6 More Months

October & November just flew by!  The last 3 weeks of October were spent with Rusty's family visiting. We kept them very busy to try to get in as much 'Africa' as possible.  Although about 16 hours after their arrival we whisked Rusty's sister and her fiance of to a German Bierfest.  The following day we drove up to Kruger National Park which is South Africa's first national park that has been protected since 1898 and covers an area of 7,523 square miles.  We stayed inside the park at Jock Safari Lodge which was founded by the Fitzpatrick family in the early 1900s.  Their descendants just happened to be staying there at the same time although they had their own private accommodations.  My goal was to see the 'Big 5', specifically the elusive leopard, and that goal was accomplished within 24 hours of arriving.  This trip was by far my favorite since arriving in Africa.

The next week we packed everyone up and flew to Cape Town for our 2nd visit.  Those 3 days were the windiest days I think I've ever seen!  Several attractions were closed down, although we managed to take a tour bus to the Constantia winery and get in some sight seeing & hiking.  Poor Jackson had a fever the whole time except for the day we left, and Miranda started the trip out with a fever and stomach pains that resulted in a mess all over the kitchen floor.  I think I've had enough of Cape Town for now.

Our neighborhood got hit with a massive hail storm which resulted in shattered windows and dented cars (the neighbors, not ours).  It seems that a lot of our thunderstorms produce at least some hail and our roof continues to leak, but it's not over any electrical devices or furniture so it's manageable.  But every time the outside lights get wet, the circuit breaker trips.  Go figure.

I can't wait until next Halloween and my kids can experience what it's REALLY like.  Our estate celebrated the Saturday before, but Miranda had a 103 fever and it was thunder storming, so it was pretty much a bust.  Plus, only about 1 out of 10+ houses actually have candy, so it can be exhausting.  On the actual Halloween date we headed to a local shopping center where they had a costume contest (we didn't win even though we were a very convincing Dorothy & Glenda), jumping castles, face painting, and trick-or-treating at the shops.  Unfortunately the candy here consists of little hard pieces, and everyone posting pictures of their children's loot back home was torture!  But luckily Rusty's family brought us some bite-sized Kit-Kats.  We have them here, but they're different.  It had been so long since I'd had the 'real' thing that I had to do a taste-test, and sure enough, totally different.  US Kit-Kats are thicker and the chocolate is creamier.  Also, high-fructose corn syrup does not exist here.

Miranda is still enjoying school but is looking forward to having a 4-day weekend.  Even though Thanksgiving is not celebrated here (of course), she still gets the holiday off since her school is based on the American schedule.  We will be celebrating on Saturday with our South African family.  Jackson is still having bad skin issues and after a blood test (THAT was fun), it was determined that he might have a mild allergy to milk, peanut butter, and dogs.  We have been avoiding those and there is no change.  He is not allergic to Jozi because we lived here for a year before getting her and he already had issues.  It's eczema, and we've tried every cream available, we're just going to have to try to maintain it the best we can until we move home.  I'm convinced it's the air, grass roof, old carpet...

6 months from yesterday is technically the end of Rusty's 2-year contract here.  Miranda's last day of school is May 31 and our lease on the house is up at the end of June, so we are still unsure of our move-home date.  Hopefully it will be as early in June as possible so we won't miss out on any of Rusty's sister's wedding festivities.

Holy Sh*t

Spring/summer has been slowly making it's way in and the rain has been making an appearance off and on.  After a very warm weekend with a little pool action, it was chilly and windy this morning.  During one of the thunderstorms a few weeks ago, I believe lightning either struck our lightning rod or somewhere close to our house as the little hairs stood up on my arm and then the internet stopped working.  Luckily it was only the power supply to our router that got fried so that was easily replaceable.  Along with the warmer weather come the increase in the police check points.  This is where the local police set up alongside the road and stop random people to check and make sure their car is properly licensed.  Unfortunately they can also be very threatening and do things that the police are not supposed to do.  This has caused me to be very anxious whenever I have to venture out to the grocery store, which has to be done 2-3 times/week.  The warmer weather has also brought out the bugs.  They are everywhere!  But that's what you get for living in a house with a grass roof and no seals around the doors or windows or walls.  

