Happy New Year!

I haven't downloaded my pictures (what few there are!) onto my computer recently, so no pictures this time, but I wanted people to know that I'm still alive, still enjoying my holiday, that I had a lovely Christmas, and that I'm looking forward to the new year.

On Christmas Eve we had a big dinner with everyone on station. There was lots of good good, some carol singing, and lots of laughter. Christmas day the single ladies had our now traditional progressive breakfast which took 8 hours, but was a very relaxing, special way to spend the day.

Tonight we're going to have a bonfire and some fireworks to see the new year in--several hours before midnight of course! I think Beth and I might be the only ones staying up... I'm looking forward to what 2013 brings, and hope all of you have a blessed year!

Kitwe and Fruitcake.

I guess as a way to start trying to blog about the madness that was the Kitwe trip, I’m going to do a bullet list, and then expand on some topics. Here goes!

*Two dentist visits

*Lots of shopping

*Kitwe has a new Pick ‘n Pay—so much nicer than Shoprite!

*Lots of visiting the same two bookstores (this is what you get for being both a booklover and a teacher who works at a remote school).

*Lots of hole-in-the-walls with a surprising range of merchandise

*Some visits to Barcello’s complete with lattes—yes, this is part of why I go to town!

*Lots of good Sri Lankan food at our good friend the Fernandos. After a term of kid geared dining hall food, such a treat!

*Lots of fun visiting the Frenandos.

*Lots of texting various people about all sorts of errands from tie rod ends for a land cruiser to books.

*Lots of driving in the meat grinder that is town—no accidents praise the Lord!

*Being interviewed for a sport on ZedMBC—I was on TV today!

Dentist: I got the first half of a root canal, and then after some probing, sticking some scary pins in the offending tooth and x-raying, it was decided that the crown idea wasn’t going to work. So, out it came. The soreness is mostly gone, but I still have to be careful how I chew and use the nasty mouthwash tablets.

Being on TV: I got roped into doing an interview of ‘Today’s Women’ which was both the most hilarious and ridiculous thing in my life. If I had known that I was going to be interviewed for TV that day, I would have worn something a little different, and I would have had MY knitting with me. I ended up working on Beth’s while we pretended that she didn’t know what I was doing. Now my kids are going to come back and be all like, “You were on TV!!!”

In holiday news, today was fruitcake day! They look pretty edible, so I look forward to sharing and enjoying them with my station family.

It’s Christmas Time!

Well, I just tried something new—candied pineapple for the fruit cake I’m going to make later this month. I remember my grandmother telling me that it takes a lot of sugar, but I wasn’t sure how it would work starting with fresh. After 45 minutes of cooking down on the stove, I’m pretty happy with the results.

It’s Christmas in the bush, and I’ve been getting my halls decked despite the heat. The last weekend of term I put up my tree, and once again I’m brought back to my childhood and the simple pleasure of waking up and walking into a living room lit only by the tree lights.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without an Advent wreath, so mine was retrieved from its storage place and carefully set up. The ritual of lighting another candle each week is another one that makes it Christmas for me. While I’m far away from my family, there is something comforting in carrying on a tradition that I know my family is doing back home.

As a parting shot and a promise that I’ll write about my town trip, here’s a picture of a funeral that we passed just outside Solwezi. There’s always room for one more in Zambia!

Not dead--just very busy!

Well, thanksgiving is now past, and it's full speed ahead to Christmas and end of term! We had a pie social here the night before thanksgiving which was a very special time--especially for the Americans! I ended up being up to my eyeballs with pumpkin pie, but there are far worse things to be overwhelmed with! This past weekend was my last one on, so now I just have to worry about giving and marking exams as well as writing report cards. I have some pretty tough ones to write, so I'll be praying a lot wisdom. Christmas decorations are starting to crop up in classrooms and the dorm--I always get excited to see the kids reactions! It's started raining here after almost a week without. The river is very low, and crops are not going to turn out well unless we have a return to our normal weather patterns. Nothing like the sound of a gentle rain on the roof!

Shopping the 'Hardcore' Way

This past Monday and Tuesday were our last half-term of the year, and Beth and I used it to make a quick trip down to Solwezi to drop her cousin off at the airport, and then to do some serious shopping. Solwezi is our provincial capital, and is about 5 ½ to 6 hours away (depending on the roads and traffic). We left Sakeji at about 1pm, and arrived in Solwezi at about 6:30. We were quick tired from the morning activities that we had supervised and the long drive, so we were not a lively bunch at supper and crashed at (for us) a rather granny hour. The next morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast, and then set out to find the airport following the rather sketchy directions provided by the lady at the front desk. Luckily Solwezi isn’t that big, and we were able to find it on the first try.

After saying goodbye, Beth and I headed into town to do battle with Shoprite. We had about 8 lists that we were trying to fill, and ended up with two full sized carts, and two of those little ones that hold two shopping baskets. Checking out was a speedy half hour, and the whole experience was made more surreal and interesting by the stifling heat of the store as opposed to the Christmas carols playing on the radio, and the Christmas decorations up in the back. Once we finished that, we had a few more errands to run including finding the vet and getting some rabies vaccine, paying a bill for someone, mailing the school’s letters, and getting some lunch. We left around 1:30, and arrived back on station just a little after dark.

After that it was time for some sorting and delivering of the groceries to various places around station before we made some mac n’ cheese and collapsed into bed at an even more granny hour than the night before. There were definitely some nice things about being in town—cheese, peach iced tea, and being away from the kids for a bit, but I don’t think I’ll make a habit of these lighting trips!

Ancient and Modern Tourism

At our birthday parties, we always have a theme, and the staff dress up for the kids enjoyment. Here's a picture of Jill and me at the "Wonders of the World" birthday party this term. I decided to go with what I already had on the brain--Ancient Greece--and be an ancient Greek tourist ticking off the seven wonders of the world. Jill was a tour guide for a German castle. We also had a two person pyramid, some terracotta soldiers, and two Mount Everests. Nothing like an excuse to dress up!

Little Things

It’s a lot of fun to take the grade 7’s outside for math while my TA works with the grade 6’s inside. It makes me feel almost like I’m homeschooling!

Absentee voting is a trying process, but at least I have a fellow American who cares enough to go through it with me.

Here are a few more snapshots of Independence Day—enjoy! I might never be this on-the-ball with pictures again!

Big Ben and little Ben playing during the swim races.

Two cute sisters

A very cute Levi!

King of the plank

Raincoats are COOL!