Uganda

First week back from Easter holidays and the workload has increased again! I knew going to Africa over the holidays would cut into the amount of time I had to get the work done but actually it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Workload for the summer was mainly the resolution of our 1:50 areas chosen by Jamie before we broke up. Only having 5 days to complete 3 weeks worth of work meant I focused only on the planting and hard materials of the detailed plan, but didn't have any time to finish my 1:200 work. It was definitely worth it though. 2 weeks away from home in the sun was exactly what I needed.

It wasn't a relaxing holiday in the end, more like an adventure, travelling all over the country and meeting lots of people. Some experience were fun like the safari and white water rafting (although my sister still isn't speaking to me after making us capsize!), while others were heart wrenching and shocking like going to the slums around Kampala. We met the mums who work in the market and saw where they were living, often with 3 or 4 children, which was unbelievable but on the other hand positive that the charity we work with was giving opportunity for these women. Visiting a nursery was another highlight for me, literally as soon as we walked in we were swamped by screaming children shouting 'Mzungu' and carried away by the crowd! However my best moment was on the last day of the trip, teaching a primary school in Gulu English Literature to a class of 75. Scary but amazing.

To make this post slightly relevant there was also lots of interesting plant life in Uganda, as due to the high fall of rain much of the landscape is covered in lush vegetation. Lots of banana trees and palms throughout the country provide opportunity for income as well as food for the family. Thanks to the climate many plants we have that only flower for a few weeks, flower all year in Uganda like the roses which were better than any Ive ever seen. I will definitely be going back before long!