Hi! This is Bryce. Just so you know, I am still alive.
Last weekend we went to see a “hypnogician.” He hypnotized people and did magic. He made people do funny things.
Jake, Ben’s big brother, is home from boarding school for a month. He had a sleepover at our house last weekend. He’s 14.
Yesterday my class went to Bally Vaughan for a field trip. Do you remember us talking about it when we went last year? This time we went to the whole thing of it, which is much bigger than what we went to last year. I got completely covered in blackjacks at one point. Blackjacks are unpoky, prickly seeds. We saw the spotted hyena, marmosets (but we didn’t get to go in the cage with them this time,) a stray puppy, elephants, and lions. I saw the one who attacked Mary last year. It’s name is Ngezi. That’s the name of our friend’s dog, too! I also saw the baboon that ate Mary’s friendship bracelet and yanked out a quarter of my hair!
On Thursday, my class is going on a field trip to do a “Dinky Safari.” It’s a toy car safari. Me and Ben are on a team with an awesome Lego car. We call our team “Le Brumpston” and we even made team uniforms. Our Dinky Safari will drive through a miniature Zimbabwe in my friend, Max’s back yard. We will answer questions about the areas we drive through.
We are going to South Africa on Thursday for a week. I’ll get back to you after that.
Bryce
Tags: Billy Vaughan, bryce, Dinky safari, hypnohgician, South Africa
We went to Chombo on Sunday and were very happy with what we saw. The corn is almost ready for harvest. They leave it to dry on the stalks, then dry it further in the sun and grind it into “mealie-meal,” their staple food. Even the shortest stalks (some only up to my knees!) had at least one ear each. They are harvesting ground nuts and peanuts right now and have already had a crop of tomatoes and greens. They also have lots of sunflowers! Such a difference a year makes!!!
The cow is pregnant – hooray!! Also, we left them with cash to purchase the items needed to build a chicken coop and a wall around the well. We are trying to get the villagers more and more involved in their projects, so decided to have them do this themselves. It should be cheaper and also allows them to spread some of the wealth around the immediate area, rather than Harare. We are asking for receipts and will check on their progress next time we go out. There is one man, Chris, who is stepping forward to be a leader in this respect; he is working along with Veronica’s sister, who is keeping the money.
Mary and Bryce came along this time. They each worked the pump and drank water from the well. Seeing the rags the children were wearing inspired both of them to go through their closets more thoroughly to weed out things they have outgrown. Mary also wants us to bring out a few big pizzas next time we go! I love how seeing the conditions here cause the kids to want to help. It’s one of the goals Jeff and I had when we decided to teach overseas!
We will make one or two more trips out this year – decreasing the amount of food each time and instead supplying things like fruit trees, etc. The local schools are in session now, but the teachers don’t “teach” unless the kids bring in extra money. I think they are asking $3 each per term. This sounds like nothing to us, but it’s beyond their means, so Cindy and Al are also going to pay for their tuitions for the next year out of the funds they have raised. Next year Al and Cindy will help them source seed and fertilizer again, then check up on them midyear, as well as keeping tabs on them through Veronica. We are anticipating (and hoping) that they will soon be totally independent, even prosperous!
Bryce had his student-led conference last week and was very impressive in his presentation of his learning. This week Mary’s conferences will be held – I am looking forward to hearing good things about her progress, too. She has no school tomorrow for this, so she is spending the night at her friend, Anushka’s house. Both kids have field trips this week and next. Quite fun!
I have our tickets home in hand now. We will arrive in Portland (by way of Johannesburg and Atlanta) on June 7. We will head to the coast to spend a week with my dad, then come back to West Linn in time for the kids to attend Field Day. We are all getting very excited and allowing ourselves to start with the, “I can’t wait until . . . “ talk. Any earlier and it’s just cruel! I still don’t have a job; I’ve been told it will be late April or early May before LO starts hiring and I still haven’t been able to get my documents and application in to West Linn because I can’t figure out the online application program. Our middle school IT person has offered to help me with it. Keep on praying for us!!!
