Greetings from Makuzi Beach in Malawi!

It's been a while since we last wrote on here...

We were back in Belfast for exactly 20 days... which was just enough time for Danielle's sister to eventually give birth to a beautiful baby girl, Sophia.  It also allowed us time to catch up with some of our friends and family before our next 3 months away in the wilderness of Africa.

We left Belfast on 20th September on an afternoon flight to London Heathrow and then, a few hours later, we boarded a flight to Addis Ababa.  By 6:30ish the nest morning we had landed in Ethiopia and then had a short 4 hour flight on to Lilongwi in Malawi.
The airport in Lilongwi was relatively simple, old and easy to pass through - one room and a runway!  A man called Sam was there to collect us and bring us into the city of Lilongwe itself to where Lara lived, and where we would be spending our first night.  Lara had only recently moved back to Lilongwi from Makuzi Beach so that her sons could go to a proper school for a few years.  Prior to this year they were home-schooled.

The drive itself was an eye-opener as there were so many people just walking... though it appeared that it wasn't to anywhere in particular!  There were the odd number of schools scattered here and there with hundreds of pupils just finishing for the day (around 1pm) which we initially thought was a bit early however they do start school at 7am.
When we arrived at Lara's we met her and then opted for a few hours sleep and a shower before dinner.

We woke to a very dusty and misty evening in what sounded like an alien city that we had only ever encountered via television and film.  Outside was the hum of insects, traffic and birds and cutting above all of this was the evening Call to Prayers for the Muslims at a nearby Mosque.  By 8pm we were back in bed and preparing for an early start and a long drive from Lilongwe to Makuzi the next morning.

Wednesday morning came all too quickly - again wakened by the hum of animals and just before 5am there was the Call to Prayers - which was a very pleasing way to rise... so we were more than ready for our 7.30am 4 hour car journey north.
During the next 4 hours we learnt a lot about driving on the roads in Malawi - which included the necessity to use your horns at least every 100 yards or so... not due to traffic (which we were surprised that we did have a traffic jam in Lilongwe - a place that as a city appears so sparse and undeveloped we couldn't see where everyone was possibly trying to get to) but due to the roads being regarded as public footpaths.  It became clear that forgetting your Drivers' License was a big No-No too as there were randomly placed Police check points scattered along our journey, though they did have extremely varying levels of security being applied depending on whether you knew the officers, had previously bribed the officers or just didn't mind being detained indefinitely at their leisure.

We soon arrived at Makuzi Beach and settled into our accommodation for the next 3 months, a three roomed abode which they kindly had put a double bed mattress into along with some cutlery and pots and pans.  An outside toilet and shower told us we were in the lap of luxury... but the shower doesn't work.

We have met some wonderfully accommodating people here so far... not least Richard and Lauren who are managing the nearby resort of Makuzi Beach Lodge - without them we would probably have packed our bags and returned home.

I will try to add more as soon as I can - though the internet is a separate problem in Malawi... at 115bps it is possibly the slowest connection I have experienced since the internet was first accessible to me.

I will leave you with the revelation that although Malawi is only 1 hour ahead of GMT, it seems to be 4 hours behind GMT - our day begins with the morning chorus (and a cockerel or three) at around 4.30am, which gives us some time to lie in bed and contemplate the day ahead (or to try and get back to sleep).  We walk to the school just after 6.30am for classes at 7 - and at present we finish teaching and are back home by 9am.  Lunch is ideally around 10.30am, dinner is started around 3 though normally eaten at 5pm just before bed at 6.30/7pm as it is completely dark outside by this point.  Not sure how we will last past 6pm when we get home to Belfast at Christmas!

All the best for now!

Back to work...

Danielle and I have settled into our new roles in Uclés as Dance and Music teachers respectively... and so far so good!

We had sort of hoped that it would have meant a little less work to do - but unfortunately it hasn't!

I've also had to explain to different classes how I lost my wedding ring at the beach in Hospitalet de l'Infant and that there are somethings you just cannot replace no matter how much money you have.  One of the teachers even thought I was bluffing!

I will have a few pics from the last wee holiday and from Uclés (which starts it's own Fiesta activities tonight and runs all weekend so we will have many sleepless nights ahead).

Cheers,

Colm

Long time no writing...

