Elections

Did you know that elections are scheduled in Zimbabwe this year?  The process is quite a bit different than what we've ever experienced before.  We've known they were planned since before we got here as part of the power sharing agreement that has been in place here since 2008 after the last elections resulted in many problems.

But first, Zimbabwe needed a new constitution.  This was supposed to happen in 2011, but by the beginning of this year it hadn't yet.  So talk of April elections got moved back.  However, in March the constitutional referendum passed!  And happily, without incident.  So again talks about the elections were underway.  A date was set for July, which turned out was unconstitutional!!  (there was a reason they needed a new constitution).  So, after more back and forth just yesterday a new date was set - August 14th.  Which happens to be the day HIS is supposed to reopen.  Usually schools close for a week at election times.  Local kids were happy about the July date because they are in school at that point.  By August 14th they'll be on "term break" (they are on a three term system).

So, my housekeeper and gardener are trying to register to vote.  They went at lunch time yesterday and before the end of the day they were told to leave their paperwork and come back tomorrow.  So first thing this morning they went back to the registration office.  Our gardener has never voted and it has been many years since our housekeeper has voted.  I was happy for them to take the time off to get their registration done - it is an important event here!!  Hopefully they will be registered before the end of the day....

Article from yesterday:
http://zimbabweelection.com/2013/06/19/breaking-news-zims-mugabe-tsvangirai-agree-to-ask-for-election-delay/
You can also follow the news on a Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/zimbabweelection

Brrrr!

How can days in the 60's and nights in the 40's feel so cold?  Really I shouldn't be complaining because we have "splits" (heat/ac units) to heat up our house when most people do not.  But a few things make it seem colder than Paraguay.  First of all, when it was cold there our splits worked really well (not so much in the living space here).  Second of all, the cold is lasting a lot longer (it's only June after all - three months of winter to go).  And lastly, it's AFRICA!  Who thought it would be this cold for this long?  My winter clothes are pretty picked over at this point which doesn't help.  I'm really glad I still have the warm fleece that I got right before I had Arianna....I've used it a lot!

Another interesting difference is that we have so many friends (both locals and internationals) who have no heat in their houses other than a fireplace.  And I go to teach once a week at a school in a colder part of the country where there is no heat either.  But I know there are many here who have fewer blankets and no access to heat at all, so I will count my blessings (as I crawl under the covers).

Last day of school (June 11)!!

Last day of school for HIS!  It's been quite chilly lately so it is interesting to end the school year with this weather!  

Abigail received the President's Gold Award at the Middle School Awards' Assembly!

The girls finished the school year well with some very nice grades.  Unfortunately Abigail was sick right at the end of school so she missed out on a couple of "end of year" events, but still got to enjoy some.  

There have been quite a number of difficult moments at HIS this year but in the end I think it was good for both girls to have a brick and mortar experience.  Arianna is quite happy about returning to online school for her last two years where she can follow the AP program and not IB (International Baccalaureate).  Abigail enjoyed the social aspect of school so she is hoping to return.  Her teachers for next year are in large part new teachers so we will see if they all get permits (something that's been a problem for the past couple of years)...Both girls seem quite settled here and enjoying a nice variety of relationships.

First Annual Zimbabwe Suzuki Concert

For those of you who didn't see these on Facebook:

 Here's that performance of 16 Strings which I mentioned in an earlier post!

Another Zimbabwe book and a current tale

This one gets a bit gruesome at times and focuses more on the war than Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight which I wrote about previously.  This also gives an account of what happened to the Ndebele people (one of the two main people groups here) after the war, which is probably the most gruesome part of the book.

My favorite Zimbabwe book so far is The Last Resort by Douglas Rogers.  I think I enjoyed it most because it focuses on the more recent history of the land invasions, which is the era that we are still living in.  So often we hear people say "When we lost the farm....".  Well the land invasions have recently struck closer to home since the farm where Arianna rides has been invaded and the horses removed.  She has only been able to ride once in the last month.

Whenever I talk to Zimbabweans about these books (or even Americans who have been here a long time) someone inevitably knows the author.  I guess since they are all white authors (which is a relatively small close knit community).  Now it would be nice to read  something from a black author's perspective...

Abigail's Thirteen!

Opening presents on the day.  It fell on a Thursday which is my long day of teaching so we opted to go out for some pizza for dinner.  Arianna and Juliet (our housekeeper) made the traditional Macy cake which turned out MUCH better than the one I did soon after our arrival in August for Arianna's last birthday.

 Arianna's gift to Abigail was making cupcakes for her party.

 Some of the girls arrived early to help get ready for the party which was on the Saturday after her birthday.  All of the 7th grade girls were invited and most were able to come!

 It was a beautiful fall afternoon - perfect for games, 

a bonfire, 

 and lots of good food, which was consumed in large quantities!

After games and dinner, the girls made smores at the bonfire, then watched a movie in the living room and ended the night with the cupcakes!

Sixteen Strings

The idea was formed while we were at our friends the Zaveris last December...The kids (our two and their violinist) should play something upbeat at the talent show.  We recruited a cellist and Sixteen Strings was born!  They have performed twice so far this year and have a final performance next Sunday.  So far they've done pop (Viva la Vida), fiddle and now they'll perform an arrangement of Bach Brandenburg.  It is great to hear them engaging in all different styles as they rehearse each Sunday afternoon.

Last rehearsal of this school year!

Worship at Northside

Our main worship leader at church approached me a few weeks ago to ask if we'd be willing to play at church.  His wife (vocals) and son (drums) are often on the team with him and so I suggested that our families do a song together.  It turned out that their second son has recently picked up bass so he was also willing to join us (as long as he didn't have to sing!).  We were hoping to get John involved, but unfortunately his guitar string broke so he couldn't get back in shape in time (and couldn't find a place to buy any here!).  Hopefully next time we'll have ALL of the Cannings and Macys.

We did "In Christ Alone" which was one of our favorite worship songs that John and I used to sing at chapel in Costa Rica.  We've also played it as a family in Paraguay - so Arianna had to learn the English version!!  She sang the first verse alone and did a lovely job, as did Abigail on the violin.

Sorry for the blurry photo but it gives you an idea of us at the service this morning (the drummer is hidden behind his dad)....