Spot the difference

We have had a great first few days back in the UK, mainly in London so the kids could see lots of friends, go into school to tell former (and for Matthew and Katie, future) classmates all about their first five months in Africa and generally feel confident that they will be able to walk back into London life as and when we leave Africa.

Having spent a fair bit of the last five months talking about being back in England, Katie quickly decided that it's too cold here and not home and announced that she would like to be on the next plane back to Kenya. She's moderated her view with the arrival of summer this week but is still clear that Kenya is home for now.

As we travel round seeing people we have been chatting about the differences we each see. There are of course so many but some resonate more than others. We are all agreed that driving (having managed to get our car started after much teeth sucking from our friendly mechanic, a big boost to the battery and a new fuel pipe) is a completely different experience. But whilst the kids miss the 4x4, pot holes that add to the excitement of any journey, and crazy driving by others I don't! Shopping is also very different and the kids quickly settled back into hoodies and commercialisation in our local shopping centre.

But the two biggest differences I've enjoyed are walking lots (and not just because of the time it took to et the car started!) and long days - being on the equator the sun rises and sets around 630/7 everyday so there aren't long summer evenings. In fact, its so reliable that Swahili time telling is based on how many hours past sunrise/sunset it is with 1 being 7am/pm etc. it's added a whole new level of complexity to my timekeeping.


Anne