Miranda is enjoying kindergarten and likes PE and lunch and recess the best.  A couple of weeks ago, the school celebrated their annual 'International Day'.  Each student dressed in clothes that represented their home country and marched in a parade that was similar to the 'parade of nations' that you see in the opening ceremony for the Olympics.  Afterwards, the parents transformed the gym into a culinary heaven with booths full of foods from each of the countries represented.  The kids got first dibs and we just couldn't wait that long, so we headed out to a local Thai restaurant after drooling all over the Thailand table.

Jackson is doing well at preschool and is getting bigger every day.  My little boy turned 2 last Saturday and I didn't think it was possible for the 2nd year to go even faster than the first, but it did. We celebrated his big day at a park down the street with football cupcakes and lots of running around.  His favorite things right now are airplanes, trains, cars (especially "Cars 2"), golf, and kicking his soccer ball into the goal (GOAAAAAAL!!!).

Holy sh*t!  Which word do you think they'd censor for TV?  Heaven forbid we insult someone for using the word 'holy'.  Regards, Erika.  Or should I say 'warm' regards?  Yes, let's use the word warm, it is warm now.  Family arrives in 3 days.  Guess I need to go brave the cops to get some groceries.

SPRING!!!

Looks like I forgot to post in August.  Whoops.  But it was very busy, so I'll use that excuse.

August was the month for school.  Miranda had her last day of preschool on Friday, August 3, and then her first day of kindergarten the following week on Wednesday, August 8.  She gets picked up at our driveway at 6:45am and returns around 3:30, except on Wednesdays she is home by 2:00.  Poor thing was so exhausted the first day and then came down with a fever, so she had to miss her 2nd day.  But she enjoys riding the bus, likes her class, and is making new friends.  Right now her class has 9 students with one more starting soon, and there are 4 kindergarten classes.  Her teacher is American but has been teaching internationally for 20 years.  About half of the class is made up of American students which apparently is high for a normal class.  She has all the traditional 'specials' such as PE, Music, Library, Art, and Spanish.  I have to pack 2 snacks and a lunch each day which after only 4 weeks is already getting difficult.  If I could pack peanut butter every day I would, but unfortunately is has been banned from kindergarten.  Jackson has been in preschool for 3 weeks, although he was out the whole 2nd week due to a high fever.  He has adapted well and didn't cry at all when I dropped him off today.  I am enjoying having a little bit more free time.  His language is really starting to take off and he is becoming quite the dare-devil.  Jozi is as crazy as ever and is getting really big.  Her favorite thing to do is dig holes in the garden and chew on the roots of all our trees, bushes, and other plants.  We don't have any squirrels or rabbits in the neighborhood so she will be excited when we move back to KS.  

We have been preparing to have more family visit in October which is the perfect time to be here.  We will be traveling into Kruger park which is about a 5-6 hour drive north of here.  Since it is a malaria area we can't take the kids, so hopefully we'll spot that leopard!  We'll also be traveling back to Cape Town for another visit, this time exploring the wineries, hiking, and taking in some cultural history. 

The weather has definitely changed for the better, spring arrived about a week or so ago.  It's hard to believe that just 3 weeks ago it was down in the 30s at night and even during the day, plus that crazy day where it was snowing on and off for about 2 hours.  I heard they hadn't seen any snow since 2007, and the last time they saw any accumulation was in the 1980s.  Every flake that hit the ground melted immediately, thank goodness.  After the winter we had in KS right before moving here, I would have been happy to not see a single snowflake for a couple of years.  But now it's definitely spring and we are in shorts and t-shirts every day.  A bird built a nest in the little birdhouse outside and now we have two baby birds to keep an eye on.  Just waiting for the rainy season to start so all the junk in the air can get washed away!  My lemon tree only has about a dozen or so lemons this year that will be ripe and ready in about a month.  Luckily my neighbors have trees as well!  I've been so spoiled here, I'm going to have to actually buy my lemons next summer?  Shame.  Happy Labor Day!  We don't celebrate that here.  Double shame.







