Hard work work

Tuesday, the busiest day of the week! I have a lesson in ten minutes, so I am eating my lunch as I write. Greek salad from Tookie's kiosk. I forgot to tell Talent that I don't like olives, but it doesn't feel good to throw them away, so I try to eat a few anyway. I have eaten worse olives. Well, actually I think I've only eaten like three other olives in my life. Ehe. 

Anyway, today we've been to three of the schools in the suburbs and it went really well, mostly thanks to Richard, who is here from London for a week. He is the one who has written the stuff we are teaching the kids. I'll tell you more about it another time, now I really have to hurry, because I just realized I have to move downstairs so that the grandmother of my student can be with on the lesson. She has a sore back and can't walk up the stairs. 

I took quite a few photos today, so I'll get them up on tumblr as well. Plus the few photos from the weekend when I was at Jeanette's farm. 

Right, they're calling me!

Weddings and Chipangali

Right, so another Friday. I can't believe how fast some of these weeks go. Sometimes the days just drag on, but suddenly it is Friday and the weekend. It's like I get time in blobs. Anyway, I promised I would tell you about the wedding expo and Chipangali and the visits to the schools.

The wedding expo was on Sunday and I went there because of Anette, who is a very music-business-experienced woman from London and who will be helping the Academy with the vocal training and the project with the schools for the festival, but we'll come to that later. Anyway, we were to play for about half an hour and then three sisters who go to the Academy where to play for another half hour. That was the rough plan. So we got to the castle, Nesbitt Castle, and it was beautiful. Apparently it was built by a Scottish man who was mayor of Bulawayo for a while, and who wanted to have a castle like his ancestors. His son inherited it and let it fall apart and then the people who own it now bought it and restored it beautifully, with antique furniture and such. So we played in a lounge with microphones, so that we were heard everywhere on the front lawn, where there were tents with wedding dresses, cakes, table settings, drinks etc. Afterwards (it was sweltering hot as usual) we walked around the area, saw models walk on the red carpet and drank litchi juice.

On Sunday afternoon we where supposed to go to Bambata in Matopos, a National Park, but John was too tired so Maria, Dan and I went to Chipangali instead, which was perfect! Chipangali  is a ... esh, just click the link and I don't have to explain. It was lovely! Maria and I walked around looking at the monkeys, bucks, peacocks, crocs, leopard, hyenas, snakes, birds and lions. And when we where there they fed the hyenas, leopards and lions. It was really interesting. I mean, obviously the smell of the meat was awful, but watching them eat it - it went so fast! There were actually quite a lot of lions there, and one cub, who was so sweet! As we watched Simba and his wife Holly were given two pieces of meat, but Simba was greedy and wanted to have both for himself. So the workers had to try to make him let her have her pieces being on the other side of the net. Well thank goodness for that net, because they didn't make him happy, so he roared and stood up on his hind legs, trying to reach the workers. He was huge! I have never been so close to a lion on it's hind legs, but he really was a bit terrifying. Maria couldn't stand the snakes, and I can see why. Among them was a big python and two black mambas.

About the schools, it is a project for the music festival that we will be having at the end of May. The aim is to have about 300 singing seven pieces which a man in England has written. So Anette, Adri (also a new violin/piano teacher from South Africa) and I go out to six schools and try to teach the choirs the songs. Some of them are out in the suburbs, the poorer parts, and some are in the center of town. But all the kids are soooo cute, I could eat them. And they are so musical, they harmonize naturally and have such good rhythm. I can't help comparing to kids in Sweden the same age, and there are big differences. The children here seem to be born with rhythm in there blood.

Now I should be going home, plus my elbow is burning. So, look at the tumblr photos that will be coming up and I'll show signs of life here next week.

(Btw, sjukt kul att vi fått en miniprinsessa Sverige. Go Estelle!)

The sixth week of sun

A week has gone and I have since last you heard from me:
Played at The Bulawayo Club on Valentine's day with Jeanette
Eaten one of the best desserts I've ever eaten
Practiced for a performance at Girls College with the music group/orchestra there
Had the performance during the Award giving ceremony
Watched lots of movies
Made (and sort of failed) biscuits
Visited two schools in the suburbs and done singing with the choirs
Bought a dress when going shoe shopping with Heather
Partied half the night
Practiced with Anette
Had a (very) painful elbow
Played with Anette at Nesbitt Castle during a wedding expo
Looked at yummie wedding cakes
Eaten yoghurt and musli
And eaten mango of course
Floated in Jill's pool
Gone to Chipangali and watched when the lions and leopards were being fed

I didn't feel like I did that much last week, but maybe I did. The best part was definitely playing at the Bulawayo Club (photos on tumblr) with Jeanette. It was a beautiful, colonial style building in town, with rose petals all over the tables and three course dinners. And Jeanette and me playing lovesongs for nearly two hours so that we could earn our free dinner. After our starters and main course we played a bit for the last people and then got our black and white chocolate covered strawberries with homemade ice cream with chocolate chips and strawberry sauce served on the piano, with our rosé. Soo classy. So we jammed for another half an hour in between the dessert and I got home around eleven. Perfect.

