Another Christmas in South Africa

We decided not to go home to America this year again for Christmas but to spend it with our friends in South Africa instead.

Last year we celebrated a few times with friends and then had Joyce (the woman who works in our home) and her family over for a braai and an afternoon of swimming.  It was such a successful and heartwarming day last year that we decided to do it again but invite both of our gardeners and their families as well.



The Saturday before Christmas all three families plus our own celebrated over lunch and an afternoon of swimming.

It was nice to meet our gardener's families, though one gardener, Obit, was sick so he sent two of his nieces instead.

I made some of my favorite American food like fried chicken, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy and for dessert we had pumpkin pie.  I was relieved everyone enjoyed the food and then a few hours of swimming.



Before heading home I gave gifts to all the kids.  It was humbling to watch kids who never receive gifts open a few.



They weren't sure what to do with the paper and I had to encourage them to rip it off.  Last year, Joyce's 4 year old daughter did not realize she could keep the baby doll I gave her and tired to hand it back to me when they left.  I was glad the kids all realized they could keep the toys this year and the smiles on their faces was the best gift to us.  Our gardener Peter's wife said, "Thank you for being nice to us".  It was sweet yet sad at the same time.

We visited Santa just like in America except we never have to wait in line here, guess the big guy is not as popular.  He especially was not popular with our kids, neither would go near him so we took a picture from afar.  

The kids enjoyed making gingerbread cookies instead of iced sugar cookies like years past as I figured a 19 month old with access to sprinkles and icing would be a bit of a disaster.  

  

I really love our plant/Christmas tree.
Going to have to try and replicate it wherever we move to next. 

On Christmas Eve we celebrated at our friend Mara and Frank's house after the kids opened their first present, Christmas pajamas.  They had a wonderful dinner prepared and the kids enjoyed playing with each other.

Grant slept through the whole thing but hopefully next year he will be able to stay up a little later.  It was nice to enjoy our time without chasing around a 19 month old so I glad he got a good night's sleep.  Upon arriving home Adalyn set out the gingerbread cookies we had made for Santa and a few carrots for the reindeer.

Adalyn woke bright and early at 6am on Christmas morning bringing me the plate of half eaten cookies for Santa.  This year Adalyn requested a scooter and two cats for Christmas.  She lucked out with the scooter but the cats just didn't make it.  Adalyn said it was okay because she got a cat umbrella.





















It was sweet to watch Adalyn help Grant with his gifts but he figured it out pretty quickly and had no problem ripping the paper to pieces.  


We enjoyed Christmas day home together playing with all the new toys and swimming.

Adalyn got a face painting set so Mark was her first client.  

I was quite surprised at how much Grant loves his tee ball set.  True American at heart. 

The day after Christmas we had friends over for dinner.

Everyone comes from a different country so we had food from around the world.  Germany, UK, India, South Africa, Australia and America were all represented and so was their food.

  


With so many great friends and reasons to get together it makes missing home not as bad.  I am sure when we move from South Africa we will miss parts of our Christmas celebrations here.

Building a home in South Africa

Joyce is the wonderful woman who works in our home Monday through Friday from 7-3.  Joyce does not live with us as she has a family of eight to care for at her own home.  When I first met Joyce I learned that this family of eight lives in a home that has one bathroom and an open kitchen and living room so there was not enough room for everyone.  I was giving Joyce extras each month like money and food, or household items to help out but I knew it would take a long time to really make an impact on her family.

I took this picture of Joyce's home the day we installed her hot water heater.

The two rooms Joyce built on for the 2 oldest boys.
You can see one room with a window
and the door of the other room next to it. 

After we installed her hot water heater last year, I knew we had to do something else while we were still in Africa to help with her home life.  Joyce's living room was sectioned off into two bedrooms using curtains and dressers.  Some of the children were sleeping on the floor on mats.  Joyce and her husband were able to save enough money to build on two additional concrete block bedrooms so two of the older boys would have their own place last year.

 Even with this addition Joyce and her husband did not have their own room.  There were 3 children sharing a double bed and one additional child sleeping on the floor.  I had talked with Joyce about what we can do so at least none of the kids were sleeping on the floor, but she said there was no room for a bed as his mat was put down nightly in the entry and taken up each morning.

The rooms are made of cinder blocks and mortar with a metal roof.
The two rooms added on are identical, each with a window. 

If Joyce needed more rooms then I figured we should help to build her a bigger home.  We gave Joyce a lump sum to cover all the materials for the building and she said her husband who was out of work would be able to build it himself.  He was able to work on the home off and on as he was lucky enough to find work at times.  Fourteen months after the building started the home addition was complete.  Two bedrooms were added to the back of the home and new doorways were constructed so you could enter those bedrooms from the new living room.  Electricity was run into each bedroom and Joyce started moving her family into those rooms.