   

I'm Allergic to Africa

Time just seems to be going quicker and quicker these days!  The past 6 weeks were a little rough as sickness swept through the house again.  The day of my last post, Rusty came down with severe food poisoning and was down for about 4 days.  He also got rear-ended on his way home from work the same day and what was supposed to take 10 days to fix took over a month, and 2 days after we get it back, it's back in the shop with a grinding brake.  It's a good thing I know how to drive a manual transmission! Luckily Rusty was fully recovered for our holiday to Durban.  We spent the first four days of July in Pennington with another KS family.  Since it is winter here, it was chilly and windy, but the kids still had a blast on the beach and we really enjoyed the trip.  The sand was beautiful and the water was clean, you could even spot whales out on the horizon.  The drive was easy and not too long, taking only 7 hours with a couple of stops.  The kids are great travelers, I'm ready to go back!

I have been coming down with a sinus infection every 3 months since we've been here which is not something I generally struggle with at home.  My last episode started about 2 weeks ago that began with a full-blown upper-respiratory flu which is lingering in my sinuses.  I have come to the conclusion that I am possibly allergic to my thatch-roof house.  Not only is it made of grass, but it has dried out and is very dusty since we haven't had a drop of rain for over 2 months.  Also, winter isn't really 'winter'.  Plants and trees and flowers are constantly blooming, and with so many different species I haven't been exposed to, it's tough to say what  exactly is causing all my troubles.  The ENT wants to do surgery to open up my airways, but I am not really keen to have something like that done here.  I think I will try other options for the next 10 months until I can get back to the states and get a 2nd opinion!  

With all the sickness said and done, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous!  It can get a bit chilly at night still, but with the sun out during the day, it warms up pretty quickly and we've been enjoying temperatures staying steady between 65F - 75F.  We're a month away from summer which promptly starts on September 1st.  

My baby girl will attend her last day of preschool on Friday.  The following Wednesday she will attend her first day of kindergarten.  Hopefully I will not be a blubbering mess!  The school year here is January-December, but Miranda will be going to the American International School of Johannesburg which stays on a typical American school schedule.  She is very excited and ready to go!  I'm not.  The week after she starts school, Jackson will begin preschool.  I have found a nice place that I can send him to two days/week in the morning.  Poor little guy really needs some social interaction and this seems to be the only way he's going to be able to get it.  

With the clock ticking we are busy deciding where else we would like to travel to and figuring out who else is going to visit.  Since the ever elusive leopard has decided to keep his presence from us thus far, we definitely have a few more future game drive safaris on the agenda as we will not leave this country until we see it!   

350

My parents have come and gone, the 17 days they were here went by too fast.  The day after they arrived we made them deal with their jet lag at The Phantom of the Opera.  We did a lot of damage at the local markets and stores stocking up on souvenirs for ourselves and people back home.  There's one store called 'Cambanos' that is probably the best and most affordable place to buy locally made products, and they now know who I am before I get out of the car.  They also have started offering me tea and lattes when I come into the store to enjoy while I shop.  They're really good at encouraging me to come back!  The air cleared up enough one night so were all able to view the Southern Cross in the sky.  Winter arrived a couple of weeks ago and there have been some very cold days and nights.  It's weird calling it 'winter break' instead of summer.  We took Miranda for her kindergarten evaluation at the American International School of Johannesburg where she will go to school in about 7 weeks.  After convincing the nurse (sister) here that she needs shots NOW, not when she's 6 like they do here, we're almost ready.  Still waiting for the student visa to arrive.  So much paperwork!