The performance at Girls College was fun, but long and hot and I we sat facing the audience all the time, which my concert skirt was definitely too short for. Heather (John's ex, who works at GC) later told me that the teachers had been horrified at "Who is that schoolgirl in the orchestra playing in civies (not uniform)?!!?!!!". At which she had to explain that I actually was a teacher. Haha. So now I am hunting for a black longer skirt/trousers so as not to upset any more people. Decency is important here. Which is a problem, because most of the shorts and skirts I have brought are deemed too short to be professional and they are the only stuff I survive in when it is as hot as normally is during the day. Anyway, seeing all the different versions of the school uniform totally bewildered me. Everything on them meant something, and the awards given out were also difficult to understand, so afterwards Jeanette had to explain it all too me, though I can't remember half of it now. What I do remember however is the fact that if the girls have hair that reaches their shoulders they have to have it put up in a bun or plat or something like that. I realized this while I sat facing them with my hair hanging loose. As if I wasn't inappropriate enough. So next time I will be wearing something that covers my legs, have my hair put up and wear studs in my ears, not the big hanging things I normally have. Phew, so much to think about.

Now my elbow is killing me, so I'll tell you more about the wedding expo gig and Chipangali and the visit to the schools in the suburbs next time. Until then check out tumblr for photos. So long!

Good afternoon everyone!

It's so fun, because people actually say good morning, good afternoon and good evening here! Som om jag någonsin sagt god kväll seriöst ... eh nej. Anyway, everybody is so polite when it comes to greeting here. Always a how are you and fine thanks how are you and nice too meet you and have a nice evening etc. Strange, but kind of fun. Especially the older people here are very kind and ... hm, polite in their ways. The men open car doors for me, see to that I go through the door first, ask to carry things for me and other gentlemanly things. And I mean they don't do it only for me, they do it for all the women. So nice. 

Yesterday I was out at Matopos, a national park about 30 km outside town, and was the only person my age as usual, but it was such fun. Their was like a catholic mass, so I was totally lost, but the fun came afterwards when everybody sits around and eats lunch. There is a braai (barbecue) and everybody brings their own food and drinks. Maria, Joe, Dan and I had, just like everyone else, brought coleslaw, so lots of coleslaw wit the meat (milis (majs) in my case). The man I sat next to first had brought his own home brewed beer and wine, but I stuck to my litchi drink, which is dangerously good. Of course it just has to rain when we are sitting outside with no cover over our heads. So we all stood under the eves for a while, until we resorted to a covered area (see the tumblr for pictures). Most people being a tiny bit tipsy we laughed and laughed and I learnt a magic trick from a man called Bernard. Since it was Joe's birthday on Thursday we all sang happy birthday and ate cakes. A happy day, and on the way back we went at racing speed through some deep dips on the road home, the same feeling as a roller coaster. Yey! We had to break for some baboons though. (see tumblr) 

On Saturday I went for a long, hard walk and I could definitely feel that I have not done that for a while... can still feel it mind you. I miss being able to just put on my ski boots and do a ski around the lake or on the fields. But then again, I am able to run around an orange tree chasing a dog. Not so common hobby in Sweden. Today I have no lessons, so I had a lie-in and then made american pancakes for brunch and ate them while watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Great, though very different, film. You must see it. This week, like the last two ones, I plan to buy a bike, but we'll see how it goes. 

Now comes the afternoon tea, so toodeloo. 

Bendover boutique

On Sunday Maria and I went to the bendover. An amazing place. It is were a lot of second hand clothes from Europe and America are sold in big heaps on a street in the center of town. To find what you want you have to bend over and dig in the heaps. Hence the name. It s dirt cheap, at some heaps you can get the t-shirts for one dollar. !!! But then they are very used and were modern 20 years ago, or more. But you can find treasures among the rubbish. I found: 1 sleeveless top, 3 other tops, 1 pair of shortsythings, 1 nailclipper and 3 bags for, I think, 11 dollars. Yeah!!! I am so going to visit bendover many more times. And now I got my pay for the next two months, so I've got a bit of cash. Just to clarify about the money: you do not pay with card anywhere here. Anywhere. So I have to go to the bank soon.

This morning I saw that Maria and Joe had brought lots of mangoes home from work, so as soon as they start getting ripe I will be having mango time again every day. I have tried a thing for breakfast which I have forgotten the name of, but it is basically fil (swedish) and I will have to scratch that one as a possible breakfast item as well. I think porridge will have to do. On Saturday I bought a kg of yoghurt and in less than 48 hours it was gone. So much money for so little time. Anyway. In the garden we have mangoes, oranges, lemons, plums, cape gooseberries (physalis), grapefruit, figs, avocados and lots of flowers and huge trees. So I should manage without getting scurvy (skörbjugg).

Now I have to go put loads of music into a program called Sibelius, because a man wants them all transposed. This is going to take ages and ages, but it's quite fun, so I don't mind too much.

Si jo lejter äligejter(s).

