4/2/09

Pretty busy day today actually. Charlotte is doing really well. Got to the end of the Elephant so hopefully the notes will be fully under her fingers soon so we can start working on other stuff. I found out she's done her Grade 6 Piano so is really quite an advanced musician. She's got a very musical ear which is good. After I did a bit of duet playing with Phillip the violinist. He definately needs to work on his sight reading lots. He hasnt seemed to have grasped the concept of keeping the pulse and subdividing it within his head constantly which seems a bit worrying as he's planning on taking his Grade 6 Violin this Summer. Hopefully our playing will help this, and his tuning too.
Next was another lesson with Beata. We were carrying on with where we left last time - and she was trying to teach me spiccato which I've realised I'm really not very good at! Definately something to work at lots. We had an influx of cellos today, ones that had been out on loan to people that have finally been returned. This means there are now 5 working full size cellos and a baby cello, plus Beata's leaving the cello she brought to practise on while she's here too! So many cellos! And there are 2 broken full size ones which will hopefully by Mr Repair Man who's coming from England later this month. As there are so many cellos I may ask if i can keep one at home to practise instead of carting it back and forth for the weekends. Sam has one at home so it seems only fair! And there will be plenty to go around, so fingers crossed! Would be so useful to have one at home!
It was Beata's cello sectional after lunch. We had a record turn out - think thats nearly all the people that will be in the concert (there were 6 of us) Even my non existant post grade 8 cello pupil Duncan turned up (who I'm yet to give a lesson, he is apparently a very busy man!). There wernt enough cello's to go round! (this was before the influx of cellos..) So Sam was on the baby cello while I ran around writing in stuff on all the parts. Was a really good rehearsal and they have all now mastered that light Baroque/Mozartian bow stroke which is necessary for this kind of music which is great. Didnt reach the end of the piece so hopefully we can squeeze in another rehearsal before Beata leaves, if not it'll be down to me and Sam. Which should be fine as they've all seen how she does it now so that makes it easier. Very good rehearsal.
Was quite a scary boda ride home. Had just been raining (lots) plus it was rush hour which made the traffic doubly worse! Had a couple of moments when I was sure my knees were going to be scraped off when squeezing through the tiniest gap between cars. Luckily not though. And we did cruise past lots of traffic by driving along the pavement which was fun though I'm sure illegal. No takes any notice of the rules of the road here though, it's just, get there quickly! But I'm fine and in one piece!
Went to the other Choir tonight. Got a lift with Carys' host (Carys went too) and her host has been going for ages. It is a really small little choir with just a couple of people per part which surprised me but they're singing some nice unaccomapanied stuff which I think is going in the anniversary concert. I'm going to carry on going I think - was fun plus it's nice to be doing a bit of singing again. AND when I got home there was banana cake! I'm sooo lucky to be staying with this family! :)
That's all for now I think! Hope you have all been enjoying the snow!
X

