From the top of Table Mountain
On the way up to Table Mountain in the cable car.
The quirky & adorable African Jackass Penguins
The boat launch in Hermanus, a town about 1-1/2 hours from us. Great for whale-watching.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Pictures from my parents' visit
From the top of Table Mountain
On the way up to Table Mountain in the cable car.
The quirky & adorable African Jackass Penguins
The boat launch in Hermanus, a town about 1-1/2 hours from us. Great for whale-watching.
My Parents' Visit
Today is August 25. My (M) parents were here in Stellenbosch for a visit from August 9-19 and we really had a fantastic time with them. We were able to get our flat together enough for them to actually stay with us! (Yes, after years of wishing we had bought a place here, we finally bit the bullet.)
To give a recap of their visit, we were able to show them most of our favorite things and introduce them to most of our favorite people here in the Western Cape. Their visit fortunately or unfortunately coincided with the one week in our five months here where K & I had to be teaching at the two schools here (the sports school and the community transformation school). So they were able to see us in action. My dad was also able to spend some time teaching, which was great to see. And they both were able to spend some time getting to know the student leaders.
Our friend J is involved with some amazing projects here in South Africa as well as the continent as a whole. We were able to arrange for her to meet us and show my folks some of the work she is doing in the settlement of Kayamundi. Some of you might remember us giving you CDs of a group of AIDS orphans, the Kuyasa Kids, who were touring the States this summer from South Africa. This is part of what J is doing. It was a great opportunity to be able to share part of her vision with my parents.
On the more touristy side of things, we took the cable car up to Table Mountain, where we saw some fantastic views. We went to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is this great…well…waterfront & working harbor, with restaurants and shops galore. We drove through the winelands, ate at wonderful restaurants, saw cheetahs that are part of the Cheetah Rescue, and visited Cape Point. And of course we stopped for a visit with the Jackass Penguins at the aptly named Boulders Beach.
Overall, it was a tremendous visit with them. They even celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary with us on August 17! We are eternally grateful that they made the trip in the midst of their own busyness (new job, new grandbaby, brother getting married at their house in four weeks). To be able to share this place with them, and anyone who visits, is to share a big piece of who we are.
Pictures should be directly above this entry...
To give a recap of their visit, we were able to show them most of our favorite things and introduce them to most of our favorite people here in the Western Cape. Their visit fortunately or unfortunately coincided with the one week in our five months here where K & I had to be teaching at the two schools here (the sports school and the community transformation school). So they were able to see us in action. My dad was also able to spend some time teaching, which was great to see. And they both were able to spend some time getting to know the student leaders.
Our friend J is involved with some amazing projects here in South Africa as well as the continent as a whole. We were able to arrange for her to meet us and show my folks some of the work she is doing in the settlement of Kayamundi. Some of you might remember us giving you CDs of a group of AIDS orphans, the Kuyasa Kids, who were touring the States this summer from South Africa. This is part of what J is doing. It was a great opportunity to be able to share part of her vision with my parents.
On the more touristy side of things, we took the cable car up to Table Mountain, where we saw some fantastic views. We went to the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is this great…well…waterfront & working harbor, with restaurants and shops galore. We drove through the winelands, ate at wonderful restaurants, saw cheetahs that are part of the Cheetah Rescue, and visited Cape Point. And of course we stopped for a visit with the Jackass Penguins at the aptly named Boulders Beach.
Overall, it was a tremendous visit with them. They even celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary with us on August 17! We are eternally grateful that they made the trip in the midst of their own busyness (new job, new grandbaby, brother getting married at their house in four weeks). To be able to share this place with them, and anyone who visits, is to share a big piece of who we are.
Pictures should be directly above this entry...
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
MJ's First Rugby Game
TriNations Rugby is big time rugby. Australia, NewZealand & South Africa battle for bragging rights inthe rugby world. South Africa is the defending TriNations champs. New Zealand is ranked No. 1 in the world.
New Zealand played South Africa in Cape Town’s Newlands Stadium. Our friend A got us 2 tickets right on the goal line (or the tri line as it is called) for the big game. It was amazing. I’ve never been to the Super Bowl but I have been to the Indy 500 & the NBA Playoff’s many times. This beat those experiences hands down.
The weather was perfect, overcast & in the 50’s. The energy was amazing. 40-some thousand Springbok fans mixed with some vocal All Black fans. The All Blacks were picked to win. The Springboks had only beaten the All Blacks at Newlands 6 times in the last 50 or more years. The All Blacks finished their warm up with the fearsome Haka war song & the Springboks just stood there & took it.
