BACK IN SOUTH AFRICA...

You know when you've been in a place too long and you start calling it "a hole", and you start making plans to get out??? Well as soon as my plans fell into place...was the very turning point I realized Grahamstown had become my new home town...and I no longer thought it was a hole but rather couldnt imagine living anywhere else when I returned to South Africa.

So here I am. 
I live in a beautiful home
I have 2 magnificent, gorgeous, intelligent..flippen naughty (as she pulls the computer cord out) German Shepherds named Indiana and Blue.
I belong to a gym and spinning (cycling) at Rhodes University
I teach at Kuyasa..a very special "Special Needs School" and finish work at 2:30 everyday.
Getting my golf clubs soon, and starting golf lessons in Port Elizabeth whenever I can.
and I'm slowly making a great bunch of friends.
and then there's the boyfriend...but I'll have to do a seperate post about that later...when I have a good way of summing it all up. :)

so since I've been back =

My Classroom before

setting up

 Birthday Chart

 Kiddies Autumn Trees

Learning to make their own sarmies

watching Andy and David's rugby (Sean's nephews)

***

 Blue going nuts when we leave her home alone (this is not an inside couch)

 they both got big hidings and were put out...shame :(

***

 Port Alfred Round Table 40th Birthday Winter Dance

Julie and Roy

 Heather and Fast Fred

 Uncle John

***

Spending time with the dogs.  Going for walks up Mountain Drive, chasing kieviets on the golf course, going to the beach and messing around at home.

Blue (Bloepie) is the swimmer.  Indi still avoids it at all costs but you'll often find

Blue chilling on the steps like this :)

 The sunny spot

 Mommies boy...me and my bestie!

***

Fergus Patrick Mullin's Christening

My brother Gareth and his wife Sanette's first baby...and lucky for me they live

just 1h30min away.

Hanging on for dear life.

 It was this fathers final and last Christening he would do in his career.

 urrrgggg this stupid photo wont rotate.

with the christening koek which was gareth and sanette's wedding cake!

 Me and the little guy.

I wore heels this day....every single family member had to point it out.  Proof that

I am never seen in heels thus its such an unusual thing for them.  and I look like

a giraffe!

St Paddy's In Korea

Was quite surprised at how seriously Korean pub's take St Paddy's day.  Every single one had something Irish to offer.  We all started out with predrinks at Danielle (Welsh girl)'s apartment which is HUGE, then we trekked on to Royal Anchor, where the trusty Mr Kim had our free drinks lined up for us ALL night (because he loves South Africans).  Mr. Kim also said if I brought a poster of myself he would replace it with the one of Freddie Mercury that he had up!

Back to St. Paddy's....

...

Guiness...with Clarissa British Philipino, and Andrea from PE

Dani, Paddy and I doing some Irish dancing

K K Korea -

A favourite: "Love Locks" at a pier in Ilsan

You make a promise, engrave your initials on a lock and lock it onto this stainless steel rail.

This is Dana, from Georgia USA...lovely lovely girl, already booked her trip to South Africa next year to visit me!

The "rugby playing nations"..from Left - Alex-Ander from New Zealand, Stuart from England, Me from South Africa and Danielle from Wales.  made a lekka bunch

This is Cory...umm, this was first and last photo taken with him. I cant explain it, he is 24, a qualified minister and meditates in public places like bars and clubs..and hangs out till 4am not saying a word or touching a drink...just sits there and...stares!

This is Shannon, if you think we racist..jirrr, this one...she has a "blacks only" group in Korea that do things together.  She is very sensitive and you gotta watch what you say around her.  I said if you go missing for more than 12 hours in South Africa consider youself raped or murdered (she was missing for 8hours in Korea and got upset with us for calling the cops) so she said "what you trying to say ? that all blacks are rapist/murderers!"...i preceded to sing John Denver's country road to her. I do these things in tense moments.

