bulawayo...

currently back on the road again, or rail track rather, heading from harare to vic falls to continue our adventures. tonight we board the night train, should be an experiance! we have just spent two nights in guieru were there were many experiances including rats in the bathroom, a cinema with falling appart seats and just us, being m,istaken for a reporter and a v hectic canoe ride.

am having fun, enjoying the sun and watching out in the lead up to elections, we all hope it does not go the same way as kenya!

in our last week in harare the internet was not working, nor the phones most of the time so i have not been able to load the many good pictures that i was meaning to. but we have gotten up to some antiques, including chasing round catching a duck then helping pluck it for dinner, organising a kids party for 21 kids (we were left v exhausted and with an increased respect for our mothers!), taking maids out for pizza and a film, trips to Goremonzi to see SEEDs work there, helping in a sewing group and me aquiring a drawing student!

so i was ableto have an impact on a few peoples lives in a very differnet and unsustainable way than in keya but none the less i feel we have definatly made our mark.

it was great taking the maids out for their first ever pizza and what looked like a rather dubious martial arts film (chosen by them) but that actually turned out to be really good. it was a challange leading the preschool (be it only for a one day visit!) but my highlight by far was the kids party we threw on easter friday. we invited the kids that we took to the snake park and told them to bring their friends - news spread like wild fire as we had 21 kids turn up on the day! we were up early blowing up ballons, baking cakes and stringing popcorn for the games, by 2pm (pbefore the kids arrived) we were already in need of a quick nap! the kids enjoyed (as did we) the games, traditional ones such as sack race, piggyback race, egg on a spooon, eating popcorn off a string, apple bobbing, musical bumps and of course pass the pastle. i though that i would be able to deter a few with my forfits (eat a catapilar - of the cooked variety) but NO! they jumped at the opportunity which lucy declined, and even asked for more!

potential desaster came at snack time when the kids, having never seen such a spead in their lives (cake, dot coms, popcorn, jelly and crisps - less than the average UK kids party) were keen to eat as much as they could manage, and more if we left them too it! not keen for puking kids we were careful on monitoring and lucy set up some impromptu party bags. no -one wqanted to go home, the sign of a good party! so rather than 5 they were all out by 6 and lucy and i we left to ponder on the day, feel thankful for the maids helping us to wash up, thankful for Gogo and the rest of the family being so ameniable to our general vandalisation of the garden, and a strong seance of respect for our mothers effort shen we were kids!

so off we set into the sun, with meomires to treasure and new adventures before us...