Madikwe

Our vacation had two parts - for the first six days, we were in Sun City, South Africa.  It was tons of fun, and I will post those pictures in another post.  The final four days were spent at Tuningi Lodge in Madikwe Reserve, also in South Africa.  Those four days were the most amazing that we have had on vacation, and we literally have thousands of pictures.  I will try to share some of the best here.

The watering hole behind our lodge

One of only five cheetahs in the reserve

The animals usually let us get very close!

Us in front of a termite mound - impressive!

We saw, heard, and learned so much in our short time in Madikwe.  All five of us agreed that it was the best trip ever, and we'd love to go back.  It's the first time I've seen nature as beautiful as we experienced in Alaska, and it was awesome.  We met the nicest people, and it was really an experience I will treasure forever.

Fond Farewell

It's that time of year again - VACATION!!!  We are leaving today for our spring break, and I can hardly wait to get on the plane.  I don't care how long the flight is, I don't care if there's any shopping where we're going.....all I care about is knowing that we can leave Angola!

It's been a stressful few weeks here.  Being on the PTA board is awful (though I do love the girls who are on it with me), we've got water problems again, and there have been some robberies/shootings that have happened in places that we go to frequently.  So....this mama needs a getaway.

I was chatting with a neighbor yesterday, who told me that she thinks she might be able to compete with me for the 'house with the most problems' title in our neighborhood.  I laughed, because I had sort of forgotten that we are the proud holders of that title.  Anyway, she's had a leaking roof and mold, and no one seems to be able to fix it.  She has called the help desk numerous times, and each time is told that someone will come, but no one does.  This is nothing new.  What is new is that yesterday she called again, and they told her to be patient, because they'd hired a new service company.  The only catch?  The service company doesn't have any tools yet.  I'll just let that sink in for a moment.


Seriously?  A service company without tools.  Of course!  That, my friends, is the stuff that Angola is made of.

So yes, I'm really anxious to have a break from this place.  I will return with pictures, stories, and hopefully - renewed patience, because clearly I am going to need it!

Still here

I'm sorry!  I haven't posted in a month, and it's not because there hasn't been anything exciting, funny, or traumatic happening over here - I've just been a slacker about writing it down for you.  My mom came to visit for three weeks, and it was AMAZING!  Every hard thing in life seems a little easier with my mom around, and it was just what I needed.  The kids had a blast with her, and now that she's gone...it's tough.

But there's a story that I've been itching to share, and it's about my sweet oldest child.  I have hesitated to write many stories about him here, because he's getting older (12!).  I never want him to feel like I've embarrassed him by my posts, or betrayed his trust - so that's the reason you won't see me mentioning him as much as his siblings.  But rest assured, Max has given his permission for me to share this story, and I'm so glad he did!

My last post here was on Valentine's Day, and I had no idea what my boy was up to that day.  Adam had just left for London for a week, and when the kids came home from school, there was no mention of Valentine's Day.  Maybe 10 days later, a friend happened to casually mention to me that Max had bought flowers for a girl at school on Valentine's Day!  I was shocked, and because I'm a little bit of an oversensitive mama (maybe!), I was sad that Max hadn't told me.  My next reaction was concern, because how on earth did he pay for these flowers?  He hadn't asked me for money, and I knew that the money he had from Christmas and his birthday had long ago been spent.  I couldn't imagine how he had gotten the money to pay for these flowers (15 roses, in Angola!), purchased them, given them to a girl, and never uttered a word to me about it.

I imagined all sorts of scenarios.  Did he take the money from my purse without asking?  Did he borrow the money from a friend?  Nothing made sense, and I had an hour to obsess over it before Max got home.  By the time he walked in the door, I was a little crazy (maybe!) to get my questions answered.  Wouldn't you like to know where a kid gets $40 without his parents knowing, in a foreign country, with no access to relatives, mail, or any other source of cash?  I sat him down and demanded the answer.  After I let Max know that I had found out about his romantic purchase, he spilled the details.

When we came back from the US this summer, we brought a number of supplies with us.  One of the things we brought were a few large boxes of fruit rollups, for the kids to take in their lunch boxes.  It seems that my enterprising young son found out that these snacks were in high demand at his school, so he started selling them instead of eating them.  Can you guess how many fruit rollups he sold in order to make $40?





Two.  Who knew that there was such a market over here for fruit snacks?!  If you're planning a trip to Angola, forget packing clothes and shoes - bring some fruit rollups!  I know a kid who can turn those snacks into cash for you.

Catching Up

I've neglected my little blog lately.  It's been a whirlwind of PTA business, school activities, social functions, and of course - all of the time and work that goes into keeping this family fed!  This week's culinary adventures included homemade sour cream, lemon sorbet, and cappuccino fudge cheesecake.

This was a big hit!

1 cup cream, 1T lemon juice, 1T white vinegar - and then you have sour cream!

