Erik's first day of school!

Erik started 1st grade today. In Namibia you start school the year you turn 7, and the schoolyear starts in mid January. All the kids have to wear uniforms, and Opuwo Junior Primary requirs all grey (shirt, pants or shorts, socks, sweater) and black polished shoes. Erik was so proud of his uniform and for finally going to school that he wore the uniform all weekend! We took him to school at 6.45 AM this morning, as school starts at 7.00 AM and last until 1.00 PM every day. The kids were all lined up in their uniforms, and excited to see a new kid on the block!

Erik's christmas

Erik is homeschooled by me this year (in addition to attending the local school in the local language here in Opuwo), and the program we use is a Norwegian web based one, called Globalskolen (the Global school). Erik's christmas vacation, in his own words, was published on the opening page this week, and he is very proud! If you want to read it click on the link below:

http://www.globalskolen.no/

Happy 2008!

We are back in Namibia after vacationing in Mozambique over the holidays. We had an amazing time, and Mozambique is a country with stunning beaches and islands, it has a World Heritage site, charming colonial architecture and colourful local cultures, and last but not least, salsa music! Mozambique's capital Maputo is Africas only Latin city, and you can feel the beat everywhere you go!


We took the bus from Johannesburg to Maputo (10 hours), and spent 4 days in Maputo before heading to Tofo by a local chapar (minibus). The chapar took another 10 hours, and was jam packed with people (25 people in a 20 seater bus), but the spirit and company of fellow travellers was good, so the trip went well. Tofo village is a massive sweep of white sand and azure blue water, and it is well known for its superb diving and surfing.

Day 2 in Mozambique, Gabriel fell on an umbrella stand, and cut his chin open, and we had to find a hospital and get stitches. Poor little thing, 4 shots and 11 stitches later he was exhausted, although still wore his Always Happy shirt with a smile (see pic on shutterfly). Since we were travelling to Tofo, we were told to go to the local hospital there to take the stitches out the 24th of December. So we did, but that exercise we could have been without - the stitches were'nt ready to come out, but the non English speaking doctor felt he should follow orders from Maputo, and took the stitches out with a razor blade while his hand was shaking the whole time! It was scary... Luckily it did end well, no infection or anything, so he is just fine now.

Sammy got to go scuba diving as much as he liked, and he saw some amazing sealife. I went on a Whaleshark safari and got to snorkel with the whalesharks and dolphins. Erik enjoyed his boogie board and surfing on the beach, and he also befriended a Norwegian boy named Victor, who also lives in Namibia.

I have uploaded pictures onto my shutterfly account, so if you click on the link below you will be able to se a lot more pictures if you wish :-)

guri.shutterfly.com

Happy new year everybody!

Guri