This Joseph, the hippie from Colorado, we shared some stories, and his mother died when he was only 14years old, from cervical cancer.  He has an amazing aura and calmness to him.

Dani the crazy welsh girl...Paddy the crazy Irishman...celebrating St Paddy's in Korea...till 6am!

 

The war of the umbrella's on a rainy day, love how they have little umbrella holders at the door of each shop, in the shape of an upside down umbrella. 

I have mostly Irish friends here in Korea.  This foreigner bar "Benchwarmers" just happened to have these two flags together...on the night I was with the Irish lads...Pete and Garry:

Pete and Garry wiping their "arses" with MY flag! silly bunch but oh so much fun!

This particular night, we ended up at a Korean BBQ at 6/7am (they just cant stop this lot)

These are my favourite students.  The rest were a nightmare..hell I got stabbed with a pencil.  Thought that only happens in South Africa?...think again.

They made me headband from the rubber of a deflated balloon.

This is my kindergarten class I only see once a week...makes that the best day of the week.

Some of the work my students produce:

This one drew a heart with my name and the American guy who teaches at the school and a flippen "umbilical" cord to a baby.  See what I mean when I say these children are WACK

My Best Friend

Now I truely understand the expression "A mans best friend"

. - Indiana aka best dog on earth

Words cannot describe what this dog means to me...and I miss him

A Few Too Many Good Memories

Talia, Me and Vicky - Graduation 2011

 Digs Formal - Fantasy Halloween-2010

Vicky-corps bride *Lexi-50's pin up *Kate-devilish *Me-cowgirl (of course) *Kirsten-french maid *Talia-policewoman.

 Lexi, Me, Jen - "Dress to get bat" 2011

There's a big party the Bunker (a guys only digs) hosts every year

called "Dress to get laid". 2011 Milner Mansion hosted one in return called "Dress to get bat"

 The guys made an effort for "dress to get bat"

Tim October (Rocktober), Jono Bell (Bell), Jono Hatting and Jake the snake!

Oh lordy...Katie (skattie) Wilter's 21st - something mental

 Lyndall, Kirsty, Me at our digs COWBOYS party!

(damn I loved this theme)

 PGCE camp to Hogsback...

Here we just made up our own theme, Barry strung some guitar, the rest of us sang like our lives

depended on it, and Donovan (the guy on the left) stage dived onto a matress and split his chin!

The next day we had to go on a 8hour hike up the mountain at 6am...i faked an ankle injury 2hours into the hike!

 Talia's 21st - ABC (anything but clothes) black plastic bags, tinfoil, newspaper, chips packets etc

we owned that bar counter that night (and every other night we ended up in Pirates pizza&pub)

Talia and I at Lexi's LUMO paint birthday party..

jissis everything had lumo on it and in it the next day!

crackling, vodka orange juice, RedBull, top with name on it,

outrageous pants, gumboots = good to go BOAT RACES 2010

 Soccer World Cup 2010 - South Africa...the "gees" we had is indescribable

Talia and myself painted the SA flag on our stomachs, bottoms, faces...

and we'd end up dancing around my car in the street to Miriam Makeba's "Pata Pata"

 Tri-Varsity 2004...spot me?...I had a stiff arm for about a week

(drinking out of a 2L bottle the whole weekend)

 80's ...I dont even know what they wore in the 80's but I am still remembered by many from that night as the girl who wore the purple zebra tights. (and slept on a squash court)

True to my outfit, I was the last person on the

dancefloor at 5am!

 Rugby World Cupe 2007 - Kirsty and I at "De Taphuis".

I remeber everybody running outside to celebrate and a cop van drove past,..about 100

drunk Rhodes students climbed onto that cop-van ..and the cops carried on driving

downt the street hooting and celebrating with us!

Another COWBOY party...Talia and I somehow managed to steal a bail of hay,

propped it into the back seat of the car and pumped country music as we

drove down the streets...:/