One more week until our Spring Break begins! We are traveling to South Africa with our good friends, the Bushes. We will fly to Johannesburg, then rent a van and drive to the Drakensburg Mountains, where we will stay for a couple of days. There is great hiking there. We will drive from there to Santa Lucia, on the eastern coast, where we will spend a few more days . . . beach, game drives, shopping! We are all looking forward to the break!!! We will all miss the traveling we have been able to do here. So many places we still want to see . . . the list only grows longer.
Of course, as this year draws to a close, lots of emotions about Jeff are floating about. It seems so unfair that he can’t be here to celebrate all we’ve accomplished, watch the kids grow and blossom, and look forward to our return to America. I find peace in the belief that he either is aware of it anyway, or that he is so joyously happy in heaven that any sorrow I have is purely for myself and the kids.
Looking forward to seeing all of you soon! I hope you are enjoying the beginnings of spring!!
Love,
Terry
Tags: chombo, conferences, corn, cow
I hear Daylight Savings Time has come your way. It’s hard to believe it’s that close to spring! Our time remains unchanged – no need as there is very little fluctuation in our sunrise/sunset.
I had a lovely time Friday night at a sleepover! Several of the teachers got together and had a sleepover at Amanda’s house to celebrate our friend, Claire’s 50th birthday! We enjoyed a beautiful sunset – there is a great view from her deck – and talking late into the night with delicious food. The next morning, we went for a walk on her property. She has 156 acres (bought it, along with the house and cottage, 7 years ago for $50,000 US! Sadly, those days are gone.) We hiked past her donkeys and zebras – they also have impala, but we didn’t see them – down a steep decline to a nice field, where we rested, listened to the birds, and watched her puppy play. The hike back up was more strenuous, but very nice. We stopped to look at her cottage and admire the view from there, then on up to visit her giant warthog! After a wonderful breakfast, we packed up and went back home. (Veronica spent the night with Mary and Bryce – a nice perk, eh?)
Saturday night was MTV Night. We had an entry again this year, but didn’t win any awards. It was very fun anyway. I will try to get a link to the video so you can watch it. (I even have a cameo appearance!) As we arrived we walked the “red carpet” where they interview guests. It’s being played inside the theater, real-time, so it’s fun to watch everyone arrive. There were about 20 videos screened, then a break for voting and snacks, and then back for live acts and award presentations. A very nice night and a fund raiser for hungry children here in Zimbabwe!
The rest of the weekend was uneventful. The kids hung out at home and with friends, I did some shopping . . . We actually had power all weekend long, so that was a real treat!
We are planning on going to Chombo this weekend. We will take less food and fill up with some essentials for chicken coop building instead! They should be harvesting now, so we are trying to wean them while providing more money-making projects for the future. It will be nice to see how well the crop did this year!
The big news from last weekend was Bryce’s birthday party. He was finally able to have his waterslide! We combined with Ben, whose birthday is actually tomorrow. The boys had 3 friends join them to spend the night at Ben’s house. There is a separate cottage on their property, so they ate out there (chicken with no utensils! Bryce avoided that, as he’s still a vegetarian! but there were other finger foods to keep him happy.) Then the 5 of them slept out there . . who knows how late they stayed up!
The next morning they came to our house, where they got to play on the waterslide for about an hour before their guests began to arrive. There were about 20 boys who came. Bryce loved the cake (Star Wars, of course!) We had BINGO (WAMPA,) a “pinata” (just a plastic bag filled with candy and hung from a tree,) decorated cupcakes, played “Capture the Flag” and then, of course, swimming and the waterslide. We actually had sunshine and power!!!! We had no power on Mon., Tues., Wed. morning and Friday, so I was a little worried about it, but it came through! The party was lots of fun and left Amanda, Gus (Amanda’s husband) and me exhausted.
Last week HIS was host to 5 countries’ basketball teams for an annual tournament called ISSEA (International Schools of South and East Africa.) There were teams from South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda, as well at Zimbabwe. It was the first time in 9 years it was hosted here. The last time it was Zim’s turn, they chose a different location as there was very little food available and it was a real hardship. The kids and I watched our fill of basketball games. It was very fun.
