Hello,

I hope all of you are having a happy Halloween. We don't have Halloween here in South Africa, so I don't get to celebrate. It is the beginning of summer right now and the weather has started to get very hot. The rainy season has also started. The school year is also ending. Kids go to school here from the end of January to the beginning of December, so right now they are taking tests and getting ready for summer break. At schools in South Africa parents have to pay a fee to send their children to school and they also have to buy all of their own books. They also have to buy a uniform to wear to school. Most children work very hard in school because they know that their parents will be upset with them for wasting their money if they don't.

South Africa has 11 official languages - English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Pedi, Tswana, Ndbele, Swati, Tsonga and Venda. Here in the North West Province people mostly speak English, Afrikaans, and Tswana. Most children in South Africa speak three or more languages.

Please e-mail me if you have any questions about South Africa. My e-mail is jenny_nickels@yahoo.com

I will try to write again soon.

Love,
Jennifer