Within the first 15 minutes, SA was up 13 to nil. By half time it was tied. Needless to say I was a bit tense. I hate close games & I hate for my team to lose. But then again, even if the Springboks lost, we got to see the All Blacks. In the 2nd half, the Springboks took the lead & held on for the next 40 minutes. Yes, the Springboks won 22-16. Yes, we couldn’t believe it. & yes, we were there. This coming Saturday is the big day now as SA plays NZ in NZ. & SA could clinch the TriNations championship with a win & defend their title for the first time.
We were & are so excited that we are planning onnaming our next wonder-dog “Bokke” after the beloved Springboks!
That was not a bad first game for MJ to watch. Thanks A. (For 7,000 bonus points, find the BobFest T-shirt in one of these pictures.)
Wortelgat
So now that K & I are finally getting caught up with emails, we can get the blog more up to date! We need to do a little backtracking, starting with our week at Wortelgat (which means "root hole") with the sports school...
From July 29 to August 3, we were out an adventure camp called Wortelgat. Here, the students at the sports leadership school get to know each other. Most of them have literally just arrived from the airport (if they haven't arrived two weeks earlier for English lessons) and are dropped on the shore for their first team-building exercise. Their task: to find camp. In the first picture, you will see our friend P, who leads them through the week, pointing in the general direction of camp. Please look closely at the expressions of the faces of everyone as what they are to do is sinking in...
In the other pictures, you will see other team-building exercises, some more intense than others. Of course, K got in some good table tennis time.
We always are thrilled to be with the students for this first week together because they really must put aside their cultural and language differences to find ways to work together in what are usually very physical and challenging tasks. They must address their own fears of heights and of water, to name a few. They must cook their own dinner one night, participate in multiple "hippo" swims early in the morning in a cold bay of the Indian Ocean, and sleep outside in a shelter they constructed.
It is always a fantastic lead into the partnership training K & I facilitate the next week. Enjoy the pictures.
From July 29 to August 3, we were out an adventure camp called Wortelgat. Here, the students at the sports leadership school get to know each other. Most of them have literally just arrived from the airport (if they haven't arrived two weeks earlier for English lessons) and are dropped on the shore for their first team-building exercise. Their task: to find camp. In the first picture, you will see our friend P, who leads them through the week, pointing in the general direction of camp. Please look closely at the expressions of the faces of everyone as what they are to do is sinking in...
In the other pictures, you will see other team-building exercises, some more intense than others. Of course, K got in some good table tennis time.
We always are thrilled to be with the students for this first week together because they really must put aside their cultural and language differences to find ways to work together in what are usually very physical and challenging tasks. They must address their own fears of heights and of water, to name a few. They must cook their own dinner one night, participate in multiple "hippo" swims early in the morning in a cold bay of the Indian Ocean, and sleep outside in a shelter they constructed.
It is always a fantastic lead into the partnership training K & I facilitate the next week. Enjoy the pictures.
Monday, August 22, 2005
Sunday, August 21, 2005
The newest H has arrived!
At roughly 2:02am EST this morning, A was born into the world. He was 9lbs and 6.6oz, 21 inches long. He's very busy exploring his new surroundings, nursing and trying to figure out how to focus on things. S is doing great after her C-section. Both she and my brother M are in awe at this little miracle.
My parents are heading to the hospital this afternoon and have promised to take pictures of him and send them on. Upon receiving them, I will promptly post them on the blog.
He had lots of prayers over him and we are grateful for his safe arrival. We get to meet him in just four short weeks.
That's all for now.
Uncle K and Aunt Mimi
My parents are heading to the hospital this afternoon and have promised to take pictures of him and send them on. Upon receiving them, I will promptly post them on the blog.
He had lots of prayers over him and we are grateful for his safe arrival. We get to meet him in just four short weeks.
That's all for now.
Uncle K and Aunt Mimi
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
quick update
quick update from africa....we are well.
the weather is beautiful. the wine is great & so is the rugby.
m's folks arrived last night for 10 days. we are teaching partnership at the sports school right now & start teaching at the community transformation school on friday. the people at the schools are amazing. leaders from malaysia, curacao, egypt, kenya, ukraine, sudan & everywhere in-between.
we spent last week team building with the sports guys out in the bush. it was great except for the morning hippo swims in freezing water.
we saw the south african springboks beat the new zealand all blacks in rugby on saturday, which was brilliant!
look for pictures soon.
that's about it. pray for us, we are praying for you.
come see us & be well.
kj+mb
the weather is beautiful. the wine is great & so is the rugby.
m's folks arrived last night for 10 days. we are teaching partnership at the sports school right now & start teaching at the community transformation school on friday. the people at the schools are amazing. leaders from malaysia, curacao, egypt, kenya, ukraine, sudan & everywhere in-between.
we spent last week team building with the sports guys out in the bush. it was great except for the morning hippo swims in freezing water.
we saw the south african springboks beat the new zealand all blacks in rugby on saturday, which was brilliant!
look for pictures soon.
that's about it. pray for us, we are praying for you.
come see us & be well.
kj+mb
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Pictures from Table Mountain
Here are a few pictures from our hike up Table Mountain two Sundays ago. It was brutal but gorgeous.
