Two Firsts

This month I've had two firsts here in Zimbabwe - First visit to a mall - an actual mall that is.  Usually if we shop we go to Sam Levy's Village which is a series of shops (it was built in several phases) with outside access to all of them.  So I ended up at the mall downtown for Arianna's PSAT exam!  The Embassy's office of Educate USA is located there and that was where she had her exam.  When we got there I realized it was the first time I'd been in a mall here.  It's a pretty funky building - you can read about it here:  http://inhabitat.com/building-modelled-on-termites-eastgate-centre-in-zimbabwe/.  Or search on Eastgate Centre Harare.

So, my other first was at the Westgate Shopping Centre where we went to see a movie.  John and I went with Abigail and one of her friends to see Gravity last night.  It wasn't my favorite movie but I enjoyed seeing the Westgate Centre - it looked pretty nice though it was hard to tell at night.  We went to an 8 pm show - and it was almost empty.  No late shows here!

Jacaranda Trees

Posting here for those who don't have Facebook - I posted a lot there.

Tree in front of our house on a sunny day!

Trees going in town (Harare).  Some streets have complete canopies.

Combined Schools Concert

About a dozen schools participate in a big event here that usually happens every September.  It was a bit late this year (October 1st) and happily, our girls both participated.  They were part of the orchestra (which was directed by HIS music teacher Roz Whaley) and the string orchestra (which was directed by Arianna's viola teacher and the teacher at a nearby school called Hellenic Academy).

A bit blurry because I turned off the flash to get a decent photo - but it's a pretty good size orchestra, isn't it?

One of my favorite parts of the concert was the marimbas.  I counted them and there were 45!!  You can see some up on the jumbo screens.

If you think that it was a lot of marimba players, the choir had over 500 in it!  You can see all the different school uniforms here, as well as special jackets that the prefects wear.  I think the choir students were mostly from the last two years of high school (form 6) - they had to be selective in order to fit everyone on stage.

The evening was rounded out with a Wind Ensemble (aka band), an a capella vocal group, a Big Band, and a Pipe and Drum Corps.  Yes, that's bagpipes!  One of the local schools has a strong tradition in bagpipes and the students had traveled to Scotland on the last term break.  They were joined by some players from another school that I think is a government school (most, if not all of the schools that participated are private schools).  They were my second favorite part of the night even though I'm not usually a big bagpipe fan.  The drummers were great and it was just impressive to have them all march in playing.

EZ and Sweet 16

One of the highlights of the HIS program is their Explore Zimbabwe trip that the students do in 4th-12th grades.  This year's trip for Abigail's class was going to Outward Bound Zimbabwe in a beautiful area of the Eastern Highlands.  Outward Bound is an international organization (my sister Megan has led trips for them in the US) and we were excited for Abigail's experience of adventure.

Getting ready!

 Out on the raft that Abigail's team built

Beautiful setting.

Unfortunately, on the overnight trip into the mountains there was an accident with one of the cook stoves and several students and an HIS teacher were burned.  The teacher is still hospitalized for treatments for his burns so if you are inclined to pray please keep him in your prayers.  

Arianna had been waiting to have a little "Sweet Sixteen" celebration for many weeks and we finally had scheduled it for the day after Explore Zim.  Three of the five guests happened to be the injured students from the trip, so we debated about whether or not to go ahead.  Fortunately most of the student injuries were minor and the one more severe still wanted to come and hang out.  We canceled the water fight that was scheduled and it was a good chance for the girls to spend time together after their school trips.

Hanging out after making tie die shirts

"Sweets" table - the candy buffet was a highlight!

For those of you who know Arianna, she loves to plan a party.  She has enjoyed getting ideas off of Pintrest and blogs and has even started her own blog with ideas.  Here is a sample of her handiwork - cupcake tops on pint mason jars complete with labels for different beverages.  On the sweets table you can see the Chinese takeout boxes that she made and decorated for the girls to take home their candy loot.