Ha! Morning worship (7.30am) here is just like home, more's the pity. I read the gospel and had no idea what to do when no one responded at the end - they just stood there waiting as if for me to do something else. The service had no theme, and the hymns were completely unconnected with the gospel or the sermon.

The sermon was about families (a world-wide theme at the moment I think) and how a child's discipline begins at home and parents are wrong to attack the teachers. They should get the NUT in on this. He then attacked the teachers for not telling parents when their children were doing well. Hmmm. I'm not sure that with thirty-three staff to 2300 pupils the parent-teacher communication at St. Andrew's (school in Ramnad) will be very good!

Nic was at the service with another European girl (French I think), so we've managed to talk to her and see how she's getting on. She's actually only here for three months – not six as we'd thought - so we'll be deserted in January. She's going to take us to the best tailor here so we can get some clothes copied/made.

Nic is studying at the TTS doing a dissertation on something or other. C. thinks that she's had it much easier than us, because she's in a community away from it all and there are other Europeans there. I disagree with this because at the moment we're pretty much in the same boat as she was three weeks ago.

...

22:09 Just had the evening service and get-together. The service was a nightmare, but afterwards we sang and there was a guy who played guitar! I think C. was a bit isolated but he makes so little effort to talk to other people. Not even the O.M. girls although we get on quite well with them. It should irritate me but it doesn't, yet – I was having so much fun tonight I didn't really care.