Tutoring English and Making New Friends

During my time in Maputo, I was fortunate to tutor some gorgeous children, teaching them English. For many of these children, it was often their second, third or fourth language! Some of the children I taught only spoke Portuguese. I loved every minute  of it!

Unfortunately, I had to leave without saying goodbye. I hope I have made a difference to the children's learning and communication skills. They certainly left a memory in my heart!

We also, had to leave our driver, Paulo; embregada, Maria; and our dear friend, Sonia, and many friends, not all of whom are pictured here. We have internet and skype to maintain our friendships, but if we perchance do not meet again, we are lucky to have spent time together and create memories.

The children from PROJECT LIBERTY ORPHANAGE.

PROJECT LIBERTY 

Jane, Tour Guide extraordinaire!

Brigitte from the French School

Bernacio, our yoga guru and dear friend...

with Cristano, her boyfriend. xx

Farewell dear friends pictured and not pictured.
Until we meet again. Thank you for coming into our lives!

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.  When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.  They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.  They may seem like a godsend, and they are.  They are there for the reason you need them to be.  Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.  Sometimes they die.  Sometimes they walk away.  Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.  What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled;  their work is done.  The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on. When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.  They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.  They may teach you something you have never done.  They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.  Believe it!  It is real!  But, only for a season. LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.  Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway);  and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.  It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant. Borrowed from .... http://www.naute.com/love/reason.phtml

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.  When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly.  They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.  They may seem like a godsend, and they are.  They are there for the reason you need them to be.  Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.  Sometimes they die.  Sometimes they walk away.  Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand.  What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled;  their work is done.  The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.  They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.  They may teach you something you have never done.  They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.  Believe it!  It is real!  But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.  Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway);  and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.  It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Borrowed from .... http://www.naute.com/love/reason.phtml

10 DAYS IN KRUGER PARK

In early Octobter 2013, we spent 10 days travelling through Kruger Park, with Mr. O's brother and his wife. We had a wonderful time together and were blessed to see so many animals. We even experienced "Walking with Rhinos"! We did not see the elusive male lion or leopards, but we were mesmerised with the wildlife that we did encounter and the experiences that we shared. We drove in from Malelane and drove north through Lower Sabie, Skukuza, Olifants, Mopani and Shinwingzig. What an experience!

I find it hard to cull the photos. Flick through and enjoy the safari with me!

Map of Kruger Park

We did a two walking safari in Kruger. We were literally within metres
of these two. Downwind, thankfully! What a heart racing buzz!

AARRRGGGHHHH! They are soooo close!!!

Up close and personal with a herd of water buffalo!!

5:30am departure on our "Walking with Rhinos" safari.

Tracking the "spoor" (footprints and poo droppings) with our ranger, Bernard.
Bernard was showing us the  lion spoor, amongst others, around the waterhole.

Look where we got to sleep! In a treehouse!
Up high so that we were safe from lions, leopards, elephants, hyenas and
nocturnal animals!

And this was my bed!

South Africans love barbecues, just like Australians.
They call it a "braai" (br-eye). They love meat, too! Lots of it!
We love it, too!

A baby hippo on a rock beside it's mother in the water.
Hippos are very interesting. They spend the day from sunrise to sunset in the water.
When the sun goes down, they come out in search of food.
They graze all night long on grasses, only to return to the water in the morning as the sun rises.
They are territorial and are known to kill people who get in the way of their path or territory !

Baboons are everywhere in Kruger! I am not a fan of them,
with their sharp test and red bums, but they are very sociable and can be funny to watch!

This is the "Greater Hornbill". They are endangered birds.
This was a rare sighting! This one was alone and just scratching around for food.
They are quite big, being about a metre tall! 

This lioness was taking a "kill" back to her pride.

Turtle Island! Or maybe it is s a turtle meeting.

I love the elephants!
This is a mummy with her baby (calf).

Can you spot the cheetah under the bush?

A glorious African sunset over a "rondaval". (thatched hut)

Visiting a Elephant Museum in Kruger Park.

Those tusks are so big! It is a crime that poachers kill elephants for their tusks!!!