We had a 'roving dinner party' this weekend in the compound.  Each couple is assigned a course to host (appetizers, main course, or dessert) and when you're not hosting, you're split up and going around to other houses to eat and mingle.  So really, given my feelings on socializing, it was a night of torture!  But much like moving to Angola, I try to push myself to do things that will challenge me.

Speaking of challenges - I've made a goal for myself to work out five days per week, and for all of January, I succeeded!  Working out seems to be the best way for me to stay positive, and we all know that is a big key to living here.  It's the hottest part of the year in Angola, and workouts are outside....which means I'm sweating away each morning.  It's not pretty, but I'm going to stick with it.

We are essentially halfway through our three year tour in Angola, and I've been thinking a lot about what comes next.  This is pretty much a pointless exercise, since most expats don't know what's coming next until right before it happens....but we think about it anyway!  My best pal in Angola left in December, and I've been able to keep my chin up, despite missing her terribly.  Now I've found out that another good friend is likely leaving soon, followed by several other ladies that I have come to enjoy.  This has got to be one of the hardest parts of living this way - it seems like the moment you form a bond with someone, either they're leaving or you are.  I keep telling my kids that even if we lived in one place for their entire childhood, friends would still move....but I admit, it's hard for me to deal with.  I don't have any idea how the kids will look back on all of their experiences, but I sure hope that they aren't angry with us for all of the moving around.

You Don't See That Every Day (unless you live in Angola, in which case you do see it every day and likely don't even notice anymore)

I just returned from an outing to several stores.  The first place I went was Kero, which is sort of an Angolan version of Wal-Mart.  It's big, has more selection than most stores, and it's clean-ish.  Today I noticed that they had put out a big display of back-to-school items.  I wandered over, and was surprised to see that they actually had a fair amount of notebooks, pencils, and backpacks.  A one-subject notebook with 80 pages was $9, so definitely not Wal-Mart prices....but that's typical for Angola.  What  did surprise me, though, was the picture on the front of the notebooks.

Yes, this is perfect for my 12 year old.

I know not all students are children, but really?  There were no other options for sale, so apparently someone thinks that this is appropriate for all students.  My poor children are going to have to suffer with their plain old, purchased in the USA notebooks!

On the way home, we passed by a strip of road that has lots of people selling different items.  It's a busy section of town, and people gather under an overpass to sell their wares.  I noticed two women sitting on plastic crates, getting their nails done - by what looked to be nine year old boys!  It seems a little unsanitary, getting a manicure under the highway...but maybe I'm just picky.  I paint my own nails, but I'm thinking maybe I should start training Miles, just in case he needs to earn some money.

All in all, it was a fairly entertaining outing.  I still miss my shopping buddy, JoAnn - it's really not the same when you're laughing to yourself about the strange things you see here - but I'm doing okay.

This Made Me Laugh in the Grocery Store

Usually I just shudder or cringe in the grocery store, so you know it must have been a pretty extraordinary day.  Not only did I find tortilla chips...

They must be good, being made "South of Mexico....In Africa", right?

Friday 'From Scratch' - Volume 2

It's FRIDAY!!!  I get to post my week of slaving away in the kitchen, and even better - I only have one more day to slave away at the gym!  I'm really determined to take advantage of the awesome trainer we have here, so five days a week, I'm at her mercy.  It's fabulous torture.  But along with the workouts, I'm trying to eat more healthily, so it's been a somewhat light week of baking.  Anyway, on to what's been cookin' here in Angola.

• Spaghetti Bread.  This is really a carb-fest, but the kids and Adam love it.  I started with the directions here Braided Spaghetti Bread but of course, I have to make my own bread dough.  Then, depending on what I have in the house, I will throw in some extra stuff like sausage or ground beef.  It looks fancy, but it's really easy.
• Hummus.  My friend Shimo taught JoAnn and I to make hummus last year, and it's become a staple at our house.  I make a double batch, and then everyone (except Max) gobbles it up with carrots, celery, and peppers.  The recipe has garbanzo beans, garlic, tahini (sesame paste), lemon juice, cumin, and salt.
• Waffles - same recipe as last week, just another batch for the always hungry kiddos.  Sidenote - our maid thinks waffles are the most delicious thing, EVER.  She'd never had them before we came here.  I think I'll pass on my waffle iron to her when we leave.
• Stuffed Chicken with Pasta.  This is one of the first dinners I ever made when Adam and I were newly married, and it's still one of his favorites.  Very simple, you just slice chicken breasts down the middle (but don't cut all the way through), and then cut a slit into each side and stuff with cheese.  Put the chicken breasts into a pan and cover them with spaghetti sauce, and bake at 400F for one house, and serve over pasta. 

I think that's about it.  We're having guests over for dinner tonight, and Adam is going to barbecue some hamburgers.  I'll make some buns for that, and a salad and maybe potato wedges.  All in all, sort of a boring week in the kitchen.  Although....Molly opened up a brand new giant box of Rice Krispies this week, and was treated to a bowl full of bugs!  So I guess excitement in the kitchen is over-rated.