LIFE AS IT IS IN KIN!

FINAL WORDS!

2009-07-02T20:10:00.000+01:00

It's been 2 months since we arrived back home in Cape Town, and it took me this long to write, as I never felt inspired to do so. All the changes makes you feel like you are living on the outside of a fishbowl, looking at everyone else's life as though their's makes sense, and yours doesn't. But nonetheless, that has finally passed, and we are now part of the rat race.

We all need closure to progress, and that's why I needed to write this last entry, not that my life will come to an end, just that this chapter is now closed, yet never erased! I lived another life, for me it was a role I played, and featured in many people's lives, made a difference, and that makes me eternally grateful for this experience. I will embrace any of life's callings head on, and all the challenges it endures, makes it all worthwhile!

One day, hopefully soon I will write again, with perhaps another story to tell........

Fin is home!

2009-04-21T17:07:00.006+01:00

Well after a stressful morning, Fin has arrived in Cape Town after being stuck at Johannesburg International Airport for almost 24 hours. The Pet Travel Agency, managed to convince the State Vet that he needed his legs stretched. The Travel Agent kindly forwarded these photo's of Fin while taking him for a walk, and the other photo is of him at the Doggie Hotel at the aiport. Kinda neat!

BON VOYAGE FIN!

2009-04-20T22:40:00.012+01:00

I clearly cannot explain to you how utterly busy we have been these last 2 weeks prior to leaving this city and country. I suppose anyone who has been through it all, will be able to share. It is so overwhelming that I can't even take a piss ( not my usual words, but I needed to use them)!

I will share a few photos to explain. Our dear dalmation, FIN, left at midday on a flight bound to Cape Town, with a lay over in Johannesburg for 2 hours. We froze his water overnight, but on route to the airport had already defrosted. Being the hyper dog that he is, I dosed him with rescue remedy, and Paul said it seemed to have helped. But he couldn't stop his tears as he saw them take our dog in a crate away like a piece of luggage. Luckily, the pet travel agency will handle the rest of the trip. The poor animal now has to go into quarantine for 2 weeks. I'm not sure if I would ever want to put an animal through this whole move again, especially if it's only for 2 years.

Easter Dinner turned Kareoke at Meeja

Birthday Brunch and welcoming for baby Ming
at Helle's.

Carolyn's Birthday Lunch (above)

Farewell Crazy Hat Party! ( one of the many still to come!)

Biorythyms!

2009-04-12T22:16:00.004+01:00

I came across an article on biorythyms and how to calculate it by entering your birthdate and the present date. It calculates your emotional, physical and intellectual well-being for the moment. Well mine is on it's way up on all 3 levels. It is phenomenal, considering the highs and lows I am experiencing at present. I would've thought that my emotions are running low, due to my inner-self saying good-bye to all the people I've grown to love here in Kinshasa over the past 2 years. Last week, my driver told me he couldn't sleep and was up all night, as he kept on thinking about Torden, and how much he is going to miss him. When he mentioned this, I couldn't speak for about 5 minutes, as I had to hold back lots of tears. The hardest part is going to be saying goodbye to the people that have lived with us as a family everyday. This was very hard for me in the beginning to actually allow them into my space. To me, it was an invasion of my privacy, I always felt that they would resent me for having "more things" in my life, but I was wrong. They entered our living space with no intention of harm, greed or hate, they lived with around us but not with us. Although they worked for us, they worked with us. We had our ups and downs, but we learnt to love these people. We were invited to an Easter Dinner at my friend's house tonight, and I was asked why am I so sad to leave Kinshasa, I should be celebrating, as it is the one of the worst places to live! She said the only reason should be because I am leaving my friends behind. I disagree, and said that I had felt the same way when I first arrived here, but you learn to close your eyes to the worst things, and only look for the good all around. You find the positivity amongst it all, you manage to look for good all around. I believe this made it a turn around for me, I turned the bad into good. All I know is that, I started journalling my thoughts, and wrote down all the good points about this place, and it far outweighed the bad points. I just kept on telling myself that this was temporary, which also helped, not that I wished my time away. Just because, I knew I had such a short time to find all the things I needed to do or that the universe required me to do here. And as a warning to you all, if you want to do so many things with your life in the next few years, plan it all and list it in order of preference as you may run out of time just like I have......

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

2009-04-07T19:31:00.002+01:00

Just to let you all know that I'm back from Holiday in Bali and a short stay I had in Cape Town. Now I only have the following 3 weeks to get organised, packed, say a hundred goodbyes and return to my home city! We are still tired from our jet lag and holidays, and Kinshasa is just the place to re-energise.

SHOPPING!

2009-03-10T18:55:00.006+01:00

Shopping Kinshasa style has never been easy. For an interesting read, please look at my friend's blog, Kristen. She has explained it so well, except for the part where she gets to order clothes online, and luxury edible items! A diplomatic right!

http://kristen4d.blogspot.com/

CHOCAHOLICS!

2009-03-06T16:28:00.004+01:00

It's friday late afternoon and I am so exhausted from this busy week of socialising, I need to get back to Cape Town just to chill! Lucky me, we are going in two weeks for RnR. The caption on the picture on the left is specifically intended for my American friend, Kristen. "This is so you darlin!" She is the queen of chocolate, any dessert to do the with the sinful ingredient, is made by madame herself. I cannot imagine how many calories I have consumed by eating her desserts alone. Today she made "Crack", which her sister named, because you could get hooked on it so easily, a mouth-watering sort of mini cake made from Oreos. Well I am not a fan of chocolate but she will certainly turn me into one very shortly.

I did Scrapbooking on Wednesday morning, and one of the girls made biscotti, which I'd much more prefer, a real appertiser for cappuccino. I brought home a few that she packed in especially for me. Later that afternoon, I decided to have one with my coffee, and found only one left, but it had been dipped in water. GUESS WHO?? Torden decided that he liked them to, I was so mad, I demanded he dry the last one out, and I tried to eat it later that evening, well I can assure you, it's not the same. Not one place I know of sells them, so I now have to wait a few weeks until I reach South Africa, and you know the feeling when you want something you can't have, you automatically want it MORE..............

Well up to date, I have sold a lot of our household goods, that is the greatest feeling, to be able to discard, sell and give-away! I feel like I'm on the reality tv show " CLEAN HOUSE", except, I don't get to keep the house, and I don't get a home makeover, I need to do that all by myself.

I also have an issue with Torden and his school. I dropped him off this morning at school, something I hardly do anymore, as Lepauld ( our driver), is quite capable and enjoys doing it, and it gives Torden a chance to speak a little French with him. I was immediately called aside by one of his teachers, to reprimand me for not spending enough time with Torden in the afternoon after school with his homework, and how I need to consider doing numbers with him, as he doesn't recognise the numbers 1 - 10. I mean, c'mon, the child is 4 years OLD. It's ridiculous the way they push the children. Besides he is in Montessori, where they are supposed to work at their own pace. And not be compared to children in his class his own age. She specifically mentioned his friend's name. I felt really bad at first, but after thinking about it seriously, I am MAD! I told his teacher from when he started getting homework that I am not going to push him, and I don't. He does some of his homework while eating breakfast before school, as he is so tired when he comes home from school which is from 8am - 2pm Mon - Fri. You know she even said that he should be aiming to write 1 - 100 soon. HA ha ha ha! I don't know what we are doing pushing our children like this, I know that things are bad around the world, but hey give us a break!

ANY COMMENTS PLEASE????

ICE-CREAM DATE

2009-03-02T16:50:00.005+01:00

On Saturday, Torden went on his first date. Yes he is only 4 years old, but such a romantic at heart, ever since he discovered his masculinity about 2 years ago. He told me dozens of times that he wants to marry me, and his imagination takes him on the these "prince charades". That was until he saw the girl of his dreams last year on Valentine's Day, that is when I first heard about Selina. I came to pick him up from school, and he was sitting next to her on the bench.

