Crispy lou

Easter weekend which was the weekend before we were coming back to Pretoria to go to Mozambique, was the craziest weekend of my life...i kd you not! We were camping with Andrew, Dierdre and their family and about 5 other families and their kids. It all began when some of h kids decided it would be a good idea to pull out tent down when Kelly and i were stil in it. this started a war! Anyway soon after that Dierdre got a call from Sharon saying that she'd flipped her truck and could we come now! Sharon was on her way to fetch some horses for our outride on the Monday and was going rounds a coirner too fast and flipped her momma-honker (kelly's word!!) of a truck. Fortunatly she wasn't hurt but it was ... read more

Well this is a very delayed blog cos i haven't had internet access in a month! When we got back from teaching English at Mariazell we met up with a lady called Liz who runs an orphanage called Crossroads. We arranged to help out at Crossroads for the next week. Liz gave us 3 babies that really just needed some 1 on 1 attention - their names were Boy-boy, Supileule and Lutando. Boy-boy is 3 yrs old and had only come to the orphanage about a month ago. He has been severly abused, neglected and mal-nourished so he actually looked like a 1yr old. Kelly spent most of the time with him. the 1st day we went to the orphange he wouldn't even look at us but Kelly loved and played with him and by the ... read more

We travelled about 2 hrs in the truck to go and teach at this Catholic mission station called Mariazell High School. We didn't know what to expect, what we'd be teaching or how long we'd be there for - you kinda have to go with the flow in Africa - I am learning! When we arrived we had a tour of the place (it's up in the mountains - with breathtaking views and awesome sunsets ans sunrises - which i saw out of my bedroom window each morning!) and met the lady who we'd be staying with who taught at the school. She was called Beryce and guess where she was from - Colchester! how bizarre! However, she insisted she was from New Zealand cos she had lived there for 4 years before coming to SA. ... read more

Well about a week ago we flew to Durban way over on the other side of SA on the east coast where we drove about 3 hrs inland to Johans's bro's farm, this was like 10hrs travelling in 1 day so we were pretty tired. this place is in great contrast to where we were on the west coast, green, hilly, misty with dirt roads and no houses for miles around. Andrew and Dierdre were going on holiday for 5 days so Kelly and i were staying in their thatched guest cottage (so quaint) whilst they were away. Everyday we were like this is so bizarre we're in the middle of nowhere on a farm where the people who live here aren't even here...it was just a funny few days where we were like 'doodeedo' what ... read more

Got a bit more of a tan this week..yes!!!! A friend who me and Kelly have made called Louise surprised us yesterday and took us out of Pretoria.thank God and she wanted us to see some townships. this was full on with shacks upon shacks, rubbish everywhere but the bizarre thing was that the people who lived in them looked clean and well dressed - i don't know how? Its crazy that you get so much poverty in one part and then all of a sudden 2 mins down the road there are well off people and gorgeous houses...can't quite get over that! Had a lime milkshake yesterday- it was stunningly lekker (nice) had never tried one before. the weather here is mad with huge raindrops one minute then glorious sunshine the next and massive clouds ... read more

Can you believe it is raining in SA for the past few days - Kelly and i seem to have brought English weather with us...but we've been told it won't last..PHEW! i have some tan but will definitly need more. It has been a great first week at the church..learning lots of new things. Kelly, johans parents (who we are staying with) and I went for a hike on monday in a nature reserve and manged to go through every possible route - it took twice the time we had thought it would which was quite funny. Also i am quite glad that i am not driving out here....yet anyway, cos on sunday we were going to the massive church in Jo-burg and when we went to take the turning Marian, Johans mum, who was driving ... read more

Hey everyone! I made it safely and am having an awesome time. The sun is shining which is sooo cool. I haven't seen that much of Pretoria yet as i have only been at the house of where i am staying and at the church and airport, although what i have seen is so beautiful. This is just a quick one to let you all know that i am well and having a fantastic time already. must dash but will update very soon wiht lots more detail. Lots of love xxx... read more