It has been a while since I have been able to get online to write on this blog... and to be honest I'm not sure there is much to add!

We finished our first month working for Forenex and thoroughly enjoyed it! The food was rubbish, it was so hot that it was difficult to sleep, lack of sleep made us stupid and Danielle nearly turned to drink to ease her stresses! lol! But the kids were great craic and we had a wonderful time meeting them and making some new friends amongst the other teachers.
And Danielle enjoyed it so much that she volunteered us to be available for another fortnight should we be needed! Doh!

We then stayed with one of the other teachers, Charley, and her husband for the weekend until we had to travel on the Med.  She isn't always up for having her photo taken.... though sometimes its hard to stop her...

So, we set off for a short holiday last week and joined up with Danielle's Mum, Charley-Louise and Pearse in Hospitalet de l'Infant... which is about 45 mins south of Tarragona.
The journey here has been something of a story too - the Spainish website for the trains won't work in English so we had to do it in Spanish... so we booked an overnight train to Tarragona from Madrid... all that was ok!  Then when we actually got the train, the Preferential cabin we got was from the 1960s, and smelt like it hadn't been cleaned since then either! We also had to share it with 4 others so the opportunity to sleep for 7 hours flew out the window!
To cut a long long journey short - after a really awful night's travelling I lost my treasured straw hat and when we got to Tarragona we had to wait for a further hour in the dull and cold street as Danielle's Mum had sent our lift to the Bus Station for some unknown reason.... but we're all ok and smiling now!!! 

Hospitalet isn't much to write about - its small, everything closes at siesta and its full of French, Germans and Spaniards... plus a handful of Brits and the 5 of us that are Irish.  Having said that, it has a summer programme of 'entertainment' (they seem to have used that in its loosest possible terms) which has at times been entertaining.  There was a night which was billed as Dancing with Mar Blava - which turned out to be two different schools of dance, one contemporary and the other Flamenco, at it was genuinely really good - especially the Flamenco!

They also have outdoor cinema once a week, but it was Avatar last week and this week its Invictus so we aren't going to bother with that.  Every so often something else pops up that keeps us amused at night - otherwise it is the beach from 12pm until around 8pm at night (except for me who has work to do!).

So... it's time I got back to said work.. no rest for the wicked!

C

Quick there's an internet connection - use it!

We haven't had internet access for just over a week - and all of the teachers have been going spare as we are about to enter our last week of teaching and need to arrange travel and accomodation for next weekend!

We've been having lots of fun too!

Last night we took part in a Terror Night organised for the kids - to pretty much scare the tripe out of them... and in the majority of cases it worked!

I had taken part in something similar in my first week of teaching but more teachers took part last night which made it a lot more fun!

Danielle and I also taught a wee Merengue class on Wednesday night for a laugh!

I've lots of emails to respond to - and photos to upload so I'll try and get on here again over the weekend to update you further on our antics!

Drrrring! Drrrrring! Back to school!

Danielle and I started back to school this week with us both teaching Elementary English to 8 - 11 year olds in an old monastery in Uclés.

Lots of Lesson Plans along with 5 hours of English per-day!

The food is well below standard, served on prison style metal trays (apparently that was actually the norm here in Spain up until the 00s started!), and the double windows and doors just magnify the sun and heat so we all spend much of the day dying! But otherwise it is a lovely place!

This is the corridor from our staff room to my classroom.

And this was my classroom at the start of the week - but now it has a load of pictures on the walls and across the middle of the room. 

The children had an exam today... which one described as 'isi' (easy) - but unfortunately the same child didn't do too well in the exam! Oops there! Wasn't that easy then! lol!

We did have a fantastic night on Wednesday when we watched the Semi-Final match between Germany and Spain.  I admitted that I really was convinced that Germany was going to wipe the floor with a slow and lathargic Spanish team.... but was extremely pleasantly surprised to watch them finally step into gear and also see almost 400 students (packed into a small corridor) go absolutely wild as Spain scored!

We will spend Sunday evening with them too - hopefully watching Spain win!

As you can see - its been non-stop and it just keeps going....

As you can see there have been a lot of '...and then..'s, and there are still more!
On the last Thursday of June we spent the day with the Masters Students, of the Vaughan Systems English Masters programme, as they led a tour of some of Madrid's key landmarks as part of a presentation assignment.  Although the Tutors were not really sure why Danielle and I would even want to be there, we seen it as a golden opportunity to learn about Madrid from some of its own residents - and another ingredient was that it was completely free! lol!