Each room has their own door for added privacy and fits a double bed and wardrobe.

The rooms are built onto the back of the house and the back walls
 of each room are right up next to the exterior wall of their property.
It's hard to get good pictures with such tight quarters.

Now that the two rooms were built it was time to furnish them.  Furniture is quite expensive in this country, often paying more for a couch or bed than what you do in America.  I went furniture shopping but quickly learned that the amount I allotted was not going to go far.  I even went to a furniture pawn shop but still the prices were higher than I expected.  After speaking with Joyce who knew of a furniture store in downtown Pretoria, Grant, Joyce and I set out one morning to do some shopping.

It was quite an adventure at the furniture store as the area of town was very run down and I can't say I felt completely safe.  Usually there is a Car Guard everywhere you go but there were none at this location, probably because my car was the only one on the road which was completely jammed packed with taxi buses.  I hoped to find my car still in it's spot on our return.  The store had everything we needed and at amazing prices with great customer service (everyone loved seeing Grant too).  We were able to get all the items for the money we had only we ran into a problem with both of my credit cards were denied at the register.  I told the clerk it was likely due to the high crime area and my credit card companies were not going to let me make a purchase there.  I did not feel safe walking around in that area with a bunch of cash so I did not bring any and my cards were even denied at the ATM next door.

Joyce's room with her new bed and headboard.
Joyce's 5 year old daughter shares the bed with Joyce
and her husband until there is room to set up the bunk beds. 

I was bummed to leave the store and not purchase Joyce's furniture so we devised a plan that she would go back the following day, a Saturday, with all the cash and make the purchase.  Joyce picked out all the furniture herself, and I was impressed with her desire to keep a color scheme going.  She bought a couch, love seat, chair, coffee table, entertainment center, dining room table and 6 chairs, 3 full size beds with headboards, a wardrobe, and bunk beds.  Surprisingly the store would deliver all of this for only R350 ($35) that same day.  I might just have to change the location of where I shop as these deals were fantastic!

Joyce's oldest daughter's room with her new bed and headboard she shares with her 3 year old son.
The base of the bed touches the opposite wall making these rooms quite small but sufficient. 

Joyce's oldest daughter's new wardrobe. 

I wish I could have been there when the delivery truck pulled up at her home to see the smile on the family's faces but we were in Lesotho and had to miss out.  So I went a few weeks after we got back to snap a some photos of her new home.

Joyce's new living room furniture and table and chairs in the back.
 It's humbling to know that this is her first couch, and sweet
 to see that she has put blankets down to protect the seat cushions. 

Another view of the new living room that used to be two bedrooms separated by curtains and wardrobes.
They have an extra dining table for Sunday dinners but still need some chairs for it.

 I am so thankful that we were able to do this for Joyce but sadly there was not enough room for the 3rd full sized bed.  We were hoping it would fit in one of the older boy's bedrooms that is detached from the home but it was just too small of a room.  So for now it leans up against the wall but we have plans in the works for it.  Joyce also could not set up the bunk beds that her grandson and her 5 year old daughter were going to share as there is not enough space.  So we have a plan to build on another bedroom and expand the kitchen.  This will allow the bunk beds and the third bed to be set up so everyone can sleep and not be on the floor.  I keep telling Joyce that it is important for me to give everyone a bed though she states the kids don't mind sleeping on the floor as that is what they have always known.  I can't even put myself in her shoes or those of her family but I can be giving and there is always something I can do to help. 

We have been blessed to have such an amazing woman working in our home and helping to watch the kids so it was our pleasure to give her a hand up.  Joyce has never asked for money or items but instead is always giving of her love and time to our family.  She is so proud of her new furnishings and larger home, always telling me how she is showing it to neighbors and visitors.  I am glad that Joyce has a beautiful home that is almost big enough for her whole family.  My heart is filled with joy for her wonderful family though I still grapple with the feelings of not doing enough.  It is a balance I don't know if I will ever find.    

Lesotho, Africa-Part 2

During our stay at the Maliba Resort in Lesotho, Africa, we went with a guide to do a community cultural tour of the local townships.  Mark and I had both done a cultural township tour in Soweto so I did not think it would be much different but once again I was surprised.

The level of poverty is strikingly different in Lesotho from where we have been in South Africa.  All of the homes were either made of clay or sticks and cow dung.  They all had thatched roofs and there were no bathrooms or electricity so it was more primitive in my opinion.

Our first stop was to see a village medicine woman.  Our guide had to first go and get her approval for us to visit then we were invited into her office.  Made of sticks and cow dung with a thatch roof it was very dark and a bit damp.  It had 3 chairs along one side and rugs piled up to be a bed on the other side.  Opposite the door was her medicine cabinet which consisted of tins filled with medicine made out of plants and animals.  The medicine woman did not speak any English so our guide translated everything.