I never knew however, that this beautiful little girl, was the daughter of the owner of a bakery/restaurant, who we knew very well. Well then word got out, and now it's been the standing joke, that Torden wants to marry her, and we need to pay a lot of money to her father one day. Yes it might seem over the top, but it's all very light-hearted.

It started off, with Torden receiving marbles for good-behaviour, and as soon as he receives 10 of them, he gets to choose what he wants to do, he chose to take Selina for an ice-cream. I arranged with her Mom last week to bring her over to Chantilly in the afternoon. They sat together and each chose their own flavour, all innocent, and enjoyed themselves tremendously. For the next 10 marbles, he wants to take his friend, Rudra for pizza! I think it's a great reward, and somehow the it works.

Bopping Lizard

2009-03-01T22:10:00.004+01:00

I love the way you bop to the beat of nature,

your brightly coloured capes you wear, show off your true beauty,

some may think you ugly,

some may even be scared,

I think the Sun knows who to worship.

Friggin Frogs!

2009-02-26T09:06:00.005+01:00

Paul told me to write about this episode in my blog, sorry "our blog".
Well it goes something like this; On Tuesday evening, just about half past ten, I went to bed after having good night to Paul who was watching tv, just to get tire himself in order to have a good night sleep. He hadn't slept well the last 2 nights, as we often have long endless nights of thunder and lightning, and Fin barks the entire time. Paul usually has interrupted sleep, consoling the dog, while Mom and son sleep through it. Well just as I switched the light off, a frog started croaking, and then a few more of them joined in. Well it felt as if these darn little frogs were under our bed, they were so loud! I then pulled the covers over my head and tried to fall asleep. I usually sleep through anything, but these %*&^# frogs were too loud. I eventually dozed off, and woke up with the loudest croak I have ever heard. Almost as if the King BULL Frog had returned to the choir. Now I've seen these frogs, and they are the tiniest, cutest little frogs, in fact, I pointed it out to Torden the other day in the garden, and commented on them. Now I feel like pointing them out, and stepping on them. Someone said, I should shine a light on them, with a torch or something, and they'll jump away...... So long little frogs... Tonight I'm going to find me the strongest Mag-lite and guess what, I'll be singing in my dreams.....

Things I'm going to miss or Not going to miss.....

2009-02-22T18:07:00.003+01:00

Things I'm going to miss about the DRC;

1. The lush, tropical nature, trees, plants and flowers and the birds that sing from morning till night.
1. I'm not going to miss watching the Congolese/Chinese destroy the beauty that is still left in the city. Today we drove past the Golf Course, which you can see from the Boulevard, and there must have been about 5 huge trees that have been hacked to death, some of the trees landed on the border fence of the golf club, and totally destroyed the beauty of the boulevard. Where have all the birds gone, far far away, not ever coming back again.......la la la......

2. The low petty crime rate ( remember I'm going back to SA).
2. I'm not going to miss the aggressiveness of the street children and the corrupt policemen.

3. The hot climate all year round.
3. I'm not going to miss the humidity, it drives one insane, and can lead to a slow suffocation, I'm sure.

4. My Friends, socialising and night clubbing and gin & tonics. I'm going out again this Wednesday with the girls, while the husband stays at home.
4. I'm not going to miss the late nights, sore heads and feet from dancing all night.

5. Our staff at home, the gardener, the maid, the driver, the guards. We are going to miss their smiles when they run to greet us every morning. Especially their attention towards Torden, they love him so much, and treat him so well. Most Congelese are so child-friendly, it's one of the things we noticed right away on arriving here almost 2 years ago.

Friday the 13th!

2009-02-17T10:52:00.010+01:00

"To be or not to be" - Afraid, be very afraid.... I'm really not put off by not getting out of bed on Friday the 13th! Man, I was born on that day, so why should I be. Big bad things don't really happen. One year, I did have the electrical garage door, bang down on my car, I was holding the remote, but pressed the wrong button, and couldn't get it up fast enough. Just dinged the top of roof of my car a little. This year, I broke 3 things, and then it stopped. ( a glass, an egg, and Paul stepped on my glass of tonic water, and it broke too)
I had a lovely day last Friday, I organised a Spa Day with a few girlfriends at my home.
The next day was our 11th wedding anniversary! We went out for breakfast, and that evening, a good friend of ours came over, and we had Laurent Perrier champagne ( the best France could ever produce)! He handed us a lovely gift, wrapped in the most gorgeous wrapping, something you never see much up here. I had romantically lit some candles, and proceeded to pose for a photo, when Paul noticed the packaging gong up in flames. Well there goes my idea of not being superstitous, even though this was the day after. We were in fits of laughter, and went out and had a lovely dinner together.

We also ended up at a Bubbles Pool Party, which the Dutch expats, usually arrange, lots of fun, reminded me of those American Movies, where young students are usually joking around the pool, and consuming loads of alcohol. We hid under the palm trees to avoid been thrown in. Anyway Paul was quite sick with bronchitus, so it wouldn't have been good for him at all. Well my poor husband, is now at home with a touch of pneumonia. I am really fortunate ( touch wood), that I have not caught many bugs and illnesses in Kinshasa. I just think, that most of us Moms are tougher!

Au Revoir!

2009-02-09T16:16:00.009+01:00

News is out and it's official, we are leaving Kinshasa at the end of April Not the best news, but news anyway. It's been a great journey, and although I must say, in beginning I thought I'd never be able to feel at home here. I'm happy to say, with persistent good thoughts it became a reality. I am extremely sad to be leaving. My life is an absolute joy at present, there are always good and bad days, and that is if you live in any city in the world. What better life could I possibly want than where I am right now. We all have different desires, so what some may think is not desirable, makes me content. I love the French word " content" which means happy. There is a definite similarity in that being content, you are automatically happy. The wonderful friend's we've made as a family, my girlfriend's, the activities, social clubs, sport and relaxed home life, the gardener, our excellent driver, the weather ( I love the fact we are able to swim all year round, in the outdoors)

Our beautiful colonial home, and everyone that visits us, mentions this fact, is being demolished to accommodate a high rise building of apartments. Unfortunately, with rentals being in the region of $9000 - $12000 a month for a home in the central area of Gombe, most expats cannot afford a freestanding home, and stay mostly in compounds. Pity that they are tearing down the city, and taking out all the beautifully lined avenue of trees, to make way for a new 4 laned main road.

So for us, it's back to normal life in Cape Town with no more chances of catching malaria, amoeba, typhoid, bronchitus, and any other disease. One of my selections for returning would be to be able to go to the cinema, shopping mall, eat healthy fresh food, "Kahui" here we come......

Today's Visit!

2009-01-28T15:56:00.005+01:00

Marianne picked me up this morning after yoga at 9:15am and I was late, so caught her playing with Fin in the garden. I mean who wouldn't want to play with our lively dog in a beautiful garden on a warm sunny morning. It took us about 45minutes to get to Binza, and we side-tracked onto a dirt road. The weather was much cooler out there, it clouded over and eventually it started to rain. We went through a white barrier with a guard who greeted us, and drove through to the last building, which looked nicely painted and fairly new. I was told that a South African company operating in the DRC donated the money for the construction of this building. The orphanage houses about 60 children in different sections of the huge property run by an Italian man. He has been here in the Congo, with the children for over 30 years. Marianne, herself has been coming here for 5 years.
The first section we visited, was with the handicapped children, which Marianne feels need more attention than most. some of them don't get to leave their beds. We handed out a few construction toys to the children on the stoep, and helped them try to build it. I expected the worst in conditions, but was fairly surprised at the good, clean and livable place, these children call home. What I was not expecting was a little fight that went on between 3 little boys, and they managed to clunk Marianne on the head with a wooden toy in the battle. These children, yearn for attention, and just need to be given a short time of your love and affection. Upon entering the interior of the home, we both picked up two toddlers out their beds, and at once smelled the urine stains in the beds all around. I played with the blind boy, who clung to my arm, and just wanted to touch my skin. He also loved it when I clapped his hands. I'm not sure what I was feeling at this stage, my heart told me to not to feel pity, and just enjoy the moment, and I went with this lovely feeling. It wasn't that I wanted to feel self-worth, just love. I am happy for feeling this, and I really expected to be bawling my eyes out at the sight or thought of even visiting the orphanage. I never did, instead I enjoyed every minute, and would do it all again soon. We went onto visit the other little building, where lots of little ones between the ages of 18months - 3years, were grabbing onto my legs and calling me "mondele" which means "white person" in Lingala ( local Congolese language). I laughed at the thought of this, and then they were touching my hair as I bent down. I realised, after playing with them for over an hour, that besides basic needs, these children are in need of just someone to show them affection and attention for a few minutes, if not longer. It makes me think of just how much my own child needs.
I now sit and wonder what will become of them, if they are deprived at such an early age, how will they ever know how to love and live.