3/2/09

Sorry for not updating the blog as regularly as I have been - internet has been down. It appears to go off when it rains! And I’m noticing an emerging pattern of it raining in the early morning and brightening up during the day…So sorry for any lack of communication, I will of course be in touch when possible. Do keep the emails coming though! J So here’s the events of the past few days…(sorry it’s long!)…Taught Michael on Thurs. It’s going really well. He practises lots which is good. We were just working on his piece which is improving when we were plunged into complete darkness because of a power failure! Trust me to be in the only room without a window when that happens! I did that comic walking with your hands out in front of you like a zombie to find the door handle type thing…! So that kind of put an end to the lesson. It was a shame though because I was hoping we could have a little look at a new piece which is on the Grade 3 syllabus (the Hungarian Stomp by Pamela Wedgwood - Dad?!) I remember having great fun playing this when I was about 10 and taking Grade 3 myself so was very excited to see it (still) on the syllabus - lucky I brought the music too! After I met this professional cellist lady, Beata, who is visiting from Stockholm with her boyfriend, who is doing research at the University. She is going to be here for about 3 weeks working with us and the students. She will be doing Orchestral sectionals, technique classes as well as individual lessons. I had a lesson on Friday! Was really good, though I was admittedly a little scared. But it’s really nice to have some coaching again. She is very enthusiastic and is helping with my performing technique. Lots of practise necessary while she’s here I think! I really enjoyed it actually.It was Charlotte’s lesson on Fri. She is really getting to grips with playing in tune and is getting on well as a result. I have started her on one of the Grade 1 pieces - Saint Saen’s The Elephant from Carnival of the Animals. It’s not too hard so we should be able to start working on the staccato etc soon. It was then the weekly meeting. Was long, but we covered lots of stuff. Nothing too interesting though! Next was my lesson, which was fun, and then I left her starting to teach Michael the basics about vibrato. Hopefully between us he’ll be able to master it! She’s really nice. Will be good working with her these next few weeks. Once home, had late lunch and helped Siya take the braids out of her hair - what a business it is! Manding managed to undo 79 braids in the time I did 29! Practise makes perfect I guess..! Other than that the only excitement was that Julie announced she was going away for the weekend so Sam and I were going to have to take the Junior Orch rehearsal Sat morning! It would have been quite fun I’m sure, had it not been chucking down with rain meaning that absolutely no one turned up! Oh and I have another cello pupil, another beginner I think called Francesca (Frank). She is Mr Yiga, the Directors, daughter so hopefully that will work out well. Went with Manding and the girls to a big, monthly, get together lunch (Sat). This is shared each month between 12 different houses and everyone brings some food and there is a big feast for lunch! Was delicious, and followed by cake, ice cream and fruit. The watermelon is amazing! After lunch the kids were kept busy with the bouncy castle and mini basket ball hoop, and the mums started dancing inside! Very good fun. Picked Fatu up from the airport on Sat evening too, is nice to have her back! She seems to have had a fantastic time, despite it being about 0 degrees most the time. Good practise for when she goes to uni (in UK) I guess!Sunday was a fun day. Spent most of the morning helping Siya and Manding in the kitchen (internet still down). Started off making Samosa’s, then Chapati’s and ended making my very own marble cake! With a bit of practise hopefully I’ll be an expert at these by the time I come home! All these cooking efforts were contributed to the big lunch we had with 2 of Lamin’s work colleagues. It was nice to be able to contribute something back to the family after all they’re doing to look after me for all this time. So it was a good, fun, productive, sunny and chilled out day. Wonderful! Carys, another volunteer teacher on her Gap Year who went to St Paul’s Girls and lives in Hammersmith (it’s really weird we all live so close to each other at home!) arrived on Sunday too. She plays Oboe and Double Bass and I’m sure will be a great addition to the team. She is here for 3 months - leaves just before I do. Thought I’d explain who she is as she’ll probably start to crop up in these blogs too.At the moment I don’t actually have anything to do on Monday’s except for Orchestra in the evening. I’m sure that will change though - maybe the teaching at a primary school can happen on Mondays as I think Sam and I are both free. We’ll see. So yesterday started with pouring rain which made me stay in bed a bit longer. I managed some good practise and went with Badru (driver) and Irene (girls nanny/house keeper) to buy the fresh veg/fish etc from a local market. What an amazing bustle of activity it all is. Badru advised I stay in the car while Irene did the shopping as they’d put the prices up because I’m a ‘musungu’ (white person). It was pretty fun just people watching though. So different from anything you’d see in London. We stopped off at the British Embassy to do my registering thing, but turns out it’s an internet jobbie so it was a bit of a wasted journey. Oh well, the market was fun. Orchestra is going really well. Beata came to the rehearsal which was good as it really injected some energy to our cello section (of 4!) We have a cello sectional planned for tomorrow afternoon which should be very useful.Taught Michael again this morning. It looks like Beata and I have similar ideas about how to teach vibrato so that’s good. Started looking at the Hungarian Stomp which he seems to be excited about which is good - really need to work on his tuning though. It’s surprisingly hard teaching someone how to actually listen to themselves. He’ll get there though I’m sure. Sam and I then spent ages sorting our what our musicianship lesson was going to entail (leaving it to the last minute again!) We decided in simple harmony and cadences etc. Sadly it started raining at lunchtime which, as we are discovering, meant that no one turned up which was pretty annoying but I guess we can just do that next week. Also Frank didn’t turn up which was a bit of a shame, we’ll have to rearrange her lesson. Shouldn’t be too hard. Apparently she’s about Grade 2. We’ll see how it goes. Carys is to be settling in well too - she already seems to be quite busy! Which is good for her. We’ll start planning our trips away properly now.I think that’s all really. Bye for now! XPS. Sam’s hands are fine now so no worries there :)

