Rain, Frogs And ... Driving

The lowvelt is finally brimming with colour after an unusually long and extremely dry winter. The weather is here is different to the northern hemisphere. In Europe, the winters are freezing cold (around zero) and wet (plenty of rain and snow, in South Africa, its cold and very dry. We hadn't seen rain for five months until last week, when the thunderstorms rolled in and rain came down, heavily. It was beautiful. I love the rain, the thunder and the smell of wet earth. The summer rains started last week and with the rains the temperature has risen. Its common for the summers to be hot and wet. During the winter months the skies are very empty and very blue. Right now, with the unset of the summer there are a lot more clouds in the sky than before, even though we still get clear skies from time to time. Its still amazing to see the beautiful African displays the setting sun causes on a nightly basis. I'll really miss see the sun set over the African wilderness when I leave for Australia.

The rains have also brought out a vast amount of wildlife that had disappeared during the dry winters. These animals are mainly insects, and smaller creatures, like frogs and snakes. The frog in the picture has taken residence in my shower, which is outside the house with a wooden fence around it. I don't know how long he'll stay but I'm not planning on disturbing him as I'd much rather have him sitting where he is than a parabuthis scorpion or a violin spider, both of which are highly poisonous, in my room.

A Foam Nest Frog, A Resident of my outside shower

On December 11, Hannah will be back in South Africa, to spend Christmas with us, as well as mum's birthday and mine. I'm looking forwards to seeing her again as I haven't seen her since she left for Paris in June. She's almost finished her cooking course. She's really enjoying life in Paris and what she's doing. When I see the photographs of what she makes, my mouth waters crazily and I almost want to ask her to send the dish to me, to try, then and there. She's an incredibly talented chief and I'm very proud of her. 

I'm enjoying life at home. Its busy but quiet. I still haven't received my police clearance form as it hasn't arrived in the post, yet. I won't be able to apply for my visa without it. Its in God's hands, He wants me here for a reason. I think the reason is so that can I learn and improve the skills of housekeeping, which my parents are teaching me. I've been helping them around the house, with a lot of the house work, the cooking and the shopping.

For many people, its may come as a surprise that I can't drive. In Uganda I wasn't brave enough to learn, as the traffic in the city is chaotic and dangerous, and that doesn't explain the full potential that even the most experienced drivers may run into problems. I had no intention of running anyone over because they drove their motorbike in front of the car right at the last minute or ran behind the vehicle when I'm parking. Personally I think it was dangerous enough travelling on one of the motorbike taxis hat are the most common (though not the cheapest) from of transport through Kampala city, even with a helmet, jacket and jeans.

"Boda Bodas" Waiting At The Traffic Lights

The motorbikes are generally known as "boda boda" by Ugandan residents. The words were orginally given to the bicycle taxis, because the "mtatus" (or the 14 seater minibuses) wouldn't go all the way to the border, so people who were headed that way would shout "border, border" and over time it became "boda boda." This name was then also given to the motorbikes. It was a lot of fun travelling on them, as you see a side to Kampala that you don't see in cars. If ever you go to Uganda, beware of tourist prices! You might end up pay three or four times more than you should! I'm looking forwards to being able to drive myself around and not have to rely on others, or on the public transport system, to get me to where I need to go.