I have had the most amazing day ever. To see all the children, the teachers and the volunteers brought a tear to my eye, one of happiness.

As I rode along the orange dirt track to the school I rode past stray dogs, the same women at side stalls and men congregating for a chat at the roadside. The sun beat down on my face and beads of sweat emerged from my forehead and the dust surrounding me like a cloud. I was meters away and when I was near to entering the multi-coloured school gates on my bicycle I could feel my heart pounding. The children's faces lit up as they began to recognise me and 'char Bess' was spoken and shouted in my direction. Big embraces were given by the children, teachers and volunteers not forgetting the amazing Tammy and Mon- it was fab to see their faces again! There was no wiping off this smile I knew this was now cemented on. I got stuck in straight away by teaching the monkey class alongside Tammy. The monkey set is level two out of six and mainly comprises of 4-6 year olds, and they certainly live up to their name! We recapped numbers up to twenty and the alphabet as well as reading a story and playing a few games with them. The rain hit us in the afternoon. This was usual for the rainy season. When riding back to school after lunch small drops of water emerged. I thought I would escape it; however 5 minutes later I was soaked head to toe which made walking around the school somewhat difficult in the muddy sinking mud which now covered it. The rain flooded into the staffroom/ office of the school which we tried to prevent by sweeping it back out and lining the door with rags. The one thing which struck me in all of this however was not the amount of rain but the fact that I didn't mind. At home I would race for my umbrella or avoid going outside. It was like a notebook moment, without the man, instead with the children, embrasing and not kissing of course. The afternoon children gave me the same response which was an amazing feeling to experience twice in one day! Some even stared to sing the musical songs which I taught them last year such as 'You are my sunshine' and the little ones singing 'Pump it'. They hadn't forgotten a word. I took another wander around the school and realised just how much progress had been made. The farm was now well underway with the fish farm being built, fresh vegetables growing, a pig called Olive and a variety of chickens. All this was for the sustainable food scheme which will provide nutritious food to feed the children.

In the evening I met up with Dave and Heather and a few expats who I met last year. It was good to get the update on their lives. After quite a busy day there was no problem sleeping, however getting up was virtually impossible, the jet lag had hit.

x