Monday 7 March Going through customs is painless and we are soon wondering around Dubai airport. We settle in a spot on the floor neAr the metro and try and get some sleep. When we feel a bit better we go find some chairs. We eat our baked biscuits and nuts from the flight. I repack my bag so there are less things to carry in my hands. When we are ready we buy credit for the metro and head to our stop where the markets are. There is enough time and money so I b...

Sunday 6 March I'm awake well before 4am after a weird dream. Anxiety always eats me before I travel. About 6:20 I figure it's late enough and turn the light on. I want to get the sheets all washed before we leave. I get my stuff all packed and set about righting the room and the rest of the house. We organise the food and are leaving by 7:50. We collect Ashley from the university and make good time to the airport before 10am. You are only allowed in if you hav...

Saturday 5 March It's a nice restful day. I try and take a nAp, but it doesn't really work. Mohammed comes and drops off some battery lights and the landowner stops by. We have a long face time to family. The power is off so we turn the generator on to cook a great lunch. We chat in the afternoon and I colour in. We go for a walk to the unfinished house to see the paint colours and then we walk around 'our route' one more time. After closing sabbath we complete ...

Friday 4 March After breakfast I sort out what clothes to keep or leave here, and what needs washing. Then I work on the questions from the girls. Hannah and Malcolm go shopping for supplies. Malcolm wants to give the children at the school a treat. I start tidying up the office and piles of papers and notes for Hannah to sort. Hannah works on the money when she gets back, after we eat lunch. Then we go through the piles of stuff. Once it's pretty much tidy, sh...

Thursday 3rd March It's a hard long day that starts at 3-ish am. Malcolm helps me make cookies and rinse the mung beans. I do washing. We leave to go up the mountain to visit the girl from the hospital. 8 of them live in a small 3 room mud hut. Life seems so unfair for some. When we are back we eat lunch. I'm so tired I try and nap after putting the mung beans on to cook. The beans turn out very nice. I start working on the girls school questions. A big heavy ra...