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The festival is over. Done. Finito. It has definitely been the most hectic week sincce I got here. Eesh. We were all worked to the bone, but it was fun as well. Great socialising, amazing musicians and artists, lovely wine and a lot of music. Friday was my only day without a performance, from Tuesday to Sunday. I would like to tell you all, but at the moment that isn't the best idea. Things are a bit ... touchy right now at the academy. There was quite a bit of unwanted drama and attention around one person. Still is mind you. But anyway there was the amazing concert with the 500 kids, a fully packed hall for Carmina Burana (people were sitting in the aisles), 500 people watching the pop concert and the final orchestral concert. Richard had written hilarious verses that were read out in between the different animals in the Carnival of the animals by Saint-Saëns. The one that had me in stitches especially was the tortoise, who finished off with the line (read very slowly) "As a tortoise I don't want to be a winger, but at least a turtle gets to be a ninja..." !!!! Haha, I laughed so hard.

So. Now I am so glad the festival is over. At last I can sleep and sit down in the middle of the day and do nothing for an hour. Wednesday I was away from home for 17 hours, and Sunday I was home two o'clock... That's the sort of beating all of us have taken. But still, it was amazing having the proffessional musicians here. Mesmerising listening to them play. And they were all so friendly and nice. They have now gone to the falls and Hwange for a few days, the lucky fishes. I have booked this weekend at Jeanette's farm, to get away from town and relax a bit after all the stress. And this time I am pulling Maria with me. We both need it.

Winter is really getting going here now. Yuck it's cold. I know I've lived through much much worse, but then all the houses were heated. Here it's colder being inside than outside, unless there's a wind. And I definitely don't have enough winter clothes (should have listened more to mum when I was packing...) so I freeze. But we're on a mission now to find more jerseys for me. Soon maybe I'll even start using my knitted gloves and winter jacket. I think I have my mother's blood. I have never before slept with socks on, not even when it was minus thirty. Who would have thought I would when I was in Africa?

Right, I shouldn't write too much. We're back to everyday life now, so I should be able to write more often than I have the last two months. Bye bye!

Bulawayo Music Festival week coming up

I am busy and sick. And extremely busy. And trying not to give my sickness to anybody else. So I uploaded pictures in stead for the next week to come. When it's the festival and I'm up to my ears in The Song of the Carnivores (500 kids), Carmina Burana (I play percussion), pop music for a Pop concert (I did all the music for it on Sibelius... probably close to 24 h of work), Mozart, Saint-Saëns etc. So. Have a look on my tumblr. Things will be happening there at least. Bye for now!

Harare

I am alive! Sorry for so few updates, I'm pretty sure it's going to get a lot better as soon as I just start working again. Except I am going to be so busy for the festival now that I might not write as much as I think. Anyway. A week ago, on Friday afternoon, John and Heather (girlfriend), invited me to come with them and another friend on a weekend trip to Harare in ... 40 minutes! I obviously said yes and spent two nights in Norton, just outside Harare. After a long Friday night we watched Winks play rugby and unfortunately lose quite badly, but it was a nice day anyway. Had a quick pop into a big market, which I definitely will be visiting again, with a bunch of money... After another long night out we drove home Sunday afternoon and got back after dark, which isn't optimal.

A funny, but creepy incident on the way there was when we slowed down at a railway crossing out in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly Heather, who is driving, screams that there is somebody running behind the car. I am sitting in the back seat (of course, when does the smallest person ever get to sit in the front??) and as I look back I see a black guy in a white hoodie running behind the car, grabbing at the back of the car. His face less than two meters from mine. Heather hoots and accelerates away, and the guy disappears. Obviously he had been waiting for somebody to slow down like we did, so that he could grab stuff from the boot. The guys then discussed what they would do if the same guy tried it again on the way back...

Now it is time to pack up and wait for John to pick me up and take me home. So irritating not to have a car and driver's licence, but that's one of the things on my to-do-list. Right, have to go, bybye!!