I was told a saying while I was in the bush, which sums my situation up perfectly: I wasn't born in Africa, but Africa was born in me.

There's something about this place that makes me not want to leave! Of course there's always bad things, and there's quite a few in this part of Africa, but everything and everybody kinda makes up for that. The sunrises and sunsets are spectacular and I will definitely miss them, and I will miss our beach dearly. Seriously missing the people and animals in the bush camps- I want to see more ellies!! I was talking to a teacher at dad's school last time I came who was telling me about how the expat people all stick together and help each other, and you can really see how the little communities of people work so well in a place like this- I know that if we'd ever need help there'd be loads of people here! It's a rare thing to get that in the UK, of course there's people to help but I guess it's not needed as much. If you need the doctor in Wales you phone the GP and get an appointment, here you have to wait in line for hours in the terrible 'clinics' to be seen by someone trying to be a doctor- but friends will know people who know people who know someone (I did mean all that!) that can get you either to the front of the queue or get you seen by a doctor. Things that you need here are shared between everyone and everyone understands and just mucks in to help! And we've just had people call by that had footballs given to their company and wanted to donate them to dad's school! Aaaah I love people again.

Now we've got internet at home we have the radio from home on (BBC Radio 2 for those who care...) and it's so weird listening to the news and traffic as we're looking out over the Indian Ocean! It's going to be so weird when we get home, getting back to 'normal' life which is so boring now. I've just got used to all the creepy crawlies too, 3 weeks ago I hated seeing the big millipedes and cockroaches and flying bugs but now they don't even bother me. The resident geckos in the house keep control of the mosquitoes and flies inside and you just have to swat away the ones outside (although some of them are still pretty grim. Also I turned the light on last night and poked a massive gecko that was living on the light switch- I don't know who was more frightened!

We've only got 3 more days here before we begin the massive journey home, which is inevitably going to horrid and sad. And then it's results day a week tomorrow, which I'm betting will follow much the same theme; horrid and sad! But for now, I'm going to make the most of these 3 days, do as much as possible, spend time on the beach and just be with my family :)

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not."
― Ralph Waldo Emerson