Manzini

After Namibia I travelled to Swaziland. It was so good to go back to Manzini after 5years.Not much have changed, especially not the warm and friendly spirit of the people whom I work with.
This time I did not stay in a hotel but in a Guest house nearby the airport. This is one of the most exquisite guest houses, beautiful, and the Butternut squash soup was nearly as good as my Edda’s.
What I valued most of my stay in Swaziland was to wake up to the sounds of running water, birds and most significantly, people talking to each other far away
When I met the young children with the big smiles on their faces, despite the life’s challenges, I felt so blessed!
Going to Africa is a tonic to my soul!

Namibia Land of the Brave

Namibia, Land of the Brave!
It has been a while since I last travelled  and I realized that I did not update my blog on my travels to Africa! I travelled to my motherland in August 2010 and it was absolutely wonderful to be home after a year. As I was on business I did not have much time to travel around in the country, but I was fortunate enough to spend time with my family after hours and part of the weekend.
After having travelled to so many countries I now look at my own country with a renewed interest and appreciation. Namibia is beautiful, a rare gem in the South Western Part of Africa. Her people are friendly, hardworking and very proud of their achievements.
The most memorable time spent home was the evening my husband and I spent out of the city on my brother’s farm. It was so peaceful with the sounds of animals far away in the dark night. I woke up refreshed and wished that I could stay longer.
My brother took us on a short sightseeing and I was in awe with the Springboks and other game on the farm. I will forever treasure this short visit to the farm, it was awesome.
The Namibian cuisine is something special, and it is not always possible to prepare it in Canada. What I love most is ‘Vars rugstring’...very difficult to explain, but I’ll try.It is the freshly cut spine of the goat, cooked just with onions and potatoes, salt, pepper and a dash of vinegar! Prepared by my mother made it more special, because she has a very special way of combining all the ingredients with her love into a perfect meal!

The best part was just sitting and listening to all the updates by my family. Cracking jokes and laughing a lot! But the cherry on the cake was when my brother-in-law introduced me to JagerBombs.Not sure if it is a Namibian invention or something he brought from his time in the USA, but it was a Bomb!
Family is very special, we do not always realize it, but the special times we have with each other should always be treasured and when we are far away from each other, the memories will make us strong. I am so thankful for a loving and caring family.