Well what can I say?....

It's quite clearly no easy task finding the time to come here and share with you!

Life has picked up a pace, and with first semester exams looming we are being kept busy with students coming and going, for supplementary lesson, and sometimes just for advice.

That, combined with the regular demands of family life have all conspired to keep me away.

When we came to Algeria last June, we knew that we wanted to be as involved in our local community as we possibly could, and for us the main area we've concentrated on so far has been in offering tuition (in English)at home, and our local masjid.

It's been a fruitful and rewarding project, though certainly not without it's challenges and frustrations...

and we're really now beginning to enjoy the girls we teach masha'allah.

Alot of time is spent in planning lessons and finding interesting, and enjoyable ways for the girls to become more confident in their language skills, and for the most part it seems we are winning the battle.

There is a general lack of respect between teachers and students here in Algeria, and it seems the  only teaching tool required here is the ability to bully knowledge into children...so our girls have found it a refreshing change to be so so involved with their own learning path and to be respected enough not to be slapped, smacked and verbally pelted with a barrage of abuse every time they get something wrong.

It's been such a joy to come back after a long summer break and find young girls enthusing about learning and being in a classroom on their afternoon off from school.

On the home-front... changes to our lifestyle continue to happen.... but that's a blog post waiting to happen...

Wonderful new Kabylie recipes have been learnt and I'm waiting for a spare moment and time enough to upload my photos so I can share them with you.

I'm really blessed that my kabylie neighbour is so willing to show me the ropes, and I'm learning to be yet more frugal with her wonderfully rustic and wholesome dishes masha'allah.

And now I'm off, to think about what lies ahead tomorrow...

a day at home..only one student due in the evening (for dd18)

lesson plans and study notes needing my attention

and lots of cooking that needs to be done..after a day with only variations on the theme of pasta lovingly yet unceremoniously thrown at anyone who stood still for long enough it's time to get back in the kitchen and create some homliness for those poor unfortunates traipsing about in the damp, increasingly chilly Autumn weather.