Me? Dancing Queen!

2009-01-25T19:08:00.006+01:00

Cape Wine Sales

When I got back from holiday 2 weeks ago, and our yoga group hadn't started up yet, I was persuaded by one of the Mom's at Torden's swim lessons to join them for a Salsa exhibition dance at the next LADY's NIGHT. It turned out to be a Lady's night with partner's on a Friday evening, not the normal Thursdays, and it would be at Vicky's house, not the usual night out at a restaurant in Kinshasa. I never turned the opportunity down, being the "dancing queen" that I am. I grew up dancing, around the house, in the car, yes I even did modern dancing lessons for my entire schooling life, as well as a few years in my later years. I did shows and exhibitions before, so I was game! Well, I was also unfit for Salsa, had 2 weeks of 2 hours dancing non-stop, my neck hurt for a few days thereafter. It must have been those sharp, dramatic head twists to the back ooh la la..... Our tutor, Christian, is a great dancer, not letting us giggling girlie's stop for just any excuse, he encouraged us, gave us the confidence to put on a small show. There were 4 of us faithfuls, and we had lots of fun! Now, the BBQ was set outside on the lawn, and the new stage was set on the grass, euw.....but nonetheless it turned out to be a great evening. I even had a SA stall selling some good white wine from the Cape. Now to get me back to a Salsa class, of course!

A WISH FOR MY SISTER!

2009-01-22T20:20:00.007+01:00

THIS IS A BIRTHDAY WISH FOR MY SISTER, KIM.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTA!

I remember my little sister while growing up as being the tough cookie!

Whenever she got mad at me, which was quite often, as I could be quite irritating at times, she would have that look in her eyes that would send me running.................

Yet, she has the kindest heart, the bluest eyes and a funny sense of humour! You know how when two people think something's humurous, and all they need to do is just look at each other and start laughing, nobody even knows what they are giggling about. That's us, always was, and still is today.

Friends forever!

You'll love this one Kim, describes us.....

"Families are like fudge... mostly sweet with a few nuts." -- Author Unknown

Can you think of anyone?

SAME - Same

2009-01-21T16:04:00.003+01:00

When Torden sees 2 alike things, he always says: same-same. It reminds of the how we started the new year, everything is the same. Nothing seems to have changed in Kinshasa, a few friends have left, one more friend is departing us at the end of January, yet life still seems to be the same. There are always going to be lows and highs of every change, but realistically we carry on living. The prices at the supermarkets have gone up, but then again, last year they also went up, not too mention the few times during the year that the groceries went up in price. Globally, there is a financial crisis, locals are getting less for their dollar and the situation is that they are still poor, nothing has changed. We have been told to be cautious on the roads, as there seems to be more of a chance to be harrased for money as there is not much out there. We were caught out last year a few times by bribes on a small nature, and it hurts this economy, it hurts the man on the street and Africa is not going to change. The fighting in the East of the country has apparently decreased. My wish is that the attitude out there will not be the same, the dreams of the DRC and it's people will be changed.

SOUL'S PURPOSE!

2009-01-17T20:34:00.004+01:00

I have just been doing some soul searching this evening, I did a reading from my favourite deck, Classical Mythology Deck, and found the following few things.
That I am maturing ( or evolving), while living here, this I can believe! But that I have a spiralling negativity attached. Not sure if it's attached to me, or if Kinshasa is a negative place to be right now. I have a wild flare, and have spent time in Nature in my past year. That's for sure, living here, you are surrounded by nature, just my garden has 4 huge palms, not too mention the little palm trees and birds that sing amongs the noise of traffic, I live on a thoroughfare, if the traffic is heavy,everyone uses our road as a detour. Friendship is my strength, and gives me just as much power, as I give to my friends.
I realise that I am here to learn from our experience, and whatever the future holds will be just as great, if not better!

When I stepped off the plane last week, I looked back, and saw my friend and her family stepping onto their plane, leaving Kinshasa. I wished she had urned around, so I could wave to her, but it never happened. I wanted to call her and tell her this. I never did. I know that she had great times here, and was sad to leave. She told me that in Germany, it's not as easy to make friends, even though she was a friendly person. Here friendships, are made based on familiarity, or similarity, we are all on the same level, no better off that the other. Our children, are all the same, we all go back to our "other" homes once or twice a year, we all know that we are here for a short while, some shorter than others. This makes life almost easier. It is simpler, yet effective in that we concentrate more on evolving ( there's that word again) our relationships. On that subject, all relationships should improve, if not, they were never happy to begin with. I love the feeling of being in a world that works for us, our lives, and our families.
An almost, "Perfect world" if this exists.

Today, while out shopping, a group of street children, accosted us while walking to our car, quite scary, as they came up our of nowhere. And were darn rude, showing us the parted finger, and they openly displayed metal objects, with which they could cause harm.
On seeing this today, nothing could be worse, than the headlines of our local newspaper, in Cape Town, The Cape Argus, where a man was outside mowing his lawn, when 2 guys shot him in the head, and made off with just his cellphone. This man happens to live in my suburb, just up the road from where we lived. ( NEGATIVITY, it's all in the air, unavoidable)

I shall end on a happy note of Friendship.

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
Anaïs Nin

COLD AND HOT!

2009-01-12T10:35:00.009+01:00

Here we are another year, and life is just passing us by! Happy New Year!

We managed a 35degree Celsius temperature change on our arrival home on Saturday night. They say, ( and I suppose you've heard this one before) that Europe is experiencing the coldest winter in 10 years. I actually believe them this time. As we drove through Belgium on Friday, we saw the most beautiful snow capped trees and just knew it was colder than the week before that when we left Belgium for Austria.

There is so much to tell when you've come back from holiday. I cannot sum up the entire holiday, but I suppose I can give you the highlights in date order.

1. 19 Dec - 28 Dec Rovaniemi and Helsinki, Finland

2. 29 Dec - 1 Jan Brugge, West Flanders , Belgium

3. 2 Jan - 8 Jan Salzburg and Tirol, Austria

4. 8 Jan - 9 Jan Traben- Trabach, Germany

Not too mention we hired a car in Belgium and drove for 9 hours through Germany on the Autobahn. Each and every city was beautiful, and each part of our holiday was different. The most beautiful part for me was to spend Christmas in the snow, and to have an Artic Circle experience. I loved Rovaniemi, ( The home of Santa Claus) and I loved each and every part of my day spent in this warm, friendly and delightful place. From the snow mobiling, to the husky dog farm, to the cooked salmon eaten under a warm teepee in the freezing temperatures, right down to the reindeers. You cannot imagine, coming from South Africa, that this is really what Christmas is all about, you see it on pictures, you sing about it in the songs, but you never experience it. I know that besides not being with my family, it has been the Christmas I always dreamed of!

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS!

