Stone fountains and Piccaso, norwegian strawberries and electric cars

In the name of Allah the most gracious the most merciful.

31 May 2015.

We arrived in Oslo yesterday lekker moeg at about 12 o'clock or there abouts. Weather was excellently cool and light drizzle. We took a trains and busses and trams and walked. The transport system is incredibly efficient and few people are about driving, even in their small electric cars. Everyone else is walking and the air so fresh it is quite pleasant.

Oslo is beautiful and the area that we are in is so picturesque. Beautiful buildings and greenery that smells heavenly. So many familiar plants too ne like Cape May and malva and daisies and pansies. Where we stay there are herb gardens and seedling trays on windows. I even saw two grey cats that look like Wolverine's relatives with the long neck hairs.

Our hostess Trine met up with us to take us on a tour and welcome us to Norway. The churches and cathedrals, the building with the Picasso mural and the one that was bombed in 2011. Methinks that by the time I return to Cape Town I will be fit, we walk all the time and I guess a lot more walking throughout the week and its safe. Last night we were making our way back to the flat at 12.00. Besides its not even dark yet, so the daylight till late takes some getting use to.

My blogs will be short because there is so much to do, places to see and the most wonderful sweet strawberries to eat. There is something called Mills Caviar which is kind of like a fish paste that we bought for on biscuits and toast and keeps us sustained. And lots of fish and fruits. We're off for walk along the river and I am going to hunt down some postcards (old school) to send home. And here's a pic of Electric cars in Oslo!

Plant food and go sight seeing.

Yasmine

Vimeos, travel and shades of blue.

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful.

Amid the clamour of classes and class tests, of last minute submissions and checking charts to see if all artefacts have been handed in and attendance warrants that small bit of paper for Due Performance, I take some time out and breath deeply, everything is coming together sweetly, Thank you Allah.

I notice its been two weeks since I last posted, so much has happened. Classes are abuzz both on line and face to face and face to movie yay!! the movies are splendid but a grade has to be extracted that is fair on every group member. So we sit in a group, watch the short movie with self and peer evaluations, pens poised. We forget to mark sometimes the movies are so good and the footage - giving the Blair Witch project a bit of run.


Work continues in the Peace garden and Abu's group of Art students are exhibiting their work. I must say I am impressed by their still life sketches, especially the students who has never drawn or sketched before.

And then its midyear exams next week. But I am happy to say I will miss it what with our trip to Oslo  looming largely. Our group is really excited and I am happy to also visit my daughter and son in law in Abu Dhabi and meet with some friends.



exhibit at IPSA

What makes me really happy though is that we are moving finally!! A wonderful family are renting their beautiful house to us and our younger ones have both decided on their colour schemes - shades of blue. I am just so happy that our plants have a home and that the house has charm and character and the owners are warm people. I found a chart with the colours quite by chance of the exact shades that my young ones want in this blog: http://blog.kellywilliamsphotography.com. So my son loves the top shade and my daughter the second from below. Now just to convince them to leave the portion above the picture rail white!



Shades of blue

So ja, tomorrow last checks on portfolios and a final meeting with my travel companions and then we can start carting our plants. The house is still being painted and clean and a few things fixed, but I am patient. It may well be that the house is ready when I am gone and Abu and the children will move so that by the time I get back in June everything is ready. Or maybe not, what if we get the keys before then? I will certainly be happier, but patience Yasmine.

Then, I remember to make a list of what to pack I am so traveling lightly and wisely. In Oslo it is spring with 12 hours of sunshine and average temperature of 12 °C and rainy weather. But on the upside it is known to be the most picturesque time when the snow has melted and all the flowers are blooming. Then of course its into the heat in Abu Dhabi and back home to Cape Town, new house, warm food and lots of love.

This blog is short but I will be indeed be blogging from Oslo Insha'Allah.

Later

Plant food and travel.

Yasmine

The mother of all mothers

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful.



Rows of fenugreek at Garlandale

Phew this was a hectic week. Hectic but wonderbaar. Last week we started working really hard on the peace garden, tilling the soils, nourishing it, preparing beds with long thick beams.  



planting cilantro



Spent some extra time on the gardens before the cold arrives. More talks at schools to engage students and visits to fellow garden collaborators. Visited the Garlandale gardens and took some pics to show you there's wonderful things happening there!



Our online platforms are livening up both at IPSA and the IHYA course Alhamdulillah - assignments submitted; discussions and resources abound. But the cherry on top was on Friday. Students from the iLABS GLO programme submitted their 5 minute movies  yay!

Every time I start a blog and abandon it, too much work - online marking; reading, preparation for the trip; taking sneak peaks at student vimeo submissions and so on.So ja, its Mom's day today with breakfast in bed and all of those things kids rush to do.

