a new Martha in the house??

Jasmine and Juliet are both showing some interest in cooking and baking. So the other weekend JJ asked me to bake something, but she wanted to do it alone. At least as much as possible! OK with me!!

Brownies was the choice.

So here she goes; getting the ingredients together, mixing, pouring and licking... how fun is that last part!!



Cathlynn her friend came by and wanted to help as well, so both are decorating the brownie cake.



JJ has a go as well...



And see here the result! Normally brownies are made in a square tin, but today we wanted to decorate it with the hearts of powder sugar, so we made it round... tastes the same!!



YUM YUM! Like a good brownie, crunchy on the sides, but nice and gooey in the centre!!

Perfect brownie JJ!! Let's try something a bit more challenging the next time :-)

Are your kids into baking or cooking??

Enjoy your Marvellous Monday!!
Mireille

Cooking classes

Every month I have at least 1 or 2 cooking classes, and I just LOVE it!!

There is always something new you learn, some new techniques, some new spices, some new combinations or flavors. And then on top of that, you get to hang out with other women with like minded interests.

So I am part of DISC ~ Dainfern International Social Club that has once a month a coffee morning and we talk about events, we meet a lot of new people and we form groups. These groups can be anything from quilting, to hiking, to photography, cooking, sewing... you name it and there is a group.



One of these groups I am part of and that is.... you guessed it right :-) the cooking group. A French lady; Johana is giving these cooking classes. She went to a culinary school in France, so she knows all the techniques and methods to create classical French dishes... yum yum!! She creates a menu and if you are interested in that particular menu you can sign up for the lesson, and the best part eating of it after the class is done. And as the French do... with a glass of vino... of course!!

Last time I went we learned how to make risotto and tiramisu. I don't need to say... we had a wonderful time! Each time we meet at a different house, and each time it is with a different group of women, and each time of course a different menu... so it never gets boring, and I can do this forever. Because good food and good company is always fun!!

Pretty good life I lead as an expat wife... you don't hear me complaining :-)

Do you have such a good life as well?? I hope so!!

Ciao Bellas,
Mireille

Having Oma over during the Xmas break.

Dirk is off for 2 weeks and my mom is here for the holiday season, so after the big Xmas dinners and delicious breakfast all in the lapa (a lapa is a thatched outdoor entertainment area, of African origin and all the sides are usually open) since it is very warm these days. We needed to give my mom some African culture.

So we went to Lesedi a cultural village about a half hour drive from our house. They call it a place of light which is build around a Ndebele village. The community still lives and practice their traditional way of life, i.e traditional ceremonies, Ndebele paintings, beadwork and Ndebele culture in general. However in Lesedi you can visit the villages of the Zulu, Bashoto, Xhosa and Pedi tribes. Very interesting to see the 5 tribes with their different languages, cultures, foods, clothing and way of living. All still very common here in South Africa. The country still has a very strong sense of their backgrounds and are really proud of their heritage. It is great to be welcomed by these wonderful, proud and vibrant people!

Dirk and the girls with some Zulu men.

A Pedi girl while performing a traditional dance, trying to get her feet as high as possible.

Oma and the girls with some Pedi men.

Juliet and Jasmine with Ndebele women.

Yesterday we went to Moyo Zoo Lake in Joburg, an African restaurant where African dancers perform while you eat in the magnificent gardens of the restaurant in a beautiful area of Joburg. Guests are welcomed with a traditional face painting which the girls LOVE! We had a scrumptious lunch and had a wonderful time watching all the African performers. Playing their drums and dancing, moving and shaking their booties like only African girls can do ;-)

And tomorrow we are going to Soweto, the biggest township in South Africa where we will visit the Nelson Mandela Bridge, the Hector Pieterson Museum, the Regina Mundi Church, Freedom Square, the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital , the largest hospital in the world and the Mandela House Museum. But we also will visit the Apartheid Museum and the Oppenheimer Tower.

A lot of things to see and learn in one day! More pictures and stories later!
Have a great Xmas break if you have one ;-)

Mireille

Xmas break...yeah!!

Today the first day of Xmas or Summer break for the American International School here in Joburg. And we planned to go to a play. With 6 moms and 15 kids, between the ages of 4-10 we went to Joburg to the National Children's theatre and saw Charlotte's Web.

Wilbur (Megan Reeks) jumps for joy while Templeton the Rat (Thorsten Wedekind), the old Sheep (Jai Sewram), Wilbur the Pig (Megan Reeks), the President (Alex Radnitz) and Goose (Rene Mabotha) look on with amazement.

It's a small theatre where the children can sit on the floor at the front while the parents can sit just behind them. Very small and intimate, but very fun! Well-loved stories, fantastic characters, beautiful sets and costumes come together to bring the magic of theatre to thousands of children from all socio-economic backgrounds. In 2004 the NCT reached over 3 million viewers during live performances and television appearances. The NCT is rooted in the belief that earlier experiences with the arts will have profoundly positive effects on the development of children and ultimately, their participation in the life of their communities.

Afterwards we went with the whole bunch for lunch and then when we came home the girls were ready for a swim. Since it is so hot here in Joburg!


