Saturday, September 29, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Party
We have just been to 50th birthday party of a neighbour (I am partly invited to these events as I am always willing to take photos, I think!). Birthdays here are so different. Men sit inside the house with (what seems) the best food and women and children are outside, often under an awning. The food consists of goat (sometimes also cattle), chicken, spinach, an oil made from crushed marula nuts, mahangu (millet porridge with a polenta-like consistency), and often a traditional bowl of oshikundu, a drink made from brewing millet (it can be alcohol or non-, and is served in traditional wooden cups and scooped out with a hollowed calabash.) You will see from the abundance of pink what the local traditional material looks like.
Usually there is no music, though some families sing some hymns and say some prayers during the celebration which is rather a nice idea.
There is also a photo of Étienne composing his latest musical masterpiece and of Caris playing a duet with her Dad. The music book she has provides duet pieces so a teacher can lay along with the student on some pieces - a great idea.
We have had cattle, goats and chickens wandering into our yard ... but today was the first time we had pigs! Mum soon whisked her piglets out hen she saw us approaching. They were SO hairy!
We have ben invited to a baptism party today (oh, and could we please transport lots of people and also perhaps bring the camera?). David will go by himself as it is the afternoon Beth and I have invited a number of local ladies to a special afternoon tea and then to make Gospel bracelets. We are trying to establish a sense of regularity in attendance as people tend to be very (to our cultural viewpoint) erratic. Already 2 ladies are off to the baptism, another has just gone away today with work to another region, one has decided to go back to the village for the weekend (a common thing for people and a big reason for the irregular attendance) and another has had her grandmother arrive unexpectedly on her doorstep this morning. So, as usual, we are not sure how many will actually arrive.
Tomorrow, at the drama class, Caris' dance teacher has offered to come along and give some input. I am not sure what she has in mind but am going wth the flow! Should be interesting. The Nativity play is on 10 November. Now all I have to do is finish writing the play so they can rehearse it!
Usually there is no music, though some families sing some hymns and say some prayers during the celebration which is rather a nice idea.
There is also a photo of Étienne composing his latest musical masterpiece and of Caris playing a duet with her Dad. The music book she has provides duet pieces so a teacher can lay along with the student on some pieces - a great idea.
We have had cattle, goats and chickens wandering into our yard ... but today was the first time we had pigs! Mum soon whisked her piglets out hen she saw us approaching. They were SO hairy!
We have ben invited to a baptism party today (oh, and could we please transport lots of people and also perhaps bring the camera?). David will go by himself as it is the afternoon Beth and I have invited a number of local ladies to a special afternoon tea and then to make Gospel bracelets. We are trying to establish a sense of regularity in attendance as people tend to be very (to our cultural viewpoint) erratic. Already 2 ladies are off to the baptism, another has just gone away today with work to another region, one has decided to go back to the village for the weekend (a common thing for people and a big reason for the irregular attendance) and another has had her grandmother arrive unexpectedly on her doorstep this morning. So, as usual, we are not sure how many will actually arrive.
Tomorrow, at the drama class, Caris' dance teacher has offered to come along and give some input. I am not sure what she has in mind but am going wth the flow! Should be interesting. The Nativity play is on 10 November. Now all I have to do is finish writing the play so they can rehearse it!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Championship and traditional dancing
Greetings from a very hot Owamboland! The day temps are moving into the mid-30s.
We have been pretty busy recently.
Étienne has just participated in a national karate championship (held in Ongwediva). He is delighted to have won a bronze medal. The children have all had extra training for it so it has meant lots of trips to his place of training.
At the trade fair Étienne heard a boy speaking German so he chatted back in his limited Deutsch. One thing led to another and I met the father (Namibian, mother – German) who told me of dance classes in Oshakati run by a Zulu lady (South Africa). So now, 2x a week for 3 hours at a time (!!) Caris has begun to learn traditional dancing. She has only been 2x so far but, to our amusement, whereas she used to give us these elegant little ballet/Riverdance-style dances she composed, she has already incorporated a few of her newly-acquired dance movements! The other girls are all Namibian and I think it will be a few weeks before Caris loses the Western style of dance and can move her body with the music in the way the others do. But she loves it. It makes life busy for mum as dancing finishes at 5 on 2 of Étienne’s karate days and his karate starts at 5 so there is some to-ing and fro-ing each week.
Last weekend David did a workshop in Ondangwa on Saturday. He let me have the car for the karate tournament and so he took a taxi down. Then he had to wait until his lift came by (90 minutes late!) to take him to the workshop.
On Sunday morning (2.30 am our time) we had a (planned) call from one of our Link churches and David (who got up) enjoyed chatting to the congregation.
