It’s not hard to fall in love South Africa, and now that I’m here I can totally understand my husband’s lingering attraction to it. When you live in a place where beauty surrounds you, it’s not hard to leave your old Western life behind and fail to give it a second thought. However, before […]
Yay! ‘Sister Adjoa’ has come! When you live in Africa, it is imperative to have some sort of household help. This will be in the form of a house keeper, nanny or gardener, and if you’re really balling, you’ll have all 3. Not only is it important (and very helpful) for a ‘foreigner’ to have […]
This house and I are in a toxic relationship. I know exactly how Heath Ledger felt in Brokeback Mountain. Well, not exactly. One of the best things about my stay in SA so far has been this house. Ironically, it’s also been one of the worst. You see that behind me? That’s a rooftop […]
The churches in Plett are either established denominational churches (the Anglicans seem to have a strong presence here) or a disorganized smattering of miniscule congregations. None of the Americans that we know really GO to church here – I’m guessing because it’s not really their flavor – and does their own thing on Sunday. One […]
One of the characters at the afterschool program is a dude missing all kinds of teeth The ones he is left with have been browned by years of poor oral hygiene. His name is Pee-pee. Rumor has it that Pee-pee was born deaf, and gained part of his hearing late last year after he was […]
As I said before, South Africa is the kind of place you can come and find a feel good story on virtually any corner. You know why? Because where triumph abounds, tragedy equally abounds. (You can use that.) This week, my feel good story is incarnated in the form of Celia, a woman who runs an informal orphanage […]
I’ve discovered that it takes about a week to settle into any new environment, and I’m happy to report that we’re finally settled! But can I confess one thing before I move on to the ponies and rainbows? My confession is this: I dread rainstorms in South Africa. Previously, the thought of a night spent […]
I wanted kicks, and I was not disappointed. First of all, let me go ahead and admit that every day that I have spent in the Western Cape has been akin to a goofy, feel good, B Christian movie. When we pulled up to the after school facility (which doubles as a church/community center/anything you […]
On Monday morning Marshall and Michael went down to the rental agent’s office downtown to give them our list of “observations”. She was aware of all of them. When Marshall asked if someone could come in to repair the water damage and paint over the mold, he was told ‘no’. But she at least made […]