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...and so's the driving again, unfortunately. Like the way that in the building where the SPW office is, the toilet is right next door to Iringa Driving School.
Can't be bothered to shave in the village, so I decided that to shave during this top-up training in town would just mean I had to go through that whole initial bumfluff stage again, so I'm just going to let myself get hairy (at least for a while). I'm looking very explorer, especially with the wild hair and khaki hat (well, I'm a very long way from everyone who loves me, so I may as well experiment).
Also experimenting with the clothes again - I've got a very nice green and yellow kitenge which I'm getting made into a short-sleeved shirt with embroidery, and another, much duller looking flowery one, is being made into a hooded top, modelled on one Nick has already - he's getting a hooded top done in a very fetching pink and orange design. It feels like a lot of money (about 7000/= each for material and tailoring), but I must remind myself that it's only GBP3.50, and we've got our man Mustafa on the job, like last time (and a very good job he did then, too).
It all feels very tense here at the moment - it's a bit mzungu vs mbongo. It's just that, even though we're all really enthusiastic to learn about other cultures, it's still bloody difficult to live with each other. There still seems to be a massive cultural gulf, and we're all moaning about them, and I'm sure they're all moaning about us. This is bound to be the most difficult time, while we're still finding our feet, though, so just have to drive on, really.
While I've still got a bit of time left for this session, I'll share with you a little poem I wrote on Thursday morning when I woke up. It's about a very special someone who left a little bit of himself in all of us when we were still training in Njombe...
The Ballad of Lucky Billy (or, An Ode to a First Class Main Course)
He didn't want to play football,
He wasn't interested at all.
So when we all played in a match,
He didn't know about the catch.
You see, this match, it had a prize,
And he was plain to see with all our eyes.
So, I tell you now, he was a goat,
And his name was Lucky Billy
O, he got no tail and he got no legs,
He got no heart and he got no head.
There's nothing left of him at all,
'Cos we ate Lucky Billy.
Our team was called the CRP
And theirs was from Nazareti.
They tried to break us early on
But J4 kept us firm and strong.
Because we also failed to score,
Half-time was still a goalless draw,
But we still had something to play for,
And his name was Lucky Billy.
O, he got no tail and he got no legs,
He got no heart and he got no head.
There's nothing left of him at all,
'Cos we ate Lucky Billy.
The second half was not the same;
It sparked into a lively game
And when Ann popped up in the box,
We all said, "Bless her cotton socks."
I'd like to say we stretched our lead,
But Nazareti scored instead.
The prize, it looked out of our reach,
And his name was Lucky Billy.
O, he got no tail and he got no legs,
He got no heart and he got no head.
There's nothing left of him at all,
'Cos we ate Lucky Billy.
It looked like they might score again!
'Til Bongo floored their number ten,
Then Striker Sandy used his head
To put the ball into the net,
So Lome went to claim the prize
And held him up before our eyes.
He really did taste rather nice,
And his name was Lucky Billy.
O, he got no tail and he got no legs,
He got no heart and he got no head.
There's nothing left of him at all,
'Cos we ate Lucky Billy.
There's nothing left of him at aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall,
'Cos we ate Lucky ------------------ Billy.
Hope you enjoyed that - 2 minutes left now,
Phil :)
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