Longido...finally!

After months of planning (not to mention years of dreaming), I am finally in Longido where I will spend the next 3 months teaching english. The homestay family are great - really welcoming, and they remind me a little bit of my parents - Alais, the father is kind but slightly eccentric. He has all sorts of wires and contraptions around the house, much like my dad, and plays the keyboard too! And Judith is very kind - she gave me a big hug when I arrived and has told me they will treat me as one of their own while I am here. They are a Christian family (Lutheran) and every evening after dinner they pray and sing hymns. Last night Alais did a special reading in english for me (as well as the usual ones in kiswahili), welcoming me to their home and Africa. I was very moved, in fact it brought a tear to my eye; I feel very lucky to have been welcomed into such a loving family.

The house is nice (and not made of mud!) although understandably much more basic than houses at home in the UK. The kitchen is in an outhouse, and the washing up isn't done in a sink but in a plastic bowl on the ground. The shower is ok, the water is heated and poured into a small tank so I think I will manage to keep clean while I am here. The one part I think I will struggle with is the toilet - a stinking longdrop in an outhouse with cockroaches. Last night I went with my headtorch but I think I will do it in the dark in future!

I have a free day today as the stern headmistress told me to come in on weds to find out what classes i will be helping with, and i will start teaching on thursday. So this morning i am going to spend some time on the internet (at a centre run by another NGO but which has mondo connections), possibly see a tailor about getting a dress made, and exploring the village. This afternoon i am going to the boma school, which is my second project where i will teach english to anyone who wants to learn. I have said i will begin the classs on monday,and i was very impressed at the keenness of the people wo were hanging out there - they want to help me make some posters this afternoon to advertise - apparently the classes have been missed and they are very keen for them to recommence!

I had a lovely moment this morning walking through the village - I passed the kindergarten and the children came running over to me wanting to hold my hands. I took a fews pictures of them and showed them the screen - they were amazed! I will upload the pics when I can but having trouble with the connection this morning.