Happy New Year!!
We have been in Africa for 6 months now. Time is flying by as is the usual case when you are busy carrying on with everyday life. We have had some amazing experiences, wild rides and the most aggravating and frustrating times imaginable. Jordan came for a few weeks over the holidays and it was wonderful to have her with us, because we love and miss her and also because it gave us the opportunity to see Zimbabwe all over again with fresh eyes. What would she see? What would she think about it all. Having folks visit is great for us because it gives us an excuse to be tourists again, break out of the routine and experience this amazing place. I am trying to take advantage of living in Africa, scheduling trips and outings so that we can continue our explorations. In the upcoming months we are hoping to go for a couple of nights to Antelope Park, a wildlife sanctuary about 3 hours from Harare and to Mozambique to enjoy the Indian Ocean beaches for a few days. Our big trip will be this summer when we go for the first time to Disney World and the beach in Florida. Everyone is looking forward to a little Disney and a lot of Americana!
So, what did we do over the holidays... Our holidays started with the holiday show at the kids school. Each had a part either singing, dancing or playing an instrument. We had no idea that over the last couple of months Charlotte had learned to play the Marimba, heck a few months ago I didn't even know what a Marimba was! In addition to her Marimba playing, she sang with 8 girls, with her class and did a rhythmic gymnastics routing. It wasn't just a holiday show it was a talent show! Lucas sang and danced with his class.. Caribbean Christmas was the theme. Following the show the 1 month long break began. International schools usually schedule long breaks over Christmas because many family opt to go home, wherever that is, and because some places are so far, they stay a long time. For us, here in Zimbabwe, the break was about a week too long.
Jordan arrived just as school got out and we got into the Christmas spirit right away, even though it was 80 degrees! Our Christmas "juniper" turned out to be quite lovely and without the needle mess. Christmas cookies were baked as was traditional dinner of ham and cheesy potatoes. I even made up our (read my) favorite Christmas day casseroles. Santa was as generous as usual and everyone enjoyed a day of lounging and playing. My big gift this year was a Kindle and I LOVE it. Having such a wide range of books so easily accessible, both to purchase and the read has been wonderful.
After Christmas we flew out to Victoria Falls, one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is truly a "must" see... absolutely spectacular. There really are no words, nor safety rails. You can get perilously close to the edge which made viewing with Lucas a bit worrisome. Still, the falls are amazing and the rainforest ecosystem that surrounds the falls something to behold. We also enjoyed a day in Botswana at the Chobi National Park where we saw more elephants than imaginable and the piece de resistance being our leopard siting... not just one, but a mom leopard and your young cub. It was utterly breathtaking. Lucas also had his day on the zip line mastering all three consecutive difficulties... flying fox, zip line and the heart stopping gorge swing. I must have lost my mind that day to let him do something like that in Zimbabwe. But all was well and we only had to endure a lengthy adrenaline rush as a result of the swing.
Jordan's stay was all to short and soon she was heading back to the States to continue her studies. She started a masters program last fall to get her Masters in Special Education so she can begin teaching autistic children. We are all so proud of her.
Not much else going here. We are in the midst of the rainy season with can mean everything from rain all day long, to rain for 5 min, sun for 5 min, more rain and so on. The garden is at its most loveliest, green and lush, and the bugs at their most buggiest. Somehow we are becoming less and less upset by the bugs. Desensitization at its finest!
Love, Shannon
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