Uh oh! Roadblock!

One of my favourite moments! Near Mopani, we witnessed 20 male elephants coming from all directions to
a waterhole, which was actually a big reservoir. We watched, transfixed for almost half an hour as they
came in, greeted each other, drank and drank and drank, and then sprayed themselves all over!!!
GLORIOUS!

Elephants are very social creatures. They are known to communicate through sending messages via
"foot-stampings", tummy rumblings and trumpettings. Fascinating to watch and read about!

Leaving the park at dawn, we saw a mother hyena with two cubs. The male hyena behind her,
wanted some love and attention!She chased him away, as her priority was her cubs. 

Later we went to the  Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre
to see leopards. Leopards are the fastest animal on earth.
They hunt in pairs or threes called a "coalition".

This is a "King Leopard". He has an extra chromosome and that is why he is different.
This one is cared for in captivity. If born in the wild, he would be prey to others
as he stands out and is smaller and not as strong as his brothers.

 Leopard release

This is a Western Cape Wild Dog. They are endangered animals.

Wild Dogs of Africa

Some children in a village, dancing for donations!
They were cute, but needed more practise!

Me and my newest best friends, some Nbelele women renown for their beading .

Postscript  12/12/13- I did not get to finish this at the time of writing as we were evacuated on a precautionary measure from Mozambique. I will tell you more in the next post. 

Mozambican Memories

 Last weekend, we flew south in a six seater light aircraft towards the border of South Africa and Mozambique. We then drove over very sandy roads for an hour before we reached "Paradise" in the middle of nowhere. We had reached PONTA MAMOLI "The Pearl of the Indian Ocean! The resort was breathtakingly beautiful. 5 star accommodation Mozambican style. We went in search of dolphins and whales. The Indian Ocean right in front of us was a playground for the enormous whales as we watched their sprays and  tail slapping. I was even lucky enough to see a huge whale breech (jump) out of the water!!! What a splash that was! We tried to snorkel with three dolphins, but they must have had an appointment somewhere as they didn't stay around to swim with us. Unfortunately, I landed hard on my left side when I was hauled up into the 'rubber duckie' and I fractured and/or bruised my rib! Ouch! The water was not as cold as I thought it would be. We wore our new wetsuits to keep us warm. Now to recuperate and get my rib better so that we can go diving.

Take-off

Life is tough... but someone has to do it!

Sunset over the Indian Ocean

Whale spotting

Local village children dancing and singing for us!

My first attempt at cooking a Mozambican seafood dish

Mr. O's second attempt at cooking Boerwors on his little braai!

Binoculars, Songs and Stories - Another Visit to Project Liberty

Today I went to visit the children. They were happy to see me and I was just as happy to see them!
We made binoculars and we pretended to go for a walk through the forest.

We went walking.... what did we see?
We saw a _______ looking at me!

We saw a LION looking at me!

We saw a SNAKE looking at me!

We saw 2 BATMEN looking at me!

We saw a ELIZA looking at me!

We saw YOU looking at me!

Still looking!

I taught them the HAPPY STICKS song and dance. We had to do that three times. The dogs even joined in with us!

We finished the morning with two stories. ONE GORILLA by Atsuko Morozumi. The children crowded round me to see the book and count the animals in the pictures. They counted in English, too. They are getting really good at it! The second book was an all time favourite. THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Eric Carle. We read this book bi-lingually. It helped my Portuguese and their English.

Last of all, JuJu wanted to count my toes! On both feet! She had a little dolly that someone had given her and I was asking about parts of the baby's body. I guess she got the idea from that. They are adorable children. I love them all!

Towards the end of my visit, Pai asked me "Are you going now?"
I asked "Is it time for me to go?"
"No."
"Do you want me to stay?"
"YES! Don't go yet!"

Tudio asked "Can we come to your house?"
I explained that I have a small house (apartment) in Maputo where I live. I promised that I would talk to Mama Jenn and see if they could come for a visit. (Maybe a sausage sizzle and a play in the park nearby with an ice cream.....? Do you think they would like that?)