2008-12-18T18:35:00.005+01:00

We're departing African soil tomorrow for a place far north where Santa Claus lives. Above is a picture of our little elve that will be travelling with us to meet him.

Rovaniemi is a city located on the Artic Circle in Finland.

After spending two nights in Helsinki, we arrive in Rovaniemi on Monday, ahead of the week's activities laid out for Chritmas! We will be visiting Santa and his post office, and will go husky dog-sleighing, reindeer sleighing, and snow-sledding, and may even have a glimpse of Northern Lights. For a once in a lifetime experience! We have never ever had a "white Christmas"! This year we will have a Christmas Eve dinner surrounded by snow. Wow, I am so excited, as I'm certain Paul and I will be transported back to a fantasy world. We can't wait to see the look on Torden's face when he sees this white, icy, fluffy stuff with which to build a snowman!

When we ask him what he wants for Christmas from Santa, his usual reply is: "I want a stinky shoe!" So now I have a "stinky hat" in my stocking, and Paul has a wishlist for a stinky sock. I have no idea where he gets that from....

And for those of you thinking about the cold, here's Rovaniemi's weather forecast from when we arrive next Monday, 22 December 2008;

Monday NightOvercast. Low: -6 °C . Wind light. Windchill: 0 °C Heat Index: 0 °C .
TuesdayPartly Cloudy. High: -4 °C . Wind NNW 10 km/h . Windchill: 0 °C Heat Index: 0 °C . Tuesday Night Scattered Clouds.Low: -16 °C Wind NNW 3 km/h Windchill: 0 °C Heat 0°C . WednesdayChance of Snow. Scattered Clouds. High: -5 °C . Wind South 10 km/h . Chance of precipitation 20%. Windchill: 0 °C . Heat Index: 0 °C .
Wednesday NightChance of Snow. Scattered Clouds. Low: -7 °C . Wind South 10 km/h . Chance of precipitation 20%. Windchill: 0 °C . Heat Index: 0 °C .

I'd like to wish all of you a Joyful Holiday Season, and an uplifting 2009!

FASHIONABLY LATE!

2008-12-17T10:36:00.003+01:00

My husband has always been the timekeeper in the house. You see I came from a home where we were mostly on time, but it wasn't really an issue, if we were late for a party, a half an hour or so, it didn't matter to us, as we were not affected. But we were always on time for school, church, most functions etc. When I met Paul, things changed a bit, I started to see his side of things. I realised that being late for anything, be it an informal invitation to someone's house, a birthday party, meeting someone at a restaurant etc, was actually extremely rude and to keep the other party waiting for you was disrespectful! Where I come from, it is quite okay to be a little late, as it is a laidback city! The joke is always, " they call Cape Town the "mother city" as it takes 9 months for anything to happen!". Well, when I arrived in Kinshasa, I realised that this is the city where everyone is Fashionably Late! Even when you attend a wedding, the invite states a time, and all the guests arrive about 3 - 4 hours later! We attended an end-of-year function last Friday, and all the guests were late, now I'm talking about 2 hours late, which makes everything late, the serving of dinner, the speeches and of course, the time that you come home! The funny thing is it is expected that most people will arrive late! And somethings will never change!

LIKE A BIRD!

2008-12-09T21:38:00.004+01:00

I AM AS FREE AS A BIRD

ALL I NEED IS WINGS TO FLY

TO ANOTHER DAY IN TIME

I HAVE TIME TO GROW AND SPACE TO CLIMB TO A HIGHER PURPOSE!

FORGE AHEAD AND DON'T LOOK DOWN, FEEL THE WIND BENEATH YOUR WINGS,

LOOK AT YOUR BEAUTY IN THE REFLECTION OF THE RIVER DOWN BELOW

THIS MOMENT IS YOURS

-Ingrid

THANKSGIVING!

2008-12-08T17:18:00.004+01:00

We were fortunate to be invited by an American friend, to join her family for a belated Thanksgiving Dinner! We had never experienced this "famous" celebration before, so it was a real treat! The turkey is the main feature of the meal, and gammon ( I now know that folks in the US call it "ham").

What we found unusual was a yummy sweet potato dish with a marshmellow topping and pumpkin bread served as a main side dish ( these are two dishes that we would usually have as a dessert!)

First time for me was, cherry pie, and pumpkin pie. They're both delicious, and we have subsequently found out, that Kristen, our host, is a "fundi" on making sweet dishes.

(Kristen, hope you get to read this, but Paul is dying for some of your choc chip cookies).

Besides the food, we had great company amongst friends and people we would not have met otherwise!

We have the best of both worlds, we get to experience cultures, without having to visit the country!

I guess we have a lot to be thankful for surrounded by all the poverty here!

OUR LITTLE YOGA GROUP!

2008-12-01T22:19:00.007+01:00

So we're not fully fledged yogis, but we try hard and meet bright and early on Mondays and Wednesdays. If there was one thing, I really wanted to try and keep on doing was my yoga classes, but never had the discipline to do it on my own. I even bought a DVD on yoga, and actually followed it for a while, but no luck when you have a spotted dog licking your face while doing the "downward dog". My Mom even, joined us while she was here and loved it. It really is a blessing to be around such positive people, and Meeja, you are an inspiration! NAMASTE!

SPA PAMPER DAY!

2008-11-26T14:08:00.007+01:00

What a successful day, Serenod, had this past Saturday. Serenod, ( Serenity & Odossey) being the name we gave to a group of us, who enjoy getting together to share a likeness of meditation, giving Reiki workshops, watching enlightened movies or just chatting about what we could do to enhance our lives and the lives of others staying in Kinshasa. We then decided to do a Spa Pamper Day, as there are a lot of women ( and men), that enjoy being pampered, and there are lots of therapists ( locals alike), who can advertise themselves by a way of offering Mini-Treatments.

This afternoon event, brought about 50+ people, who enjoyed recieving free Reiki Treatments, free massage from myself and Vivianne and also facials, manicures, pedicures and Reflexology at a minimal fee.

After a very exhausting but enjoyable day, I felt that there was a definite necessity for more of these organised events. On Thursday afternoon, Serenod, is having our own Pamper Day, to regenerate ourselves, and over lunch we will discuss opportunities for 2009! As well as at least one of our very own Holisitic Festivals! Watch this space......

Sickly Season!

2008-11-19T16:57:00.004+01:00

After my Mom left on Monday morning, I felt really bad as she boarded the plane, feeling ill since last week. She kept a brave face, and try to enjoy her last few days with us. I booked the doctor to come see Torden, as he has also had a very bad cough. This time of year calls for many germs and with the high humidity and rainy season in full swing, Malaria, the dreaded disease is also making another appearance. With Paul and Torden being so sick last year this time, we try to take all precautions but it's never good enough. At the moment, I have another friend, with her son of 6 years, being treated in Johannesburg for Malaria, and a few kids at the school also down with it. The good thing is that we have the medication available to treat it, but many children die every year here in the Congo, without adequate treatment. I know I've mentioned this topic before, so sorry if I bore you.
We as a family take the following precautions;

We always use a mosquito net while sleeping at night. We have one shaped like a dome tent with 2 zips on either side. The other ones also work, but you need to close it with a peg, so it doesn't flap open while sleeping.
We don't use prophylactics, as longterm use can damage the liver or other vital organs. It also doesn't show a proper diagnosis when having tests done for malaria, as it hides it. ( That's what happened to Paul, as he caught it while he was on Mefliam)
We use Tabbard, mostly the stick form, as it's supposedly the strongest ( more DEET).
That is our perfume for our evening when we go out, or outside. The spray is useful, but a tip from my husband, "don't use it in the house, or in the car, like I stupidly do, " I say " at least if I spray on my legs, while in the car, the car gets a free spray" About cars, there are loads of Mosquitoes in the car, don't ask me how they get inside.
We try to wear long sleeved clothing and pants with socks, ha ha, in this heat, but cotton is bearable!

