Like you’re actually interested….BUT Mani from A new life in India has very kindly nominated me for a Leibester award. Mani is a Mexican married to an American who now lives in India. How international is that!

The premise of a Leibster Award is to give some exposure to growing blogs…and it lets you know some obtuse facts about the authors.

So here goes:

11 facts about me:

1. I can’t wink or whistle particularly well. Parents: ensure your kids know these vital life skills!

2. I prefer movie soundtracks to almost any other sort of album.

3. Most disgusting thing I have ever eaten is Giant West African Snail.

Yep, my face says it all.

4. I’m (apparently) so uncoordinated by husband once said “I’m surprised you can ride a bike”. But it can’t be that bad, as I love to ski.

5. I feel happiest next to (or in!) the ocean.

6. I’ve known my husband for more than half my life, and can’t imagine life without him.

7. I am a geologist by training, and it has allowed me to work in Australia, New Zealand, Canadian Arctic and Antarctica.

8. When we are on holidays we make our children look at rocks….one way to make sure they don’t become geologists too! Haha.

Our eldest daughter has spent (endured) two birthdays in the Australian outback town of Broken Hill, famed for it’s…rocks. And yes, that is a very big chair.

9. I can make bread ok, but am terrible at cakes.

10. We have a pet monkey called Max.

11. I grew up in a big, old hotel near the beach. It was awesome.

Here are the questions Mani asked me to answer:

1. Name three of your favourite movies. Hard, hard question. The movie I have loved the longest is The Princess Bride. The most disturbing, yet compelling movie would be Apocalypse Now (or maybe the Deer Hunter), and the film which is resonating the most with me at the moment is Before Midnight (but also love Before Sunrise and Before Sunset).
2. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why? Man, another hard question, and if money was no option, I would spend my summers in Greece and you know what, my hometown of Newcastle is a pretty nice place too. But there’d be regular side trips to Paris, Vancouver, New York, Dunedin (NZ), Florence….oh the list could go on.
   

   Greece: what’s not to love?

3. Describe the last meal you would like to have before you die. Anything involving good friends, family, red wine, goats cheese, good bread and chocolate.
4. What is the most courageous thing you have ever done in your life? This is a very personal question. My mother died when I was spending a summer in Antarctica, and being away from her in her last days, and returning to a home without her was the hardest thing I have ever done. I don’t know if it’s courageous. I’d also add, trying to raising three children to be happy, resilient and open minded people seems pretty courageous some days too.
5. 
   

   Are we having fun yet?

   5. What was the last book you read and what did you think of it? I’ve just finished Khaled Hossein’s ‘And the mountains echoed’. He is such a beautiful story teller and the book was a wonderful example that life rarely, if ever, has a perfect storybook ending. Life can messy and terribly unfair, but always worth the effort. Also really loved Jonathon Franzen’s ‘Freedom’, whose family of characters were so real, as they navigate the freedoms we take for granted in the first world.

6. Do you believe in any of the following: God, reincarnation, soulmates, or ghosts? Maybe….

And I nominate, with a very African bent:

Mad in Ghana. Chris is a Canadian, married to a Ghanaian, whose son, a Ghanadian (get it???), also lives in Ghana. He has lived in Kumasi for years, and is dedicated to improving tourism to Ghana.

From here to there: The lovely Jay from Canada, who now lives in Norway following a 2 year stint in Gabon, West Africa.

Africa Far and Wide:  Lianne and family live in Mozambique. Her photographs and  stories are exceptional.

New Flower Ethiopia:  An insight into life in Ethiopia.

Mud Hut Mama: Mum to two little girls, totally living the African dream on a game reserve in Malawi.

And my questions are:

1. Where do you consider home?

2. Favourite holiday destination?

3. What do you love about your adopted country?

4. What drives you crazy about it?

5.. Favourite food.

[And nominees, feel no pressure to participate].