Almost a Zimbabwean citizen

Back we trekked to Market Square this morning. I got my birth certificate with ease - I was the only one in the queue. I then went to counter 8 to ask what I needed for my ID and they sent me off round the corner to photocopy my passport. When I returned the guy at the counter said that if I was applying for an alien ID I would have to go to Makombe building BUT if I was going to get a citizen ID I could do it there and then at Market Square and all I needed to do was go get my newly acquired birth certificate photocopied and join the ID queue. This was very exciting - I can finally be Zimbabwean and British. They didn't even want the letter that my friend had to write trying to say why I hadn't wanted to renounce my citizenship when I was 18. At this point the friend I was with needed to get home to finish preparing lunch for a group of us, so I will make a third trip back next Sunday but it is all fairly straightforward, very chilled and for the most part highly efficient. Amazing! Hopefully I can then register to vote - woohoo!

It has ended up being a very social weekend but I am feeling rested for what promises to be another frenetic week of teaching. Yesterday morning I went along to the nia workshop at the studio on Epping Road (memories of when my friend's used to dance with Dawn Saunders there and when I briefly did a dance class). It was interesting. Quite a different approach to dance to what I have known in ballet where if you feel pain you shouldn't do it - definitely not the philosophy of pointe work - no pain, no gain there. I enjoyed the jazz and more up tempo stuff which were fun and in a way a little like the swing class I went to with my cousin in Cape Town. The more martial art and new age things I was little less sure of. Had a braai and then a farewell yesterday and today was the lunch and am off now for drinks to see a friend back from the States.

Finding home schooling is a bit of a labour of love as I can't charge what I would charge for an hour's tutoring. It requires a lot of preparation and you feel like a rugby coach trying to get the students to keep going (we do have breaks, but still). When my Chinese student goes back to China in March I may try to rather get tutoring work. Someone is interested in A level maths lessons. Told them I can't do mechanics but can help with core and statistics. Am now enjoying the French lessons with my Chinese 10 year old most as it lends itself to interesting discussions in French. He asks some good questions. My five year old wants to have a little of what we used to do incorporated into his daily lessons - his mum says he misses talking about dinosaurs - it has only been one week so far!