Just keep swimming...

March has flown by and I can't believe it is already the 21st. I am over a third of the way through my time on placement already! After thinking seven months would be a very long time to spend on placement the reality couldn't be more different. Next months school lessons stop in early April due to exams and don't begin again until late May when I will only have two months before we begin pulling out of the communities! Because I am always thinking ahead it sometimes feels like my time here is already over, I have to keep reminding myself that I still have four months to go.

Life in Busede is mostly good. Some things which seemed like a fun challenge at the beginning have now become just everyday life. Living without water and electricity takes its toll on your mind and body after a while and the total absence of things to do outside of teaching is a little grueling. Those who are talking of sending me packages I would kill for a copy of The Economist, should keep me busy for a couple of days at least! Not that I don't have a lot to do. I teach about eleven school lessons a week on average, work with the out of school youth groups, connect people with the health center, organise events (pictures next week I promise) do paperwork and I spent most of Friday walking around dust roads with a backpack full of a thousand condoms and a wooden penis! The problem is, when all that is over for the day, there is literally nothing to do but read or play cards. Our radio only picks up stations in the local language so my iPod use has doubled since its purchase! I have read all four twilight books (I'm sorry I finally caved), Captain Coralie's Mandolin, about five random books as well as listening to two Harry Potter's and Guards Guards on my iPod. (On that note a HUGE thank you to my brother for downloading those for me, they have been a god send!)

On the work side of it though everything is moving along swimmingly. Some of our efforts to get the out of school youth groups registered, which allows them to access a load of government resources, is starting to bare fruit and every primary school child I teach in Busede now knows how HIV kills through the innovative use of a game similar to British bull dogs. Happily condoms are now rolling into the county after months of prophylactic drought and I'm actually managing to get them out to the people who need them. I'm going to keep trying to make the most of my time here so that I can really enjoy my traveling when it's all over: a (hopefully) well earned reward :)

Love to everyone and I should be on here next week for a chat.
Anna
xxxx