A quickie

Yesterday afternoon/evening it RAINED!! Yey!! (A lot of) thunder and lightning and rain for a few hours. Absolutely perfect. So I went outside and jumped in the puddles and watched Molly chase a frog in between cutting onions. Half an onion, a few minutes outside to clear my eyes, half an onion, a few minutes outside to clear my eyes an so on until Maria came and cut up the rest of the onions. Today blue skies and sunshine. The heat is building up again. I soon have three lessons, but first I think an ice cream will fit very well.

Löv löv tu ju ål

4 weeks in Bulawayo

I am so glad. Today I am not sweating like a pig. Thankfulness oh yes. Yesterday was hot, very hot, rain-soon-coming-hot. We were all very hopeful that at last we would have some good (a lot of) rain, since there hasn't been a good rain since around Christmas. And it did rain! For three minutes. Yey. So all that heat and sweat for nothing. 

Anyway, today was another early start, 7.30, which just doesn't help my head at all. Messes up my eyes. Yesterday was one as well, because Bruce, who works at the Academy, and I went to Immigrations to extend my guest visa. I got it extended, so now I can stay until the third of March! I have no idea how the residence and working permit is going, but it is all being handled by somebody who Michael, the principal of the Academy, knows in Harare. I just hope I get it soon. 

Yesterday I got my hair cut as well! Lovely feeling. It isn't too different from before, just shorter and more layered and of course it always looks its' best just as you leave the hairdresser. Thank goodness I can get it all up in a little (tiny) bun. Sort of. 

Just now I bought my lunch and I was as always amazed at how money works here. We pay in us dollars and rand, which is the South African currency. At the moment people count eight rands to a dollar, which makes it quite often like cents of a dollar if you understand. "Two dollars and five rand." Since none of the foreign money has come quite legally (if I've understood it correctly) all the dollarbills are falling apart, extremely dirty and very used. The ones I brought here look as if they just jumped out of printing i comparison. So Peter, you will be bringing loads of dollars with you when you come! 

Now my elbow is giving me hell, so I will have to stop writing. Usually it isn't a problem when I am playing violin though, which is sooo nice. Playing piano is okay most of the time, but after a while I have to give up on my right hand and just play with my left. It is so irritating, I really hate it. I wish I could just chop my arm off and then buy a new one, but I doubt they have one at Greenvales, where we go shopping. So for now I just have to take it easy whenever it hurts too much, when it burns. 

Right, have a nice weekend. And I try putting up some photos on nellieinafrica.tumblr.com, but they look rubbish since I have to shrink them loads to be able to upload them at all. Bye!

Miss you Milko

I have soon been here for 4 weeks. A month! I can hardly get my head around it.

Anyway. Tomorrow I am going to Immigrations to extend my Visa, which I hope will go well. No need to tell them I’ve actually got a job here. Yet. I am waiting and hoping that I will get my residence and working permit soon, and get one less thing to worry about. Not that I worry a lot, seeing as everything is going so well and I am so happy to be here.

One of my students mum asked me today if I missed Sweden and my answer was that I miss you, the people, but I don’t want to go home at all. Here I have a fully functioning life, with a job and new challenges every day. Sweden is nothing new and if I went home now, what on earth would I do? No, I am very happy to be where I am, even if some things are extremely different from Sweden. The way people interact, the way they are divided into different cliques and groups, the food in the shops, the morning, midmorning, lunchtime, afternoon, and evening tea. Life is different. But still, because of all this globalization some things are just the same. I see Blackberries, the latest Mercedes and films that haven’t come out in Sweden yet.

The worst difference and one that makes a huge impact in my life is of course … the yoghurt. A liter of yogurt here costs more than 4 dollars!!! How am I supposed to stay within my budget when a liter of yogurt costs 4 dollar?!?!! Sure, once in a while I could by one, but I can eat one of those in less than three days if I want and that pretty soon becomes a lot of dollars. I have tried not having it for breakfast, but I missed it so much I quickly bought two tubs of it. Withdrawal symptoms here as well. Problem is I don’t really know what I am supposed to eat for breakfast if not yoghurt and muesli. It is what I have been eating for breakfast the last 4-6 years. Totally addicted. Still love it. But this will be one of the challenges of living here, not an extreme one, just something different.

Today I had my 12^th lesson, which as always became longer than it was meant to, but the 8 year old girl was so eager and wanted to play so much that it didn’t really matter. It so fun that all my students are so into playing that they suck up everything I say and practice every day and just want to learn more and more. It makes me like teaching.

Tomorrow I am going to get my hair cut. Wah! At last, it has been over a year since I cut my hair last time. I nearly have an idea of how I want it, but I am too indecisive to have decided that already. A wash and haircut at the place I am going to costs 15 dollars. I thought “Wow, that’s cheap!”. Then I told Maria and she said “No, it’s not cheap for being here.”. Amazing.

Outside the shades are growing longer and the constantly blue sky is just as beautiful as ever. Though we really need more rain. I am soon going to drive home. So goodbye for now, you know I think about you all every hour.

Nellie