With the excitement of trek and the volunteer awards over it was time to get back to the office. This was no simple task as our office had moved to the capital city Banjul and in true Gambian style no-one had told me where it was or how to get there. I don't actually live that far from Banjul but it's difficult to get there in the morning as so many people head that way to work. Instead of a 10 minute walk to work in the morning, I had to take 2 buses and travel for over an hour. I was not happy but I can see the advantages of our new location. My new office has power all of the time and the internet connection is much better so I can do more work. This is theoretical of course as I haven't done more work because there's still not much I can do. It also means I am getting more confident at travelling on public transport alone, I have easier access to services such as the bank and I'm getting to know more about the Gambia and interacting with more people.

During my last 2 weeks of work before Christmas I experimented with different routes to work. My worst commute involved standing at the side of the road in Bakau for 2 hours whilst all the buses went past me full up of people before I managed to hitch a lift with some random men. Now I look at the commute to work as a job in itself. If I manage to get into the office on time then I consider my work for the day done (I haven't managed it yet). I did manage to write a report about our trek up country before I finished for Christmas. Our next challenge will be to try and take forward some of the actions. I'm currently waiting for one of my colleagues to return to work so we can start planning.

I have also been spending a significant amount of time trying to get my wages because the Ministry of Education had not paid me since I started working for them. Trying to get my wages has been like trying to get blood out of a stone. You would not believe how bureaucratic it is. I had to visit 4 different people in separate buildings to get various letters and stamps before I could get my money. I finally managed to get paid December's wage just before Christmas and I received October and November's money yesterday. I was completely mortified when they paid me in cash in front of a whole queue of employees also waiting for their money. I was the only white person in the queue and I got paid at least double but mostly triple what everyone else was paid and they could all see. Awkward!

With my report done and dusted I could concentrate on the Christmas celebrations. No work for 2 weeks! Yippee! As most people in The Gambia are Muslim there's not much fuss surrounding Christmas. The advantage of this was that I wasn't bombarded with Christmas advertisements, I didn't spent loads of money (by UK standards) and I wasn't feeling fat and unfit from all the Christmas parties we normally have in the run up to Christmas. Our VSO Christmas party was at Helen's house and I went to her house early on the day to help her prepare along with the children from her compound - Rohey and Alieu. We had a Christmas BBQ which was nice although it was a bit tame for a Christmas do in my opinion. The highlight of my night was dancing with Rohey and Alieu and it was brilliant to see their faces when they opened their gift from Santa. Rohey's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw the bags of sweets she had been given.

Christmas Eve was a very indulgent day. Helen, Natalie, Vicki and I went to Coco Ocean Hotel in Senegambia to relax by the pool. Vicki is Natalie's friend from England and she came on holiday to visit Natalie so it was only right that we all acted like we were on holiday too. I ate sushi and swam in the pool before having my hair done at the hotel salon and then rejoining the girls for cocktails on the beach. It was great having Vicki with us for the week because she's from Manchester and it made me feel at home to hear her northern accent.

On Christmas day we all gathered at our usual spot on the beach in Fajara. Many of our VSO friends came alongside some of our Gambian friends and volunteers we've met from other organisations. The weather was gorgeous. I managed to do a bit of Christmas Day body boarding despite having seriously hurt my ankle by falling down some stairs a couple of days previously. We were incredibly excited when Jasmine and Graeme made us a cheese and crackers. It was funny watching the faces of our Gambian friends when they tried blue cheese for the first time. We made a makeshift BBQ which worked a treat and Rob bought fish from the local market which we cooked and shared Gambian style. It was a really lovely day although the only Christmassy thing about it was our hats and music.

Boxing Day was a day of rest though I had to leave my house at 1am to fly back to England again for my brother's wedding! All of the Gambian people I know think I'm really rich as I have flown back to England twice since September. I feel soooo bad about my carbon footprint. The wedding was fabulous. The poem I read at the service went down a storm. The speeches were hilarious and I was very excited that the bride and groom performed their first dance to a medley of songs ending in Gangnam Style. My friends in the Gambia would have loved it (we like to sing 'Gambia Style').

The rest of my stay in England was uneventful really as I was sick (damn norovirus) and it was too cold and miserable to do anything outdoors. In fact, I was looking forward to coming back to The Gambia. You just can't beat this warm climate; it definitely enables me to have a more active lifestyle. I'm feeling positive about the fact that I won't get the January blues. Last year I spent January feeling tired and lethargic, vowing to get back into exercise but avoiding it all costs, sitting in my house every evening playing on the internet and drinking too much red wine. Not this year!

It actually feels good to know I have no trips back to England planned as now I can concentrate on being properly African. We'll see how long that feeling lasts though eh? Since I've been back I've had one marriage proposal and been hassled by the usual suspects but it's not bothered me as much. My new year's resolution is to toughen up and not let them grind me down. Happy New Year Everyone!