7 quick takes...

1. Good afternoon! Sorry not sorry that I did not write this morning. I was busy with the girls, the house and my new Kindle. (But that last one is a secret because it’s obviously outrageously indulgent to read on a Monday morning while there is work to do.) But now I'm here to bore you with some stories from our week.
2. I’m feeling a little slow today, but that’s ok because it’s a national holiday. I actually didn’t realise this until yesterday. Many holidays here take me by surprise, but this one was extra unexpected. We already knew that holidays are a little flexible in order to make sure that people get all the holiday-days they deserve. If a national holiday falls in the weekend, the bank holiday will be celebrated on the following Monday. But today is a holiday because of Eid. Not because it is actually Eid, that was Friday. But Friday was already a holiday (Kamuzu day) so today is a holiday too. You still with me? Confusing… I know. It would be more exciting if Hartmut were free from work but he is pretty busy so it actually doesn't make a difference to us.
3. We had the most amazing weekend. I love any excuse to go on a little break, and this time the excuse was ‘mother’s day present.’ We went for a two night camping trip to a forest reserve called ‘Dzalanyama’. The place was recommended to us and normally I thoroughly research every potential  destination but this time around I didn’t. It was so nice to be surprised by a camp site right next to a rapidly flowing river in the middle of  a forest with an ethereal beauty. In the camp site was a sign that pointed in which direction we could find Neverland and Middle Earth and it really did feel like we were in a fairy tale forest.
4. We filled the weekend with hikes, bon fires, playing in the river (the girls, too cold for me) and hot chocolate and tea because the nights were actually pretty cool. The girls also really loved it and were very sad that we had to leave. ‘It would be nice if we could take this along, so that we could always have  it.’ Sophie said. Then she jumped up, got an empty jar and ran down to the river. She came back with the jar with rocks, sand, some small sticks and water. She proudly showed it to me. ‘So I can always remember this place!’ I noticed that the jar was only half full. ‘Don’t you want to fill it completely?’ I asked. Sophie shook her head in surprise. ‘It is full.  The top half is filled with the air from this forest because in the air is the smell.’ Now the jar, with stones, water and smells is standing next to her bed. I love this girl.
5. A few weeks ago I wrote about the movie that I made for Hartmut’s work but now that the movie is shared in the meeting that I created it for, I can also share it here. You find it below. It was so nice for me to get a better insight in where Hartmut works and I hope that it will also be interesting for you to get an idea of what he does.
6. The girls have been very entertained by a new puzzle. We have a whatsapp group with homeschool families and on this group people often offer books, games and other educational resources that their kids have outgrown. A few weeks ago, someboy offered six puzzles with different maps and that seemed like a perfect match for us. Sophie loves maps and Doris loves puzzles. Yesterday we picked them up and Doris could not wait to get home. As soon as we were done unpacking the car, she sat on the floor to start the first puzzle. I don’t have her patience but I love to see her do it.
7. Time to go. I still need to unpack the suitcase from yesterday and make food for tonight. And if possible, I would love to read a little more ;-) Oh, and I need to make a treasure hunt. This week we are hosting the Lilongwe-Homeschoolers group and I want to make a treasure hunt so that the kids can really enjoy their time here. Have a great week!