It's been a couple of weeks since my last post due to sickness that went through our house. I blame Miranda's preschool, especially when she comes home telling me which kids were out sick and which ones were complaining about tummy aches all day. So last weekend was spent with each of us taking our turn with the stomach flu. We tried to take advantage of the nice weather this weekend to make up for it. On Sunday we went to the Pretoria Zoo. The drive there was quite scary as downtown Pretoria is not a nice place to be. I have never been to Detroit, but I can imagine what the worst area would be, and that's what we drove through. The zoo was ok, but since it is winter here (65 degrees), a lot of the animals were hiding inside their little homes and the vegetation was dry and dead. We plan on going back this summer and renting a golf cart so we can see the zoo in it's entirety.
I have found a new favorite place to be, and that is World of Golf. You might be thinking, "I didn't know you played golf!" I don't. But I might start. This place is every golfer's dream. For only $55 a month, you get access to the entire club which includes a gym, restaurant, and several areas to practice all your golf swings. There is a little 9-hole pitch-and-putt course, a putting green, a chipping area, and a bunker area. There might be even more that we don't know about. Of course there are plenty of tees to practice with whichever club you desire, with an unlimited supply of golf balls piled in a pyramid next to each tee. There are also nice covered wooden bench swings which is where I sit, breathe in the non-humid air, look at the beautiful blue sky and gaze at palm trees. Miranda plays in the kiddie area and Jackson eats cereal while sitting in his stroller. It is paradise.
I do not understand the people in charge of electrical things here. The outlets are not only few and far-between, but they don't exist in the bathrooms. You also have to flip a switch to turn them on. You'd think that if you bought an electrical item at the store in Africa, for example, a hair dryer, that you could take it home and plug it in at your Africa house. Nope. You need an adapter. Some stuff has 3 prongs, some have 2. The ones that have 2 prongs, some are round, some are oval, and some have a hexagon shape.
I went to Super Spar again last week and scored big time. They will import American items, and you can also request things, but it's hit-or-miss on what they have. I have been pretty good at accepting the things I cannot have, but I'll admit I spent way too much on luxuries. My Mrs. Butterworth's syrup was $7, and Froot Loops with marshmallows was $8. A&W Root Beet was $1.30 a can, and a box of fruit snacks was $6. The store is not down the street so I do not go very often. At the other grocery store I usually go to (Pick N Pay), I found mint-flavored canned peas. I bought one, but have yet to taste it.
Miranda still enjoys preschool, but is now on winter break until September 5th. Poor thing spent 8 hours throwing up last Saturday, but by dinnertime she was back to normal. I wish I could bounce back that fast! We went to our next door neighbor's 3rd birthday party on Friday and she spent the whole time playing with a girl from her class. After singing the traditional "Happy Birthday" song, everyone does the "hip-hip-hooray" cheer three times. They also do not open gifts at parties which isn't too bad of an idea. Jackson seems to finally be over his cold. Two weeks ago he got a fever and wouldn't eat or drink, so I took him to the doctor and he was given antibiotics for an ear infection. I think we're all healthy now, hopefully we'll stay that way for awhile. Rusty took a 4-day weekend because today is a holiday. It's "Women's Day" which commemorates the national march of women in 1956 to petition against legislation that required African persons to carry the "pass", special identification documents which curtailed an African's freedom of movement during the apartheid era.
We have booked my dad on a flight to come visit on the first of October for 20 days. We're only here for 2 years so if you've ever desired to see South Africa, you will have a free place to stay!
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