We've just hit the three week mark. Time is flying by and I think it's safe to say we're settling in nicely.

The flight over was fine, if far too long to be on a plane for. Kenya Airways has completely changed my preconception of plane food. Our first major hicup was with the visas, the woman just laughed at me. Thankfully, they let us in anyway and we headed to collect our things and meet our Rep, Lucy. Lucy had booked us a coach and a van to carry us and our luggage to the guest house, rather unfairly (she had the lightest bag ever!) the driver carried Megan's suitcase for her and then we were off, driving through an incredibly green and extremely beautiful Uganda.

Our first few days were spent in luxury at the MAF guest house in Makindye, a suburb of Kampala. We throughouly enjoyed the luke warm showers, good food, shopping mall and swimming at the American Club. Before we were picked up on the Saturday by our hosts and taken to our projects.

Mubende is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours away from Kampala. Andrew, our host, drove us there through breakthtaking scenery and over very bumpy roads. The village we will be living in for the next year is called Kagoma, and our home is called Kisimbiri, which means 'place where the royals stay', named because when Andrew's grandfather built the house he used a metal roof instead of the traditional thatched roof. Our house is lovely. We share a cosy bedroom and a western style bathroom, complete with (cold!) shower. There is a living room, in which we eat with the men, while the women and children eat sat on the floor of the room next door.

Over the next few days we explored the local area with Andrew as our guide. HE took us to meet all the important people in the area: people from local government, doctors, village elders, teachers and of course the students at our school, St Zoe. We also spent some time getting to grips with things like washing (the first time I think I got more water on me than the clothes I was trying to wash), Ugandan shillings (I tried to pay 13000/= for a 4000/= taxi journey becasue I ccouldn't tell the difference between a 10000/= note and a 1000/= note at speed) and the somewhat terrifying and overcrowded taxis that take us in to town (on the way to the internet cafe today I stood on a chicken as I was sitting down).

A week after we arrived we started teaching. After a leisurely weekend having met Beth and Jessie in town, we swanned into school at half 8, to be met by Josephine who informed us our class was waiting. Cue panicked faces from us, we had no idea we were starting to tach that day and hadn't prepared! Instead we had a question and answer session, and spent the rest of the morning preparing for our first lessons that afternoon. So far we've had two weeks of teaching and we're getting to grips with it nicely. The kids are understanding our accents better, though we still have to write pretty much everything up on the blackboard. I'm attrocious at using chalk, but I'm getting better. I teach Senior 2 and one lesson of Senior three English and Literature. Senior 3 never fail to make me smile and Senior 2 are very cheeky and try to get away with allsorts, I've definitely perfected my teacher stare!

All in all it's been a really good to be here. We're settling into a routine nicely and haven't had too much homesickness, and have so far avoided getting ill. Everyone here is so friendly and welcoming, and time is starting to go so, so quickly! Won't talk about the food, it's far too depressing. But you know it's bad when the highlight of your meal is cabbage, and it's safe to say I don't think I'll ever eat a sweet potato after this year...

Hope all is well back home. Good luck to the Wakey Wheeled Cats who are taking on Fair City Rollers tomorrow, and the kittens who are taking part in their first bout as Cats, especially Peggy b****-Elle, enjoy your tequila ladies! Would say how much I'm missing everyone, but that would be a bit of a lie :) Next time I'll thrill you with the details of our somewhat hectic trip to lake Bunyonyi xx