Mozambican Adventures of the Beilfuss family (Madison chapter)
20 May 2007
Ian the swimmer
Swimming daily, or even twice daily, in the pool here at Chitengo has turned Ian into a real swimmer. We came with a "noodle" - one of those long noodle-shaped floaty things that helps keep a kid above water, and soon he was jumping off the side of the pool with impunity. Natasha showed him the breast stroke with his arms, and suddenly he wanted to swim all alone - no noodle, no help from anyone. He has also discovered the fun of swimming underwater. Yesterday, he swam underwater between my legs and back up again. Amazing! Soon he'll be doing laps in the pool. Nothing like a little regular exposure to boost a kid's confidence and skill.
Our family has moved back to Madison (we returned mid-August 2008) for a variety of reasons. While we are very sad to have left the Chitengo family we had come to love -- and the extraordinary natural resource, Gorongosa National Park -- we are very excited to be back in our old Jean Street neighborhood in Madison, and to be able to see and communicate with our friends and family more readily.
"A Complicated War: The Harrowing of Mozambque" by William Finnegan.
"Drawn from the Plains: Life in the Wilds of Southern Africa", by Lynne Tinley, wife of the ecologist who documented the plants and animals at Gorongosa before the wars. Out of print but available through www.abebooks.com
"The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals" by Richard D. Estes
Swimming daily, or even twice daily, in the pool here at Chitengo has turned Ian into a real swimmer. We came with a "noodle" - one of those long noodle-shaped floaty things that helps keep a kid above water, and soon he was jumping off the side of the pool with impunity. Natasha showed him the breast stroke with his arms, and suddenly he wanted to swim all alone - no noodle, no help from anyone. He has also discovered the fun of swimming underwater. Yesterday, he swam underwater between my legs and back up again. Amazing! Soon he'll be doing laps in the pool. Nothing like a little regular exposure to boost a kid's confidence and skill.