Rusty and I took a short trip to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and the Chobe river in Botswana.  Zimbabwe only accepts US dollars and sometimes South African Rand, depending where you are.  Everything is very expensive!  We booked all our excursions in advance and kept ourselves busy.  Our hotel, the Kingdom, was a really cool 'African' resort, the architecture based on the Great Zimbabwe Monument in Masvingo.  The first day (after waiting in line at customs for almost 2 hours) we went on a sunset cruise down the Zambezi River.  The next day we took a helicopter ride over the falls and then walked the path by the falls, getting very wet and stopping half way because the spray was so high that the falls disappeared.  It's 'high water' right now so what we did see was spectacular.  That night we went to a 'Boma' dinner which literally means 'the eating place.'  There were all sorts of local traditional foods and dancers doing their thing.  On the drive home there was an elephant in the road.  You wouldn't see something like that in South Africa.  We cut the night short since we had to get up early the next day to drive an hour to Botswana.  We first went on a water safari down the Chobe River and saw a lot of crocodiles, hippos, elephants, impala, and wart hogs.  After lunch was the game drive where we saw a lot more elephants that were a little too close for comfort.  Our last day in Zimbabwe we went to a local market.  The people outside the hotel are very aggressive when trying to sell you something.  They will follow you the whole time you're walking from one place to the next (we visited the historic Victoria Falls Hotel down the road) trying to bargain with you.  At one point we got a little nervous as we were surrounded by 5 people trying to sell us Zimbabwe dollars which are worth as much as Monopoly money.  We had a hotel staff member escort us to the markets since we were a little nervous about venturing out on our own, and I think I did pretty well with my bargaining skills.  I managed to talk a guy down from $25 for one little guinea fowl figurine to $5 for two, and one tried to sell me a necklace for $50 that I got for $10.  It really is a sad culture and the people do not have the goods that they need.  Several men tried to get Rusty to trade their hand made items for his shirt, jeans, and shoes.  One guy wanted my socks, my jacket, and my hand towel I was using to protect my camera.  I highly recommend reading "The Last Resort: A Memoir of Zimbabwe" by Douglas Rogers to understand why their country is the way that it is now.   


If everything goes according to plan, we should be arriving back home in 350 days (yes, I'm counting down).  There are a lot of people who work in the office with Rusty who will be leaving in December, so we should know more at that time.  I better hurry up and plan the rest of my trips!  Next up is Durban.

One Year

Tomorrow will be one year that we have been away from Kansas.  It has been a fast year experiencing so many new things.  Jackson has lived in Africa longer than he has in Kansas, and we've lived in this house longer than ours back in Lenexa.  Miranda is forgetting about all the things she has back home, so it will be like Christmas when we return.  

Miranda had the entire month of April off and has now returned to preschool where she will have 3 months until she starts kindergarten.  The last day of the 2nd term of preschool is actually the first day of Kindergarten, so she'll have to say goodbye a few days early.  Jackson is almost 20 months and hit a milestone at 18 months where he figured out how to jump off the floor with both feet.  Now he does this constantly.  More sickness has swept through the family with ear infections, sinus infection, stomach flu, headaches, etc.  I don't think our bodies will ever fully adjust to the climate here before we head back home.  It's starting to get cold, down into the 40s at night.  And without any central air or furnaces, it can get quite chilly in the house.  The rains have stopped and with the field burning, the air has gotten pretty hazy.  I would think burning during the dry season would be a bad thing, but that's just my opinion.  

The dog (Jozi) is becoming very spoiled.  She's getting bigger and we're hoping her baby teeth start falling out soon because they are tearing holes in our clothes when she bites us.  We're working on that.  She loves to dig holes and find any dead animal that has deceased in our garden over the years.  The yard is completely surrounded by vast vegetation so there are a lot of places for her to explore and destroy.  She got her first haircut this week, and it was only $25 including tip.  They come to your house in their van and park it in your driveway, hook up to the outdoor hose running it through their own water heater, plug into an outlet, and take care of everything right there in the back of the truck.  They have converted it into a dog washing/grooming station.  Genius!  