Pictures from Clifton Beach No. 3
Here are some pictures from a trip we took this last Sunday with our friends Arrie & E, whom some of you have met. Their oldest daughter is Janna (pronounced Yanna). I will post pictures of their youngest (5-week-old) baby soon. It was a beautiful day. Clifton Beach is in Cape Town.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
Sweets, rain, and a brutal hike
Well, we have officially completed one full week here in Stellenbosch, South Africa. It’s been a great week. We’re finally sleeping the normal 8 hours instead of the 10+ hours we were sleeping when we first arrived! We’ve joined a gym and are working out regularly (burning off all of the calories we seem to be enjoying in the form of warm cinnamon rolls, coffees, Cokes, and wine). We’re feeling like we’re getting into a bit of a groove. The weather seems to change every few hours. Lately, it’s been rainy and cool. It reminds me of Oregon winter weather, sun breaks and all. It’s perfect for holing up in little cafes, sipping on hot drinks and talking. All in all, it’s lovely.
On Sunday, we ventured into Cape Town to climb up Table Mountain (http://www.tablemountain.net/). A storm seemed to be blowing in but we made the hike up anyway. If we could just get to the top, we could take the cable car down as we normally do. However, about 2/3 of the way up, a guy stops us on his way down to say that the cable car isn’t running due to the weather. This means that we have to hike back down. (You must understand that climbing up is like climbing up boulders for about 1.5 hours!) We decide to head for the top. When we get there, we eat our sack lunches, take in the views, and head back down beating the rain storm by about 10 minutes. It was a brutal hike but well worth it.
We also made it to Boulders Beach, home of the Jackass Penguins. They bray like donkeys and for some reason remind us of our dog. It is great fun walking the beaches with them! We then had dinner in Simonstown on a little balcony across the street from the ocean. This is truly a beautiful place.
Today, we ran 10K through a gorgeous park in the mountains. It's amazing.
Thanks to those of you who have been emailing us and leaving posts on our blog! Keep them coming. We hope to post some pictures sometime in the next few days so check back.
Our love to each of you!
k+m
On Sunday, we ventured into Cape Town to climb up Table Mountain (http://www.tablemountain.net/). A storm seemed to be blowing in but we made the hike up anyway. If we could just get to the top, we could take the cable car down as we normally do. However, about 2/3 of the way up, a guy stops us on his way down to say that the cable car isn’t running due to the weather. This means that we have to hike back down. (You must understand that climbing up is like climbing up boulders for about 1.5 hours!) We decide to head for the top. When we get there, we eat our sack lunches, take in the views, and head back down beating the rain storm by about 10 minutes. It was a brutal hike but well worth it.
We also made it to Boulders Beach, home of the Jackass Penguins. They bray like donkeys and for some reason remind us of our dog. It is great fun walking the beaches with them! We then had dinner in Simonstown on a little balcony across the street from the ocean. This is truly a beautiful place.
Today, we ran 10K through a gorgeous park in the mountains. It's amazing.
Thanks to those of you who have been emailing us and leaving posts on our blog! Keep them coming. We hope to post some pictures sometime in the next few days so check back.
Our love to each of you!
k+m
Friday, July 15, 2005
We are here!
K & I have arrived safely in South Africa! After about 26 hours of traveling, we arrived in Cape Town. Then, after about 14 hours of sleep last night/this morning, we are feeling more human. It has been lovely. Blue skies and moderate temperatures. We managed to make it to a vineyard already and have two yummy wines chilling.
We are on our way to the movies in attempt to stay awake a little longer tonight. (Last night, we crashed at about 8:45pm.) We are seeing Madagscar...the animated zoo-animal flick.
More later. Love to you all.
m+k
We are on our way to the movies in attempt to stay awake a little longer tonight. (Last night, we crashed at about 8:45pm.) We are seeing Madagscar...the animated zoo-animal flick.
More later. Love to you all.
m+k
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Countdown
We are in our final days of preparation before departing for Cape Town. We finallly received our visas back from the South African consulate so now we are officially set to go.
I'm still trying to figure out all the ins and outs of how to maintain a blog so please be patient. I hope to add links and additional information to the blog before long. Any ideas are welcome.
I'm still trying to figure out all the ins and outs of how to maintain a blog so please be patient. I hope to add links and additional information to the blog before long. Any ideas are welcome.
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