He left at 7.30 am to preach at a church in the Bush (in Oshiwambo). I met up with a team from the Y (Youth work) in Cape Town who arrived last night and will spend 5 days here with the aim of establishing a self-running Christian youth ministry on the UNAM campus in Oshakati. Beth, the children and I went to a 3 hour church service with them.
On Monday the drama classes started, in preparation for the Christmas Nativity play in November. 30 came. I have found a fellow who is willing to train a little choir, as well, so it should be fun. Do pray that this would result in a good Gospel opportunity to the community.
David went to the local prison again on Tuesday for a workshop. They enjoy them so much that the superintendent calls HIM to arrange for him to come!
I am having fun at the moment discovering more about David’s ancestors. We have traced one back through the 1820 Albany Settlers (to South Africa) to UK (born about 1750). We have also recently discovered that all the Greeffs in SA are descended from one Matthijs Greeff who came from Germany. Matthijs and his wife, Susanna Claasen, baptised their first five children before 1695. I am now trying to fill in the missing chunk from him up to David’s great-grandfather, Andreas Greeff, who was born about 1850. It SO fascinating!
Beth enjoyed her time overnighting in a Himba village last weekend. It was a real culture curve for her. We would also like to do it but may wait a year or two for the children to be a bit older and more appreciative. The photos below weret taken by her and Jo, a German who went along with Beth before flying back to Europe.
Not to be outdone by my daughter, Caris’ dance teacher has persuaded me to join her dance group for mature ladies! I went for the first time last night. There are two young girls (Japanese and Norwegian) and an English woman in her 60s. It is a good form of exercise and it is also really wonderful to get away from the house and home (I think this was my first time to go somwhere by myself that was not work related since we have ben here!)
We have been pretty busy recently.
Étienne has just participated in a national karate championship (held in Ongwediva). He is delighted to have won a bronze medal. The children have all had extra training for it so it has meant lots of trips to his place of training.
At the trade fair Étienne heard a boy speaking German so he chatted back in his limited Deutsch. One thing led to another and I met the father (Namibian, mother – German) who told me of dance classes in Oshakati run by a Zulu lady (South Africa). So now, 2x a week for 3 hours at a time (!!) Caris has begun to learn traditional dancing. She has only been 2x so far but, to our amusement, whereas she used to give us these elegant little ballet/Riverdance-style dances she composed, she has already incorporated a few of her newly-acquired dance movements! The other girls are all Namibian and I think it will be a few weeks before Caris loses the Western style of dance and can move her body with the music in the way the others do. But she loves it. It makes life busy for mum as dancing finishes at 5 on 2 of Étienne’s karate days and his karate starts at 5 so there is some to-ing and fro-ing each week.
Last weekend David did a workshop in Ondangwa on Saturday. He let me have the car for the karate tournament and so he took a taxi down. Then he had to wait until his lift came by (90 minutes late!) to take him to the workshop.
On Sunday morning (2.30 am our time) we had a (planned) call from one of our Link churches and David (who got up) enjoyed chatting to the congregation.
He left at 7.30 am to preach at a church in the Bush (in Oshiwambo). I met up with a team from the Y (Youth work) in Cape Town who arrived last night and will spend 5 days here with the aim of establishing a self-running Christian youth ministry on the UNAM campus in Oshakati. Beth, the children and I went to a 3 hour church service with them.
On Monday the drama classes started, in preparation for the Christmas Nativity play in November. 30 came. I have found a fellow who is willing to train a little choir, as well, so it should be fun. Do pray that this would result in a good Gospel opportunity to the community.
David went to the local prison again on Tuesday for a workshop. They enjoy them so much that the superintendent calls HIM to arrange for him to come!
I am having fun at the moment discovering more about David’s ancestors. We have traced one back through the 1820 Albany Settlers (to South Africa) to UK (born about 1750). We have also recently discovered that all the Greeffs in SA are descended from one Matthijs Greeff who came from Germany. Matthijs and his wife, Susanna Claasen, baptised their first five children before 1695. I am now trying to fill in the missing chunk from him up to David’s great-grandfather, Andreas Greeff, who was born about 1850. It SO fascinating!
Beth enjoyed her time overnighting in a Himba village last weekend. It was a real culture curve for her. We would also like to do it but may wait a year or two for the children to be a bit older and more appreciative. The photos below weret taken by her and Jo, a German who went along with Beth before flying back to Europe.
Not to be outdone by my daughter, Caris’ dance teacher has persuaded me to join her dance group for mature ladies! I went for the first time last night. There are two young girls (Japanese and Norwegian) and an English woman in her 60s. It is a good form of exercise and it is also really wonderful to get away from the house and home (I think this was my first time to go somwhere by myself that was not work related since we have ben here!)
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Saturday, September 01, 2007
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