UPDATE

It's been rather a long time since I have updated this blog. Time seems to slip by more quickly in Kampala: life has become busier and busier. This appears to be one of the natural consequences of living as a family in a large city.

Another significant demand on my time has been my decision to enrol on a TEFL course (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). This course has been divided into two sections.

First of all, I have been completing an online grammar course. This course saw me refreshing my knowledge of, or even adding to, my knowledge of English grammar.

What a complicated language we native English speakers have! I have had my brain challenged by modal verbs, gerunds, transient and intransient verbs, participles, compound nouns and adverbial phrases, not to mention the thirteen tenses of the English language!

The second part of my course was a classroom-based, intensive course. This took place during the recent half-term week in October. For this section of my TEFL course I travelled from Kampala all the way to Scotland's Edinburgh!

In Edinbugh's Glasshouse Hotel I joined a group of other TEFL students. where an excellent tutor took us through several days of theory, grammar practice and practical skills. It was time well spent! It was a brilliant course, with plenty of time for us to engage in activities, plan and deliver English lessons to our fellow students and to give and receive invaluable feedback.

Edinburgh's Glasshouse Hotel conference room: a world away from the heat and chaos of Kampala!

Admittedly, Edinburgh was a lot colder than Kampala- but it was rather fun to wear a different wardrobe! Fun to wrap up in a toasty coat and don a colourful scarf, to wear furry boots and long jeans!
 I had the privilege of being able to stay with good friends from University- although as we met up we found it hard to believe that it is 25 years since we first met at Nottingham University! I don't feel old enough to have a history like that!

Here is a Monday morning selfie at a breezy 7 a.m.- I prepare to take the bus into town, as Fiona kindly gets up early to make breakfast for me and accompany me to the bus-stop for the first day of my course:

I got very excited on the bus into town because I discovered that Edinburgh buses offer free wi-fi to their passengers! This may not seem particularly exciting to some of you readers, but for me, living in Kampala, it seemed like an ultra-modern perk! In Kampala, it's always a bonus to actually arrive safely at our destination on the local motorbikes or mini-bus taxis, let alone have the comfort of wi-fi !!

The bus carried me through the streets of Edinburgh, with plenty of time to admire the Autumn vistas afforded by my front seat on the top deck of the bus:

 

Since returning home to Kampala, I have been able to fully complete my TEFL requirements. Two weeks ago I officially received my certificate! Horray! 

Each Tuesday, I now volunteer at a local education centre for refugees where I teach English to students who come from several African countries. It is wonderful to have interaction with these willing learners and to be able to put into practise what I have recently learnt on my course. I am still learning how to effectively teach English, but with each lesson I teach comes more awareness- and I am thoroughly enjoying the challenge!