Another Update
(Wednesday, September 21, 2005 3:09 PM)

Hey everyone back in Canada,

I hope you guys aren't as effected as us by the petrol prices. It is about 6.50 Rand which about more than a dollar Canadian. The weather is starting to get worst. The August winds have not come yet meaning we may not get rain for months. The Vaal Damns are down about 45%. The heat is rising to the high 30s and the dust is just lifting into the air. Those who have bad allergies beware!

Nothing much has happened to me lately. We are starting out cycle test for third term this Friday. I am not expected to write them but I feel challenged to do something other than breath in the class.

I am starting to get into a group of close friends. Which is really nice. I was invited to a friend name Andy's house for her 17th birthday. It was so fun. School doesn't seem to drag on so much as it did before. But Athletics is horrible. We have practices every Tuesdays after school. After school is at around 130 and that is about the peak of the day. It is blistering hot and they expect the seniors to demonstrate. Plus I am the only senior in the distance races. I have decided not to do short sprints because the lines are so wobbly and there are so many hills, well bumps. I don't plan to break my ankles just to run for school. We have different houses with different colours; red for Howpoos, blue for river and green for willow; all of which are greatly names after the most common thing found in Henley. I happen to be in Howpoos (which is spelt wrong but is pronounced like that), for a while I thought my house was Poo Poo because of their accents. I then was told it was a bird that makes the most annoying sound in the world, so all I could imagine was these bird that had constipation all the time.

Last Friday I was given the opportunity to go to a government Afrikaans school in Roodeport called Allen Glen High School. It is a school that holds over 1500 students. A majority of them are black. The school is shaped like a rectangle with the insides cut out. The part that is cut out is taken place by stairs. Basically when it rains in rains into the corridors, it is so beautiful. Everyone was so friendly. Whenever I talked the turned to talk to me and ask me if I was on TRL before. Everyone has this dream to go there I guess. And then they think Canada is a very small country where everyone knows or is related to Avril or Celine. It is a lot different from Henley.

On Sunday at Action Soccer we finally won our firs game. Even though I have only been to two games, they have told me that this was the fourth game they one in four seasons. Hope it will change.

Yesterday I learnt to ride a horse for the first time. It was amazing. My next host family's sister, Shay is giving me riding lessons in exchange of grooming her horses. The horse is so lovely, his name is Crystal. Yes his name is Crystal and he is a guy. He is pure breed horse in the colour of chestnuts. He is huge though. I was told that I am a natural at riding but I think I was more afraid to dieing than trying to keep my form. But boy can this horse sense when you are feeling uncomfortable he would slow down to the pace you are most comfortable. I started to trot for a bit and than I was "good" enough to canter. That is hard and tiring.

Hope everyone is doing okay,

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Bounmy Inthavong