Meet Our Son - Luka Dario Tinhiko van Herksen

Okay, so our journey to parenthood has been a bit of a whirlwind. We became parents on Friday and we are still in a bit of daze. But we wanted to share pictures of our little guy with the world. As soon as I get my bearings I will tell you the entire story of how we met our son - Luka Dario Tinhiko van Herksen. Dario was his name in the orphanage and Tinhiko means "gift" in the local language here in Maputo. He is 8 months...a tiny little guy for 8 months, but watch his grow after a couple months of love, attention and lots of FOOD!

Check back later for more info on our son...we need to take a nap now. I know they told us we would get less sleep, but no one said anything about NO sleep.

For now you can see more pictures here.

What is Kupfula?

Most of you know that photography is a hobby of mine, well now I can share my "hobby" with all of you. A couple of weeks ago I told you that I was part of a group of individuals that had formed a photography club - Kupfula Photography. Well, after a little organization we have created a website to share with the world. Be sure to visit www.kupfula.com and let us know what you think. Our remaining exhibition photos are online for viewing and they are also for SALE. The money collected from these prints will go to charity organizations here in Maputo. At our recent exhibition we raised over $2,000 USD for a local orphange. I hope you enjoy the photos and welcome any comments.

Halloween in Maputo

It is not quite Halloween yet, but the festivities in Maputo started last night. Okay, so there won't be a lot of festivities. Halloween is basically an American holiday. No one around here really gets into it...including my husband as you can tell from the photo. But I LOVE Halloween. Ever since I was little my mom would always dress us up in these fabulous costumes...so I guess that tradition has stayed with me. Well, this year I didn't have any costume shops to go to so I had to get creative. I hope you can figure out from the photo above that I went as Carrie.

Luckily the US Marines hosted a party last night and my fellow Americans were into the Halloween spirit. Click here to see some of the costumes from the party. You will notice from the photos that JJ was feeling a little left out and as the night progressed he started taking pieces of other people's costume and morphed into the "Flying Dutchman." Happy Halloween!

My First Exhibition

I am a member of the Kupfula Photography Club and we have our very first exhibition in two weeks. This is all very exciting for me since it is the very first time my hobby has been displayed for everyone to see. I hope people like the photos and we raise money for the local orphanage that we have selected as our charity. For all of us in the group....i think....it is our first exhibition. Wish us luck. I hope you can make it if you are in Maputo.

My the way...kupfula means "aperture" in the local dialect here in Maputo.

Our House Guests

I guess you can't really call it babysitting...they aren't really babies. Celine & Michelle stayed over this weekend and we had a blast. On Friday the girls went to lunch, Michelle (the small one) had her own pizza and Celine and I shared. Then it was home for manicures, pedicures and a make-over session. JJ is sorry he missed that. On Saturday we were awaken at 7 am...seriously did I wake up that early when I was little? What could possibly be fun about waking up that early? But we were up and had breakfast. By the time it was noon I felt like it was 6 pm. I guess that is why their bedtimes are earlier. We really enjoyed our time with them...now we take a nap.

Our Holiday Weekend in Maputo

This weekend started off with a holiday on Friday...Signing of the Lusaka Agreement a.k.a. Dia da Victoria....peace agreement between Portugal and Mozambique to end the Mozambican War of Independence. School was closed and I was OFF. I mean really off...no checking emails...no going into the office to catch up.

I was especially looking forward to this long weekend to get acquainted with my new friend - Mr. Nikon D80. He is a little complex and I needed some time off to figure out what all the buttons are for.

On Friday JJ and I started off the day by sleeping in. We woke up and went for "lunch" at the local coffee shop that has real bagels! Who knew I could get so excited over bagels...but Cafe Sol just opened a couple of months ago and it has been such a treat to be able to order a latte and a bagel....yummy! This is the first coffee shop of its kind in Maputo. The rest of the day was spent driving around and lounging at home.

On Saturday we went for a walk in the city & market with our friends Dan & Danielle. Then for lunch at a new restaurant on the waterfront - Zambi. Later JJ and I walked over to the Holiday Inn and the beach...the Holiday Inn in Maputo is the best hotel in town. A four star Holiday Inn...not like back home. Saturday night we had dinner at the local Brazilian steak house - ALL you can eat picana!

On Sunday we headed out of the city to visit our friend's banana farm. Lance & Maria Laura started this banana farm less than 2 years ago...what an operation! It is amazing to see how it all works from start to finish. Did you know that a banana tree only produces ONE bunch of bananas per year? I didn't. A whole year....needless to say they have a lot of banana trees.

