Hi Brecknockers!

Goodness me, the time really seems to be flying; it seems like only yesterday since I did my last news entry, but it was almost a month ago… I hope you all enjoyed the half term break and the family supper. I am really sorry I missed it this year as it is my favourite event! The good news is that I should be popping into school on the last day of term, so if you see me, come and say hello. Some of you will be preparing for Christmas shows soon, I can’t wait to see all of the pictures and hear all about them.

I only have 4 more weeks left in Uganda, then I am going to Tanzania for 10 days, which is another East African country that shares a border with Uganda. The weather has changed recently, the rainy season is nearly over, so it is becoming hotter and drier. There is a lot of dust on the roads, and it is very hot and sticky at night time. It has also been grasshopper season here. Grasshoppers are a delicacy, this means the Ugandan people really enjoy eating them! Would you like to eat a fried grasshopper!?

Last weekend I did two very exciting things. I went Grade 5 white water rafting on the River Nile, see if you can do some research and find out more about this river. The rapids were very scary, but also great fun to fall in to! I had a life jacket on to keep me afloat, and there was also a safety boat and 2 professional kayakers to fish us out of the water if we needed rescuing. Luckily I was quite brave and didn’t panic, and I managed to swim my way out of trouble. The second thing I did was a giant rope-swing into the River Nile from a height of about 8 metres. This actually scared me a lot more than the rapids and it took me a long time to do the swing because my heart was pounding and I was very nervous. Eventually I did the swing and splashed into the river creating huge ripples and upsetting the monkeys.

If you like monkeys, I hope you enjoy the pictures I have taken. They were very inquisitive and one of them actually chased me!

This week and next week I am working in a team of 4 people to visit 10 different schools. We are assessing them to see how well they have done this year. Here the school year ends in December and starts again in February, so for us it is not only nearly the end of term, but the end of the school year. I am getting excited about coming back to London and seeing you all, but it will be very sad to leave behind the new friends I have made here in Uganda.

Anyway, look out for some pictures of Lions, Elephants and Giraffes in my next entry as I am going to a game park soon!

Bye!!

Beth