We then went for lunch with Lucas, Almu and Luis and had our first tasty Spanish food! It was great! 3 courses including drinks for 10 Euro!
It was in a small street just back from the famous Gran Via - and it was great!

We ended up turning a morning's walk around the city sights of Madrid into a day long event finishing in the Retiro park later that evening.

We went to El Rastro (the Sunday Market in Madrid) early a couple of Sundays ago! It was really interesting and there were so many antiques and collectables around.  If we had loads of money - and probably more importantly a place to put it all - then we could have bought a few things but we were very sensible!

We then went on around the southern area of central Madrid for a bit of a tour with Lucas.  The other girls are Isabel and Meg - both two Americans that were absolutely lovely to have spent time with and fingers cross we will see them again!
It was Meg's last day in the city.

We then went to Lucas' parents' house on the Saturday to watch the football - and Spain win again!  Lucas cooked a bit of food outside while Danielle and Isabel went for a swim!

On the Monday we headed off to the hills again - on the Madrid side - and we went walking for a few hours over.  Too much exercise!

It was Isabel's last day with us and it was a bit hard to really let her go! But she is  now off with some other tourists (mainly Oz and Yanks) to visit all the sights of Spain.

This pic was taken in Segovia - just on the other side of the hills north of Madrid.  It started out as a lovely warm day and then it turned nasty with a cool Lightening storm that kept me entertained for a hour or so!

This was taken as the wind had really picked up - one of the parasols was lifted right out of a café table and came flying down the street, tumbling as it went.  I quickly lept into action (mainly because everyone else just stood and watched as it headed closer and closer to some children and a woman with a pram) and I took a hold of it... then one of the staff from the café finally turned up as I was taking it down and therefore I left it to him.  Another day of service to the world....

Its been a while!

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Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

In order to try and catch up on this blog I'll try and post a few pics to explain whats been happening!

This pic is a photo on our way into Toledo during our first Saturday between the Valdelavilla weeks - so it was some time ago now!
It was quite a pretty town - very old and with lots of different influences - but it was steep and too warm so we ended up sitting in the town square for ages (see the pic of me asleep! lol) waiting for the heat to ease a bit!

Valdelavilla Week 2

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Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

This photo is from a much sunnier, and warmer, week in Valdelavilla!

It was a very different bunch of people but just as much fun as the previous week.

We again made quite a few new friends and have since spent quite a bit of time with both the Americans (Meg and Isabel) and also the FT Masters students - Lucas (the tour guide), Luis (the daddy) and Almu (the talker).

They have really made our extra week in Madrid worth while and helped us enjoy it - especially going off to Lucas' parent's house to watch Spain beat Portugal last night!

At present Danielle and I are working away in our hotel room trying to complete assignments and prepare lessons for next week as we will be starting a month of teaching English to 10-14 year olds in Uclés in Cuenca.... really not expecting the best of mobile reception or internet connect there either! doh!

Impro Skit

Impro Skit
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

This is from our second night at Valdelavilla - and the group of performers were a mix of Anglos (Native English speakers) and Spaniards.

It was extremely funny to watch at the time and we felt that it broke the ice for a lot of us as it allowed us to laugh at each other and ourselves - especially the Danielle and Colm 'Just Married' carry on!

Michael did a great job of playing Gregg and the phrase 'More Wine' will haunt my head for the rest of my life!

Glass Market in Madrid

glass market madrid
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

We actually went here before Valdelavilla but never had the time to upload the video footage!
It was very busy and lots of people were chomping on all the varieties of lovely food available.... and I don't think it was merely because it was cold and wet outside!

This place is just outside Plaza de Mayor.

Valdelavilla Week 1

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Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

Here is a quick pic of everyone on week 1 - including the dog!

Such a great week will be hard to beat - though I know that the Yanks and Spaniards that are here this week are determined to beat them... don't really know that they can to be honest!

I'll wait and see if they prove me wrong!

A massive thank you to all of you and I hope to see as many of you as possible again - either in Belfast or here in Spain!

C

DSC_0042

DSC_0042
Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

Danielle at Valdelavilla.

