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.

Grant turns 2!

On May 15th my favorite little boy turned 2.  To celebrate we invited friends over for a Lego themed birthday party.  Grant loves Legos and building so it was a natural fit.  Watching 9 toddlers celebrate a birthday might be the cutest little event and thankfully Adalyn had some friends to play with too.

I had hoped to enjoy some of his party outdoors but it rained the entire weekend so the bounce house stayed deflated on the lawn.  I hired a soft play area for the little ones to build with and thankfully it fit into our house. 

 From a balance beam to a ball pit and lots of building blocks, the kids had plenty to play with. 

 Of course toys are always fun too.

While the parents enjoyed coffee/tea, mimosas, and bloody mary's the little kids decided it was time to eat but not at the little tables/chairs, they had to take over the dining room table.  I loved seeing them all belly up to the table and enjoying a meal.  

Lego ham and cheese sandwiches, and whatever else Pinterest and I could come up with for the theme was eaten.  

For another year I made Grant's cake. 

 I figured a Lego cake would be pretty simple but had a hard time trying to get it to look right.  It was fun to watch the kids gather around Grant as he stared down his cake, no blowing out the candles, but there is hope he catches on next year.  

After the kids enjoyed the cake we brought out the pinatas I made.  One for the little kids filled with Duplo Legos and another one for the old kids with candy.  Some kids had never seen a pinata before but had no problem figuring out to rush in for the goodies once they dropped.  Each kid took home a bucket full of goodies and next Grant opened his gifts after the party ended and a good nap was taken.

Ripping presents open was no problem and Grant went right to playing with all his new toys.  Adalyn enjoyed the new toys too and said it was "the best party ever!".  

It is hard to believe Grant is 2 years old now.  Some days he still looks like a baby and others he seems older than 2.  He loves building, books, planes, trains, cars, puzzles, coloring, painting and helping me in the kitchen.  When he's not playing with toys, he is puttering around the lawn, finding something to climb on and jumping in the trampoline.  Grant is an adventurous little guy, not afraid of anything and wants to be doing whatever Adalyn is up to.  He loves to give "high fives", snuggle before bed, pick out his own clothes and to be tickled.  I am excited to see what the next year has in store for my little man who will be a big brother in a few months! 

Two days after his birthday Grant celebrated at school with his friends.  They all enjoyed donuts and juice while singing Happy Birthday to Grant in English and Afrikaans.  I was glad to get a video of it as it may be the only time anyone sings Happy Birthday to him in Afrikaans.  He enjoyed wearing his birthday crown and sitting at the head of the table.  I am thankful we found a nice pre-school for him.

Trip to Venice

Next up on our Italian trip was Venice.  After boarding the super fast 2 hour train from Florence we managed to navigate the water taxi system and enjoyed a 45 minute cruise down the Grand Canal to our hotel by St. Marks.  

Each of the cities we visited were unique but there is just something about Venice with all the canals, gondolas and tight buildings that make it a bit more magical to me.  

For the afternoon we toured Doge Palace where once again we were made aware that the museums in Italy are more ornate than anywhere else I have seen.  

A gondola ride was up next before dinner.  It was romantic and beautiful to see the city floating down the canals.  People would stop at the bridges above and wave. 

The next morning we went to Campanile Bell tower to take the ride to the top for a city view.  

After receiving a tip on how to skip the line at St. Marks Basilica we got right in and were again taken back by the beauty and enormity of the church. 

  There was a nice museum on the second floor and a terrace to look out on the square.  For the afternoon we stopped at the Rialto Bridge Market area to buy some Mureno jewelry.  With another great meal eaten we visited about every church we came across, and there are lots of churches. 

Walking around the city at night with the canals light by the lights of the homes was beautiful and tasty with warm Neutella crepes.  Another small city so it was easy to get around as long as you had a good map as some of the paths would lead to dead ends. 

Blood red orange juice from Sicily was everywhere and fantastic

On our last day in Venice we took a tour of a Mureno glass factory, enjoyed the live music on the square of St. Marks, ate one last caprese salad and 3 scoops of gelato before catching the airport water taxi.   

Super narrow paths

Venice was unique not just for the architecture but it had different types of shopping, the restaurants menus would be in multiple languages often including Mandarin, the prices were higher for basic goods, more signs were in Italian and there was less English and we saw more families with strollers attempting the steps than in the previous cities.  Having a few days without cars on the island was pleasant and getting lost in the narrow pathways was actually fun.    

Venice Opera House

It was a lovely trip to Italy and I am glad Mark and I were able to take this time together.  Having kids along for all the museums and walking would have been too much for them and us.  Italy was different than I expected, more beautiful, less modernized in certain aspects and had a few quirks here and there to remind you that you are not in America or South Africa any more.  I hope someday we can get back when the kids are older for them to see the amazing sights and a trip to the south coast is on the list.