So far......

Well I have been back a whole week now and what have I achieved? Hmmm.....let me see....managed to scare a few babies at the market on Saturday, does that count? Also helped the local kids with their English, although we still haven't progressed beyond 'good morning' and 'how are you?'. I did however, manage to make contact with the people at the Christian street girls centre again and plan to go there on Tuesday to play with the younger girls, teach them some songs or play games. They don't get a lot of physical contact I am told so some of the very little ones just need cuddles, well I can do that!
Welcomed some new visitors on Saturday, colleagues of my DH who are staying here at Acacia Village. I felt like I had been here for ages, showing newbies the ropes! Weird.
We had a rather wet weekend, especially Sunday, serious rain. I was just settling down to watch the European Grand Prix when it started and the tv went off ( satellite dish gets soaked.....or something) so I missed the whole thing. The roads were a complete mess when I went into town later to go to Church.
Today started well, with a gorgeous sunrise and hopefully we will have enough sun today to dry up the wet stuff.
Let's see what the day brings..........

And we're back!

Arrived safely back in Juba yesterday afternoon after a pleasant enough flight and a not too terrible passage through the airport. We were met by our very helpful driver, Zingo, who shuck my hand, welcomed me back, grabbed my suitcase and sped off across the muddy car park. It had obviously been raining hard earlier......oh dear and I was wearing my favourite white sandals!
As we exited the busy airport car park DH asked Zingo how last week was at work. It was fine until Friday, he replied, and then it wasn't fine any more. Rather cryptic I thought, however on further probing we discovered that Zingo had been involved in a traffic accident in the car on his way back to the office on Friday evening, resulting in him having a not very fine time! He was not injured so that was good, poor car sustained minor injuries which will require the services of a panel beater or possibly a new door if they have such things here. I suspect Zingo had a 'not very fine' weekend worrying about what the boss would say!
Spent a pleasant early evening on the veranda sipping port (well I had ran out of sherry!) and chatting to a colleague prior to dinner with said colleague and one other. Several staff members at Acacia Village welcomed us back warmly but the most memorable greeting came by way of a HUGE spider discovered by DH on MY side of the bed, on the INSIDE of the mosquito net at 11pm! Uuggggghhhhh! It made quite a mess when I managed to squash it (yes, I did it myself, accompanied by much screaming and jumping up and down) then of course I couldn't get back to sleep.
Ah well, such is life out here in the bush (ok, so we are actually in the capital city, but you know what I mean!)
Today has been quite peaceful, more greetings from the staff, giving and receiving of gifts, a pleasant walk around the block waving at various children plus the last bit of unpacking. So what shall I do tomorrow?........

Poorly, sick!

I've not been well! (everyone say ahhhhhh!) I suppose it is inevitable, living in this environment, but I have had "gastric disturbance" for several days and ended up treating myself with antibiotics for an intestinal parasitic infection (do tell me if this is too much information won't you?). Antibiotics are easy to buy in the local pharmacies although I read an article recently about how many drugs produced in third world countries are fake! So who knows what I am taking, could be compressed talcum power for all I know. Anyway, I hope to be ok tomorrow as we are travelling to UK for a short break. I need to well enough for a glass of bubbly or two on the plane from Nairobi to London. We leave Juba mid afternoon via Kenya Airways and have several hours to while away at Jomo Kenyatta airport before boarding our British Airways flight late evening. Looking forward to trying the completely flat beds!
I have heard stories about leaving Juba airport, none of them inspiring, so not looking forward to that bit. Nairobi airport has shops, lots of them in a very long row, all selling more or less the same thing, heaven knows how they make any money.
So we are all packed now, just the last minute things to throw in tomorrow. Poor DH of course has to go to work in the morning, ho hum......oh yes I remember, that's why we're here isn't it! Two more sleeps (one being a mile high) then we're home. Night night!