They invited a bunch of us (friends from the Latin Group and families) over for a BBQ as well. Maria Laura is from Argentina and a friend of mine through the Latin Group...I love to hear her speak Spanish it sounds so much nicer than my Cuban talk! We had many Spanish conversations going on at the BBQ (Mexico, Miami (Cuba), Argentina & Paraguay). I never thought my Spanish would improve so much by moving to Africa...go figure.

You can see the photos I took from our day on the banana farm and pictures of all the kids that were there. There were some very cute children....and TRIPLETS! Yes, my friend Charis from Argentina has 7-month old triplets. I don't know how she does it.

Well, our holiday weekend is over now and it is back to work tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Dad

Today is my father's 55th Birthday...please join me in wishing him a very Happy Birthday. Papi, I miss you so much...please accept this online birthday wish from Mozambique. Hopefully JJ and I will be in Miami soon! Felicidades.

Happy Birthday, Feliz Cumpleanos & Eku Ojobi to Maxwell

Here are some pictures from Maxwell's First Birthday Party. Isn't he handsome? It is hard to believe that a year has passed since he was born. I will never forget that day! Monica and Wole gave me the best present ever - allowing me to be there when Maxwell was born. It was such an amazing experience...one that I will not even attempt to put into words...but one that I will never forget. It was the perfect day.

Not only was it Maxwell's Birthday, but JJ arrived in Miami and we were reunited after months of being long distance newlyweds. I wasn't able to greet him at the airport like a proper wife, but I had a job to do at the hospital.

Maxwell, I am sorry that I can't be there with you today...but I do get to see you almost every day on Skype. Good thing you are at abuela's house during the day and with the six hour difference we get to chat all the time. I think you will be a Skype expert by age 3 and be able to call me on your own. All ready last week, you learned how to hold the phone on your own and I think you know now that the crazy lady on the monitor is your Tia Melissa.

I hope you know that your uncle JJ and I think about you all the time and love you very much. We want to wish you a very Happy Birthday on your special day. Don't eat too much cake!

2,190 Kisses & Counting

It was three years ago today...July 15, 2004 that JJ kissed me for the first time. We are not really sure who kissed who first...but we are sure on the date. So that makes about 2,190 kisses when you average about two kisses per day. But being an optimist, I hope it is a lot more than that...we will stick to 2,190 for mathematical purposes!

Do you know how many times you have kissed your sweetie? Most of you are trying to figure it out right now...aren't you. But maybe you don't remember the date. I have my parents to thank for the "Kissing Anniversary."

Growing up every May 30th was a kissing celebration at my house. My father always got my mom a "First Kiss Anniversary" present & card calculating the number of kisses they had shared. My parents are a little romantic to say the least. Now after 34 years they still celebrate it. Let's see that means that my mom and dad have kissed a minimum of 24,820 times! That is a whole lot of kissing...

So that is the story on the anniversary we celebrate today. Remember to kiss someone special today!

Another letter from Maxwell...

This letter from Maxwell is a little dated. He actually wrote it to me on March 6, 2007, but I never got to share it with the blog. His letters are always so entertaining. Although he is getting older I think he still gets a lot of help from his grandpa (my dad). Since he wrote the letter he has learned to walk and this month he will turn one year old! Boy, how time flies.

Enjoy the letter and I hope I get another one soon:

Dear Auntie and Godmother Melissa:

I have not seeing in a while, so I suppose you have gone back to Maputo with the tall blonde guy. You were only here a few weeks, but I remembered you right away, because you look beautiful, a lot like my mommy. The thing I didn’t remember is how loving and caring you are with me. You are going to be a great mom one day. You have the ability to be patient, loving and caring. You are the only member of my family that does not mind changing my poopoo diapers!

I know I will see you soon. Don’t worry...even if I'm growing real fast according to the experts, I will never forget you and I will keep track of you thru Skype so I can see your pretty face and JJ's big head too.

I was crawling when you were here, but now I'm so fast that nobody can catch me. I like crawling better than walking. Walking is too hard, I don’t think I'm going to be able to master it in 5 months, like they said. I have no idea how to stand, unless I grab something or someone grabs me. Walking is not really a big deal. Crawling is better. I can go faster, I can get under the furniture and see how dirty it is under the sofa. The only adults that like to crawl with me are mom, dad and grandpa.