We have just started our second week at Valdelavilla in the hills of Soria in Spain.... and although there is absolutely NO mobile phone signal and possibly the weakest internet connection since dial-up, we had a great week with everyone we met there!

I will post some more photos here so you can view them - but if you'd like to see more then click on the image and follow it to my Flickr page to see the whole collection!

C

Madrid

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Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

Danielle and I decided to do the touristy thing today and visit sights around Madrid and get a wee bus tour in too before we leave on Sunday morning.

There is sooooo much to look at - though you do get a really nasty creek in your neck always looking up!

The pic is a representation of Don Quixote and his man servant (or whoever is his accomplice in the book!).

Wedding Photo with flower girls and page

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Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

Another group shot with Charley-Louise, Aoife and Pearse included...
didn't they look lovely!

Group shot of Wedding

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Originally uploaded by DKDance.co.uk

A quick pic of the wedding party...

Photos are coming in....!

A massive THANK YOU to everyone who helped us celebrate or sent their best wishes to Danielle and myself for our wedding!

This was taken moments after our service finished!

There are more photos appearing on Facebook and also on my flicker account (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dkdance-ni/).

We've literally just arrived at our hotel in Madrid and the weather isn't great but we will keep you updated as things develop here and will keep adding photos to FB and Flickr!

Bye!

We're Married!

Thanks to everyone who helped make our day truely amazing!

We're finally goin to sleep!!!

Thank you again!

www.dkdance.co.uk tel: 07736 66 66 74

It's really close now...

Well folks,

It is likely that this is my last blogg before Danielle and I walk up that isle and tie the knot!

We had a casual practice on Friday and it was easy! We've spent the last week running around like two people possessed - though always able to keep an outward impression of being totally calm!

I think the reception is more of a stress than anything else - and I'm starting to feel we would have needed an extra week to tie up all the loose ends here such as sorting out our cars, insurance, the tax man etc.

We did have a bit of a bad phone call on Thursday afternoon to tell us our month of paid work in Tarragona has fallen through - we were both devastated but it just means we need to find something else to do and hopefully it will be paid work!

We both can't wait though to get married and are excited about our adventures ahead!

Right - I'm gonna go as we have a very, very busy day tomorrow prep'ing the venue and sorting out last minute arrangements!

Tally-ho!

Colm


www.dkdance.co.uk tel: 07736 66 66 74

Almost here....

Well, its just over a week until Danielle and I tie the knot and then disappear off for our first trip!

The Wedding Dress and Bridesmaids are sorted - the fellas are almost sorted..., the food is organised, we've got the drink, the sweets and the decor (well, what we can afford) all sorted and paid for!

Basic itinerary for the next few months is:
9th June - off to Madrid for 4 days then off to the northern hills for 2 weeks.
July will be spent in Tarragona doing a project there with English, dance, drama and music - and generally having fun.
August is a bit open at present - we may HelpX for a bit but we are also trying to secure some extra work in Italy.
September will see us home to change our bags and hope for a new arrival to be delivered in time for us to meet them before heading off to Malawi on the 20th for 3 months.
We'll be back for Christmas (20th December) for a short change of baggage again before South Korea!

Where to after that is open....

C

Hen Party date change!

Just another quick update:

Danielle has had to change the date of her Hen Party to Friday the 21st of May!

It is hoped that this will allow for more girls to attend as April was proving to be such a busy month!

The Stag event is still set for Saturday 8th May - a day of Coasteering / Pier Jumping and then some food and a trip to the pub for the drinkers!  Please get in touch if you would like to join me!

C

Countdown continues...

We're counting down the weeks until the big day! Whoop Whoop! 

I will be finishing my current job on the 28th of May - so for me the push is on to sort out any paperwork or issues at work.  Danielle has a few more classes over the next 7 weeks and then we will both be free of the hustle and bustle of the 9 to 5 for a while!

We will be leaving Northern Ireland on the 9th of June and heading to Madrid for a couple of days before going off for two weeks in 4 star comfort all expenses paid.... and it is work! All we have to do is talk in English and help Spanish business people develop their language skills through socialising, games and chatting.  Could be a bit strange but hopefully we will be able to enjoy it and relax a bit as well as making new friends and contacts.

