Sky Wonders Part 2

Michelle dragged me to the moonbow at Victoria Falls tonight, to take a picture of it. I took four 30-second exposures from different angles, and they turned out pretty good! To actually look at the moonbow, it wasn't too colourful, mostly just a white arc. But the camera captured the colour quite well. Here is my favourite. (I'm sure the others might find themselves on Michelle's Facebook account!)

Click on the photo for a bigger version. Note the constellation Orion in the background! I didn't even notice it until I downloaded the picture! The dark rushing water in the foreground is the mighty Zambezi river right before it goes over the edge. The rainbow is made from the mist of the falls refracting the light of the full moon.

In other news we also visited the Falls this morning to get soaked, and saw "sunbows" as usual. Michelle took the kids out to play and eat while I took our friend Rachel (who is visiting us) to the Boiling Pot, then the Zimbabwe border in the middle of the bridge. Then we decided to run eight kilometres in the noon day sun, without water (we bought some at kilometre six), to join our families at Olga's Italian Eatery. It was a good run, but now I am a bit sore. After lunch we drove back halfway to the falls to visit the Crocodile Park, where we saw many lethargic beasts and also a few deadly snakes. Then a quick visit to one of the nicer hotels to see their zebras, impala, and giraffes. Then to our Lodge to get some R&R before the moonbow adventure at 8pm...so a nice long busy happy vacation day!

Chodort Grad 2015

On December 11th Chodort said goodbye to another graduating class. There were 63 students from 3 classes: 1 year course Carpentry & Joinery, 1 year course Tailoring & Design, and two 6-month batches of Computer Applications. We took a break from Production to enjoy the festivities. This is usually my busiest week of the year, with all the prep. Michelle baked 4 large cakes that went towards the snack given to students, staff, and guests. I printed the certificates, one at a time, painstakingly trimming each one by 2mm so it wouldn't print crooked; letting the ink dry on our glossy templates. I was also the event photographer.

The beginning of the event is marked by music, with the students dancing forward in two lines. The Important Guests walk between them to take their places at the front.

There is a mini fashion show where the Tailoring students show off their final projects (dresses). Here the girls wait to walk on stage.

The students sing; some acrobats provide entertainment.

Trade Aid kits are given to one group of students with the best business proposal, to help them get started in their new venture.

The Principal of Chodort gives the closing speech. Some of the Invited Guests are seated behind, including the D.C., The P.S.' Representative, and Reverends Mundemba and Silwenga.

Christmas Braai

The church we attend has a tradition of meeting together on Christmas Day to remember Christ's birth. Afterwards there is a braai (bbq), with everyone sharing a good meal together. This year our family volunteered to host at our home, since we have lots of space in our backyard, and good kitchen/meeting facilities.

At 7:30 Christmas morning a car came to our gate and honked. I decided it must be someone to see my neighbour since the service wasn't supposed to start until 9am, but it turned out it was one of the organizers with some food and drinks to drop off. So I went out in my pyjamas and unlocked the gate.

At 9am a few people came but we didn't get started on the church service until past 10 sometime. Some of the ladies started peeling potatoes and preparing chicken. We lit the braai stand so that the charcoal would be hot enough later.

For the church service we sang a few carols and shared what Christmas means to us. Some of the young people presented "Lord I lift your name on high" with sign language, and also presented a sketch about making room for Jesus in our hearts.

Then it was time to play and eat!

Michelle chatted with the youngest member of our church.

The last person left around 4:30pm. So it was a long day, but good to spend it together in a meaningful way. Some of the people were saying that for many Zambians, Christmas is an excuse to drink in excess, so I'm glad the church was able to offer an alternative.

We opened our presents around the Christmas tree as a family afterwards. We didn't really have supper since we were still full from our late lunch! This was our second Christmas in Choma. Only one left before we return to a good old Wet Coast one! :)