With the UK being covered by a blanket of the white and cold stuff, it's frankly bizarre to find the weather getting warmer. Yes, yes, I know it's not what you want to hear, but having headed out here over 7 months ago expecting to find blazing sunshine, we've experienced one of the wettest and longest rainy seasons they've had here in the last 20 years! Rumours are that the extreme weather will continue by flipping into a very, very hot period, so we'll be trying to avoid too many smug weather-related messages. Actually, in that I can't speak for my wife. I have a hunch she might be going to town on that issue - sorry in advance if so...

Anyone wishing to discuss the impact or non-existence of climate change is welcome to do so via our contacts board.

Anyone?

(cue tumbleweed)

(audible sigh of resignation)

It's interesting which things you miss when you're away for a while. Pre-trip concerns about food have proved totally unfounded. The only issue is that everything has to be prepared properly so takes ages to cook in addition to pre-planning (no cheeky pre-purchased meals from the freezer or take aways when tired!) but it does mean our culinary skills are being stretched and developed so that's a bonus. Music used to form a large part of my commute to and from work, and that's completely disappeared - certainly awareness of recent releases etc. I've got decent access to the BBC mobile site so latest news is often heard, even though its the international edit so most local stories don't get through.

Maybe the largest one is the culture shock of losing some of the recent props for the UK, particularly easy access to quick internet and being able to deal with bills and shopping deliveries, and sourcing essential supplies etc at any time of the day. It's certainly easy to consign things as ineffective, yet for instance it's hard to be ultra-effective when doing IT work when the internet drops regularly without notice, and then the power drops without a UPS in sight. It's a daily routine here, especially unhelpful for those who travel in to use facilities from communities without any electricity. One large aim for the work here is to widen the access to IT and basic services, which will principally be enabled through the extension of electricity into the rural villages. It's unlikely to be a 3 week project, but it will transform futures if it can be achieved.

So many cultural references emerge from tv and the media, so naturally many former topics of conversation and viewing from the UK are unknowns here. It's an open secret that Becky and I are sport addicts, so naturally things like Match of the Day on a Saturday night and watching England rugby on our old lazy-boy sofas is high on the list. All those knowing Becky will know she enjoys Strictly and many other Saturday night shows, but the DVDs regularly winging their way south from Becky's parents are very kindly keeping us up to date. I'm still to find anyone who remotely understands phrases such the introduction to the Stig (Top Gear), and no-one has heard of Terry Tate's uncompromising method of office discipline and organisational effectiveness (a reference to Reebok's superbowl commercials a few years back). Oh, I watched the adverts again this week for the first time in years - still love them. It's sad I know!

Moving back to the more edifying point of this ramble, this does suggest that the long term task for us whilst here is to do our best to properly learn about the culture, its values, underlying issues and quirks. We've both overcome the initial culture shocks and have started to integrate - trying to get our heads round the Swahili language. We do know however that verbal communication alone will not suffice and it's that process of learning the nuances culture which would take far longer than even the few months we have ahead of ourselves. We've been privileged to be invited into homes, taken to a range of community events and given nuggets of insight into the culture, and it's these moments where we really get to the heart of life here. It's not something we can communicate through pictures which can only show 2D representations, but as we learn for ourselves we hope to share some snippets with you too.

Thanks for reading, and wrap up warm!! ;)