Amharic has a fabulous term to describe naughty or cheeky. It is ‘rabash’. This week an animal on the compound could definitely be described as rabash. There are several wild cats that live in the rubbish pit. I have often jumped when emptying a bin and a cat has jumped down in front of me from a dark corner.

This week I noticed black footprints that went up the steps to the school dining area. I followed them into the carpeted chapel where the perpetrator had seemingly wandered all over the floor.

The footprints continued along the corridor into the teachers lounge where a cream-coloured cushion took the brunt of the creature's attempts to rid itself of its black messy covering. It turns out that a wild cat had fallen into a container of oil prior to its wanderings.

Our cleaning team set to work straight away to clean up the mess. They chose "benzine" (petrol) as a solvent. Effective, but giving off a potent aroma that could be detected all day long. It is fortunate that no one smokes around here!

Another amusing incident this week followed my request for a top up of our sandpit. A lorry loaded with sand drove alongside the railings that surround the kindergarten playground. The workers enthusiastically began shovelling sand and tossing shovelfuls across to the open sandpit. They were making great progress when I was called to show how full I would like the sandpit to be. I indicated with gestures and received smiles and nods in response. I went back to work in the classroom but when I looked out of the window a short while later I was somewhat alarmed to see that the entire contents of the lorry had been emptied into the pit which now resembled a good sized sand hill. Life is full of surprises.