We were informed that it is quite expensive to visit the medicine woman as most people have to pay with livestock.  Our guide said that people will come to here with all sorts of ailments and she will either rub the medicine on their skin, have them sniff it up their nose or will make small cuts into the joints of their body and rub medicine into the cuts.  We were told that medicine made out of animal parts is only rubbed on someone's skin and no longer put into their body via the joint cuts.

To be a village medicine woman/man we were told that you had to be of a particular ancestry, appear to the present village medicine woman/man in her/his dreams and then complete a 6 month apprenticeship under the present village medicine woman/man.  After this the government will issue you a license to practice.  We were told there are two types of medical doctors in Lesotho, the village doctor and the more westernized medical doctor.

This particular village medicine woman also happened to be a psychic and for R50 ($5) she would predict your future.  I figured when else am I going to have this experience so I gave my R50 and she started her magic.  A mat was rolled out and my money placed on top, then she gathered up 2 sea shells, 2 dominoes, 3 decorated goat bones, a cow tail bone, a goat tail bone, a bracelet, a Lesotho coin and shook them up in her hands.  Then the items were dropped onto the mat and sprinkled with a burnt plant.


The village medicine woman said that I get headaches that wrapped around my head, I used to work with men and woman and one particular man used to drive me crazy.  She predicted we were from another country but could afford to live here.  Also predicted was that we would have a very happy life, everyone would be healthy and we have a strong marriage.  The guide interpreted everything for us and kept asking me what I wanted to know but given the general predictions we had already received I did not hold much faith in correct answers to any of my questions.

Next we went to a shebeen which is a local pub.  It was divided into 2 buildings with the larger one on the right serving as the place the beer is made and the smaller one on the left is where everyone sits around, dances and drinks.



The beer takes 7 days to make and this woman uses large blue tubs, one for the process of making it and once complete it is dumped into the other tub.  If they are getting close to running out of the finished product, she will dump more sugar into the tub which is in the process of becoming beer to speed up the process.


A cup is used to scoop out the beer into customer's 1 liter cups.  The beer costs a whopping R5 (50 cents) for 1 liter.  It has a milky color to it, much thicker than regular beer and a bit of a sour taste.



We were greeted in the bar and oddly enough there was a kid younger than Grant in there with his mom.  Mark and I tasted the beer but I could only do a few sips and then we bought a few beers for the locals who let us join them.  We even stopped to take pictures with them as they were once again surprised to see Caucasians join the party.   I loved the Lesotho music and it was entertaining watching the locals dance.

The bar does have a license and is open 7 days a week but only until 8pm.  There are more westernized bars which sell your typical beer and even play American music.

Not the house we toured but an example of a typical Lesotho home
made out of sticks and dung with a thatch roof.

Our next stop was to see a traditional village home.  This one belonged to a single woman and was made out of clay.  The walls were about 24 inches wide from years of reapplying clay to maintain it.  The one room home had a table, a bed, a hutch and shelves to display her dishes.  There was a shallow hole in the ground which she used to cook her food.



 It was amazing to me how clean her home was.  Once again there was not any electricity or running water.  Outside she kept her chickens in a pin and even a turtle on a leash.  She has the most remarkable views from her home which ended our cultural tour.

Local school

We did not get to go into one of the local schools since it was Sunday but managed to capture these pictures.



All of the village kids ran to our car at each stop, greeting us and speaking very good English as that is what is taught in the schools.  Some asked for items and I wish I had known to bring candy along to pass out.  The kids were so friendly, talking to Adalyn and trying to pick up Grant.







On Monday we saw lots of kids walking along the highway as young as Adalyn, 5 years old, to get to school.  No such thing is a free school bus in this part of Africa.



This parade of children was of course mixed with lots of cows, goats, chickens, horses and sheep wandering along the highway that we had to dodge with our car.





We had a wonderful trip to Maliba Resort and I even sneaked in a 90 minute scrub and massage for only R600 ($60).  I love the spa prices in Africa so I rarely pass up the opportunity.

The only outing that we did not get to do was a trip to the local dam.  We attempted to find it during a 90 minute drive one morning but not unusual to Africa our GPS, nor the local's directions, or our own senses could find it.  At least there were breathtaking views all around us with the mountains.

Lesotho is one of the prettiest places we have been and I love the cultural aspects we could experience.  The country reminded me of Tanzania, Africa, in how it looked and how people lived.  I am glad to give our kids the experience to see their 5th country spanning over 3 continents.  I hope they get the travel bug like Mark and I have.