Taught Michael yesterday. He's a very hard worker and does everything I say. All we really need to work on is his sound, and starting his vibrato. Any tips?! Sam and I then spent the rest of the day planning our musicianship as we had left it until the last minute - no surprises there! We decided to do conducting techniques and thought it would be fun to have to students conduct us (playing cello duets) so spent a while bashing through duets in a variety of key signatures. It was pretty good fun actually! It was also quite surprising to see that most of the students (especially the pianists and singers..) didn't have a clue about conducting and wouldn't have known a down beat even if it hit them in the face! I'm pleased to say they do now though!
I then took my first boda (motorbike taxi) all the way home on my own! Julie put me on an old clapped out looking one which is a clever tactic as it means they can't go very fast! Its quite good fun really, having the wind blowing through your hair.... Plus its only 2000ush for my 10/15min journey home. That's less that a pound!
Once home, Mummy Manding told me to get ready as we were going out to do the monthly shop. It was practically a whole family outing! Plus the driver came to help push the trollies - we ended up with 4! Bought everything in bulk - we now have about 10 packets of cereal, the hugest bag of sugar I've ever seen, I suppose you can imagine - we have everything you might need for a month, minus the fresh fruit/veg/milk etc which we get weekly. We also now have marmalade and strawberry jam - Manding asked if I wanted it, how could I say no?! Ahh the creature comforts! So breakfast this morning consisted of Frosties, toast and marmalade and tea. It's like I've hardly left home! No complaints from me though!
Today was a less exciting day. Taught Charlotte who is coming along leaps and bounds. Grade 1 definately looks possible. Played more violin duets with Phillip afterwards, did some practise then hung around waiting for Sam because we thought we had to go to the British High Commission to do this registering thing which we were told to do when we arrived, only to find that the High Commission closes at lunch, and we could have done it online. So kind of hung around for nothing but oh well. Got home to find the house in a frenzy of baking. I now have a fantastic marble cake recipe - next challenge is making it myself! Hoping to learn lots more useful cooking tips here, dont get your hopes up too much though! It could turn out to be disastrous! Haha...

Today began with a thunder clap so loud and long that for a moment in my haze of sleep I thought there might have been an explosion. The crashes of thunder lasted a good 15 seconds and were so loud I can only presume the storm was directly over us. Despite the pouring rain the parade appeared to be carrying on and I could just hear through the driving rain, the sound of the marching band, people talking on a mega phone and some faint cheering. I have finally found out what today actually means. Today, the 26th Jan, they are celebrating Liberation Day. This is the day when President Musevini (the current President) took over Government after being in hiding for 5 years. He took over from a corrupt President Milton Obotte in 1986. When he took over he was very popular because everyone was fed up of the corruption of the old Government so he had lots of support. He remained very popular for about the next 10 years. However apparently due to a change in policies he is losing a bit of support these days. I was precented from taking photos of the parade which shows are certian amount of paranoia by the government I think.
It did eventuly brighten up and I managed a very brief spell in the sun before the guilt crept in that I hadn't practised today and I decided I should before Orchestra at 7. The orchestra (and the practise too come to mention it!) is going really well and there were a grand total of 4 cellos today! (and only 2 violins - ha!) If the orchestra continues to grow and progress at the rate it's going its definately going to be a very successful concert in March!
So it's back to school tomorrow after a nice relaxing, long weekend...
Bye for now! X

