This is the school where I painted one of my murals. Childrens Eco Training has sponsored the community gardens, the new school hall and the Eco classroom where I painted my mural. Although this school is dirt poor, one can see that they still take so much pride in their teaching environment. There is still quite a bit to be done and lots of equipment needed for this school.
Matikinya Primary School – Acornhoek
I’ll let the pictures tell the story.
I made a choice over two years ago to live frugally. It was my choice, not the choice of my daughter, however, she has been fully supportive of me living like this and has come to appreciate many things that she took for granted. It is her choice not to be too frugal yet, although she lives within the restrictions of my lifestyle choice very graciously. She is a typical teenager who likes gadgets, clothes, jewelry and instant gratification. I think though that she looks upon these things with new eyes having been exposed to the way I try to run our home. She does have quite a few of the electronic toys that most teens have, but they are mostly from before we changed our lives or from her father. She looks after them very well because she knows that it won’t be easy to get new ones and does settle by having and using older models of the items. Last year she worked during her holidays to save up for a new mobile phone.
This Saturday was her prom night. She has been chatting to me for the whole year about what she wanted to wear, and had saved many, many pictures of dresses, hair-dos, and make-up ideas from the internet. I did not have to think too hard about making some clothing purchases for her for this evening. Although I have not bought any clothes for one year now and plan to only buy and use nearly new and used clothing for myself (except for underwear) in the future, I decided that for this one evening I would break my rules and have a dress made for her. There were restrictions of course. I was not prepared to pay a preposterous amount of money for something that she would hardly ever wear again, so she would have to find a dress we could have made locally at a reasonable price and that she could use again. I find it really shocking when I hear of the prices some people pay for prom dresses and shoes and I find the excesses practised around these types of functions a little abhorrent. Rumour has it that one of the girls had two full outfits made and designed at a significant cost so that she would be able to choose which dress she wanted to wear on the evening.
Shoes were also an issue – she showed me many pictures of the type of shoes she would like. There is a very limited selection of shoes to purchase here in our little town so it would mean driving over an hour each way to buy some shoes at the nearest shoe stores, again going against my principles of buying local.
I was very surprised when the Bean came to show me her final idea. She stood in front of me holding one of my little black dresses (from my previous jet-set lifestyle) and asked me if I would mind her having it altered to make it into her prom dress. I told her that it was not necessary, and that I would have something special made for her but she insisted that this was what she wanted. We took the dress to a lady here in town to be altered. It was done in a couple of days and when we went to collect it, she had made a matching hair clip and told us that she could not charge us for any of the alterations as it was such a small job – all she had done was attach a ribbon and some lace and taken the dress up and in a little.
Even more surprisingly, one day when I collected the Bean from school, she breathlessly told me to drive very quickly to a local chain store as she had heard rumour that there was one last pair of shoes there that would match her dress. When we got there she literally ran into the store and came out with the perfect pair of shoes for her outfit – bought for a very reasonable price. It was the last pair on the shelf and they were her size.
So, while she has not fully adopted my choice of lifestyle, I do believe that some of the principles have rubbed off on her. She ended up with a beautiful outfit designed by herself that cost the huge sum of R99.00 (EUR 9.11 or US$ 12.65), while practicing recycling, and strict resource management.
Now that she had saved money we could splash out a little and have her hair and make-up done by local ladies, supporting local industries. I am so proud of her.
Here are a few pictures of her special evening.
A while back I wrote a post where I told you about african wild dogs being found on the premises of The Beans school. The school is on a game reserve called Raptors View on the outskirts of our town. This reserve is also a wildlife housing estate where home owners build their homes on 1ha plots in the game reserve.
The children were warned to walk in pairs just in case they encountered the dogs on the school premises and small children must always be accompanied by an adult. There are no known cases of a human being attacked by a wild dog, however they are still wild animals that hunt for their prey so necessary caution must be taken. There has been some heated debate about the dogs and a few residents of Raptors View wanted them moved back to the next door reserve where they originated from.
The dogs hunt in packs and were sometimes using the buildings on the reserve to assist in herding their prey into a corner to catch them. I have heard a few stories of buck running into houses and jumping through plate-glass windows in order to get away from the dogs.
On Monday I was driving through the reserve to visit friends and was lucky enough to spot the dogs. My photos are a little fuzzy because I was so excited to get the shots and my battery was about to fail. I could not sit still 
In my opinion, when you decide to live on a game reserve, you are moving into the animal’s territory. The animal has the right to protection, habitat and food before you do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Painted Dogs, also known as African Wild Dogs, are unique to Africa and they are among this continent’s most endangered species. It is estimated that a mere 3,000 – 5,000 remain.