Having these long breaks from school isn't always the easiest on the parents. The children get bored easily so you have to entertain these kids these days. It was a whole different ball game when we were kids. We just were sent outside and you weren't expected home till dinner. What a difference in upbringing it is these days!

Enjoy your Xmas break, winter or summer season!
Ciao, Mireille

International Week at school

So the girls had International week at school, and it was so much fun! On Wednesay they had to dress up in their traditional costume and walk in a parade. Each country was represented with their flag and all the kids walked behind their flag. On alphabetical order, can you imagine 72 countries were represented at this parade!!
It was amazing to see all these beautiful dressed up kids proud as can be walking and being cheered by all the parents and other visitors. It brought chills to my bone and tears in my eyes just to see it!!

Juliet's class

Jasmine's class

As you can see in these pictures there is hardly one kid from the same country, Juliet has 17 kids and Jasmine 16 kids in the class, almost all from different backgrounds. Isn't that just amazing??

The parade was held on the football fields of the school, with in the background the skyline of Johannesburg, a sunny day very clear sky, it was just amazing. As the headmaster said...truly a United Nations, we could take an example by these children. Working, playing together, no language barriers...at least if there is, they will work it out by just playing and being friends of each other...the language will follow! It is the greatest lesson in the world to just hang out here at school with all these precious children from so many different backgrounds and cultures, just being themselves and being proud of who they are. I just loved that parade of nations.


Then on Friday they had to represent their country by books, food, photo's of their traditional housing, artifacts from their home country. And then the 1st graders had to explain to the older kids in elementary school what their country was about. Show the older kids what kind of food they eat, what clothing they wear and what is so special about their country. The cutest speeches I heard....it is so great to see all the kids dressed up in their traditional dress standing behind a table with all the goodies from their country telling their fellow students what in our case THAILAND was all about. We of course could choose between Holland or Thailand to represent, since the girls have dual citizenship. But the outfit they had for Thailand is more princess like, so the choice was easy!! And they truly looked like little Thai princess's.
At the end of each presentation we could sample the yummy food each table had made. The Thai chicken sate with peanut sauce was a big hit...everybody loves Thai food, so the 50 chicken on a stick went quickly ;-)

But I enjoyed tasting all the new stuff, like the Korean, Russian, Tunesian food I hadn't had before. What a great idea this was and so well organised, it truly was an international event and experience! ....even for us, who already traveled so much, there are always new countries and cultures to discover. How fun!

Have a good day y'all! (click on the picture to see a bigger size)Mireille

Thai festival in Joburg

The Thailand Grand Festival took place on Zoo Lake, Joburg this weekend. We went there this morning, me and the girls. Since Dirk is in Switzerland this week at the headquarters of Hilti. The festival was huge, there was plenty of Thai cuisine, Thai handicrafts, Thai massage and spa, vegetable and fruit-carving demonstrations, ice sculpting, umbrella painting, Tuk-tuk rides, and so much more. The Thai embassy had set up this festival and just when we arrived this Thai dancing show started, the girls loved it! They couldn't get enough of it. At one moment it was already 1pm and I was hungry, but the girls didn't want to leave their spot in the front so we had to wait till the show was over to get some yummy Thai food.

Jezz and JJ in awe :-)



Jasmine and Juliet are very familiair with the Thai culture, we talk quite a bit about their motherland and I want them to be proud of their heritage.
September is also the month that they celebrate International day at school, so the girls will be wearing and talking about Thailand, so this was a nice freshen up course ;-)
We spoke some Thai to the people wo were running stands and the girls got some gifts from ladies who loved the fact that there were some cute Thai girls living in SA!

Nice to get a dose of Thai once in a while, everywhere we go we meet the most loveliest people from Thailand, and it reminds me how great the country and people are!
There is this expression in Thai: 'Thai rak Thai' which means Thai love Thai...well in our household it is:
'Dutch rak Thai'

the movers are here!

Our house is full of boxes, tape, unpacked suitcases, stacks of clothing that has to be either packed in the container or for our 8 weeks that we are without our stuff.
It is hectic, messy and I don't know where to begin. This is the part that isn't that great! I can tell you, we've done it before, but it seems that we get more stuff every time. And you know what...it doesn't only seem, it is the truth!! We have more stuff every time we move, especially now with 2 children who have a room full of stuff.

And the next coming 8 weeks we are living out of 8 suitcases, and you know what? That goes fine. I've done it before; living without my stuff for over 1 year, and I did just fine. So why are we collecting all this stuff? Can you tell me, why do we think we need all this stuff to make us happy?

At the moment we don't have a TV anymore, only 1 car, and the computer will be out of here tomorrow as well...it is getting critical now. Because if I think of 1 thing that I will miss the most; that is my computer. How did people live 10 or 20 years ago, with no computer??

Tonight is the last night we are sleeping here in our house, 2 more nights in a hotel nearby and then we are off to Holland (who is winning at EK soccer big time!!..YEAH!) for a 2 week vacation. Then one more week in France and then we fly to Joburg.

Have a good week y'all, tomorrow is my last entry for a while...
ciao, Mireille