This blog is a special request from my friend Marcelle, asking me to describe what I would do here on a normal daily basis. Well now that I’m unemployed (for the first time in my life), my days are a bit different from what I’m used to. Firstly I don’t have to get up at 5.30am to go to work! Its really nice to not be ruled by the alarm clock, and now I don’t feel the need to have a coffee to kick-start my day. Everyone here goes to bed early (usually by 9pm) and wakes up early, so I’m usually awake by about 6.30 anyway. I feel the need to have some kind of routine, so I usually go for a walk or run on alternate days. I run to keep some kind of fitness, but its quite hard work because its very humid so I’m usually knackered after 30 minutes (usually I would run for longer than that). On the days I walk its easier to communicate with people so I usually have a chat to a few people along the way.
Our housekeeper Rita arrives at about 8am and starts doing her work around the house. It feels rather strange having someone else do all the work for you, but that will be a blog for another day. I usually get on the computer and check my emails, but as I’ve mentioned before, the internet connection is SLOW! This morning it took me about two hours to read and reply to 10 emails! Can’t do anything about it at the moment though, so I’ve learnt to live with it and have become good at multi-tasking – ie open an email, put the kettle on, download an attachment, make a cup of tea, send an email, clean my teeth….
I’ve started studying a course – Occupational Health and Safety, which I thought I may be able to put into practice here at the minesite, and which I hope will be a good option down the track sometime. I have all the learning material on DVD’s and online, so again, it’s pretty slow going. Its also fairly dry and common sense, especially reading legal documents like the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984! Anyway, I’ll keep plugging away at it… (and try not to get too distracted writing blogs!)
If Warren asks very nicely, I might have a break from the computer and make a cake or biscuits for morning tea and take it over to his office, where they get demolished pretty quickly by everyone there. Warren also comes home for lunch which is nice.
Often in the afternoons I’ve been showing Rita and Latifa (one of the other housekeepers) a bit on the computer. Rita has never used a computer before so is just learning to type and navigate her way around the computer. Latifa has done a computer course, and is right into Facebook at the moment – so don’t be surprised if you get a friend request from her – I think she wants to be friends with everyone!
Sometimes I’ll go into Konongo to the markets with Rita, or will visit Helen, one of the other manager’s wives, for a cup of tea. We’re planning a veggie patch so that should be up and growing soon, although I doubt I will be allowed to do any of the dirty work! Most of the people here speak French as well as English, so I will have to practice some French before we go to France in August. In fact, Rita’s six year old son speaks better French than I do! And I’m looking forward to getting a sewing machine at some stage, because there’s plenty of good fabrics (African style), which I might make a few things to make our house more homely.
I have a selection of exercise DVD’s here, so I’ll sometimes do some yoga, pilates or “Aerobics Oz Style” in the evening. When I’m at work in Perth I have a pretty active job – I’m on my feet, walking, treating patients or doing exercises all the time , so sitting down all day is not my style. I have to do something to stretch out and not turn into a oompa-loompa!
Mostly we have dinner at our house, but a few times a week we’ll go to the guest house and have dinner with the other expats and any visitors who happen to be staying here. We’ve also been having a few cooking lessons with the girls here, so they will stay and have dinner with us also. Food is always a big part of any culture, so I like cooking and eating with them because you find out so much about their lives and their families whilst you cook. I’ll write about our cooking soon...
So that's about it really - on a daily basis, I don't do anything too amazing but I guess being in a completely different environment with new people and a new culture is pretty interesting in itself.
Our housekeeper Rita arrives at about 8am and starts doing her work around the house. It feels rather strange having someone else do all the work for you, but that will be a blog for another day. I usually get on the computer and check my emails, but as I’ve mentioned before, the internet connection is SLOW! This morning it took me about two hours to read and reply to 10 emails! Can’t do anything about it at the moment though, so I’ve learnt to live with it and have become good at multi-tasking – ie open an email, put the kettle on, download an attachment, make a cup of tea, send an email, clean my teeth….
I’ve started studying a course – Occupational Health and Safety, which I thought I may be able to put into practice here at the minesite, and which I hope will be a good option down the track sometime. I have all the learning material on DVD’s and online, so again, it’s pretty slow going. Its also fairly dry and common sense, especially reading legal documents like the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984! Anyway, I’ll keep plugging away at it… (and try not to get too distracted writing blogs!)
If Warren asks very nicely, I might have a break from the computer and make a cake or biscuits for morning tea and take it over to his office, where they get demolished pretty quickly by everyone there. Warren also comes home for lunch which is nice.
Often in the afternoons I’ve been showing Rita and Latifa (one of the other housekeepers) a bit on the computer. Rita has never used a computer before so is just learning to type and navigate her way around the computer. Latifa has done a computer course, and is right into Facebook at the moment – so don’t be surprised if you get a friend request from her – I think she wants to be friends with everyone!
Sometimes I’ll go into Konongo to the markets with Rita, or will visit Helen, one of the other manager’s wives, for a cup of tea. We’re planning a veggie patch so that should be up and growing soon, although I doubt I will be allowed to do any of the dirty work! Most of the people here speak French as well as English, so I will have to practice some French before we go to France in August. In fact, Rita’s six year old son speaks better French than I do! And I’m looking forward to getting a sewing machine at some stage, because there’s plenty of good fabrics (African style), which I might make a few things to make our house more homely.
I have a selection of exercise DVD’s here, so I’ll sometimes do some yoga, pilates or “Aerobics Oz Style” in the evening. When I’m at work in Perth I have a pretty active job – I’m on my feet, walking, treating patients or doing exercises all the time , so sitting down all day is not my style. I have to do something to stretch out and not turn into a oompa-loompa!
Mostly we have dinner at our house, but a few times a week we’ll go to the guest house and have dinner with the other expats and any visitors who happen to be staying here. We’ve also been having a few cooking lessons with the girls here, so they will stay and have dinner with us also. Food is always a big part of any culture, so I like cooking and eating with them because you find out so much about their lives and their families whilst you cook. I’ll write about our cooking soon...
So that's about it really - on a daily basis, I don't do anything too amazing but I guess being in a completely different environment with new people and a new culture is pretty interesting in itself.
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