Volunteers' blog

Today saw me making a host of signs for the house. Between Latifa and I, we have labelled a heap of items in French, English, Arabic, and with a spelled out version of the Arabic for me to pronounce. I’m really glad to have the chance to learn so many languages – but all at once is becoming a bit tiring. Every night, I’m going to bed utterly exhausted. My head is spinning and thinking in English, French, Arabic and Berber.

Things are so busy in the house - I didn’t leave the house at all today. By the time you make breakfast and serve the girls, then clean the house thoroughly, then make lunch then serve it, then clean up – well, it’s time to start helping the girls with homework. I’m not quite sure how school works, but at any one time there are at least 2 or 3 girls who are not at school. So, you have to keep them busy. Then, before you know it, it’s time to start preparing supper, then there is more homework and then you fall into bed. It is lovely to be there for the girls all day long and to prepare food from scratch for every meal.

We had a massive storm in Asni. There was torrential rain, which has turned the backyard into a swamp, followed by hail. The girls were soaked when they got home, and their shoes were covered in mud! It turned absolutely freezing – I put on almost all of my clothes!! After the clouds cleared and we could see the mountains the storm had brought the first layer of snow for the winter! I made dinner and the night ended with the girls singing and dancing!