New house
Well we've been in for a while, and we're still all loving it, so I thought you might like to see it. Apologies for the over-exposed pics of the boys' room, it was a very sunny day.
This is how it looks from the outside (at least in the rainy season, when the garden is green):
These are the two ends of our open-plan living room...
and kitchen:
This is our bedroom:
And this is the boys' room:
That's Sebastian having his afternoon nap btw.
Didn't think you needed to see the bathrooms.
As you can see, we need to do some decorating and get some more furniture and curtains and the like, but it's a wonderful, big, light, comfortable, cool (in both senses of the word) space and we LOOOOVE it.
Labels: new house, Sebastian
Really exciting post
I really feel like I should be writing some great posts about dramatic floods, political unrest or some such typical African story. However, both these events are happening a long way from here, and there is really very little to report from Pemba. Let’s see: Sebastian has started going to nursery with Joaquim and seems to enjoy it greatly. His latest words include no, pasta (that was yesterday), juice, and ‘bong” (any kind of bump or bounce). Joaquim is fine, and is learning to swim without armbands – at his instigation – at the hotel pool. He’s very proud of being able to swim a width unassisted, and so am I! (No, I can already swim widths, and indeed lengths, unassisted, I am proud of him.) It’s a bit of a doggy paddle, but it’s a good start. Paulo is busy with a number of projects, including the very start of our beach development: Chuiba Palms Beach Villas. Watch this space. Speaking of building: no, we’re not in yet, you don’t need to know more than that do you? And as for me, I’m throwing myself at my new job – Tourism Officer for the whole park and not just community-based tourism officer – with some late-come New Year’s enthusiasm.
Edge-of-your-seat stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree. I’ll try to make something up for next time, it’s got to be better than this. Toodle-pip.
Labels: Joaquim, new house, Paulo, Sebastian
Back at last
Swisslil has tweaked my conscience. She's in bed suffering from hideous morning, afternoon and night sickness and is likely to be so for some time and yet she manages to update her blog. I have no excuse.
Or maybe one. Joaquim is sick, again. Respiratory tract infection, maybe laryngitis. If it were not for the reassurances of the paediatrician, I would be really quite worried, as it seems he gets everything going. In fact, the next time we spend a long period in Europe, I may take him to a homeopath and try to discover if there is some underlying cause for this tendency to have terrible coughs. We've had a couplke of bad nights, but it's not all bad, he's taking his meds and improving daily.
As is our house. While we were away, little happened. Nothing unusual there. Since we got back however, the roofers have been thatching like crazy and it's really starting to look fantastic. Builders still have a long way to go: no bathrooms, kitchen or floor yet, but it's coming together. Our carpenters have made some solid, handsome doors, and the electrician has finished his installation. A few mistakes have been made, inevitably, but it's starting to look like the house I was dreaming of when I first sketched it many months ago. I even know where I'm going to put the beautiful hand-painted tiles I bought in Portugal.
Work is fine. Again, not much progress made in my absence, more being made now. I have not yet lost that just-back-from-holiday enthusiasm and energy, so I must make the most of it while it lasts. Going out to check progress next week.
One shocking piece of news though. Our housekeeper's daughter - early 20s and 8 months pregnant with her second child - is HIV positive. She just found out. Her mother is calm, as she is an HIV-AIDS activist for her church and as such well-informed, but nonetheless it's a terrible blow. Pemba, as the Provincial capital, has an anti-retroviral treatment programme for those who develop AIDS, so in that way she's lucky, but luck has really nothing to do with it. My fear is that there are so many more young people out there, infected but without knowing it, and nobody seems to be changing their behaviour. Sorry to be grim.
To end on a cheerful note, my sister's book, Gods Behaving Badly, has reached number 19 on the bestsellers'list. Fantastic or what? Get out there and buy a copy, if you haven't done so already. It's a rollicking good read.
