Learning Infant Massage

A couple of weeks ago, we were invited to learn how to do infant massage. We learned from our teacher Nancy White that infant massage makes the baby grow faster and develop better, and that bones will be much stronger. This is the group picture of that evening, from left to right: Kamran, Menchie, Parvaneh, Mouzhgan, Vida, Nancy, Fereshteh, John and Maarten. Our model who is not in the picture was Melody, the 3-month old daughter of Kamran and Parvaneh. Mouzhgan and Vida are also pregnant like Menchie, so it was really nice for us to learn some strokes and styles that we can use on our baby. Nancy and John are from New Zealand, but originally Nancy is from Fiji, where infant massage is common and well-known.

Experiment

I've been curious about how hard it would be to add video to one's blog as well, instead of only pictures. So, after only an hour and a half of fiddling around, I managed to come up with the following. Not bad, eh, for a rookie!?? Its a video clip of a song I've been trying to learn on guitar for the past couple of weeks... Next step will be to put our own video content, and not 'borrowed'... If you have any suggestions, let me know! :)

Weekend at Dor Beach

This last Saturday, we went to the beach and enjoyed the water, food and company of some friends. It was also Canan's birthday, our friend from Turkey. Her husband Arnold organized this party.
As you can see from these pictures, friends are happy, chatting and enjoying each other's company.







We had some barbecue...















...a relaxing afternoon, eating...

...Martijn and Maarten playing beach tennis and Arnold, like a little kid, fascinated by his new kite... he he :)

We really had a great time. The water was excellent (except for the tiny fishes nibbling and poking our feet all the time)!! Most of us got a tan so quickly as you can see from Maarten's rosy cheeks...
Here with us are Martijn and May, Canan (the birthday girl) and Arnold. We were about to leave this beautiful beach that is only 25 minutes away from Haifa (if Menchie drives only 15 minutes). We will surely come back at least once before the winter kicks in... Oh well, that's still some months away he he:)!

One Afternoon on the Balcony

Last Friday was a relaxing day indeed, as it was the first day of our weekend. We went to work in the morning, came home, and had lunch together on our beautiful balcony. Then Maarten started doing some gardening work. This is how our balcony and little garden look like now! The last two plants are the result of some experiments; they originally came from one plant, which was getting too long, so we decided to cut it and re-plant it in other pots. They are looking good, are growing and healthy!

Lunch with the Youth at the Teaching Centre

On Thursday, we had the privilege to be invited by the youth who work at the International Teaching Centre to have lunch with them at Giraffe Restaurant in the Merkaz. This was a great opportunity to spend time and get to know each other more, as our Department works closely with them. Unfortunately, not all the youth from the Teaching Centre were able to make it. Of course all of us in Stats made it there (since there are only 3 of us at the moment...he..he!)...
In this picture, (L-R), there's Menchie, Maarten, Jarrett, Jasmine, André (hidden), Faraz, Mitch, and Soraya. Next time will make sure everyone will be there! We tried the lemon chicken dish for the first time, and it was super lekker...! Other favourites of ours are the Afghan dish, the Malaysian dish and the Filippino dish (of course!).