rain,rain,rain.

Well. the rainy season has come at last. It has been very hot and dry all day but over Thursday night and all day Friday it rained stair rods. I always say you do not see West Africa, you hear it and the rain is no exception. It bangs on the iron roofs and concrete and you can hardly hear yourself speak.

I have been teaching in the Woman's Project for most of my time here. some of the girls have very basic skills. apppaently some of the primary techers don't get paid for months so they don't bother teaching and a lot of them have no training anyway. One of the other teachers told me that one of the girls who lived in a corrugated shack near the river had her whole house washed away and now they don't even have clothes except what people have given them. We really can't imagine what it must be like to live on the edge anyway and then lose the few bits you do have.

I went to the local shopping centre today and bought two huge mangoes, some bananas, bread, popcorn, two little sponge cakes and some coconut fingers. they are like crunchy cakes. I do eat good food as well. One of the teachers brought me some wild rice they call country rice and groundnut soup. It was very tasty and she didn't put in too many peppers which the kids who cook here do. I hope I am losing weight, won't know until I get back.

I am helping the group doing the equivalent of GCSE with science and electronics at the moment and on Monday I start helping the advanced group with biology. My mind has to flip from basic phonics to helping with advanced physics and maths in the evening so obviously the heat hasn't poached my brains yet.

Will try and write a few more before I am back on 10th july.

Bye, Pat