holiday season begins here....

Last night was a festive evening.. we pulled a late nighter here and I'm really glad we did. We took the kids and a blanket to a place called "Four Seasons" .. this is sort of like a high end shopping area with a restaurant, bar, cafe, a few shops and a garden area in the middle. There they had carolers and christmas music for a few hours... People came in droves, brought picnics and drinks and enjoyed the evening.  The kids met up with alot of their friends from school and really had a great time. There was a gentlemen walking around coaching people to sing along as well as a group of children who sang a few songs. The highlight of the night was when 4 Malawian gardeners came up to sing a song... really beautiful. This ended about 830 and kids in tow we headed to some a friends' house who lived nearby to finish off the evening. They are great people and we enjoyed talking and munching on real tortilla chips and Newman's Own salsa.. They are government employees and have access to all the comforts of home.. Kids had a Wii tennis tournament with their daughters and all was right with the world.. Plus, they are great people we really enjoy hanging out with.

Yesterday at school was international day.. Kids were dressed head to toe in either traditional outfits from their home countries or in tshirts and shorts (most americans)... Maura sported her Aroldis Chapman jersey.. I was pretty fond of that.  There was a parade, a talent show , a large picnic where you could taste various foods from each country... Below is a photo of Kate and her classmates funning a French Cafe as a fund raiser..   The highlight of the day was the Malawian dance routine... It was a mix of students, teachers, gardeners, housekeepers from campus.. It was a beautiful dance and as Maura so eloquently put it... "I've never seen the housekeepers so happy"... There is a wonderful sense of joy when watching a Malawian dance... and their singing is absolutely beautiful.. it was much better than watching some of the young american male teachers do a dance routine to "As Long As you Love me" by the Backstreet Boys... That is guts for a bunch of white guys to get in front of a gym full of Africans and try to dance.. IT was worth a laugh... See video below of some of the Malawian dance..



Today is hot... unbelievably hot.. We are headed to lunch then to the pool, watch some rugby .. then off to St. Andrew's Ball where I will get to sport my Malawian bow tie!!!...

Happy Saturday folks!