Yesterday was a relaxing sort of day. Went to Junior Orch which is going well. They are performing Money Money Money and Shake Down in the Anniversary concert. It rained lots yesterday too! And is cloudy today - so much for me getting a tan! Haha. Rest of the day consisted of researching about Safari's and a Rafting trip which look great fun, but quite expensive. We can't come all this way and not do them though so I guess we'll just have to splash out! Plus we're not really spending money on anything else except transport (though it's very cheap) and maybe food so I reckon we'll be ok. Went to a craft market aswell and they have some lovely stuff, will probably be buying a few presents from there! Also took Fatu to the airport. Will be a bit weird without her but I can be replacement big sister! And Fatu's promised to bring back chocolate so thats a fair deal I say!
Today is a chilling and practising day also. Starting to brighten up a bit now too which is nice. I've been trying to upload photos so you can see what it's like out here but for some reason it wont let me. My profile picture is now of me and Fatu though. Will keep trying. Check facebook too if you can in case I have more luck there.
It's the big parade day tomorrow, liberation day. Should be good fun as it's right outside our house, we'll have the best views hopefully! I must say when it's over I wont miss the constant shouting and playing of Ugandan tunes - it's been a noisy few days while they've been rehearsing!
Another tradition that's different here is lunch is the main meal of the day and a light snack supper. I suppose that could be a Gambian tradition as thats where the family are from.. It's quite a healthy way of living though. The food is very spicy but I'm getting used to it now, and its so full of flavour. I've tried lots of new things which has been good - fruits, veg, oysters! Etc. Its all very delicious. I may offer to help cook the lunch now actually, would be good to pick up a few tips! X

Taught Charlotte again today. Working on scales now and the same little pieces. She's doing quite well. I've had a look at the Grade 1 syllabus and think she should be able to manage it. I'll talk to her next lesson because payment for exams in June need to be in by March, and they can be a challenge to pay for some people, so they can pay in installments if they want which is good.
I had a play through of some violin and cello duets with a guy called Phillip who has done his Grade 6. He's quite good but needs to work on intonation. I think it will be good us playing together, getting him working as a team and thinking and reacting faster to what's written on the page. Maybe we could play something small in our concert in April. It was quite good fun. We're going to carry it on just sightreading through stuff, always good practise.
Sam and I managed to make it back to my house using public transport (the matatu taxis-small bus things) which was good and not too traumatic (like last time!). Just very hot and sweaty - sun definately out today! We just chilled at home, Sam caught up with emails again i think. He has developed a rash on his hands. Looks like heat rash to me which I've had before and it's itchy and annoying. Could be a bad reaction to a soap or cream he's been using too though I suppose. Hopefully he'll be able to get hold of an anti histamine or something to help it. Apparently he's never been too good with heat so its probably that - he chose a good place to come! Haha.
We're going to investigate Safari and rafting trips this weekend. They'll probably be our main expense but I dont think we can come all this way and not do them!
Junior Orch again tomorrow, as well as Fatu going to Holland. It's a day off on Monday too as its Liberation Day, a public holiday, so it looks set to be a fun/relaxing few days. Sunbathing anyone?! :)
Love to all :D xxx

Some things: there was a gecko in my bathroom last night/this morning. I just hope it doesn’t find it’s way into my bedroom!
There are birds here that sound like monkeys. The first time I heard them I was pretty sure they were monkeys but now I’m getting used to being woken by the squawk of a ‘monkey’.
The internet is being very temperamental so apologies for any lack of communication. I will of course be in contact when I can…
We had pancakes with maple syrup yesterday, very yummy!
On Saturday Fatu is going to Holland on a school trip. She will be a lot closer to home than I am! It will be a bit weird with her gone but there’s still the rest of the family to have fun with!
On the airstrip opposite the house there are rehearsals for the ‘liberation day’ parade which is on the 26th I think. There are lots of soldiers marching and a marching big band. It can be heard throughout the whole house! Apparently the President will come and give a speech. It is a public holiday so I’m sure there will be lots of celebrating going on. Yesterday apparently the President flew into Kampala using the airstrip. Security became very tight and you could not drive to the house! I expect it will be similar on Monday.
I went on my first boda (motorbike taxi) today - it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. I was warned to hold on tight though because people fall off all the time apparently. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful! I taught Michael again today. He really is getting on well. I set him scales, bowing exercises and a study, plus doing more on his piece. I'm gonna have a rummage in the syllabus to see what grade he might be able to do.
I also did 2 hours practise and my fingers are now in pieces. But its all good :)
Bye for now. And keep in touch y'all xxx

