Well, I don’t really know where to start! Been back in Awassa almost a week now and things are back to normal. It was great to go back to the UK though it all seemed a bit rushed. I found it really hard the first week, suffered extreme culture shock. Couldn’t cope with the consumerism and the number of obese people. Now, English people can’t all have put on a huge amount on weight in the last 5 months – I guess coming from Ethiopia the difference really struck me. I had been looking forward to having familiar food and drink but found I was quite turned off by the sheer amount and variety – and so much of it is crap, processed rubbish. Our diet is definitely much healthier here in Ethiopia - just fresh fruit and veg, pulses, pasta and you just eat when you are hungry. The culture of excess just doesn’t exist here. Yes, I complain about it’s limitations but surely there has to be a happy medium?

Anyhow, it was great to see family and friends tho I didn’t have time to catch up with many people. Mike and I went up to the Lakes, seeking solitude, and camped beside Sprinkling Tarn. Fabulous. Then down to Seatoller in Borrowdale and had a lovely few days walking, canoeing and eating at Zeffs and at the Lakeland Peddlar. We went through all kinds of weather from the hottest of summer days to torrential rain and we loved it!

The last couple of days in London were a bit fraught but we managed a day out on the South Downs at Seven Sisters. The night before we were due to leave Michael heard that a close friend had had a bad accident. He stayed on to go and visit whilst I came back to Ethiopia on my own.