Have a look at these two photos and spot the differences:

2008, Bedfordshire, UK

2007, Cotonou, Benin

Quite a few to be seen, I should say (not least of all that Micah does not have bare feet in the first!) Yes, this week our three kids started school in the UK; for Micah it was the first time ever that he’d attended school in this country and the experience was just a tad overwhelming to start with. The girls are at middle school, which is new for them, but there are some children they remember from 4 years ago.

The main differences for them at school here will be:

* Larger classes
* A wider range of teachers
* French lessons will be a doddle
* No outdoor swimming
* Having to wear a tie
* The subjects PSHE, RS and DT, none of which they did in Cotonou.

I was trawling through old photos, and here’s their first ever day at school in Benin (2004):

Don’t they look cute?! And here’s start of school 2005,
just after Ruth’s ceiling fan accident:

If you’ve just started a new school or are about to go to university, I wish you the very best - may you settle in quickly and begin enjoying the new adventure!

Other News…

* Rob’s on an ethnomusicology course with SIL, studying Analysis of non-Western music, a very useful skill to have on the field.
* Lois is planning some French study in the coming months, hopefully in France.
* The kids are looking forward to a trip to Woburn Safari Park today (Sat) to celebrate Grandma Pauline’s birthday.
* Rob heads back to Togo in October to teach a two-week ethnomusicology course.

Thanks for reading!