Today it was actually cold! Cold enough to warrant jeans plus a long sleeve shirt… Taught Charlotte again today. She is quite responsive too and remembered everything from last lesson. I think the main problem for her is her bowing arm gets tired. Other than that her sound was a lot better today. If we work hard enough perhaps she could try grade 1. She can already read music so that makes it easier. I’ll have a look on the syllabus to see if it might be manageable.
I experienced my first African thunderstorm today! When it rains, it RAINS. Complete and utter downpour for at least an hour which made everything grind to a halt - including the internet…It’s also very noisy when it rains, lots of thunder. You just have to wait until it stops. It’s Madrigal Choir tonight -an unaccompanied choir which sounds quite good fun. Julie mentioned that lots of people don’t come to lessons when it rains, I can see why! I think I may adopt the Ugandan way and not go to choir tonight, getting there would be such a nightmare! Roads would be complete mayhem. I’ll practise instead.
Sam taught 3 kids at the International School today. I’m not sure how it went because I haven’t seen him. I’ll be sure to let you know if there are any good stories though!
I had a cup of English Breakfast tea today - I’d completely forgotten I’d brought a load of tea bags! It was a lovely taste of home :) xxx

I taught a guy called Michael this morning. He is 19 and has finished High School and will be starting at University this year. Since the last cello teacher left, Virginia, he apparently hasn't played too much because he was working towards his end of school exams (which were in November I think). He is just now getting into playing again and is practising everyday. I would say he is about grade 4 standard but we will do some playing in the lessons and maybe I'll enter him for an exam later this year. We'll see how it goes. He's quite good. Has a good bow hold. Did some work on the sound he was making, which had greatly improved by the end of the lesson. He also started learning a piece with Virginia, a piece I don't know, but I think we'll get to the end of that then start thinking of exam stuff.
It rained a lot today, so was cooler - and also muddier! There was time for practise today, as we waited at school until 4 for our first musicianship class. We had a grand total of 5 students - I think more peole would have come if it hadnt rained! We decided to teach them intervals and the songs that go with them, eg, perfect 4th - 'Here comes the bride..', major 6th - 'My bonnie...' etc. They picked it up pretty quickly, and were probably more enthusaistic due to the chocolates Sam had brought! It ended with a fun game of bingo for the remaining chocolates. I think they enjoed themselves and hopefully the word will spread and more people will come next week.
I stayed on for the Kampala singers rehearsal at 6. This is an adult choir that rehearses at KMS, they are singing the choir part for the Coronation Mass (to be played in the Anniversary Concert in March). It was a good and productive rehearsal, I'm not sure if I'll go again though as I'm playing in the Orchestra and can't multi-task that well! Sam is going to a school tomorrow to do some teaching which should be good for him. Apparently we might go to a primary school to give music lessons which will be a great experience for us both I'm sure.
The whole place has been taken over by 'Obama Mania'. I got home to find the whole family plus the staff watching the TV wearing Obama tshirts. Great fun though. I'm sure he will do well.
Bye for now. X

Yesterday (Sunday) was a relaxing day. I managed to actually do some sunbathing, though I kept getting far too hot and having to jump in the pool for a minute to cool down. I also did eventually surrender to sitting and reading in the shade after a while, it's so humid here you just spend all your time sweating! Then I had a text from Julie inviting me to the 'Belated KMS Staff Xmas Party' and that she/Ben (a piano/singing teacher) could pick me up at 4 (5 Uganda time..). So I got ready and waited for them. We went to a pork joint which had the best bbq pork I think I've ever tasted! It was really good. And we were eating Ugandan style with our hands. It was a very fun evening and nice to start getting to know more people from the school.