Lycaon pictus is a large canid found living in savannas and other lightly wooded areas. It is commonly called the African Hunting Dog, African Wild Dog, Painted Wolf, Cape Hunting Dog, Painted Dog, Painted Hunting Dog, Spotted Dog or Ornate Wolf. The scientific name “Lycaon pictus” is derived from the Greek for “wolf” and the Latin for “painted”. It is the only canid species to lack dewclaws on the forelimbs.
African Wild Dogs are intensely social animals, living most of the time in close association with each other. While a minimum of six dogs are necessary to successfully hunt and breed, a pack can be as small as a pair, or as large as thirty. Pack allegiance, such as pups getting first feed at a kill or members caring for the sick and injured, is an integral part of pack survival.
The power structure resides in an alpha male and female pair, whose pups are nurtured by ‘baby sitters’, regardless of their mother.
Prey for the African Wild Dog is mostly medium-sized antelope like Impala, Bushbuck, Duiker, Kudu and Reedbuck. They have been known to take Wildebeest and also chase Eland and Buffalo, although they rarely kill these larger animals.
The strength of the African Wild Dog pack is attributed to three unique aspects of behavior – socialization, vocalization, and hunting methods.
Socialization clearly translates into the unity that is formed between bonded peers and pack leaders. The dogs clearly mourn deceased pack members, which is a sign of emotional ties.
Adding to this is the trait of the African Wild Dog to vocalize – communication is a vital, unique, and important strength of pack unity.
Finally, the African Wild Dog hunting methods keep the pack strong. An average adult dog will consume approximately nine pounds of live carcass each day, which would equate to an Impala per day for a pack of 15 dogs.
Among the fastest and most efficient of Africa’s predators, African Wild Dogs hunt during the morning and before dusk, and also show a preference for utilizing the light of a full moon. Their goal is to draw minimum attention from stronger predators. But while they share the victory of tireless pursuits with the pack, often the longer chases end with more powerful competitors, such as the hyena, stealing their rewards. Goaded to hunt and devour quickly, the African Wild Dog has perfected the fast kill. The positive consequence may be that the its method of killing ultimately shortens the suffering of the prey.
Information from http://www.painteddog.org/
The Bean’s school put on a production of Mamma Mia last night – it was really great. They adapted the script so that it was set on a game lodge in the bush. There were a lot of laughs and much fun was had by the cast and the audience. Well done! It was performed in the open air under some beautiful trees. The sound and lighting were excellent for an outside show.
They skipped my favorite song from the movie so I thought I would add it here for your listening pleasure. Before we moved back to SA we spent 10 days on the Greek island next to the one that this movie was filmed on – absolute bliss…..
The hardest thing about hosting an exchange student is having to say goodbye and watch them board a plane that will take them away, possibly forever.
It was our first experience of hosting an exchange student, and I had some serious doubts about it before Hannah arrived – firstly, our lifestyle here is really rustic and frugal, and secondly we do not have the comforts and security that she would have been used to at home. Would she be able to cope with the heat, snakes and the bugs? I had so many questions.
Hannah arrived and slotted into our life so smoothly, even learning to use our funny accent on the new words she learned. We never struggled at all with language, and only twice did she have to draw me pictures to explain something (crochet hook and safety-pin). She handled her schooling here like a pro, and by the first week knew most of the students names. She is just one of those people who everyone likes – making new friends at every turn.
I was fascinated as I watched the Bean and Hannah interact – I saw how my own child fell in love with our life here as she taught Hannah all about it. It was as if she saw everything through new eyes. I think this is the greatest gift that Hannah has given me.
Farewell Hannah – thank you for the wonderful experience! There is now a piece of Africa in your heart to stay.
Hopefully Hannah will be returning next year with her family for a holiday.
Hannah on top of the world
My childers and cat childer sleeping
Hannah learning to drive
Today I got this email from the Bean’s school:
Dear Parents
Many of you are probably aware that a small pack of Wild Dog has been very active on Raptor’s View for the past week and a half. Recently the dogs have been very busy on the northern part of the reserve including on school property. Although all staff and learners have been given clear guidelines regarding movement around the campus we would like to reiterate the following:
Although, as far as our knowledge stretches, there have been no recorded cases of Wild Dog hunting or attacking humans, we should remain aware of the fact that these animals are large predators and they are wild. They are also in a very small reserve and may not behave as we would expect in a bigger wilderness area. We therefore recommend that young children (Prep School) should not walk on their own without adult supervision. Pre-schoolers are particularly vulnerable and should not be left on their own, unattended out doors. At all times older learners must walk in pairs. No learners should be permitted to walk alone on the school campus. We will keep you posted as to the movements of the dogs.
Kind regards
Headmaster
Southern Cross Schools
Hoedspruit
What a life we lead here! Isn’t it awesome?
