It’s all a bit overwhelming really. I think we were really shielded from the realities of school life when we were in Awassa. Life in colleges is quite different from schools – yes, our classrooms were basic and the library was poor but the problems seem small compared to those the schools face. We have had an interesting couple of days out and about.

We began yesterday with a visit to the local education office where we met with the Education programme manager and 6 of the 10 cluster supervisors. The clusters are a relatively new thing – the 50+ primary schools in Gondar and divided into 10 clusters geographically and each cluster has a supervisor. I think the supervisors are responsible for teaching and learning and for training within their cluster – I don’t yet have a very clear picture of what they do. Some training has taken place already – the usual cascade system – and the supervisors are supposed to support and monitor. Anyhow, we have decided to follow up on the English training that was given over the last two years and to begin to work in Maths and Science. We took the first step by agreeing that the supervisors would designate key teachers in each school and setting aside time to meet with them next week to try to identify more precisely their needs. The supervisors gave us some ideas – active learning, making and using resources, continuous assessment etc. One of the real challenges is trying to adapt the things that we know work well to this environment – i.e. to classes of 60 – 75 and to schools with no resources and no money.

We also visited two schools in the town centre yesterday and this afternoon we visited two more schools – one in a nearby town and another in a more rural area out near the airport. The more rural one was interesting – lots of space and beautiful views of the mountains but the buildings are so poor. We saw a science lab and really it would make you weep. When I think of the resources that are squandered in UK schools…. It wasn’t appropriate today but I will get some photos of classrooms so you can see the reality. A lot of schools in Ethiopia work a shift system where children attend either in the morning or in the afternoon because there just aren’t enough school buildings for them.

We have also talked with the local manager of Link Ethiopia, a UK charity which links up schools in England with schools here in Gondar. The idea is that pupils write letters to each other and learn about each others culture and the UK schools also fundraise. It doesn’t cost much to build a classroom for one of the schools and it can make so much difference. We are going to find out if there is any way we can support their work.

Part of the graduation involved a day out! We went to nearby Lake Langano - one of the few (maybe only?) Rift Valley lakes that you can swim in safely. We had a fab time, lots of swimming and messing about in the water, followed by lunch and a coffee ceremony.

Before we left Awassa we had a graduation ceremony for all the teacher educators who had successfully completed the Higher Diploma Programme. Of course, we got everyone involved in some group work before the certificates were given out. The vice president of the region gave a great speech and Mike and I were presented with gifts of traditional costumes. For a significant sum of money I may be prepared to post the picture - I'm hoping Michael hasn't done this already.

This is a view of Gondar from the top of a hill!

OK, OK I know I haven’t written anything for ages but it has been quite a busy time. We finished our placements in Awassa in quite a rush – our final day was 15^th November and we had the moderators in college all day looking at the work we (and the candidates) had done. That evening we packed and then travelled to Addis the next morning. Thursday afternoon and Friday were spent running between the VSO office, British Embassy doctors and the dentist but we managed to fit in a visit to the Zebra Grill (great cheesy bean burritos) and an Indian restaurant. We flew up to Gondar on Saturday and the Dean of the college met us at the airport. We had a couple of days in a hotel (big screen TV in the bar so lots of football!) and then moved in to our house on Monday. It is a new house, which sadly means no garden yet, just a building site but we have found loads of seeds so we will get to work out there soon. VSO have insisted we have guards so we have a day guard, Mekdes, and a night guard, Tiluhun. Mekdes is fab – she has trained as a primary school teacher but can’t get work – it is ridiculous as such a low proportion of the population go to school. The problem is lack of buildings tho in the first place. Anyhow, Mekdes cleans obsessively and tidies everything away. It is quite weird! Tiluhun doesn’t seem to do anything but I think that is the norm. We will try and get him involved in the garden I think. We are still struggling to work out their working hours and all the logistics. I think it is quite unnecessary to have them as our house is on the edge of a police camp so is probably quite secure. We pass these teenage police with their rifles everyday. I’m trying to be friendly and stay on the right side of them.

Gondar is quite mountainous – we are at about 2,200 metres here and the town is spread over the hills. The walk to college is fairly flat but a brisk 15 minutes. Up into town, in the other direction, is uphill and takes nearly half an hour. You feel the altitude initially. The air is clear and there is often a lovely breeze. Mornings we have that lovely clear blue African sky and sunshine but it gets a bit chilly in the wind in the evenings.

The college campus is lovely, lots of trees and great views of the hills all around. People seem really nice too. We are both trying to make sense of the work we will be doing. Fortunately we are in separate offices this time – different buildings too! We are going out to visit local schools this week, which will be really interesting. We will be working with all different kinds of schools from private ones to those that have no building even – we’ve heard stories about classes taking place under a tree.

All been a bit frantic lately but we are now in Gondar! We finished work in Awassa last Wednesday with a busy day with the moderators for the Higher Diploma. Handed over the office to Alemayehu and Gobezie and left for Addis. Flew up here on Saturday and moved into our house on Monday. First full day at work today, been busy action planning. No time to blog properly but maybe at the weekend.... Mike's birthday tomorrow.