Grandpa looks funny when he crawls, I'm a lot faster than him, but he grabs my legs when I get to far ahead. He has a very hard time getting up, so I told him to stay down like me, but he apparently didn’t know what I was saying and got up.

I got a new swing at grandpa and grandma's house. When they put me in the swing for the first time, they hook the seat belt and THEY LEFT ME ALONE AND THEY PUSHED ME. It really got me by surprise, I didn’t know I was supposed to be alone on the freaking flying chair. I panicked and started crying and grandpa took me away...thank goodness! I heard they were going to try it again next time I'm at grandpa's house. I want to see someone sitting with me at the same time. It was really high and fast, even for a smart baby like me.

Well enough for now....I missed you, but I know you are thinking about me. Tell JJ I love him too. He is not handsome like Dad, but I guess he is lucky enough to be married to the second prettiest woman in the planet (after my mommy). Don’t tell any of the grandmas this because I tell them all the time they are the prettiest one!

Love,

Maxwell

Cape Town...add it to your LIST

Quick...get a pencil....write this down..."I need to go to Cape Town, South Africa some time in my life!"

We just returned from an entire week of total relaxation. I have never really had one of those vacations....you know those vacations where you don't have any plans or expectations, did I mention plans. For those of you who know me, you know that I am BIG on planning. But for this getaway I left my Lonely Planet at home. (I must confess it wasn't on purpose, but thank goodness I did).

JJ and I were due some R&R and we couldn't really go far, but my husband managed to surprise me with two direct tickets to Cape Town...I love my hubby! Well not only did he book the flights, but he reserved a room at the Cape Heritage Hotel. Trust me if you ever make it to this town, there is no place you would rather stay. They make you feel like you are the only guests at the hotel....this is in addition to the wonderful beds, gorgeous rooms. Did I mention they put rose petals and champagne in the room! Okay, I will stop making you jealous. Oh, they even sang for us when we left...yes, that sounds a little kooky...but it was cute...you had to be there. And don't think it is really expensive...what a bargain!

Well, back to Cape Town. With no plans, we explored the city and its surroundings. There were some incredible drives along the coast, walking in the clouds, hanging out with penguins on the beach, visiting Cape Point and looking towards the South Pole, catching HAIR the musical, whale watching of the coast (we really didn't see any whales), delicious restaurants and so much more. You can see photos of all of these things by clicking here.

So yes, I survived a week without any plans and it felt great! This "no planning" thing is starting to grow on me. I haven't made ONE list since I got back from Cape Town (a grocery list doesn't count, right?).

I will probably go back to making lists as soon as my vacation high wears off. It can't last forever. Just make sure that you don't forget to put Cape Town on your LIST.

32 and counting...

Yesterday I turned 32! Thank you to all of you that sent birthday wishes. A special thank you to Nina and company for the wonderful Pancake Birthday Breakfast. That was the first birthday breakfast party I attended, but what a great idea! For those of you that are not in Maputo, a pancake breakfast is hard to come by, so it was a very special treat to have my own pancake breakfast.

JJ spent the day spoiling me yesterday. It was the perfect quiet birthday! Thanks baby.

For pictures of the Pancake Breakfast click here.

Now back to reality...I am late for work.

So Much to Say...So Little Time

I really don't know where my time goes. I have been a really bad blogger lately. But the good news is that the summer (well winter here) is around the corner and I will have a couple of months of VACATION....finally. This is supposed to be the dairy of a Diplomat's wife...but lately I am a workaholic. But I am looking forward to a summer...there I go again saying summer. I can't get used to it being winter in May...what is up with that.

Anyway, I am looking forward to a SUMMER of rest and adventure. There is so much to do here in Mozambique, but JJ and I work so much we don't really have time to explore!

Back to the summer thing...it is so strange. This will be the first time I celebrate my birthday in WINTER. That is so strange. Actually this week has been full of firsts:

1. First time I was so cold a May morning that I had to go back upstairs for a jacket.

2. First time I was face to face with a card-holding Communist leader. The Cuban Ambassador came to speak to our 11th grade History class this week. It was very freaky for me to listen to her speak and go on and on about Fidel and how great things are in Cuba. Just to see how proud she was to be a communist was strange. I mean I am from Miami, where being called a communist is the worst thing you can call someone. It was confusing...her Cuban accent was somewhat comforting (I miss it) but the things that she was saying was just blowing me away. My family left Cuba for good reasons, so obviously I don't agree with most (anything) she was saying. But imagine she grew up her entire life in Castro's government....for her there is no other way of life. And then there is me...who grew up in a capitalist and FREE society. We are world's apart. I am still trying to digest everything that was said. But she did end her talk inviting the students and the director on an educational trip to Cuba. She asked if I wanted to go? Can you imagine: "Si Mami y Papi...me voy a Cuba y Fidel me esta pagando el ticket." Ha ha ha. Sorry I just have to laugh. No, I won't be going to Cuba anytime soon...but I have to figure out what I do about the dinner invitation for congri....do you know how much I love congri!

