Some events between July and December 2007

Here is what we wrote to the Commissioner last December.

As usual, this half year too the most impressive event for the children is our annual trip to the Netherlands in July and August. This year was extra special for various reasons. Saman started after the first weekend of acclimatisation with a swimming course. Every day from 10am till 3pm he was in the swimming pool with other Dutch children, learning how to swim. After two weeks he did not have sufficient strength in his arms to get a diploma, but he was indeed able to show us and his grandfather that he could swim unaided across the pool and even a little under water! We were very proud.
The second weekend Saman’s uncle got married. It was a big outdoor celebration with many guests. After a while of getting used to the crowd, Saman celebrated wholeheartedly his reunion with the larger Houtman family. He played with his cousins and jumped on and off the laps of his uncles and aunts. He wanted to keep this for the future and we gave him the camera so he could make all the photos he wanted. A selection of these is placed on the photo website. Furthermore we celebrated Saman’s 5th birthday and made many interesting excursions to the zoo, the forest and of course to the beach. A very special outing was to the nearby local airport, where Uncle Tjeerd showed the boys a small plane - Saman even sat on the pilot seat!! In the last week of our holiday, Saman had the opportunity to visit the school of his cousin Xanthe, who is in the same class = Group 2 in the Dutch schooling system.

Upon return to Addis Ababa, Saman had to cope with two new teachers. First at the Dutch school (once a week only on Wednesday afternoon), where he is now in Group 2. Luckily last year’s class was kept together because it is a rather small group, only 5 children. That meant that all children get plenty of attention and so Saman easily adapted to his new teacher. In Andinet International School (his ‘regular’ every day school) the parallel classes were mixed so now Saman found a few old friend but also many new faces in his class room. It took him a week to get used to the new class mates, the new teacher and the slightly higher pressure in ‘preparatory’.

As a healthy five-year-old, Saman now has an urge to move. He likes running and playing football. In November we found a pony club and now Saman gets horse riding lessons almost every week. As parents we take the opportunity to also take lessons so we learn together with Saman. We enjoy it all very much so horse riding has now become a new outdoor hobby for all of us.

This year the rainy season lasted very long in Addis Ababa. It started late May and the rains did not stop until half October. That meant that the children had to be creative indoors and find things to do. Especially when the school was closed for 3 months from half June till half September, this was not always easy. Luckily, Saman has a rich fantasy. He is now starting to dress up sometimes, to great amusement of all of us. Sometimes it is like watching theatre!

But of course every now and then, small children too, are entitled to some relaxation. We have a nice collection of both Dutch and English language videos that are very friendly and peaceful. Saman and Yekuno prefer to watch this together. Actually they almost always love to play together. Only in the afternoons, when Saman comes home from school, he likes to play by himself for a while. Then he usually stays inside to play with his toys while his younger brother Yekuno is outside. But half an hour later they play together and sometimes with friends.