethiopia.  I only completed my MEd (TESOL) in 2009 so the pain, stress and long days of study are very much fresh in my mind!  That certificate represents a fulfilling but fraught time of my life, so entrusting it to the Australian and international postal system is a bit overwhelming… Never mind, it has to be done!

So that is a big part of the preparation for my semester at Bingham done.  The next thing on my list is finalising flights and attending Mission Interlink’s Missionary Kid Personnel Pre-field Orientation (MKPFO) training next weekend at the WEC headquarters in Sydney.  More blogging coming soon!

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