3. This week also marks the first time I am alone in Maputo :( JJ left to Holland for a training, but the good news is that the 10 days are almost over. He is back on Sunday!

4. This weekend will be the first time I build a traditional African house. Tomorrow I wake up a 6 am and go with a group of kids from school to build homes with Habitat for Humanity. Will talk more about that later.

Okay, now that i have rambled for a bit I really should get ready for a party. Today is the 10th Anniversary of Maputo's Latin Club...whew hoo!

Promise to be a better blogger in the future.

PS At the top is just a random fun picture I took last week. Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there...but especially our moms...Isabel & Joke. We hope you take the time to celebrate today. Being a mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world...so pat yourself on the back and enjoy this special day just for you.

Hidden Treasures in Maputo

As most of you know I like to take photos. I am not a professional by any means, but once in a while...like about 1 in 100 pictures a nice photo emerges. That is what is great about digital cameras. You can take like 1,000 pictures and find those perfect 10 without spending one dime on developing. But to tell you the truth I kind of miss my film camera and the anticipation of developing the roll to see what you captured.

So back to the point of this blog...Yes, I like to take photos and I have been lucky enough to find two friends in Maputo that share my hobby. I say hobby because all three of us are learning as we go.

Today Juan, Paty and I decided to tour the city on a "Workshop de Fotos." You would be surprised at what we found walking around the city on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Maputo is full of hidden treasures. The picture above is mine, but I can't take all the credit. A couple of weeks ago Juan found these abandoned mannequins in a store window and thought they would be the perfect subjects. Gracias Juan...this was our first stop on the "tour." Click here to see some of my favorite photos from today. I will see if Juan and Paty have their photos ready and link them to here when they are done.

I hope you get to see a little bit of Maputo through my eyes today. Yes, there is poverty and sadness, but there is also hope and the people here have an AMAZING spirit. I am starting to really love my temporary hometown.

Happy Birthday Jan Jelle

Join me in saying Happy Birthday to JJ today...he officially turns 30!

Welcome to the club honey...I think that my thirties have been the best by far. Don't most of you agree. Well, except for a couple of minor things like my metabolism slowing down, gray hairs, etc. But you are a guy and don't have to worry about that stuff. Gray hair is sexy on men...women, don't you hate that!

Anyway, have a great day and enjoy this momentous birthday.

For those of you that are in Maputo, I hope you can make it to the party this Saturday. For those of you that are in lands far away...have a toast to JJ today.

Happy Easter

JJ and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Enjoy this wonderful season of new beginnings! And don't eat ALL the chocolate bunnies...

We just said goodbye to our first visitors. JJ's father and step mom (Jan Erik & Coby) came to visit us for a week in Mozambique. It was great to finally have family to show around. We went to Kruger National Park in South Africa to see wild animals. This time the highlights were the cheetahs and buffalo. The morning walk was also pretty cool, we didn't see any animals, but just the thought that we were waking in the bush and could come face to face with a lion at any minute was very exciting. I am sure that our armed guides would have protected us, but between you and me I am kind of happy we didn't meet up with any lions.

We also took a boat ride to Inhaca - an island about 2 hours off Maputo's coastline. Okay, so there weren't the beautiful beaches they talk about in all the guide books about Mozambique. But it was pretty and very relaxing. We finished off the week with a tour of Maputo. It was a nice change of pace to show off our new "hometown" and really appreciate all it has to offer. It made me realize how lucky we are to live in a place like this and be able to truly enjoy everything that life has given us.

Just to make you jealous and hopefully entice our other family members and friends to come visit I have posted pictures from the week to our Photo Album. Enjoy!

Thank you Jan Erik and Coby for being our 1st guests and we hope you made it back safe and sound to Holland.

The Americans Blow Up The Four Seasons in Maputo

April Fool's, okay so the building did go down and it was the Americans, but it was an IMPLOSION, not an EXPLOSION. Gotcha....here is the real
story.

Yesterday was BIG NEWS in Maputo. The Four Seasons building was imploded. Most of you reading this might think...what it the big deal so they took down a building. Well, let me tell you....everyone in Maputo was up at the crack of dawn to see that baby go down.

