1st week's 1st impressions

           Since moving to Africa 2 weeks ago I wanted to write down my 1^st impressions to see how they would differ over the time we will spend here.  As I expected most aspects of life are the same as in Kansas City.  Pretoria is right outside of Johannesburg so it is a very large city which reminds me of home.  Tall buildings, highways, different types of stores and homes, nothing out of the ordinary at first glance in my opinion. 

When I began writing this entry I noticed it would be too long for a blog so I have divided it up and will speak to housing first.  The first full day in Africa we spent house hunting with our relocation rep, Kathryn. We were able to see about 10 homes, plus the one we are staying in so I have been able to see some differences in living.  Homes in South Africa do not have smoke alarms.  I first noticed this when I was cooking bacon which usually creates smoke since I like it crisp.  Once I saw smoke I immediately looked for the smoke detector and was surprised I could not find one anywhere.  And now that I think about it more, I have not seen a fire station anywhere either….I must explore that more.

The homes also do not have standard American closets with bi-fold doors or walk in closets, but wardrobes.  Several small closets with their own doors mixed in with drawers make up the dressing area in each bedroom.  I have not seen any stand alone dressers.  This frees up quite a bit of space in your room and really makes sense to have all your clothes together when dressing….why do American’s split it up.  Maybe we just need that much more counter space for more junk. 

Wardrobe/Closets

I have also not seen any combo tub/showers in Africa.  Each home either has a bathroom with a separate shower and tub or a tub with a shower hand-held extension, but nothing like the walled units in America.  The bathrooms also do not have electric outlets in them, so if you want to blow dry your hair or trim your beard you need a separate vanity in your bedroom for that.  Another bit of info about electricity, all of the light switches are located outside of the room you want lit.  All of the plug-ins have a switch to turn on the electric current into them, otherwise if you just plug in your toaster it won’t work w/o the switch being on. 

wall plug in with switches above

I have yet to see a home in South Africa with central heating and air conditioning.  The ones I have seen have under-floor heating and a device called an Aircon which is like a wall mounted heater/air-conditioner combo.  This is why it is very important to have a house which has lots of windows that face the north to let the most light in to warm up the room during the colder months.  But honestly we are here during the colder months and only use our Aircon at night.   

Aircon

During our house hunting we looked at about 5 different gated communities and most of those homes provided domestic quarters which can consist of a variety of amenities.  Some have a bedroom and bathroom that is separate from the main house for a domestic worker to live in.  Others simply have a bathroom for your domestic worker/gardener/pool cleaner to use.  I can understand a utility type bath for the gardener or anyone else working outside but why does the woman helping you clean your home and watch your kids need a separate place to use the bathroom.  More coming up in another blog on why I feel like I am living in the movie, “The Help”.

This has been my first impressions of homes in Pretoria and I am happy with what we have found for our home.  Move in date July 15^th!

1st class experience

After one final farewell to family over lunch, Mark, Adalyn and I along with our 11 checked bags, 6 carry-ons, 1 stroller and a car seat later we arrived at the airport for our journey.  Black and Veatch was gracious to put us in first class for our flights so we were well taken care of.  We also only had to pay for 2 of the 11 suitcases so that was nice for our wallet.  Upon boarding the first leg of our flight, KC to Atlanta, we enjoyed all the first class cabin had to offer.  The extra wide seats and leg room was nice along with the personal service.  Once landing in Atlanta we had a short layover, 1 hour, which was just enough time to get us to the next gate.  The next leg of our journey from Atlanta to Johannesburg was long, 15 hours, but the new experience of flying first class internationally was a treat.

Once boarding the plane, we immediately realized that the seats or "pods" as I think they resembled, were not '"together" but had patricians between them so you could not see each other except across the aisle.  We switched seats with a nice gentlemen so we would have better access to each other but little did I realize that there was really no good seating arrangement for taking care of a 2 year old on this flight.  During "take off" Adalyn could not sit with us but had to be in her own seat.  Had I thought of that I could have prepared her but since I did not she cried all during take off.  I felt horrible for her as all she wanted was to sit with me.  Once we got to the right altitude for seat belts to be undone, Adalyn enjoyed all the Disney TV she could take in.  We also became friends with the couple behind us and after hearing they paid $13,000 per seat I prayed even harder this flight would go smoothly for Adalyn so the pour couple could get the experience they paid for.