Should you take an early morning drive rows and rows of bouquets for sale. At least they could put up a sign that reads "So when last have you bought your Mom flowers?" or something witty.




Barefoot teaching

Yesterday we had class "barefoot college" style, someone forgot to unlock the classes so we made ourselves comfortable and started class.

And today I spent my day in the mother of all mothers - the peace garden, with some volunteers. Levelling vegetable beds, seeding Swiss chards and cilantro, planting chili, lemongrass and herbs and of course strawberries!


While we were busy the Al Waagah Institute for the Deaf was also having classes at IPSA. How wonderful - the plants draw everyone's attention. Pinching off herbs smelling deeply, a bright smile and off into class. A small boy and I communicating, I pretend I don't know that he eyes the strawberry plants. I wait for him to turn, tap him on the shoulder and gesture to take one. That smile, priceless.

Have a wonderful day or what's left of it.

Grow food and smile at someone.

Yasmine



seeding swiss chard in situ




Sayed mulching with straw




Garlandale gardens

The juggler

In the name of Allah most gracious most merciful.

 

1 May 2015.
Educating adults is by far the most exciting space to be in when individuals decide to continue with their studies or start a new course – stepping on the journey to the valley of amazement. The experiences that adults bring to the classroom, enrich the learning journeys of everyone including the lecturer or facilitator of learning. It has enriched my education in so many ways learning both from young adults as well as adults with more life experience, that should I make a map of it, my khoki would run dry.
In the learning arena, theoretical concepts are grappled with and made meaning of as it offered and the depth of it increases many times enriched it in its appropriation. Abu often talks about adults as being constructive repositories of knowledge; producers of knowledge; reproducers of knowledge and transmitters of knowledge at some stage of their lives or the other.

The most challenging part to be an adult learner is struggling to give the haq of your path of learning while straddling responsibilities at home (cleaning, cooking, shopping; homework help chauffeuring; taking care of a parent, feeding and caring for cats, dogs, budgies, weeding and watering and sowing and harvesting etc); responsibilities to family and in laws, neighbours and friends; responsibilities at work/school (reports, lesson plans, marking, assessing, evaluating, meetings); social responsibilities such as  part time classes; mosque; parents meetings, civic meetings, environmental initiatives etc; responsibilities to yourself – your health, state of mind; fitness; and just time to bum around.

 

Then there is spiritual time and entertainment time and that very important time you have to spend with each and every child – watching Mocking Jay or listening to a recital or shouting yay to an when an arrow hits the bulls eye or just talking about the changes in their bodies. The adult educator neglects sometimes the most important time spent; on your personal relationship with spouse/partner. If you can see that visually in a kind of juggling fashion it’s a lot to contend with without support from spouse, family and friends.

I know this because as much as I am an adult educator I am a learner too with many many responsibilities sometimes peering down that precipice thinking how the heck am I doing justice to everything, something’s gotta give. The first thing that gives is that Course we enjoy the most; a diploma or certificate course; Masters; Doctorate. Courses formal or non-formal because when we rationalise, we think that we can do it later, next year or sometime in the future.

Here’s the thing. With all of that responsibilities it’s never the right time or the wrong time. Because we are always pinning something on the board that is more important, has higher priority. What we are doing, no matter how important to our personal development - it can wait for later. When you feel stuck and about to leave that class/course/degree because you think you can’t cope – speak to someone to gain better perspective. I have been there many times in my life and my lecturers and supervisors, Alhamdulilah always found time to meet me for coffee and assist me to reorganise, reprioritise and negotiate my time with my family. Thank you Linda and Salma.

And most importantly I need to say shukran to my children wherever they are in the world today, who have given me support – cooked and cleaned and looked after the babies sometimes sitting in the room next to my lecture theatre between nursing feeds, picking me up after class and so many more things that made it possible for my continuing/ lifelong education.

 

To my Abubakr who has been the most inspirational/motivational husband a studying girl can have. Thank you for listening;  helping me unpack difficult theorists such as Bourdieu and Spivak and the rest; fetching me from campus with a picnic basket; putting your studies aside for me to move forward; midnight picnics, reading my stories, bunches of flowers, buying me beautiful dresses and new shoes (cos I hate shopping) etc. My co conspirator; co creator of materials and co lecturer from Cape Town to Durban, from Johannesburg to Andriesvale in the Kalahari, from Pretoria to Khartoum.

 

There is neither change nor power except by means of Allah.

There is no transformation or strength except through Allah.

There is neither progress nor ability except through Allah.

 

We are because of others.

Plant food and continue to learn.

Yasmine