Labels: AIDS, Joaquim, new house, sisters
Rambling
I have been jolted into action by speaking to an old friend, who lives in the closest large town to here, Nampula (only 450km away, that’s close by Mozambican standards) who tells me she reads my blog. I am always surprised to hear that someone is reading my blog as I tend to assume that my readership is limited to about half a dozen friends and relations. So for all of you out there who read in total anonymity, hello! Good to have you on board.
It seems that almost nothing has been going on since I last posted, but as my life is hardly a whirlwind of excitement and action adventure at any time, there’s surely enough to ramble on about for a bit. (Doing quite well so far, after all.)
In no particular order:
I went to Ibo. I tried out the eco-loo. It is a dual-vaulted dry-composting latrine. Google that and you’ll get all the info you need (and more). I’m glad to report that it seems to work perfectly, especially the tricky urine-diverting pedestal which I had my doubts about. (Google it, I tell you, if you really want to understand.) Underwhelming as this may sound to most of you, it’s actually quite exciting for me as a) it is the first of its kind in the Park and b) if it really works it could be an excellent solution to a serious public health problem on Ibo and elsewhere and c) I found out about it and I had it made. If you want to experience it for yourself, you must request Marta’s house in the Ibo homestay programme.
Joaquim drew a picture of a crocodile. It was actually recognisable. This is noteworthy because his drawings have not been representative until now. Except for one excellent self portrait: we are talking a circle, legs of sort, some kind of features and tufts of hair over his ears which we had pointed out to him after he went to have his hair cut but refused to let the barber clip around his ears (he HATES having his hair cut, shivers and cries, poor thing, but then recovers immediately).
Continuing the theme, I cut Sebastian’s fringe because it was getting into his eyes. He fidgeted, I snipped carefully but decisively, we got an entirely deliberate (ahem) trendy asymmetrical look. Fortunately at this age it doesn’t matter as he is absolutely gorgeous anyway, but I have made a mental note not to cut his hair beyond his second birthday if I don’t want him to hate me for life.
Paulo has started exercising regularly. This shames me (I can’t, I won’t, if I don’t have time to sleep when am I supposed to go running?!), so I tease him that it’s a knock-on from his 38th birthday. None the less it’s entirely admirable. Joaquim likes to copy some of the exercises. Which is entirely hilarious.
Our house grows. Door and window frames going in, roof beams being raised, walls soon to be plastered. Still a huge way to go, though. I am travelling to Nampula to buy pipes, bathroom fittings, light switches, tiles and the kitchen sink (those paying attention will now know how far you need to go to buy decent construction material in Pemba) this evening. I am flying down and driving back up tomorrow. I am not taking Sebastian as it will be much easier to do all this without him. This momentous decision may have several unfortunate consequences. If he has a bad night and does not find a ready boob to comfort him, Paulo will have a truly horrendous time of it. I foresee wailing and screaming and possibly waking up Joaquim. I may suffer from distressingly engorged breasts, from missing a night-time and a morning feed. It may sound funny but anyone who has ever breastfed will be able to tell you how painful it is. And not a Savoy cabbage in sight. And then I may suffer from guilt, for having made Sebastian wail and scream and for having made Paulo spend half the night trying to soothe him and for having disturbed Joaquim’s sleep and for, what else? Guilt is an intrinsic part of parenthood, and as I do quite well in smothering it most of the time this is a perfect opportunity for it to get its own back.
Labels: Ibo, Joaquim, new house, Sebastian
Nothing much
The rainy season, which was tapering off as should be at this time of year, has made an unexpected comeback with a series of dramatic night-time storms over the past week. Torrential rain, loud thunder and flashes of lightning that fortunately do not wake the boys and are keeping the garden green.
Our house grows (rain is good for the cement). Need to order the doors and windows.
Received an official paper the other day, addressed to Rebecca Bums Phillips Marques. My middle name is Burns. An easy mistake to make, and not funny in Portuguese, but I thought you'd like it.
My sister (you may read her blog) is on holiday and I miss her virtual presence. Is there a word for that?
