Notes for Thursday

Kate has a big assembly at school tonight. big show and dance.. video will follow. It is nearing the end of the school year here and in January, kate and jacob will up to Standard 2 and 7. They are on holiday from dec. 7 to january something.

As stated in the last blog, I head to Gabane tomorrow for a wedding. The place has become my project. I've been there 3 times in the past 2 weeks and have befriended a family, a very big family. They live right next to the shop where i took my first few pictures, and every time I go to town, I always park near the shop and buy a bottle of coke. From there, people become intrigued with my camera, asks me why I am here and then wants a photo. Yesterday I met up with a girl who I took pictures of before out trip to Kasane, her name is Nolitah.. She introduced me to her mom(Joyce), I got pictures of them together and then they invited me to their home to meet the elders. The whole family, aunts ,uncles, sisters, brothers, etc. live on this very small plot of dirt with a small brick home, a traditional hut, and an outhouse. I would venture to say 20-25 people all together.. The photos turned out well, but just the getting into the family and meeting all of them was the experience of a lifetime. they must have liked me, because the oldest woman invited me to take photos of the wedding. Her picture is here, she asked if I would take a pictures of her so that all would remember what she looked like when she died. They couldn't believe what they looked like when i showed them the digital image.

One other note about the experience was the great sense of love, respect and happiness they felt for each other... Particularly the mother and daughter relationship.. It was so natural and sincere. I'll post some of the pictures later, but for now here's a few snapshots...

Also, here's another video from our trip to Chobe. It's a boat ride this time.. if you're getting tired of this stuff, let me know.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMXzrjZ6_Mc

More to follow tomorrow, time to get the kids at school.