Today I was actually woken up by rain. It's the first time it's rained since I've been here. As a result it was really quite a cold start to he morning. I wore jeans! But it warmed up which was good. Sam and I didnt have much to do at school today. We sorted through 3 big boxes of CD's and put them in categories of Orchestral, Choral, Chamber, Solo etc. It was great fun. Sam then came back to our house to check his emails and I had a long chat with Lamin (the daddy of the house) about transport for when the driver is not available. Its kind of complicated but I think we've worked it out. I then had my first 'taxi' experience. The taxi's here are like small buses which have crazy drivers and you can basically jump in and out anywhere you like. They're pretty scary! And there was sooo much traffic on the way to school/orchestra this evening we ended up jumping out and walking. Luckily Badru, the gardener, was told to accompany us becuase otherwise we would have been so lost! Senious orchestra was actually quite good. We are playing the Coronation Mass in the anniversary mass in March with a combination of chiors from the area which should be good. Today was a good turn out apparently - 3 violins, 2 cellos (me and Sam), 2 oboes, 1 clarinet, 2 trombones, 2 trumpets and a horn. It was sounding pretty good and they're all very hard working so I'm sure it's only going to get better!

Just to give you all a bit of a better idea about the school - it's quite small, with only 8 practise rooms so it's quite a challenge getting hold of one! All the rooms have pianos and there are quite a lot of insruments available to borrow. The biggest/main room is where orchestral rehearsals take place. The students are mostly teenagers. I'm not sure if they go to school as well, lots of them seem to hang around the school most of the day so I'm not sure they do. They are all very enthusiastic and most play 2 or 3 instruments. It's our musicianship class tomorrow, so hopefully lots of people will turn up to that.

Bye for now! Xxx

Sam and I went to Juniour Orchestra today. They are playing Money Money Money - it was like being back at my school! There were 3 clarinets, an Oboe, a flute, a violin, a viola, me and another cellist, Sam on guitar. Julie has a good attitude though and can get them playing ok. It was quite good fun really. Sam and I then got a lift back to mine where he finally checked his emails and contacted some of his family/friends. We then went to the Garden Centre - basically a quite Westernised shopping centre, to get Sam some swimming trunks and a Lugandan phrasebook - he'll have to teach me. We then had fun back at the house, where there were lots of people (friends etc) and went in the pool, did a brief bit of sunbathing (I've hardly had any time to yet!), played football and chilled out. It was nice. He just got a lift back to the school where he can make his way home, hopefully! It's a bit of a trek for him but I dont think he minds. I get the feeling he likes the adventure, and also that he liked spending time with the family here. It just a couple at his house, all the kids have moved out. So all in all a good day. Hot too! Bye for now! Xxx

Teaching today went well. I just had this girl called Charlotte who is a beginner. She can play C major scale, Twinkle Twinkle, Frere Jaquere. I was just helping here on her technique and making a nicer sound today. I think it went ok. Sam and I also went to a meeting today where lots of stuff was discussed. KMS are doing an anniversary concert in March. They are now 8 years old. Sam and I are doing a visitors concert in April. We will have to do lots of practise! It should be fine. Tomorrow morning there is Juniour Orchestra which Sam and I are both going to. It will be fun to see what the orchestra sounds like! I've heard there arn't many people in it. Senior orchestra is mondays at 7. Again this should be a fun experience! Then Sam and I decided to do some exploring for lunch. We managed to make our way up to the main university and get some food in the canteen there. It was quite nice, similar to yesterday - rice, mashed banana thing, purple crushed peanut sauce and meat in sauce. One thing I dont think i'll ever get used to are the huge portions! I have just got used to taking less and trying to finish that. And guess what I had for breakfast?! Rice Crispies!! I was very happy. Had 2 bowls! So that was nice. Sam and I have also been told that we are teaching musicianship classes on tuesday afternoons which we started to organise when we got back from lunch, though we were completely exhausted and sweaty! It must be at least 30 degrees and humid - very sweaty making. We're are going to start with intervals - and maybe do an interval bingo once we've taught them each of the intervals. Should be good. What else happened today - oh Sam and I took about 10 minutes crossing a road, in the crazy traffic, eventually a policeman with a gun turned up which made crossing the road a lot easier! I also may go out with Fatu and her friends (the oldest in the family,she just turned 18), so maybe i'll get to see what the nightlife of Kampala is like on a Friday night. Dont know what the exact plan is yet though. I guess i'll update you tomorrow or something.

