SPA PAMPER DAY!

What a successful day, Serenod, had this past Saturday. Serenod, ( Serenity & Odossey) being the name we gave to a group of us, who enjoy getting together to share a likeness of meditation, giving Reiki workshops, watching enlightened movies or just chatting about what we could do to enhance our lives and the lives of others staying in Kinshasa. We then decided to do a Spa Pamper Day, as there are a lot of women ( and men), that enjoy being pampered, and there are lots of therapists ( locals alike), who can advertise themselves by a way of offering Mini-Treatments.

This afternoon event, brought about 50+ people, who enjoyed recieving free Reiki Treatments, free massage from myself and Vivianne and also facials, manicures, pedicures and Reflexology at a minimal fee.

After a very exhausting but enjoyable day, I felt that there was a definite necessity for more of these organised events. On Thursday afternoon, Serenod, is having our own Pamper Day, to regenerate ourselves, and over lunch we will discuss opportunities for 2009! As well as at least one of our very own Holisitic Festivals! Watch this space......

Sickly Season!

After my Mom left on Monday morning, I felt really bad as she boarded the plane, feeling ill since last week. She kept a brave face, and try to enjoy her last few days with us. I booked the doctor to come see Torden, as he has also had a very bad cough. This time of year calls for many germs and with the high humidity and rainy season in full swing, Malaria, the dreaded disease is also making another appearance. With Paul and Torden being so sick last year this time, we try to take all precautions but it's never good enough. At the moment, I have another friend, with her son of 6 years, being treated in Johannesburg for Malaria, and a few kids at the school also down with it. The good thing is that we have the medication available to treat it, but many children die every year here in the Congo, without adequate treatment. I know I've mentioned this topic before, so sorry if I bore you.
We as a family take the following precautions;

1. We always use a mosquito net while sleeping at night. We have one shaped like a dome tent with 2 zips on either side. The other ones also work, but you need to close it with a peg, so it doesn't flap open while sleeping.
2. We don't use prophylactics, as longterm use can damage the liver or other vital organs. It also doesn't show a proper diagnosis when having tests done for malaria, as it hides it. ( That's what happened to Paul, as he caught it while he was on Mefliam)
3. We use Tabbard, mostly the stick form, as it's supposedly the strongest ( more DEET).
4. That is our perfume for our evening when we go out, or outside. The spray is useful, but a tip from my husband, "don't use it in the house, or in the car, like I stupidly do, " I say " at least if I spray on my legs, while in the car, the car gets a free spray" About cars, there are loads of Mosquitoes in the car, don't ask me how they get inside.
5. We try to wear long sleeved clothing and pants with socks, ha ha, in this heat, but cotton is bearable!

And that is how we keep those darn things at bay!

Any other suggestions?

TIME!

With my Mom being here, I try to point out all the things that really irritate me in the Congo. As she goes along with me everyday, and I do what I usually do, my viewpoint is strongly enforced. It's only because I know she makes comparisons. Today we decided to do a little trip, so that we could return before the Boks play Scotland on the telly. We went to a place called, Jardine d'Eden, which is about 20minutes past the airport. I saw this place advertised on a huge billboard on the boulevard, and remember a guy showed me pics, a while back, when we were still staying at the hotel, when we first arrived. I didn't expect much, and it wasn't much, except that you could sit on the river's edge and have an ice cold soda or beer. They serve lunch, but it was exceptionally hot today(37degC), so we never bothered. I was glad we never, as on our way back to the car, we found 3 lonely monkeys in a cage not far from our car. Just while we were looking at the cages, this guy brought over this black pig, with it's feet all tied up and just plonked him over a wall, we knew he would be attended to later on. I felt a lump forming in my throat, and I knew that this would be hard to explain to a four year old. Oh Paul, why did you mention the D word in the car? Luckily Torden didn't need too much convincing that the pig would be saved.
Question: Would you return to this place one day?
Answer: Yes, but not in a hurry.
Question: Is it a trip you could do in one full day or half a day?
Answer: Definitely takes up a half a day.
Question: Would you come back for lunch?
Answer: Yes, they serve all the fish from the river
Question: Are there activities for kids?
Answer: Not really, there is one play ground, and they can go on a 5min boat ride.

I invite all interested parties, to contact me, to organise a group get together on a Saturday morning next year, 2009!

Out with the old, and in with the New!

I feel so good about starting afresh, that I decided to give our hallway and lounge a new lick of paint today, just in time to make me feel better, as I am celebrating my 38th Birthday tomorrow! Not that I'm feeling old, just knowing that turning 40 is so close, it's scary when you get close to another decade! Doing something special is also on my birthday wishlist. My Mom is still here, and that's also a birthday wish. Paul decided to take a day off, and we're going to do something nice tomorrow, like visit a Coffee shop or restaurant. Torden will be at school, he told me he will help me blow out my candles, and I will need all the help I can get with those candles! In the evening we will be having a couple of friends over for a drink! I also have some gifts to open, one from Paul that he bought on his last shopping trip. I now cause, I have been staring at that "Carrol Boyes" giftpack for the last month. One gift that my Mom brought up from my sister in Cape Town. What an awesome time I will have tomorrow morning! It will be great to feel spoilt, especially when you hardly get to shop for nice things up here. So here's to a new me .......

LIVING IT UP!

I'm not sure if it's because our lives are different, or if we see life differently?
We take partying seriously now, not that we never partied back home in SA. We were out almost every weekend, somehow we took our surroundings for granted, maybe we took our friends for granted, we had house parties, and socialised in restaurants, we saw our friends maybe twice a month, and then we did our own thing. There were always things to do.
On Saturday, there was a Beerfest a little out of town, and almost everyone I knew attended, we knew a lot of people, and although we were at different tables, we made sure that we mingled. It was lots of fun! We arrived to find some people dressed in full Bavarian wear. The live "Lumpen" Band was playing. We sat in rows of benches, just like they do at the Oktoberfest. Our South African friends from Vodacom, who were in Berlin in October, and couldn't get into any of the Oktoberfest's, decided to dress up make up for their loss at the Kinshasa one. The greatest benefit, was all the beer and soda was included, so some folk filled up their "free beer mugs" as much as they could possibly consume. Later after midnight, the party got a bit wilder, my dear friend, Christoph, decided to pour some beer onto my lap, well while he wasn't expecting it a little while later, I opted to get him back, by giving him a "bee shower"! This took me back to my days when I was in the travel industry, I had so much fun at all the functions we had to attend. One of those stood out, I had a little row with my good friend, Kelly, at the time, and she threw a little cocktail at me, well I retaliated with a bigger cocktail, and at the beginning of the evening, she was drenched. She never spoke to me after that for quite a number of years. We now are FaceBook friends. I was so young, and carefree, and we really knew how to party. That is exactly what this life reminds me of, remembering how to party?