And that is how we keep those darn things at bay!

Any other suggestions?

TIME!

2008-11-15T16:44:00.003+01:00

With my Mom being here, I try to point out all the things that really irritate me in the Congo. As she goes along with me everyday, and I do what I usually do, my viewpoint is strongly enforced. It's only because I know she makes comparisons. Today we decided to do a little trip, so that we could return before the Boks play Scotland on the telly. We went to a place called, Jardine d'Eden, which is about 20minutes past the airport. I saw this place advertised on a huge billboard on the boulevard, and remember a guy showed me pics, a while back, when we were still staying at the hotel, when we first arrived. I didn't expect much, and it wasn't much, except that you could sit on the river's edge and have an ice cold soda or beer. They serve lunch, but it was exceptionally hot today(37degC), so we never bothered. I was glad we never, as on our way back to the car, we found 3 lonely monkeys in a cage not far from our car. Just while we were looking at the cages, this guy brought over this black pig, with it's feet all tied up and just plonked him over a wall, we knew he would be attended to later on. I felt a lump forming in my throat, and I knew that this would be hard to explain to a four year old. Oh Paul, why did you mention the D word in the car? Luckily Torden didn't need too much convincing that the pig would be saved.
Question: Would you return to this place one day?
Answer: Yes, but not in a hurry.
Question: Is it a trip you could do in one full day or half a day?
Answer: Definitely takes up a half a day.
Question: Would you come back for lunch?
Answer: Yes, they serve all the fish from the river
Question: Are there activities for kids?
Answer: Not really, there is one play ground, and they can go on a 5min boat ride.

I invite all interested parties, to contact me, to organise a group get together on a Saturday morning next year, 2009!

Out with the old, and in with the New!

2008-11-12T21:23:00.004+01:00

I feel so good about starting afresh, that I decided to give our hallway and lounge a new lick of paint today, just in time to make me feel better, as I am celebrating my 38th Birthday tomorrow! Not that I'm feeling old, just knowing that turning 40 is so close, it's scary when you get close to another decade! Doing something special is also on my birthday wishlist. My Mom is still here, and that's also a birthday wish. Paul decided to take a day off, and we're going to do something nice tomorrow, like visit a Coffee shop or restaurant. Torden will be at school, he told me he will help me blow out my candles, and I will need all the help I can get with those candles! In the evening we will be having a couple of friends over for a drink! I also have some gifts to open, one from Paul that he bought on his last shopping trip. I now cause, I have been staring at that "Carrol Boyes" giftpack for the last month. One gift that my Mom brought up from my sister in Cape Town. What an awesome time I will have tomorrow morning! It will be great to feel spoilt, especially when you hardly get to shop for nice things up here. So here's to a new me .......

LIVING IT UP!

2008-11-10T20:45:00.004+01:00

I'm not sure if it's because our lives are different, or if we see life differently?
We take partying seriously now, not that we never partied back home in SA. We were out almost every weekend, somehow we took our surroundings for granted, maybe we took our friends for granted, we had house parties, and socialised in restaurants, we saw our friends maybe twice a month, and then we did our own thing. There were always things to do.
On Saturday, there was a Beerfest a little out of town, and almost everyone I knew attended, we knew a lot of people, and although we were at different tables, we made sure that we mingled. It was lots of fun! We arrived to find some people dressed in full Bavarian wear. The live "Lumpen" Band was playing. We sat in rows of benches, just like they do at the Oktoberfest. Our South African friends from Vodacom, who were in Berlin in October, and couldn't get into any of the Oktoberfest's, decided to dress up make up for their loss at the Kinshasa one. The greatest benefit, was all the beer and soda was included, so some folk filled up their "free beer mugs" as much as they could possibly consume. Later after midnight, the party got a bit wilder, my dear friend, Christoph, decided to pour some beer onto my lap, well while he wasn't expecting it a little while later, I opted to get him back, by giving him a "bee shower"! This took me back to my days when I was in the travel industry, I had so much fun at all the functions we had to attend. One of those stood out, I had a little row with my good friend, Kelly, at the time, and she threw a little cocktail at me, well I retaliated with a bigger cocktail, and at the beginning of the evening, she was drenched. She never spoke to me after that for quite a number of years. We now are FaceBook friends. I was so young, and carefree, and we really knew how to party. That is exactly what this life reminds me of, remembering how to party?

NANNA & POPS COME TO VISIT FROM SA!

2008-10-27T19:08:00.015+01:00

Taking a boat out on the river almost every Sunday, is a great way to get away from it all.

Flamboyant Trees in full bloom.

Now you can understand that the reason why I have not been able to write is that I have been busy playing tour guide to my parents.

Kinshasa may not be a city for tourists, but it can be so social! We have showed them that this town is not a "sleepy hollow".

Playing golf with Dad, partying Friday night with the Spanish. A lovely Saturday morning drive to the rapids, followed by a lazy Saturday afternoon watching the Currie Cup Final on t.v.

But most fun was had by an exciting outing on the river yesterday. We managed to just get back to the boat club in time, as a storm passed over. With jet skiing, swimming and having a braai on a river island.

Cool Kinshasa!

2008-10-15T23:11:00.003+01:00

After yesterday's heat, we experienced a lot cooler weather today, oh about 25degC. Mostly cloudy! It was awesome, a little bit of rain was just what was necessary to wash down the dust from the air. I was on a high this morning, had a great yoga class, followed by my French lesson, then the rain, but it all came crashing down, when I couldn't get the DSTV technician to secure my dish (sattelite) as it had been moved over the weekend by the storm. He had promised since Sunday to come and assist. My wee petite French did not help get my frustration and anger across, and he made me huff smoke, after I had speaking English to him all along, and he insisted that I spoke French. WELL that was THAT! I had had it! All that humiliation, and it never worked, he still only arrived after 4pm, after getting a colleague at Paul's work to call his office manager. The job couldn't have taken longer than 15minutes.
All this makes me realise that you have to accept and move on, no matter how difficult it is. After chatting with with some "new arrivals" yesterday, I have also come to the realisation that we are visitors here, this is how life carries on here, and when we leave, they(locals) will still be here, and life goes on at the same pace here. It will undoubtedly change, not for us, not for anyone!

FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!

2008-10-13T15:11:00.005+01:00

I did mention about the beginning of this year, that I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about bringing meat into the country. I do agree, it's a bit ridiculous when you can get just about everything here, at a price of course. But, we all love our food, and we get used to a certain kind of lifestyle when it comes to food. We are spoilt for choice in a Western World, especially when you think of retail food stores like "Woolies" for all you South Africans. Convenience, at it's best! You just cannot get any better. Today I went shopping at new place called Kin Foods, and it's a cold food storage warehouse, where a list of meat products are displayed on a black board, and you order off the board. Well, just about everything I wanted was out of stock, excepting the frozen chicken pieces. I then had to go to another store "Hasson & Frere"to buy something else, and then another store to buy bread " Pelou", as I couldn't find the bread aisle at all, either that, or they were also out of stock. That's the story of shopping experiences, it could take you an entire morning to do fill one grocery bag. Take for instance, I was looking for Pili-Pili ( the strong chillies -homegrown) in a plastic bottle. I had bought it before, and seen it at the one shop, but last Friday, I needed it for Paul to take with for my cousin, who had requested it. I went from shop to shop, but only found these huge bottles. Never did find it, until today, it popped up while shopping for cheese.
Well now I have just emailed a long list of meat for Paul to bring back with him. I must say, it's relatively easy on SAA, just pop it into a cooler bag, and checked it through from Johannesburg. The only problem we have is, that we always have to stay over one night en route, as there are no early morning flights to make the connection from Cape Town. So the oddest request is usually to ask housekeeping at the hotel to store it for you. Phew! What a mission! But well worth it!

NEEDLESS TO SAY!