Hope all is well in London and you are not too cold! Missing you all lots still. And for anyone who's wondering, Sam is fine, but doesnt have internet at his house. Hopefully he'll check his emails at some point though. He's loving the new experiences I think. It's also really great that we're sharing these experiences together. I think if we were on our own it would be a lot more daunting and overwhelming. But we're looking after eachother...So dont worry about him,or me!

Lots of love xxx

So I had my first full day in Uganda today. It was a pretty good day. Very very hot and humid, but I was busier which helped keep my mind away from home. I went to the school at 10 this morning and Sam and I set about sorting through the cellos that were there. There were some pretty terrible ones - one had lost its soundpost and bridge, and another the head/scroll had broken off but there were a couple of ok ones too. I brought one back to the house with me oday to do some practise. I think it'll take a little while to get use to it but that's what practise is for right?! I didnt actually do any teaching today. I got the contacts of the 8 cello pupils there are and have manage to arrange lessons with 2 people (Sam and I have split the pupils so we each have 4). Sam also might be teaching guitar aswell so if he gets too busy I can always take over his cello pupils from him. There is another teacher at the school called Julie, and she has been teaching violin here for over a year now! She's really nice and took us to the bank and showed us around a bit. She also suggested safari ideas which would be good to investigate. By the time we got back to the school we were completely shattered - its so hot! January is apparently one of the hottest months though so I dont think it'll be getting much hotter than this, which is good! I havnt dont any sunbathing yet, but I'm sure I will! I am giving my first lesson tomorrow, to a girl called Charlotte who is a beginner. I am a bit nervous but just hoping things will fall into place once I get started.
So day 1 was a success - lets hope the teaching will be too!
Do keep in touch and spread the word about my blog. Its easier than writing to everone individually. My email is nelly_babe90@hotmail.com if you want to email me.
Love to all!
Ellie xxx

Hi,
So I have arrived safely at my new home. It's pretty amazing here. Quite hot and humid, but in a nice way. My 'wing' is also incredible. I have a double bed, TV, air conditioning, bathroom - and its all mine! Only I have a key! It's a bit weird though, just being left alone in my own little house. But I guess I'll get used to it. And it's got lots of space to practise too so hopefully I'll be able to bring a cello back home and become professional! The flight was fine, though I am quite tired now - it's impossible to sleep on planes! I'll have a little nap later... Other than that getting through customs/visa checks etc was fine and we were met by a driver holding a piece of paper saying Eleanor and Sam - very exciting! It was about a half hour drive from Entebbe airport through typical Africa. The drivers are crazy but it all seems to work. We dropped Sam off with Simon Yiga at the school so I've had a brief look at it. Maybe I'll go back later and have a bit more of an investigation. I'm waiting for a phone call from Julie who also teaches at the school telling me what time I start tomorrow. The mum very kindly sorted me out with a Sim card. My Uganda number is: +256781580013. Only the mum and cousin are here at the moment. Everyone else is at school. I think they get back in about 3 hours time so it will be nice to meet them all. I'll just settle in, have a shower and maybe a swim in the pool in the meantime!
Please, everyone, keep in touch - tell me everything, even the seriously boring stuff!
Missing everyone lots.
Bye for now.
Ellie xxx