We are doing fine. I still have no job, but the time when we will know for sure is approaching – probably the beginning to end of April. All of us are starting to realize that our time here is limited and we are all feeling sad about leaving as well as excited to come home. Comments like, “I can’t believe we won’t see _______ in a few months” are becoming common at our house. I really wish all of you could have come to visit – it really is an adventure and a beautiful country with such wonderful animals and places to visit. The people are so warm and friendly and the weather beats anyplace I’ve ever seen!
Hope you are all doing well. We miss you and look forward to seeing you all again.
Tags: basketball, birthday, home, party, ryce, vegetarian
Mary’s eyes are back to normal, thankfully. That was a long time to have them so irritated! The dog is doing okay, I think, although she doesn’t have her old energy back. I took her for a run yesterday and she only made it a few blocks before she put on the brakes and I had to walk her the rest of the way home. She is old and I think the infection took it out of her. She was poisoned while I was home in August and that took some of it, too, which I don’t think she ever fully recovered. Poor old thing.
On Friday night I attended a school fund raiser; it was very fun. The drive there (fortunately, I wasn’t driving!) was quite an experience. There was another function taking place at the same hotel, that had 1000 people attending; ours had around 400. It was raining and the traffic lights weren’t working (not unusual) but no police there to monitor the traffic. We were in gridlock for about 1 1/2 hours; several others were stuck for between 2 and 3 hours. The road we were stuck on was 2 lanes each way, but worked its way into being 6 lanes going one way and trying to siphon into 2 lanes at the intersection. We actually made it through that, only to find that the traffic was bound up even worse on the other side of the intersection. We finally jumped a curb, did a U-turn and found a back way. There were no accidents causing this, just too many cars and no direction because of the lack of traffic signals!
Once there, the dinner was wonderful (each embassy contributed a dish or so from their country) with an auction, a raffle, and dancing. Another sad (and African) thing was that at the end of the evening, there was no refrigeration available for all the left-over food, so it was thrown away. With all those hungry people outside on the streets it’s too bad there was no way to organize getting it to them.
The rest of the weekend was quiet. Both Mary and Bryce had sleepovers. The MTV Night video for this year was completed – I’ll have to see if I can find a link you can follow to view it. We had our friends the Bushes (also from Oregon) over last night for dinner . . . not much excitement, but relaxing. Next weekend we will finally be celebrating Bryce’s birthday with his party. Because Ben’s birthday is March 10, we are combining the two birthdays into one party. It will begin with a sleepover at Ben’s house on Friday night, then continue with swimming and a water slide at our house on Saturday. A busy week ahead, preparing!
I can’t believe we are down to just over 3 months before we return to Oregon. I have mixed feelings, but overall am ready to come home. I will miss so much here – it’s been an amazing journey. I also am a bit fearful of the pain returning to our house and unpacking everything we have in storage will be. It’s something I have to get through, so we will manage.
Happy March to everyone at home!
Mary’s eye is mostly better today. The swelling is gone, it wasn’t glued shut this morning, and it’s only a tiny bit red. Hooray! Thanks to all of you who sent me home remedies.
Shadow is also doing well. She is eating and drinking and getting more energetic by the day. Good news for the weekend!
Tonight I am going to a fund-raising dinner to raise money for a school pool. It is a formal affair with entertainment – a band and also a mime – so it should be fun. Right now I think I’d prefer to go home and go to bed!
Went to a neighborhood meeting last night to discuss security (who’s paying for the guards, who’s feeding them, etc.) and found out that a lady just down the street from me is receiving $1000/month ZESA bills – she owes $10,000!!!! She makes me feel like I’m in good shape! She also only has power about 1/2 the time. Crazy!
Enjoy your weekend. It’s hard to believe next week is March – how time is moving on.
We got another antibiotic drop that is being used in conjunction with the antibiotic ointment. Her eye is still red, but less so, and less swollen, too. It was still glued shut this morning, but not as much gunk. I’m hoping this will do the trick . . . we are to go back tomorrow if it doesn’t.
Shadow improved a lot after her shot yesterday, but started throwing up again last night. She is droopy this morning, but not as bad as before . . . in for another shot today.
We just lost our electricity this morning after 3 WHOLE DAYS with power!!!! Four of my neighbors had no power since Sunday, thanks to a blown fuse. ZESA couldn’t get out to fix it until last night (no vehicles) and then it went out this morning. I really feel sorry for them!