2008-10-11T21:07:00.004+01:00

This evening the lightning and thunder and the start of heavy rains, shook my entire household! Fin ( the spotty dog), aka "Needless to say" ( the name printed on his thoroughbred papers!), continued to remind us, by his deafening bark, that he was in charge of the house, not the thunder. This went on for about 2 hours, right through Torden's bed time. It usually lasts the entire night.

I feel so lonely and sad, as Paul left this morning for his long round trip via Kenya to Cape Town. Just the thought of him going home, saddens me, the mere fact that he will be where I would like to be right now. Don't get me wrong, it's not homesickness, it's not that I don't like living here, it's just how I feel, and I don't think anything will make it better. That's just how it is.

But I'm going to make the most of this week, by clearing the clutter, cleaning up the house, seeing friends and by being fully present with whatever comes my way.
My folks arrive next week Sunday, and I am so looking forward to spending time with them in the Congo. I don't have any plans, but I know we will plan as we go along.

Just to summarise my week, I had yoga on Monday with French , Tuesday was fun at the Women's Group, and then a few of us had lunch afterwards at the Chinese Restaurant. Wednesday was yoga again, then our Reiki group, in the evening our favourite Frenchie friend came over for dinner. We discussed our December holiday with him in Europe. Thursday was French lessons, and then came the weekend. We ended up having dinner last night at the Italian place, as a family, it's a great place to go.

HARRY POTTER'S BIRTHDAY!

2008-10-05T22:26:00.008+01:00

"Harry Potter and the Wizard Hat Cake"

Torden turned 4 on the 2nd of October. He had his party in the afternoon after school. 3 hours of magical fun! With games led by Prof Dumbledore ( Dad) and Prof McGonnogel ( Mom).

Our dining room had turned into a classroom at Hogwarts School of Magic!

Activities!

2008-10-03T14:04:00.002+01:00

I am having a hard time of late trying to keep up a schedule as it's become so full. I now give our driver a "program" as he requested it, on a weekly basis. Today I started a new class of African/Salsa, very interesting dance class. We have an extremely vibrant teacher, who comes over from Brazzaville ( across the river) every to teach an exhilirating class. He also gives Torden Hip Hop classes on a Monday. I must say, I've been to a few salsa lessons in Cape Town, and after a while I get bored, not sure if it's the music that has the same beat, or a different tune, or if it's not my style of dance. I grew up in modern dance shoes, and always loved that. In actual fact, I love any form of dance, so these classes are the most fun, even though we are exercising for an hour. The mix of African dance eliminates any form of boredom!

I was talking to a friend of mind, about all these happenings in Kinshasa, and we think it's a new arrival of expats, a definite increase in volume, and an interest in the DRC in general. The greatest part of all, is we are all here at the same level, we're all foreigners either helping the country directly or indirectly. We also have to stick together, to make life more bearable here, as the loneliness, if you allow it, can get hold of you. We make life! Life doesn't make us! ( Wow, what did I just say?)

BIRTHDAY PARTIES!

2008-09-30T10:26:00.004+01:00

I must say, we've had really full weekends over the last 2 weeks. Been out on the river, been invited to house parties, and we have another one coming up on Saturday. I enjoy giving parties, just as much as receiving an invite. On Saturday afternoon, we went to a party of a friend of mine from Paraguay. It was a very special one! Her son, Agust, turned 5. I found it amazing that the Mom put so much emphasis on providing the children with entertainment, that she herself, dressed up as a clown and joined in on the fun! Now that reminds me of Torden's 1st birthday party, which was a clown theme. I also had a wig on, and painted my face, but there was a problem in that Torden was petrified of clowns for the next two years. He was even a bit sceptical of the clown at this particular party.

Now it's my turn to prepare for Torden's party on Thursday.

I also had the most amazing boost for writing on my blog, a blogger friend, who had been reading my blog from Canada, made contact with me. She is now living in Kinshasa, and when we spoke on the telephone, it felt as if we'd known each other for years. I feel so inspired now, that I will remain loyal, and try to write almost everyday. It has also inspired me to write more about the DRC. So here's to more blogging.

"When you fail to plan, you plan to fail"

2008-09-25T10:24:00.002+01:00

I've taken yet another morning procrastinating ( putting off things). I was supposed to be planning Torden's 4th birthday for next week, but I washed the dog, I helped Aimee with the washing, I daydreamed, I had coffee, I checked my emails, called a friend, and it's now 10:30am and I only have 2 hours until he ( the thief of time) comes home from school. I need to get out his invitations, so I better make this blog short. Sorry!

I have only one more thing to say and that is: " Some people do things and take things at the expense of other people's hard work". My next of kin, is very smart, and he enjoys what he does for a living, but I take it personally, when I see him being used. It saddens me to think there are people in this world that use friendship as a means to get what they want from people. The good thing is, you learn from experiences, and I can be assured that this will not happen more than once.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR INTENTION

2008-09-24T15:10:00.003+01:00

I really had no plans this morning at the start of my day. As I experienced a very bad day yesterday, got a bug, I really did not want to commit myself. So I cancelled my yoga, and a dance class thereafter that I was really looking forward to. I was also supposed to go to a gathering of Reiki therapists at 10am ,but cancelled that yesterday already. So I thought I was free. Well the Universe had other plans for me. They wanted to get a message through to me. The friend who was hosting the gathering, called me at the time when they were about to start, to ask how I was feeling, and whether I was up to it, she could come fetch me, as they were only going to start the movie at. Well, 4 hours later, I returned home, with so much more than I bargained for. I watched a meaningful movie, James Redfield's, The Celestian Phrophecy, of which I had read ages ago, but did nothing for me back then. I learnt only one thing, and that is to listen to your intuition, and go your own way, not to be distracted, and do what you are meant to do. My intentions are not set clearly. I need to write them down, and really feel the need to pursue them. Asking myself along the way, do I like the feeling that it will give me if I did such and such. I have so many options and so many people to help me get there. I now know that I couldn't do it all by myself, I need help to focus and plan. If this makes sense at all. If it doesn't, it wasn't meant for you.

ONE YEAR ALREADY!

2008-09-18T08:58:00.004+01:00

It's hard to believe a year has past since being here. In the beginning I really wished my life away, hoping that Paul's contract would end sooner, just so we could find another place to go to, another country perhaps, yearning for a "normal" place. It felt as if I would never fit in, never be happy, and that my family back home would never be happy without us. Boy was I wrong, everyone gets on with their lives nonetheless, and our lives turn into so called "normal" lives anyway. We have friends, we do great things over the weekends, we go out for dinner, Paul goes to work, Torden goes to school and he has friends that come over. I really feel that we've made a life here, and it works! Now I don't hope the next year goes too quickly, as there is so much for us to do. I have an opportunity to offer a drama curriculumn at the American school, I visit an orphanage for boys where we do crafts, and there is a need to pursue lots of exciting things here at the moment. I have also joined a Reiki group of "likeminded" individuals that meet once a week. So life is not dull up here. I love the fact that everyone makes an effort to meet up and connect. It's a way of life and I wouldn't give it up, not right now!

Welcome! Welkom! Benvenue! Wilkommen! Boa Vinda! Recepcion!

2008-09-11T13:54:00.003+01:00

I know it's been a long time. We had a long break for the holidays, and there is always so much to do! So now I'm looking forward to more blogging.

Arrived back in Kinshasa on Sunday, the weather is not too warm (33degC), and it's so dry here. Everyone can't wait for the rain. I particularly like it as it is. Not too humid, and there are no mozzies buzzzzzzing around.
Started off my week with a yoga group, new intake of USAid wives. Mostly American. They're all lovely, and fun to be with.

We've decided to take exercise seriously, we bought a Wii Fit. Ha ha! Only spent about 30min so far, and it seems pretty easy. Hopefully, we'll be able to be monitored and will be more enthusiastic about getting trim.