Labels: new house, rain, sisters, typos
Participating and evaluating
So I know you’re all sitting on the edge of your seats waiting to hear about the participative evaluation on Ibo. It was actually a very interesting exercise and went very well. We brought in representatives of 8 different coastal and island communities to discuss the park’s work and how the communities are experienceing its results, their level of satisfaction and what still needs to be done. We used a number of PRA techniques, which generally involve using simple diagrams to show trends and changes over time, to look at these issues. In general, the communities gave us a big thumbs up, especially due to the success of a number of fishing sanctuaries, which are areas that have been totally protected in order to act as nursery grounds. Initial scepticism has given way to general enthusiasm and demands for more sanctuaries as the fishermen catch more and larger fish in the surrounding waters. Also very popular have been support for schools and some health programmes, less successful actions to protect fields against elephant attacks. They’d really like to get rid of the elehants altogether if at all possible. Most interesting of all, however, was watchingthe dynamics and seeing people exchange experiences and compare results from different areas in the park. They told us that they particularly valued this, and it was also clear that they felt that the park was really listening to them.
So a very satisfying, if rather tiring, few days. We worked with the community from 7am to 1pm, then worked on the reults from 4 til 6pm. Also it was HOT. Sebastian, who still travels with me as he is not yet weaned, broke out in a terrible heat rash all over. Looked awful, but it’s now much better thanks to cooler weather here in Pemba and large amounts of calamine lotion.
What else? House continues to grow, looking great, but we’re now waiting for more bricks to come out of the oven (ordered and paid for ages ago, but that’s Pemba for you). I really must post a pic or two here. Paulo is being kept very busy supervising the build at the same time as dealing with a sudden surge in demand for his services as a sort of para-legal, plus holding the fort at Kaskazini while Gen (our business partner, friend and next-door neighbour, it’s a small town) is in South Africa on holiday. Joaquim is happy because his great friend Milan has come back from Germany and not only goes to the same school but also lives just down the road, and Sebastian is happy because it’s in his nature to be.Labels: Ibo, new house
Are you still there?
My friend Swisslil emailed me to say that she had tried unsuccessfully three times to post a comment following my last post, so I'm assuming that's why I have had precisely no comments despite my slightly pathetic appeal, and not that you've all got tired of my ramblings and gone home. Have you?
So you may or may not be pleased to hear that I am feeling less worried, mainly because Jaoquim seems to be better. At the sugegstion of a doctor friend we cut out milk from his diet and it seems to have done the trick. Apparently temporary lactose intolerance is common after an attack of diarrhea. So now you know.
Meanwhile, the builders have started on the walls of the house: white rock up to window-sill height, followed by brick (to be plastered). We think it's going to look cool. Inside, it's very open-plan, with lots of windows and double doors leading out to a private veranda facing seawards. However, in order to be able to see the sea, we'll have to trim the trees a bit, or sit on the ground, as we're too high up. We'll sort it out. It's huge and it's going to be quite a change from our current living arrangements which are 2 rooms and a bathroom, an outside kitchen and a large shady patio area. The new house is going to have 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, open-plan kitchen/diner/sitting room, mezzanine TV room and study, and a huge back terrace. All designed by us.
Meanwhile, as a change from the illness, here are some fun things the kids are in to these days. Jaoquim: singing (wheels on the bus, twinkle, twinkle, the alphabet, baa baa black sheep, oh yes, and Bob Marley - for real, it's very funny), climbing the piles of building sand, bricks, stones in the garden, watching animal shows on TV (him "look, big snake", us "Joaquim, you must never pick up snakes", him "I will pick up small snakes", us "no, no, not even small ones, no snakes! (Sotto voce, should we be letting him watch this Steve Irwin stuff?)"). Sebastian: standing, for 10 seconds or so, dancing and clapping (picture this: J signing along to "I shot the sherriff" and S staning and bouncing with one fist raised in a black power salute), climbing the front two steps, pushing open the weighted screen door and letting himself into the house. Bless them and their little cotton socks.
Labels: Joaquim, new house, Sebastian
