Our first full week teaching has drawn to an end and I have been left with a somewhat surprising feeling of satisfaction. The week got off for a bit of a stinker for me. I took the older kids who spoke a little bit of English but as Marte trotted off to teach the younger kids I soon realised she had out smarted me as we had both planned lessons for the younger children and I was stood at the front of the class for a number of embarrasing minutes flicking through a text book trying to find something to teach. Having setled on teaching time I set about trying to teach them the basics of telling the time and I have to say I was pretty unsuccessful. It is something that should be simle but when you only have chalk and a blackboard it gets so messy trying to teach something like time whic has s many connotations. I just wanted a bloody childrens cardboard cloack with plastic hands and my life would have been so much more simple. As the lesson drew to a close and I tried to get them to do some examples on the board it soon became clear that A) Half of them had not understood B) Half of them couldn't read a clock face (usually the same half.) Although frustrating it was an important lesson in teaching here as it showed we can not take anything for granted.

The rest of the week went much better with Marte and I alternating between the younger and older children. The younger class is getting bigger and biger and by my Friday lesson consisted of a rather rowdy combination of about 30 refugees and under privelaged Ugandans ranging from 3 yeard old to 12 years old. Because the younger kids have such a broad age range ir presents a real challenge. Geerally I just let the the toddlers wander around and make sure the lessons involved lots of drawing as everyone likes that. But then the older kids finish first and start distracting the others. I had yet more violence in my class this week, I think I'm going to have to revert to Victorian standards of discipline and take my belt off next time! Children tease each other here like all children do but usually it ends up either with one kid giving the other a back hander or throwing a hand ful of dirt in the others face. And don't think it's all the boys fault because this week it has all been the girls starting the fighting. The headmaster thinks they act this way because the children have such violent histories but I think they just need some Pete Lovegrove discipline! But apart from the odd slap, mud hurling and snotty noses the teaching has gone well and the kids are really responsive and keen to learn and I ave at times thoroughly enjoyed it.

Marte and I took an adult class on Thursday moring which we will do regularly from this week. It went ok but I am very aware of how a man in his forties must percieve me (mop haired, unshaven, generally low standards of hygene, westener boy) teaching him to speak English. Especally when he or she speaks about three languages already. I am quite nervous about the adult classes as there is an added pressure as they want to learn English so they can provide a better future for themselves and their families. Also it will be harder to cover up my at times quite blatent lack of understanding of English grammar and spelling. The main downside of the adult classes is that they start at seven in the morning and combined with a transport time of about 45 minutes it means some seriously moody mornings for Pete and Marte.

Thursday afternoon saw us go to some of the 'slum' areas with varous staff members of the school to try and recruit for the new term. Many parents in these areas don't send their children to school because education is often not ranked very highly on their list of priorites. Some of the areas we walked in were pretty shocking. It often stank and families lived next to the sewage their neighbours had just disposed of and kids do really walk around with little mre tan a vest on as their family can't afford to buy clothes. The most shocking apsect to the whole thing for me was that most families who send their children to the school cannot afford the fees and many end up not paying. The fees are 30 000 USH a term but the school only insists on a thrid of this being payed and the rest being payed at the families discretion. 10 000 USh is three quid! Its hard to actually believe tat people ARE actually that poor in tis world.

On Friday we went to Jinja for the weekend and it was nice to get sway from the pandamoniom (don't know how to spell that word) which is Kampala. I feel really content in Kampala but nothing if simple. If you want to go from the centre of town to were we live you have to get a boda boda (motorbike/moped) to the taxi park then a matatu (minibus 'licensed to carry 14' but with nearly 20 people in) and then anoter boda boda. And combined with the heat and dust it ca get pretty intense. Jinja was a nice sleepy place and we stayed next to the Bujagali Falls which were really pretty and it was nice just to kick back with some football, cold beer and diferent food. We will definately be back but next time with tent and also so we can do the white water rafting. I wasn't going to bother with it because I did it in Ecuador but when I saw te rapids that buzz of excitement grew in my tummy and even Marte was persuaded by the roar of the rapids. How could I pass up the opportunity to raft on both the Amazon and Nile?

I'm off to search on the internet for some lessons on grammar to make up for my basic grasp of the English language.

Hope you are all well and again I have no time to check my spelling and gramar so sorry.

Go on the wanderers.

Pete