After our take-off round of champagne, we were served a nice meal, then it was time for us to figure out how to sleep in these pods.  It was nice that they layed down flat, but Adalyn was not about to sleep by herself.  So our 2 hour "let's go to sleep" routine began.  First with Adalyn and I together in one pod, then she wanted to be on her own which would last for about 10 minutes then she would join me for about 30 minutes and back to her own pod again......this routine went on for a while before she finally wore herself out.  It is amazing how a mom can cram herself into any position just for the sake of her child.  I was grateful she got a good rest and I could sleep a bit.  I will say that I slept better crammed with my 2 year old in 1st class then I did by myself in Coach earlier this year.  There is something to be said about being able to lay down and sleep versus in a reclining position.  

With only 2 hours left in the flight and since it was 3pm in Johannesburg we figured we better wake Adalyn up so her sleeping patterns were not totally out of wack.  A nice breakfast followed by more Disney TV because who wants to play with toys while sitting in a seat where there is a tv just for you right at your eye level.  This time I was more prepared for the landing of Adalyn by herself in her own pod so I stacked it full of toys and snacks and she did wonderfully.  Once the plan landed the people around us praised her for how well she did and thanked us.  We just felt grateful it went smoothly.  Sadly I was not able to enjoy all 1st class air travel has to offer.  Though I was able to see about 4 Disney shows with Adalyn on my lap, they were all silent as only one head phone worked per pod and of course she monopolized it.  So no movies or comfortable sleeping or even relaxing meals for me.  I am sure you are wondering "where is Mark?", well since moving out of our house and quitting work, Adalyn has become super attached to me that even if he wants to help, all we here is "no, Mommy do it", so he was able to thoroughly enjoy the flight except for when he was my gofer.

Thankfully our trip was a success and uneventful.  I hope to travel 1st class again, but next time I just might go without a toddler.

Until next time America, it's been great

3 days left until we move to Africa and it is finally becoming real.  We have had 3 months to plan but it never felt like our move date was actually going to get here until we started selling our cars, shutting off our phones and spending down our loose change.  I have lived in America for 30 years and it has been a great relationship.  I appreciate the time I had living on the farm outside of Tarkio, MO, for 4 years, then growing up in Maryville, MO, for 13 years made for an amazing childhood.  Off to Columbia, MO, for 7 years of undergrad and grad school which changed my life, but the last 6 years in Kansas City, MO, has been the most special as this is where I was able to really start my life.
Mark and I were married here, bought our first home and rental home, established friendships and continued others all while being close to family.  Of course the most life changing was the addition of Adalyn to our family in 2010.  Our lives have never been the same since she moved into our hearts.  We have learned even more about KC since having a child opens up and whole new set of experiences for you.  Here are a few of my favorite KC places:
For the kiddos:
1.Lego Land (we bought a year pass and it was well worth the $50 to go an unlimited amount of times, especially during the cold winter months)

2. Deanna Rose Farmstead (where else can you meet and greet an assortment of animals for an entire day all for free)

3. Crown Center (from trains to exhibits and eating at Fritz this place has plenty to offer both new and old)

4. Loose Park (we have enjoyed many an afternoons feeding the geese, enjoying the spray park and walking the trails)

5. North Kansas City Dagg Park Pool (free pool for everyone and the kids have to be 3 feet and under to get in so there is no worry about getting knocked down by the older ones.  Plus the water is only a few feet so it is a perfect place to discover in the hot summer months)

Of course I have my favorites too but my attachment is not as embedded as what I have experienced with Adalyn.  It has been nice to visit all our favorite places before we left and we look forward to stopping by again during one of our many trips home.  America is the only continent I have called home for the last 30 years and I am grateful for what she offers and has provided for me and my family.  It is a deep rooted love but I look forward to sharing some love in Africa too.