You can read more about them if you click on the related article below.
We are going to be hosting a German exchange student soon. Her name is Hannah and she will be arriving on the 11 of July. She comes from a small town in Germany and is already chatting to The Bean on email. Hannah will be going to school with The Bean till September. Hannah’s mom has been in contact with me and they have asked lots of questions which I have answered best I can. I think we lose a bit in translation though, as Hannah normally has to clarify with The Bean before they buy the wrong things. The girls wear khaki coloured tackies (running shoes) to school. It was quite difficult to explain these shoes to them until The Bean told Hannah that they were stone coloured. It only occurred to me afterwards that I should have just sent a picture. A picture says 1000 words.
Another thing that caused a bit of confusion was the word “torch”. I told Hannah’s mum that Hannah must have a good torch. Hannah asked The Bean what a torch is – I didn’t even think of calling it a flashlight. The Bean explained to Hannah that it was a stick with a light on the end that you use when camping. I only found this out a few days later. I can imaging the German family thinking we are a pair of crazies – especially when you would need one of these
I know that Hannah and her mom have already started reading this blog so I would like to say sorry for not being clearer in my emails. Please ask me many times if you don’t understand me – sometimes I am not that clear – even to my loved ones
We are really looking forward to welcoming Hannah into our home and we hope that she will have a wonderful time that she will remember with joy.
Yesterday evening The Bean and I joined a local art class. The group makes use of the art classroom at The Bean’s school and is taught by a wonderful lady called Anne. We were told to “just arrive with your wine” and everything will be taken care of – and it was. I think there is something different about a group like this in a small community versus one in a city setting. From the first moment we were made to feel welcome by all, and also there were people there that we already knew – Maureen the dance teacher, Mr A, and Mark and Wendy – our local doctors. There were eleven of us altogether which is a nice size group. Everyone was really light-hearted and the jokes flew.
Anne explained to us what we needed to do for the evening, gave us a little demo and set us loose on all her art supplies.
On our first piece of paper we had to draw eyes, nose and a mouth using a soft pencil and charcoal.
Then we had to cut them out and arrange them on a larger piece of paper and then draw in the rest of the face and paint it.
This was the demo by Anne
Anne's demo that took all of 5 minutes!
Even pets were welcome but he got rather bored so he went to sleep on his moms handbag.
Many of us laughed rather hysterically at the results of our efforts – it really isn’t easy judging size if you draw the individual components of a face separately. My end product looked rather like a lovely transvestite. (That word alone should increase my website hits)
A little slide show of the evening…..
If you live in the area I really recommend Anne’s classes. If you are reading this from abroad why don’t you consider joining Anne on one of her art safaris. Click here for her website. I for one will be back for more. I just loved it!
Last week we had a group of tiny people visit the packhouse. The Andries Inama Crèche brought them to the packhouse on an educational tour. They were so very, very well-behaved.
Can you see how they keep their hands behind their backs so that nothing gets caught in the machines? They were just the cutest little things. What really made me sad is that this tour took place at 5.30-6pm and they still had a 45 minute drive back to the school. These kiddies get dropped off at crèche sometimes at 4am and get collected round 10pm during the busy citrus season. That’s just such a long day for them.
I’m back, I’m alive and I’m doing well. I hope you all are too. People have been telling me for ages that when the citrus season hits our town – things get hectic. I thought that because this is a slow town, hectic would then be at my normal pace. Ha! This place is now hectic – I even have traffic jams with tractors and trucks full of lemons and grapefruit and I don’t even get a minute at lunch time to post blog entries. I am trying to rearrange my time and life so that I can be more organised and again post regularly. Please be patient with me.
I would like to tell you about another blog I read. He does not post very often because he is a very busy man, but when he does, he writes extremely well – this man has a fantastic mind and I really like what he says. Once you get used to his lack of upper case letters it’s an easy read. It is the blog of Chris Chameleon. For those of you who do not know him, he is a really amazing South African singer. He sings in English and Afrikaans and has a wide variety of styles. He originally sang as lead singer for Boo. I don’t like all his songs but very many speak to my soul. He has an astounding voice and plays vocally in many of his songs because his range is so vast. He has a 4-octave vocal range.
Because the lyrics to many of his songs rang true to me I started reading his blog – I like how this man thinks. You can click on the link under “other blogs I read” on the left of this page to read his views. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. If you have time take a look and listen to some of his YouTube videos too.
Here is a slide show of pictures I have taken recently (while being busy). If you see anything interesting, please ask me about it and I will fill you in on my next post. The slide show feature is a new toy here on WordPress blogs so I think my picture of Chris Chameleon will be added to it – I only realised when it was too late