Just waiting for a new computer to be installed, then should be able to give more constant updates with photo's.

DOING MY BIT FOR ANIMALS!

2008-07-02T17:12:00.006+01:00

Please understand that I needed to go to the zoo to see for myself what it was like to be kept captive in a 3rd world country. I did a brave thing, as I invited two friends and their children to come along. Not knowing what to expect, we arrived unanounced. We are all animal lovers, and some of us were warned, others opted not to go, and I was told that it was not as bad as some other zoo's in neighbouring countries. We had all been to the private sanctuary for the Bonobo's ( Apes), and was told that this zoo was also private. But alas, it is state owned, and as the country is battling with supporting it's own humans, how on earth are they to support a mere subordinate, those from the animal kingdom. I am writing this article on behalf of them, the mere animals, who I fear is not well kept. Some of them are in a condition that is to be expected, they are being fed, but that is all. I generally do not like the idea of a zoo in any country, it is a show for most people along with their families to see an animal they most likely not to come across unless they are in a cage.

There were lots of monkeys, 2 leopards, an owl, a minature squirrel, a python from India, local snakes, African Grey Parrots, 4 crocodiles, and a few baboons, as well as a few horses and a donkey.

My wish after seeing this sorry sight, is that some organisation will come along and donate money for upgrading the standard of this zoo. I do hope that my child along with his two friends, will forget this experience!

An Education in itself!

2008-07-01T16:00:00.007+01:00

On Saturday, we were invited on behalf of the company, to the last day of the school year at Immaculate Conception School, situated about 40minutes out of Kinshasa. The school is owned by a generous and vibrant Congelese lady, who out of her own funding bought the available land. The property is huge, and overlooks a beautiful valley. The only problem is that most of the parents cannot afford to pay more than is necessary for the school fees, and therefore as there is not much government funding, they only have limited resources for equipment, toilets, classrooms etc. The teachers are also paid a minimal fee of under $50 a month. I cannot believe that anyone can survive on that small amount of money. Yet, they were happiest that day, when they had their scholars put on a little play for us, showing us their many talents of dance, music and poetry. Even a poem or two in broken English.

The children had the most beautiful smiles, and we were greeted with such grandeur, it made me feel like we were dignatories, yet we are a "normal white family" experiencing Africa for the first time in our lives. As there were no toilets, on our way home, Torden needed to go urgently, and there was hardly a spot on the road to stop at, so Paul desperately talked him through the whole episode. Needless to say, he couldn't hold it in any longer, and cried out aloud " I need to go wee and poo right now" . I must say I felt guilty trying to get a 3 year old to hold it in.

The Night the sky lit up!

2008-06-25T22:46:00.002+01:00

We had a lovely visitor all the way from Cape Town last week. Petiswa, we sincerely hope you are not too shell shocked from your visit to the city of Kin. You are always welcome.....

It was a lovely Friday evening, and while we were enjoying a Fondue with John & Joan ( Paul's boss and his wife), what sounded like gun shots was in actual fact an enormous light display that took to the blackened skies of the almost boring city. We were at the right place at the right time, as we had the perfect view sitting from our window seats in the restaurant. The fireworks were part of the celebration of the 2nd year of the Jazz Festival. One of the many things this city has to offer. No, it doesn't compare to Cape Town, but then again who needs perfection! At least we have excitement!

SCHOOL'S OUT!

2008-06-18T14:06:00.002+01:00

I'm sorry for not keeping my blog up to date this past week. Firstly, we are having problems with our computer. Don't ask me what it is, but it needs to be updated. Paul has asked his brother to look into finding parts in SA. With all the abrupt power cuts, and the motherboard, ( not sure what that is and why they call it that), all the info and and and....... Besides that we also recently had a virus, which was eradicated with Norton ( I do like him)! I also tried to write an entry on Monday, and I got an error report and lost my entire page.

Okay, enough excuses, school also finished last week for the big "Summer Break! Last night we watched an excellent show at Torden's Little Jewels International School. A lot of people are packing up and heading out for the holidays, it feels quite strange, as in SA it's really cold at the moment. And here most people are going to Europe, where it's supposedly warm.

The Mom's around here have been great, everyday having a turn for the children to play at their homes. Today was my turn, and my friend, Joan, the American Lady with no kids, brought around beads for the kids to make bracelets with. They loved it! We all did I think!
It's also quite strange for me, to not have a Nanny here for Torden, and most of the children do. So with all 6 kids, came along, 5 Nannies. And of the 5 Nannies, I would only say that 2 of them were really interested in the children. Quite sad, if you think, that they get paid to literally just look at the chilren, and wipe their snotty noses now and again! Anyway, maybe one day, when I'b big, I'll get one to look after Torden.

Housekeeper Diaries Part III

2008-06-07T15:44:00.003+01:00

I'm not sure if the work on our home in Kinshasa will every be complete, but that's all part of the excitement we get to experience here. During the week, I asked my Aimee (our housekeeper), to clean the curtain rails and hang up our new curtains in the dining room. She had to use a ladder, which has been made use of by every contractor that comes to work on our home. Of both the companies, that we use, neither of them have any tools, including hammers, screw drivers etc, and they make the biggest mess, and never clean up after they have left, be it inside or outside.

I was busy with my French lesson on the verandah, when we realised poor Aimee, had taken a tumble. We both ran to her aid as she was sprawled flat on the floor, and the ladder had split in two. She had a really bad gash to her leg, and said her knee was paining. We pulled her to the side, and I called Paul, who is very good at First Aid, luckily his office is only 2 minutes away. He cleaned her up, and Lepauld took her home. The next day, she went to hospital where they gave her a tetanus injection and changed the wound. She has been booked off until Monday, where she goes for another check-up on her wound.

To top it all off, we have a house guest, and 2 extra dogs, which really makes the house look that extra untidy! Well today, Paul put our curtains up, which look stunning, but oops, I just heard a crash, oh no, apparently a bottle of red wine that was on top of our wine cabinet, dropped off and spilled onto the new curtains. Well, I'm too afraid to go and look at the damage. Do you think these curtians may be cursed.....

Feels like Christmas...

2008-06-03T20:36:00.003+01:00

Yipee, our container finally arrived! Not sure how long we have been waiting for some goodies to arrive, a couple of months. This afternoon was so exciting as we watched a guy in a bakkie drop it off, then we waited until Paul came home before opening it up. Torden was happy with his share of things, and managed to store all of it, including a box of chocolates, Otee's and Oros juices in his bedroom cupboard. It's a joy to see how excited he gets and knows that all his goodies came from "Afrique du Sud" as he now calls it. Just last week, he told us at dinner time, that he doesn't belong here, " I belong in West Beach" he said. We both looked at each other, and tried to contain our laughter. It happens more and more, where we try so hard not to laugh at the grown up things he says. But the cutest of all is when he climbs into bed with us, puts both his arms around us, and says " I love you guys"!

This morning was our last coffee meeting for the year ( The new year starts in September) with the International Women's Club. It was held at the American Embassey Residence along the river, which is a great spot. Lovely for a coolish dry season ( I want to say winter) morning. We had a speaker from Proctor and Gamble talking of statistics within the DRC, as well as marketing of a sachet to purify water. Interestingly, only 1,5% of the population have HIV/Aids, half the population uses birth control, a large percentage of women die of illnesses related to problems after having too many children close to one another and malaria, is the biggest cause of death amongst children up to the age of 5.

So yes it does feel like Christmas as Paul also received his belated birthday gift from me, a " Tin Tin in the Congo" special edition hard cover. He also got his own ipod speaker system that we are going to us outside and in the bedroom, Paul and his toys! As well as everything seems to be coming to a close here in Kinshasa, lots of friends taking off for far away places as soon as next week. We also attended a painful end of year school play at the Belgian school. I never ordered the year book at Torden's school, and apparently there is a lovely picture of him in his class. Hopefully, I will be able to attain a copy somehow.

