Sunday 14th October

Thursday was a standard day of teaching and sleeping, but Friday is another story! So, the celebrations for independence came to our little village, not only that but our little playground (which is actually a football pitch) but never the less with people from all over the Masaka district, how exciting?! Well it wasn’t. Okay, it was quite cool watching the dancers and seeing a few folk march, but once you’d seen one lot you’d basically seen everyone so I made my excuses and went and sat with Justine who had sat somewhere else because she wasn’t dressed up enough. I chilled with Elinah and Dan while Justine fed me chapatti’s and then suggested we go for lunch, I told you she was cool!

Holly had been feeling pretty homesick since we had come home so had gone home and then decided to have an early bed to try catch up on the sleep we had missed while I went out to sort my timetable. However I did nothing of the sort as I ended up going into a woman’s house where she charged my phone for free and I sat talking to Emma (an older man who teaches at the school with us and is like our Grandad for the year!) It was such a lovely and unexpected evening. We discussed our families and how I miss mine like crazy and really wish mum and dad could come out and see me for a bit and how he missed his family as he only sees them once a month because they live in Masaka. It was nice getting to share thoughts with him and for him to say he would be my family for a year and that he was glad I was staying, he made me realise why I was here again. Even writing about it makes me want to smile and cry at the same time!

Saturday was another exciting day! After planning to have a chilled out weekend we ended up really busy! On Saturday we went to Masaka with Justine, Moses and the kids where we spent the entire day. The kids went swimming and we got told we can go swimming with them next week or the week after and then we went to a ladies house where we were fed and we even watched some of Harry Potter! Then at night we went to a concert that Justine really wanted to go to which was a great laugh seen as we had no clue what they were saying or singing! It was a lovely night, although really long and we didn’t get in until 2 which was knackering! When I got into the car, I felt as if I had gotten into my own car with my family as Dan (2 years old, finally found out his age!) cuddled into me and kept me cosy. After getting super cosy from my cuddles with Dan I quickly fell asleep which made Moses and Justine laugh, as you would imagine it made me feel right at home seen as I am the butt of most jokes!

So today we have just relaxed and done, well, nothing! I have sorted my curriculum for English and made a plan of what I need to teach them. I have also decided on each of the books I am going to use for the year and sang my heart out to myself while Holly went on a run! This morning was a bit rocky though as I missed home a lot and really wanted to speak to mum and dad and have them here, but I will maybe see them in the new year and if not I will see them when I return. Oh and that will be about the 19^th August, so you can all start making plans to get to London airport and making the best welcome home sign for my arrival back at the airport now! Let’s make mine the best and show everyone what we can do!

After thinking about the excitement of coming home and seeing all of my family and getting cuddles from my beautiful babies I felt really emotional so decided to take myself out on a walk. I was totally prepared for a long walk which I would cry on and laugh and just be left to my own thoughts, but sadly the lady at the drug shop was not up for that and invited me in for a chat. It was lovely of the woman but I just wanted to walk and be with myself, instead she gave me juice, biscuits, showed me all of her nieces art work and then told me I was too young to be away from my family and that I was just a baby while I just sat there with a stupid paper mache dear thing on my knee. I wanted to kill her…with the damn dear! I was so upset and just wanted to run away screaming, so when I got back to the house I started moaning and crying to Holly who just laughed at me since I had been so happy about the woman before.

Other than that tonight has been really good. I have been on the phone to my gorgeous girls (Rach and Jods) before a horrid potato stew (sorry Holly, she’s the chef!) Now I am sitting on the Princess Bed which is basically our sofa/dumping ground while Holly is on the phone to her parents. I am glad she is on the phone to her parents though, because I am always on the phone to someone from home at least once a week or more! I hope she doesn’t mind, because there is no way I am going to stop or I will explode which would not be pretty! I am also happy because I am getting to watch Sex and the City which Holly doesn’t like so much, so happy happy days! However my laptop is about to die, so I shall bid you farewell, until my next adventure!