The following are a series of discombobulated initial impressions I jotted down during our first couple of weeks out here before acquiring Internet. Since at long, long last we are finally reconnected with the outside world, I can share these now. I plan to post much more regularly now that we are settled in and have Internet. So, please enjoy the following and I look forward to sharing more very soon.
The Flight
The flight was long. Very, very long. 18 hours on one plane and then we had to sprint through the Johannesburg airport to catch our connection and fly another 2 hours to our destination. T was her usual easy going self, and a number of passengers commented that they had not even realized we had an infant with us. The same cannot be said for K. The whole plane was well aware of her presence. She really was just about as good as a 2 ½ year old can be, under the circumstances, but that is still not exactly pleasant. When we finally got off the plane C and I looked at each other and declared that we would just be staying here forever as neither of us could conceive of doing that flight again.
At least we all made it to our final destination. Our bags did not. 8 checked bags, plus a car seat all spent an extra day in South Africa which was a bit nerve wracking as they are notorious for rifling through bags. Also, while C and the girls all had ample changes of clothes, I had one pair of yoga pants and a tank top in reserve, having sacrificed my carry on space to various toddler entertaining objects. Much to our relief, everything arrived the next day, and nothing was stolen.
Home Sweet Home
Our house is large. For those of you who saw pictures, they really do not do it justice. I keep losing things! I can’t hear my cell phone from the other end of the house so I have taken to carrying it around with me. I also occasionally can’t hear K, which is usually a sign of trouble so I have to work extra hard to figure out to where she has wandered off. I am still trying to figure out how to use the space, but I think for now one of the bedrooms is going to become a playroom, another will be our office, the third is K’s (and T will join her eventually) and C and I have the fourth. I will leave the guest suite alone for now in anticipation of all of the promised visits!
The pool is great and we have already enjoyed it a few times. It is securely fenced separately from the rest of the yard, which is great. The remainder of he yard is gigantic with lots of little clusters of plants. We seem to have an herb garden, and I have already used some of the rosemary to cook. We also have three lemon trees and a mango tree.
Peacocks and Other Miscellany
We have begun the interesting process of searching for household help. We already have a gardener on a probationary basis and I am gearing up to interview and try out nanny candidates. The whole concept of having help is quite new and I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by it, though I am sure I will welcome the assistance.
Thanks to the Brits, they drive on the wrong side of the road down here, which is taking some getting used to. We also have a giant truck that could have eaten our Jetta, so adjusting to its sheer size is also a task, in addition to learning how to shift left handed. I have attempted a few very short jaunts and have not yet driven us into oncoming traffic, or hit any of the many pedestrians who walk along the side of the road, but I do keep hitting the windshield wiper switch instead of my turn signal switch.
We greatly miss Pasha but he may soon be replaced by a more exotic pet. Apparently, one can acquire peacocks! C is excited by the prospect of having our own flock of royal birds (it is my understanding that you must have at least two females for each male otherwise they get angry about the lack of selection). I am a bit concerned as they can be quite loud, but I must admit that I also rather like the idea of it, as I do love a good spectacle.
The First Weeks
Since we still don’t have Internet, and may not for another week or two, I am going ahead and jotting down thoughts and everything will end up getting posted all at once.
We keep asking K if she is in Africa and she inevitably answers, “nooooo, we are in the car” or “nooooo, we are in the house.” Hard to argue with that.
Our house is gated and we have a small guard house and a 24/7 guard, staffed in two twelve hour shifts by two very nice gentlemen, Moses and Calvin. Today, we were in the truck ready to head out to get coffee and some groceries and our guard was nowhere to be found (which is a problem because he has the keys to the gate). C starts wandering around the yard trying to find him, thinking he might be back at the latrine. Finally, I see him walking back from the back yard and hear “oh, well why were you up there?” Apparently, Calvin was up our mango tree trying to find some ripe mangoes. Obviously. I must say I never thought we would find ourselves having to ask why our guard was climbing a tree in our back yard.
I have been making some good progress learning to drive on the left. Properly parking the car is another issue as I accidentally left it in neutral without the parking break on and it started rolling away when I got out. Luckily, it did not manage to pick up much speed and I was able to hope in and stop it. Even more luckily, this happened in the privacy of our driveway so the only people around to ridicule me were C and the guard.
An Overabundance of Mangoes
I will sign off now by soliciting suggestions for what to do with a whole lot of mangoes. We are averaging 5-8 new ones every day, and I don't know what to do with them all!
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