It looks like things are taking a turn for the better . . . knock on wood!
Thanks for all the suggestions. I now have more options if this latest round of antibiotics doesn’t do the trick!
This has been a frustrating week! Mary came down with pink eye on Friday morning. I took her to the doctor, who prescribed an antibiotic eye drop. It had no effect at all, so Saturday evening, the school nurse suggested I give her the outdated antibiotic I brought with me from the States. No effect (it was over a year expired.) Sunday I took her to the Trauma Center (like an emergency room) and another antibiotic was prescribed. The doctor also wrote a prescription for the same medication she had in America. The pharmacist (they call them chemists here) said you can’t get the American medication in Zim, so gave me the other. No effect. I have another appointment for her today with an ophthalmologist, about whom I’ve heard mixed reviews. I will take his advice with a grain of salt and get yet another opinion if his is too extreme. I can’t believe something as simple as pink eye has had her out of school for 3 days now, very uncomfortable, with swollen, red and discharging eyes and blurry vision!
Then, to complicate things, our dog is sick. She’s been throwing up everywhere and is very lethargic. I took her to the vet and they found she has a temperature, swollen lymph nodes and a tight tummy. They gave her a shot and said to come back for another tomorrow. I hope that clears her up. Also, she has these flies in her ear (they lay their eggs in the skin and eat away at it) so I bought some medication for that. Enough doctors already!!!!
The good news – this is the 3rd day in a row that we have had power. After having that many days with power all day over the past 2 weeks, I feel almost nervous about having it. Our next door neighbors, and friends, aren’t so lucky. We hear their generator going day and night while we wallow in our electricity. This I won’t miss about Africa!
I’ll let everyone know how Mary’s eye is coming when I have something more to report. In the meantime, I do appreciate your prayers for her!! Thank you!
We just enjoyed a fabulous long weekend. It was well needed – the break did us all good. We are now on full bore until Easter!
Imiri was beautiful and just what the doctor ordered! It’s a small game lodge about 1 ½ hours outside Harare. They set us up with the kids in their own little cabin (3 boys and 2 girls – the girls had their own room with a bathroom) and then the 3 big girls (moms) had our own cabin as well. That was great for all of us! We had a nice swimming pool, great trees to climb and dinner, breakfast and lunch, along with multiple teas, were included. Also, there were 2 game drives and sundowners one evening. All for $100 per adult and $60 per child! People here think it’s crazy, but that’s because everything used to be so cheap. We really relaxed there! The kids played – we read, visited, ate pomegranates we picked form trees, watched the kids . . . Did I mention that the lodges were surrounded by game, so we saw elephants, Cape buffalo, etc. from our porch?
They have had serious poaching problems there, so they corral the rhinos and elephants at night. We were able to pet them because they were behind a fence. We also were able to feed them from our jeep the next day. The rhinos have the funniest mouths! I’ll try to get pictures of them on the blog. They never go anywhere without their 24/7 guard, who carries a machine gun. A little less than 2 years ago, poachers killed 5 rhinos, including babies. So sad.
There is also an elephant there that was imported at age 6 months 35 years ago, along with one more little elephant. The second ellie died, so they gave the surviving one to Cape buffalo to raise. She is still with them and thinks she’s a buffalo! She is their leader, and has killed 17 male buffalos over the years when they challenged her matriarchy. I have some great pictures of them, too!
We also saw some wonderful kudu, eland, sable, gemsbok and impala, along with giraffe, zebra and warthog. There were also lions and hyenas, but they were penned. The park is not large enough to support predators. It was beautiful. I came away feeling very relaxed . . . and wishing we’d chosen to stay another night!
We’ve had a lousy week for power. We were out last Monday for 16 hours, only out for 1 ½ on Tuesday, no power for 18 hours on Wednesday, and 16 on Thursday. We left Friday, came back to power on Saturday, but then it was out for about 8 hours on Sunday and from 5 am until midnight yesterday! It’s getting a bit old . . . Happily, there was power when we left this morning. The school is spending a fortune on petrol for the generator here!
The kids are well, I am well – I hope you are all well, too.
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