I am not sure when The Four Seasons was built (sometime in the 1970's). It was actually never finished and The Four Seasons never actually used the building, but that is what everyone called it. It was built while the Portuguese still ran Mozambique, but when Mozambique gained its independance and the Portuguese left Mozambique so did the construction workers and the building was never finished. And just to make sure that no one could use the building concrete was poured down the elevator shafts and throughout other shafts to make the building obsolete. Isn't that nice....

After MANY years of just being a monument...Ode to the Four Seasons Hotel that would have been there...it was taken down. Guess by who...The Americans blew up the building..well sort of. The US bought the land and it will be the future site of the US Embassy and USAID offices.

For your amusement check out the photos and videos we took at our "Implosion Breakfast." Yes, we attended a breakfast for the event. Come on...its Maputo. Click here for PHOTOS and VIDEOS.

Email Forwards

Like probably many of you, I recieve many email forwards on a daily basis. Most of the time I read the subject line and either hit delete or decide to open it and succumb to my curiosity. To tell you the truth most of the time I hit the delete button.

But once in a while, after you have gone through all the dirty jokes, chain letter, emails from Bill Gates telling you he has money for you and then requests from people for your personal informaiton becuase they have a business deal you just can't pass up.....after you deleted all those emails you get one email that was worth it.

This happened to me the other day....my friend Paty sent me an email that I thought I would share with you. The funny thing is that I had actually deleted it and she kept asking me if I opened the email...I wasn't sure what email she meant, but she resent it. Gracias Paty!

I won't say much about it, just that it gives you great advice on life and it was truly refreshing and inspiring to watch. It was GREAT. CLICK HERE

Have a great day.

A Deadly Explosion in Maputo

Last Thursday started off like a normal day. JJ and I went to work. At about 4:30 pm the Science Fair at the American International School was underway. The event was busy and the kids seemed to be excited about showing off their science experiments. I was handing out programs to the parents and celebrating some of the kid's inventions and experiments. There was a dog feeder, ant farm, rocket launcher and much more. We were outside and started hearing noises that resembled thunder and you could feel the ground slightly shaking. We were not really sure what was going on. Then it happened....a huge explosion that you could see clearly in the air! I had NEVER experienced anything like that my entire life. It was like a scene from a movie. The sky over the explosion turned pink and shades of orange followed by a cloud of smoke.

We all panicked. Some of the kids started to cry. I was so perplexed. I immediately called JJ to see if he knew what had just happened. He told me that he had heard that the Mozambican military had planned to "clean out" their armory and were getting rid of old weapons. Okay, that could be the case. It could be a controlled explosion...

Well, the Science Fair quickly ended and I went home. As JJ and I got home we heard another strong explosion. Our building shook and I thought that our windows were going to break. We don't have a local TV channel at home so we started listening to the radio. All sorts of rumors were stirring, but it was clear that Maputo was in a panic.

As I sat at home, I thought....could someone have hit Maputo with a bomb. I thought...oh, no...they have bombed the US Embassy. Just as I thought that, we heard (well thought we heard) that the USAID building had collapsed, been hit or something. We still didn't know what to make of it.

We knew that most of the blasts were coming from the direction of the armory and we knew that Elizabeth - our "empregagda" - lived nearby. We called her and could not get through. Finally we were able to talk and she told us that part of her roof had come off and some windows had shattered, but she and her family were okay.

The next morning we woke up and we heard the real story. For some unexplainded reason (maybe heat, maybe poor maintenance) the Mozambican arms depot had started to explode and shoot off some of its weapons. 93 people had been killed. We couldn't believe it. How could this happen? Check out CNN.com for stories and pictures - Click here.

Can you imagine sitting at home watching TV and a bomb lands in your house? That is exactly what happened to many people. There was a house where all 13 family members died. The picture above shows that house, where a bomb landed and killed everyone. JJ went out with co-workers from the embassy to assess the damage and was able to take some pictures.

Well, it has been almost one week since the incident and life in Maputo has gone back to normal...normal for some of us. But many people were affected, not only with damage to thier house, but hundreds of people were hurt and many people are having to deal with the consequences of severed limbs or other terrible injuries.

This was a stupid accident, something that should have been taken care of when a similar, but smaller incident occured in January of this year. This is what happens when you have a very young country just learning how to run the government and with limited resources. Remember the Mozambican government has only been in existence a little over 25 years.

Check out www.cnn.com for more information.