life, and the things inside it

I must apologize for not writing a blog in what feels like... years! I don't really have a decent excuse, apart from I've been living life to the maximum, and internet to the minimum. I'm happy to report that I've gone from being jobless to definately having one job, hopefully two! I'll be joining my sister working at a co-operative retail store. It will be a bit like happy families, apart from the fact that we aren't allowed to work the same shifts... two Koetsier's may be a little too much dynamite in one day! The other job will be looking after horses for someone in the village.

I'm excited about life at the moment. Many of you will remember that maths has been an old nemesis of mine. Anyway, near the end of last year I decided to overcome my old issues, by taking a GCSE in maths. After completing the first 2 modules (and exams) I started travelling... and not doing maths... and travelling again... and not doing maths again! Anyway, two weeks ago I thought it might be an idea to get in touch with the lady organizing the GCSE to see whether I could complete the final module - only to find that she'd signed me up for final exams this week (this is the point where I racked my brain to find that we had actually discussed this in June, and this is also the point where I began to stress slightly!) So I have to say that the past 2 weeks have generally been full of numbers. There's nothing like cramming 6 months worth of work into 2 weeks, but there's also something really exhilarating about focused study time!

First exam was today, and I think I pretty much owned it! Yay! I'll have my final exam on Friday!

My latest hobbies have been playing guitar (I can now play some songs too!) and learning more about the continent of Africa. I'm now able to place and name ALL the countries in Africa, and most of the capitals of countries in southern africa and western africa. My next goal is to make the countries more than just names, and one of the great ways to do this is by reading books ! I read an awesome book about Zimbabwe, followed by the autobiography of South Africa journalist Donald Woods (who was later banned because of his fight for South Africa's liberation from Apartheid) and I'm currently reading a biography about Steve Biko, also written by Donald Woods.

I'm loving my horses. Blaine and I are focusing on developing in all four savvies - our latest focus has been Liberty (without a halter/any restraint). Bertie is such a lovely chappy! We've done all sorts of things over that past 2 weeks... walks on the road, leaned across his back, teaching him the seven games (Parelli) and generally showing him the world! He needs to learn how to respond to pressure, but he mostly takes everything in his stride.