I went downstairs on my first day of school to find the dining-room full of children staring at me as I walked in. They looked at one another, some continued to eat their breakfast whilst others whispered to each other. I sat at a table with a few of the older children and started chatting with them. They either just nodded or bumbled back in Russian. My days are prettry much the same. They start off with breakfast with the kids and then lessons for the rest...

I cannot recall when last I had a window seat when flying. I usually book an aisle seat but as this flight was during the day, I chose a window seat instead. Wow! The views are amazing. I watched the clouds go from soft and fluffy to hard and tightly woven. They almost looked like hard white mountains. They certainly did not have the whimsical feel to them that the soft, fluffy clouds have. I saw planes pass us and ships dot the ocean and a couple of islan...