Sara's Blog

Done with Day Two of the Aquila scrapbooking convention-- a stunning success! I think this group of students was one of the best I've ever taught...they were such a positive group of people. About 20 out of the 70 were completely new to scrapbooking, and only about 6 had ever made cards. Well, by the end of the event they had made 12 cards, 14 scrapbook pages and one sarabinder™. They also shopped like crazy (Aquila had a store on site), hooked up with new scrapping friends and had cake for the student celebrating her 60th birthday! Even better, we had a professional photographer during the weekend so I'll be able to post some great pictures when I get back to the States. They keep asking if I'd come back next year...OF COURSE I would!

Maybe by then I'll learn some Afrikaans...they have 11 languages in South Africa, and while everyone speaks English they often feel more comfortable with Afrikaans. I've learned "please" (bitte) and "no thank you" (nie danke, pronouned "nay donkey"). Traveling is always a learning experience!

Next week I have a nice, lovely vacation here...with trips to the game reserve, Monkeyland and an elephant ride! Can't wait!

I've been in South Africa for less than a week and so far I've seen whales playing in the ocean, shaken the hand of a former political prisoner and narrowly avoided eating the country's favorite snack food, biltong (dried meat, a bit like beef jerky, only made of ostrich). I've met amazingly friendly people and experienced an absolutely gorgeous natural landscape of mountain and sea. Today I made the 30-minute flight from Cape Town to George--the Aquila convention is being held at a sweet country inn about 2 hours drive from George. It's tucked in at the base of the mountain and the flowers and freshly cut grass smell heavenly. Tomorrow we start our 3-day event with registration and basic scrapbooking classes. Scrapbooking is still fairly new here, about two years old, so I'm a little curious to see how we'll do! Erika and Hennie tell me the ladies are very excited and that we've got people coming from all over the area. Erika, Hennie and Rita have been so nice and accommodat ing, making sure I have everything I need...including vegetarian food! (fortunately chocolate counts as vegetarian, since they've also left a big basket of sweets in my hotel room.)

Tonight it's all about going over class materials to prepare for tomorrow (and maybe just a few of those chocs!). Hoping for good luck and happy people tomorrow!

Why start a blog? It’s not that my life is so fascinating…those wild Saturday nights spent scrapping aren’t exactly headline-grabbing—unless, of course, you’re doing the same. But I do love to share the “insider” part of the scrapbooking world with people….you know, what scrapbooking classes are like in other countries, how cool new stuff gets developed…that kind of thing. And because I feel like my students and Webisode viewers are like family, it’s also fun to keep everyone up to date on the latest news here at HOTP.

So check back weekly! You’ll also see photos, news, projects, techniques, and get the latest on classes. Look for updates every Friday—and please feel free to post messages or questions.