Gina (Rodrigues) Do Nascimento

I met Joao when I was in std 9, we dated for 7 years and at the age of 24 married. Today we still married after 14 years. We have 2 beautiful boys, one is now 12 and the smaller one was born on
valentines day 2007, today being 18 months. A big gap but all the delays made it worth all the while. I did have miscarriages (a few) and trusting that I would not go through another one I entrusted a fertility doctor to help me make a good and dominant egg. I also did IVF, made 12 healthy eggs, froze a few (hopefully to be used next year) and used 3 of which only 1 grabbed, thus the little bambino in the pics. I have no regrets with the age gap and even less my age ... Sadia, if its in your affordability, try IVF, but do it with faith, you will be blessed again.

Yvonne, how are the girls? They are so precious ... keep us posted.

Can anyone tell me where is Tracy? Which home.

After matric I studied in the accounting field, did a Cost and Management diploma at the Technikon Witwatersrand, and later I completed the CIS degree. After graduation emigrated to Portugal and after a year I just could not seem to adapt to a nation I was not tuned to. I know they are my culture and my people but being bought up in South Africa is very and completely different to trying to live abroad, so I came back to South Africa and straight away started working at Johnson & Johnson in the costing field. From there Bayer offered me more and better and after 7 years with them I found a good and stimulating ground with Peugeot Motor SA
headoffice as the Budget Controller. I travel to France a lot, learnt their language ( so madams french classes in std 7 were not wasted). Love my work, but and I say but again, the hair loss is also part of the package.

Being an accountant was not my passion, I wanted to persue in the air hostessing field but my dad convinced me that my head was up in the clouds already, I need'nt go there. My second choice was art but that too was not good enough .... In my free time I write stories and poetry and have published just a few of my writings (nothing major) ... and that is when I do have free time.

My husband is in the IT field. A few years ago he got the itch many of us get and tried his own venture. Bought into a franchise which went terribly wrong. We lost a lot but grew in faith and trust for God. The good thing is that he was able to rekindle into the IT industry again.

Wow ... that's us.

From here I bid farewell, I hope for just a small while, till I hear from you again.

Gina (Rodrigues) Do Nascimento

Maja update

Wow, its so great to see that some of us are in contact again … there are a lot of you who have made an impact in my life and am so glad to be in contact with some of you again.

I’m sad that some friends are not out of the woodwork yet, like Melpo Theodorou, Barbara Cason (now married and with twins), Genevieve Laubscher, and many more.

Mary, I’m still to hear from you … c’mon girl (I’ve emailed you) … and Sadia, lol, just recognised you and was floored at the update on your life … often wondered about you and Connie.

Although I enjoy sharing about myself, I honestly don’t know how to sum-up the last 30 years.

Prep School was amazing, I think it was the innocence of those years that makes me so nostalgic (yip, I suffer from nostalgia often which is why I think I love finding old friends and acquaintances).

Unfortunately for me and regrettably, I found discipline and the system too boring and a waste of time, so it wasn’t long before I was school hopping high school’s to outrun my arrogant reputation … (however, we also moved to Rivonia when I was in Std 4) which is why I lost contact with a lot of you. Then there’s the time factor, the jorl factor, and not to mention life itself, boyfriends, kids….

So I eventually went to Damelin in Bree St, and that was liberating, but still ended up leaving in the first term of my matric year (how crazy is that?). I ended up completing my matric at night-school over three years!!! Sucker!!! I’m still in the ripples of that decision today, having to do an extra year with Unisa for a degree!

So some of you will remember my wild ways in high school, and my craziness in prep - some of you were lucky to escape that, he he, but for those who did not, please accept my sincerest apologies should I have mistreated you in any way ☺

Whew, now that that’s off my chest …

I now live in KZN, near the 1000 hills and Hillcrest/Pinetown – that’s about 30kms from the beach. I’ve been here for about 12 years and since lost my brother and my dad (still have another bro who is in jhb and mom is with me). I’m relieved we left Jhb, and can’t see us returning to such a rat race.

We ended up in the Bible belt of SA, and I have since become a born-again Christian – basically saved my marriage from the, then, impending doom! Those of you on face-book, I’m sure have pretty much written me off as a radical/extremist; hey I’ve always been one, its just a safer journey now ☺ (eg. getting high and drunk in the Spirit, instead of narcotics). Its quite amazing to see how we’ve all matured and the diversity amongst us. The religious, spiritual, humanist… what a quilt, huh!

I am happily married to John who is Cecilia’s oldest brother (some of you will remember little celia with long plaits) and we have two seriously gorgeous kids! John and I met in ’88 and married 6 years later (this year makes 20 years relationship).

I do have an income, but basically my husband runs a business that affords us a comfortable life-style. Kids go to a government school (is that what they call them these days?) and we are hoping for the best, most of us made it through, huh?

Demi is near 14 and Marco is 11.


And thought the blog should definitely have a pic of the old bats that shaped some of us into who we are today ☺

Keep in touch y’all.

Love Maja (Marijana Ignjatovic)
PS. I’m on face-book and skype and msn – search by my email majav@telkomsa.net