We have had a couple of dinners with our wonderful local neighbors.  We invited them over for a traditional American dinner full of stuff imported from the states.  The next weekend we were over at their house for an Afrikaans dinner.  Some foods are similar, just cooked a little differently or with other ingredients added to change the flavor a bit.  Apparently it's normal to put ice in your wine (but not in your soda).  I am really going to miss this family when we move home. 

I  found a self-serve frozen yogurt place and tried it out a few weeks ago.  The customers coming in really didn't know what to do, but I felt like a pro having gone to several back home.  But it just wasn't the same.  It's almost like it was missing a lot of the fat and sugar, so it tasted bland.  And the flavors are different.  Mint is 'mint', like spearmint gum.  And there was a 'condensed milk' flavor.  I'll try it next time.  Woolworths (my favorite grocery store) has started carrying more items that I didn't know I missed until I couldn't have them.  The applesauce and saltines have been very helpful to me this week.  Maybe they'll get graham crackers next!  Wishful thinking, I'm sure.  

Rusty's sister had her baby a week ago and we finally got to see him on Skype last night.  It will be fun when we get home and all these little babies will be running around!  The homesickness is starting to really set in, especially with several families here moving home and others going back for a summer visit.  I really wish I could come back to the 'real world' for just a couple of weeks, but looking at the airline prices and thinking about 24 hours of travel with 2 kids by myself makes me change my mind very quickly.  My parents will be flying here a week from today, so hopefully that will ease it a little bit.  The countdown has begun, so if you're thinking you want to visit, you better book your flight soon!        

"In Like a Lamb, Out Like a Lion"

I was able to take a 4-week photography course from a local professional photographer at his home.  I am still trying to learn how to use all the bells and whistles of my Nikon D-3100.  So far the 'auto' setting seems to be working the best for me.

It's been a busy month, both here and back home.  My newest niece was born on March 4th with a full head of hair.  Her name is Jessica Marie, and I hate that I won't be able to see her in person until after she's walking.

Mid-March we took a 4-day/3-night trip down to Cape Town.  I cannot wait to go back as there were so many things to do.  Our favorite activities were the beach and hiking/sightseeing.  Miranda was running in the waves and got caught by surprise and went swimming fully clothed.  The water is very cold, which made Jackson cry, so he spent his time playing in the sand.  We hiked to the top of Cape Point and drove to the Cape of Good Hope which is the most south-western point of Africa.  There was a bus tour that took you around the whole city and you could stop and look around as you pleased.  We took it to Table Mountain and road the cable car to the top to enjoy a picnic lunch with the most beautiful view I've ever seen.  The V&A Waterfront was full of restaurants, shops, and activities.  It was raining the day we arrived so we spent some time at the Aquarium, but was beautiful the remainder of the trip.

Miranda turned 5 on March 27 and we celebrated the Saturday before at 'Yeesh!' which is an indoor playground.  We had about 18 of her friends and preschool classmates attend, and they all enjoyed her Smurf-themed cake.  The next weekend we picked up the newest member of our family, Jozi.  She is a black standard poodle born Feb. 2.  We met the owners and the mom & dad who are very friendly and energetic poodles.  They had 5 black puppies, and by the time we got there, 2 of the 3 girls had already been taken.  The family was only asking for R1000 which is about $130.  They hadn't planned on their dogs having puppies and wanted to sell them quickly.  The money we saved was quickly spent on a crate that is airline-approved since she will be coming home with us next year.  It seems that some things here are about 3x what they are at PetsMart.  Jozi is sleeping well in her crate at night and is already learning how to ask to go outside.  She is also becoming the spoiled princess that all poodles are, especially since a certain somebody (who originally said 'no dogs on the couch!) keeps putting her up on the couch when watching tv.

