Starting our 4th year in Africa

On June 9th, 2013, we left America and moved to South Africa.  Now 3 years later I wanted to capture the changes I feel since we have moved.

Things that once felt strange such as domestic workers walking around the neighborhood in 1950's attire now doesn't get a second look from me.  Sadly, even the poverty level, state of homes, and amount of workers looking for a job right outside our neighborhood gate feels normal.  It is still strange to see children and babies with their mother along the side of the road spending all day selling items or asking for money.

After 3 years I use more local terms, disobey more traffic laws, and I am more comfortable with the metric system.  I drink more tea, even eat biltong and have become accustomed to a house with no heat or air conditioning.  Adalyn is less and less American to me the longer we stay here due to her accent, the words she uses and her food choices.

I am still surprised by customer service here, when it is great it feels odd.  Maybe American customer service is more in your face or intrusive but it is all I have known.  When I go to a government agency I don't expect it to go well now and figure if I only have to come back once then it was a success.

I used to be bothered not to find items in the grocery store but it is the norm to have to visit multiple stores each week to get everything you need, so a one trip a week would be quite the accomplishment.   Although when I go to the grocery store and they are out of chicken, bread or lunch meat it still irritates me as I do expect some staples to be always available.    It is still odd to find workers stocking the shelves with huge pallets during the day where you either can't get through an aisle or you have to ask the worker to move so you can buy an item.

I don't miss the American food I once did and don't mind not finding all the American products therefore having to wait for family to come over with it.  Although it take longer to get things accomplished here the quality of life is still far beyond what I imagined.

The neighborhood we live in is so family friendly, there are lots of places to visit for the day and attractions to see around Pretoria.  Our American dollar gets us much more now than when we arrived 3 years ago so that gives us more options.  The weather of Pretoria is fantastic, even in the colder months you still can go outside and play.  The food is good at restaurants and there are several concerts and events to attend.   Adalyn and Grant are enjoying more extracurricular activities than they would in America because it does not cost as much here.

Despite the frustrations that can arise when living outside your home country we are enjoying more family time than we did in America.   Because we rent a home there are no house projects, no lawn to take care of and having a domestic do all the cleaning means we can enjoy spending more time together.  It has been sad to see most all of our American friends leave and return back home but glad to have had this African experience with them.    

We don't know when we will leave and are in no rush as we love life here.  The local people we have met and the school Adalyn attends have both been lovely.  I know it would be a huge adjustment to go back to America in probably every aspect so I try my best to absorb all the wonderful aspects of this expat life.