Danielle has darkened down her hair from the blonde it was before:

She feels it looks better with her dress - which I have no idea what it looks like so I can't possibly comment or advise her!

That's all for now folks!  Post again soon! (Maybe when the suits are sorted out! lol!)

Suits you sir!

...is it always this difficult to get the right suit???

We've been searching everywhere for the right colour and shape... only to end up with 2 suits that may (or may not) be right!

Doh!

We bought one of the shirts and thought we might try and work around it.... but one suit is an older, more mature cut and the other is slightly darker in colour, and a more modern cut, but it doesn't work with the shirt as well.... may need to change the shirts but am worried that the look just won't be right now.

Getting the bridesmaids sorted was sooooo much easier!

OOooooh - its getting closer!

Well, its all getting much closer! ~ 9 weeks left!

Both Danielle and myself have been pinched and proded and feel a bit like pin cushions - roll on the last jabs!

We went and chose our wedding rings just over a week ago - Platinum for her, Paladium for me.  It seemed a bit too easy to chose them.... just hope that we are still happy with them when they arrive!

We're in to the final stretch - final meetings with Priests, Caterers, Florists, Venue and Photographers are all coming up and small niggly things like the fellas' suits still need sorted out! (Our arguement is that we can't decide on the suits until we have the colour swatch from the bridesmaid dresses!)

Most people have got back to us with their choice of meat for the main meal section... which is a relief - though there are still those who have yet to respond! So, to them - GET YOUR FINGER OUT AND LET US KNOW!!!

For those who we have been unable to invite the whole day - there will be some food served in the evening but once its gone its gone! I think its spit-roast pig and possibly some lamb too (if there is any left from the meal time).

We've still quite a bit of our TEFL still to finish - I've quite a bit more than Danielle to do - but as my evenings become freer I will be able to get stuck into it and get it all finished off! Promise!

'Til the next time!

Invites are going out!!!

Yep - they are!


We've made nearly all of them and (fingers crossed) have the correct addresses for most folks... though there are some we'll have to deliver by hand too!


Not sure how some people feel about emailed invites - is it a taboo or in this digital online age is it more acceptable to send an email out too?


We've had to become quite strict about the daytime numbers.. which is a pain but our pennies only stretch so far!  We'd love everyone to attend the church part but we would need to win the lottery (and find a bigger venue) to feed everyone :(


We also got a nifty wee map inserted to help everyone get to the Evening celebrations which are jam packed! We've to be out of the venue by 12:30am so there isn't much time really...


The directions to the venue can be found by clicking here: Larchfield Estate (not sure if javascript works on here! lol!)


Right - off to join Danielle for a bit!


Colm

Almost there!!!

Well we've spent the last two weekends sorting out our invites... and making them!

As of 10:30pm on Saturday 20th - they are almost ready to be posted - just a tiny bit still to do and then they are outta here!!!

We are going to try and save a bit of money by sending some non-pc "electronic invites" but surely no one is going to be that bothered.

We also sorted out the bridesmaid dresses and our jags this week! Doh! Really really not looking forward to that part! The list seems endless and the cost for self-inflicted pain from needles is really not appreciated... a few hundred pounds... a few hundred!  Visas and jobs next to be sorted!

Thats all for now!

First mobile blog!

Hi all,

Dan and I are starting to get itsy about the speed that everything is approaching us at! It will be June very soon and we still have so much to do!

I will be ringing my doctor this week to arrange my injections too - so I'm not sure which is going to cause more stress... needles or workload!

Colm

Welcome!

Well, it is the end of January 2010 - so it is 132 days until we get married! Woohoo!

It was suggested that we use a blog to document our travels during our honeymoon as we depart our native shores and spend a bit of time roaming the world.  The plan so far is to leave in June 2010 and spend 3 months in Europe before heading to a small area off Lake Malawi where we will be doing some charity work for 3 months.  We hope to return home around Christmas 2010 before heading to Japan in January 2011 to teach English.

After that the plans become a little sketchy as we will be working for money to subsidise the rest of our travels and partying - so we may find that we stay in certain areas longer or possibly shorter than expected, or we may even return to areas to seek more work.

We will try and post to this blog as often as reasonably possible... including over the next few months so we can get used to posting here!

Feel free to leave comments, ask questions or get in contact to arrange to meet up with us on the way.

Many thanks,

Danielle & Colm