There are things I've seen here that I can't 'un-see'.  The poverty rate is still very high and we get to see a lot of it when we travel or just going to the store.  The government has done a lot, building homes and schools, but there's too big of a need to provide for everyone.  So right behind, next to, and in-between the little government houses are shacks and makeshift townships.  When you drive past them, it's hard to believe people actually live there.  One particularly poor area has a school in which the children regularly come without a lunch because they don't have anything at home to bring.  A wonderful teacher in that school has started a program where volunteers donate a bag of apples and peanut-butter sandwiches for as many classes as possible on Mondays so the kids can start their week out healthy.  I learned I can make 16 sandwiches out of a whole loaf of bread in 5 minutes.

Miranda finally learned how to swim, just in time for winter.  The weather has been beautiful and Miranda was able to get in a couple more swims the first part of the month.  We had quite a couple of storms the last few days of the month, and there's now a chill in the air.  Fall is definitely around the corner.  

Africa is Educational

I've been slacking on my blog, so here's some things I've learned this past month:

-I can buy one of the most expensive bottles of wine in a fancy Sandton City restaurant for $22.
-'The Phantom of the Opera' is just as good here as it is in New York.
-I can bargain my way down from R450 to R325 pretty well (apx.$56 to $40).
-P90x is not a fun workout (week 4, day 3).
-Only my fellow shoppers know where to find hummus in the store, not the workers.
-I need to just accept that we will catch almost all the African viruses while we're here.
-Mango is really good.
-I can watch all the Academy award shows live if I want to be awake at 3am.
-I still cannot speak with 'clicks' or 'pops' or understand the 'locals'.
-You can buy just about anything at the China Mall, including a real sword.
-Acupuncture hurts.
-Taking a photography class was a brilliant idea.
-I make a great from-scratch chicken pot pie.
-I should make sure I check my shoes for frogs before I put them on.
-Fork lifts at top speed are a great way to travel through Makro, or so I've witnessed.
-If a lizard dismembers itself from it's tail, the tail still wiggles around for quite awhile.
-When someone says 'hi, how are you?', the correct and only accepted response is 'fine, thanks, and you?' because they will answer 'fine, thanks', even if you don't use this response.

Sneaky Monkeys

We rang in the New Year with a last-minute party which included about 20 of our friends here in SA.  We decided to let Miranda stay up as long as she wanted for the first time ever.  She made it past 1am when everyone decided it was time to go home.  Needless to say the next day was a bit of a challenge.

We've managed to stay pretty healthy except for a few short-lived colds and a stubborn sinus infection.  The weather is beautiful and rarely reaches above 85F.  The clouds tend to roll in mid-afternoon with an evening rain shower.

I had a lot of troubles shopping the first week of January as everyone was still on holiday.  The grocery stores and malls were all open, but specialty shops and some restaurants shut down for a few weeks since so many people head to Durban and Cape Town.

Miranda headed back to school mid-January and is enjoying her new teacher.  She has about 16 kids in her class with mostly girls, including her best friends from her class last year.  She is continuing her swimming lessons but has yet to make it through one without crying.  She has also begun ballet lessons at her preschool on Thursdays and she really likes walking on her tippy-toes.

Rusty's parents arrived about 12 days ago and we've been busy showing them all the sights.  We spent 3 days this week at the Madikwe Game Reserve which is located just south of the Botswana border, about a 5-hour drive from Jourg.  We stayed at the Tau lodge which was a beautiful fully-catered all-inclusive resort with individual cabins and wonderful scenery.  We went on 4 game rides which took place at 5am and 5pm for three hours each.  The goal is to spot the "Big 5" which includes the elephant, lion, cape buffalo, rhino, and leopard.  We were able to see herds of all of these except the leopard who apparently didn't want to be seen.  The park is estimated to be about 75,000 hectare (apx. 290 square miles) and contains about 35-40 leopards of which only 14 have been photographed and identified, so I didn't have my hopes up too high of spotting one.  The grounds also contained a lot of sneaky monkeys.  We were told to keep our doors and windows closed whenever we left our cabin, but a certain Papa wasn't listening and had his complimentary ginger cookies stolen in a matter of seconds.  I have gone through about 2,500 pictures taken between 3 cameras and have it narrowed down to about 160.  I will post them soon when I get it down to under 50.