Season Changes!

2008-06-02T16:24:00.003+01:00

It's that time of the year when you can feel that something different is happening with regards to the weather. Although they say, there are only 2 seasons here, the rainy and the dry season, it definitely feels a bit cooler than usual especially early morning and late afternoon/evening. At around 5pm, the humidity normally rises, but over these last few days, it has been cooler, more breezes, which makes a huge difference on how comfortable you are. I now enjoy sitting more out on the verandah, where most afternoons, it's unbearable. The temperature still soars to 31 deg C, but at least not to 38 or 40 deg C. This is what they call the dry season, with more grey skies, but not much rain.

We are also experiencing changes, like for instance, Torden has a runny nose, in fact most of the children he plays with have it. I had a sore throat yesterday with an upset stomach most of the weekend. Paul calls it the "kinshasa shuffle", a term, most expats use, specifically knowing that someday or other, you will come across it. It could be the water you perhaps drank, the fruit in the salad that wasn't washed properly or simply some or other bug you picked up.

We are just happy that most of the pre-warned marches that took place since last week, regarding the imprisonment of Bemba, by the Belgians, was peaceful! That feeling of anxiety has left me this week.

TIA!

2008-05-26T14:02:00.004+01:00

I really don't like to be negative. Most of all, I don't like to talk about Africa this way, especially all that it has experienced, will always be compared to the Western World. And, especially since I am living in Africa. BUT, there are somedays, when I cannot stop myself from saying "This is Africa......" Days like, yesterday, when our generator, that is supposed to generate power to our home, just blows up and catches alight. mmmmm I then wonder........

It was about 7pm, and the guards came running to tell Paul, as we were saying goodbye to some guests who had come over for tea. He immediately ran to fetch the fire extinguisher, and then put out the flames, on failing which would've blown up 120litres of diesel, not too mention the 80litres of diesel in the tank of the car as well. So for 12 hours we had no electricity. It has now resumed, but who knows for how long, and how long will it take the maintenance guy to replace the old one. At times I ask myself only one question ? What am I doing here.... that topic I will cover another day as I know we have a purpose to fill here....

RALLY to Zongo Falls

2008-05-20T20:55:00.006+01:00

On Saturday morning at 9am we left Kinshasa on a rally that was to be an experience of a lifetime. There were about 40 cars on an organised off-road ralley sponsored by Castel Beer. When I talk about off-road I not only mean off the normal road, but off the beaten track, and into a whole new world beyond the borders of the towns. Tiny villages with children, dogs and goats in the middle of nowhere. Most of the huts were made of clay, and no electricity, running water and the convenience of anything remote to modern day. You could've easily been on a time warp back in time about 100 years or more. There were only tire tracks, no roads on a 4x4 dream world. Our Toyota Prado, slid over every wide canyon crack, every sandbank, every hole or mud trench like a boat takes to water. On our first day I was quite shocked at the co-pilot's ( moi) list of interpreting every route on a given route map sketched out in tiny drawings with the odd French word for "Careful steep accent" etc. Each section was about about 4km with 90km for the first stretch and then another 60km towards the end . Wow, I never worked so hard on a long journey being a passenger as that. I thoroughly enjoyed being in more control though than the driver. My very own driver was my husband the " Camel Man". Huge Congratulations on winning the overall trophy. Babes, I never knew you could handle a steering wheel and low four gears the way you did! And your organisation skills were superb as there you were helping a fellow contestant who got stuck in the mud behind us. Tow rope, wellington boots and 2 way radios all organised by yourself. On arrival at Zongo Falls, we had to take the shower that "nature" had organised for us, it was the most energising shower I have had since our arrival in Kinshasa. Wow, what a powerful spray! The Frenchies with their "douche" gel, and all. We set up tent with about 10 friends, all French speaking, except for us and Abby, our American friend, who co-piloted for Moose, our friend that travelled most of the way with us. We had fun that night, with an organised buffet, and partying and dancing coming mostly from our site, until midnight. The air was still warm, however, but cooler than Kinshasa. The next morning, we were up and raring to go, only the Europeans seem to do everything after 9am, which is unfortunate as that set the time back for our arrival back home at about 6:30pm which is after dark here. Along route we stopped at a beautiful botanical garden for lunch, and then went on to see an amazing African sunset. We were so tired on arrival and ready for a clean up, I had mud all over my shoes from stepping out the car to witness the car in front of us overturn, and then some locals helped them get the car back on it's 4 wheels, amazingly no-one was hurt, and the car was unscathed too. We we never stayed for the results which came out at about 11pm. We came 25th overall, which I think is not bad at all for our first ever rally. We shall return next year, South African spirit and all.

Congolese Day!

2008-05-15T08:58:00.005+01:00

Thank goodness that we finally have a public holiday in the Congo tomorrow. I assume it's Congolese Day, as we were asked to dress the children in traditional clothes for school today. I must say it was a very vibrant atmosphere when I dropped Torden off this morning. Tiny tots as well as the older children all dressed up in brightly coloured outfits. I will post a picture tomorrow. The Congo is known for it's bright waxed sealed cotton fabric, and is definitely exclusive to this country. West Africa definitely has a different type of fabric and the colours are not as bright. The women wear tight fitting long skirts with matching blouses that usually has a long cuff or a frill. Most expats, as well as myself have had an outfit or two made, just to wear to an event or just for fun. The Congolese take great pride in their appearances, all women no matter how poor, will always have a piece of material either tied in a sarong or in a dress, usually beautifully clothed from head to toe. Well it's been a busy week, and still haven't managed to get to the Golf Club. I have a date tomorrow with a friend who knows how to play, but not sure if I will make it as I did something weird to my lower back. There is no chiropractor in Kinshasa, so will have to get someone to try to click my back. You know that one, where you stand back to back with someone, and they lift you up with the arms. I wonder if it will work with Paul....

Today I....

2008-05-12T19:41:00.003+01:00

Today I am happy...

because I started my day with my most successful Lesson Francaise to date, I have been at it for 2 months now, and have yet to construct a French sentence until now.

C'est bon! Hats off to Monsier Jean-Pierre, our tutor, whose patience and persistance is paying off.

Today I am at peace...

with the universe and what is unfolding for me. I started my first meditation at home with 2 interested parties, there will be more next week, as the interest spreads.

My subject chosen revolved around the following poem. It is unknown who wrote it.

DESIDERATA

Go placidly amid the noise and haste.

And remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others,even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may becomevain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesserpersons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;for the world is full of trickery.

But let not this blind you to what virtue there is;many persons strive for high ideals and everywherelife is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.Neither be cynical about love;

for on the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass,

Take kindly to counsel of the years, gracefully surrenderingthe things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune,

But do not distress yourself with imaginings, many fears areborn of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees or stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe isunfolding as it should.

Therefore, be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be,

And whatever your labours and aspirations in the noisy confusion of life,

keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams.

It is still a beautiful world.Be cheerful, strive to be happy.

Today I ate...

bran muffins for breakfast. This is the last of my ready-mix Snowflake mixture that I bought on my previous shopping trip in South Africa.

Today I drank...

Lipton's Lemon Ice Tea. I found it on special, would usually pay around double that. ( $4) The fact is even if tried, I would not be able to find it again in the shop. Will have to make my own.

Today I played...

card games with my son. We had fun while I massaged him with almond oil, after his afternoon swim. He hasn't allowed me to massage him since he was about 2 years old. I am hoping it will help with the scars from his chicken-pox.

Today I wish..

that all the little lonely children of the world receive a distant hug. x

May you all have a blessed week ahead!

Mort

2008-05-08T08:45:00.002+01:00

Most of you can make out what the French word " Mort" means. Derived from mortuary, hence the word in English "Death". I had to actually look the word up this morning in my French/English Dictionary. Our driver has been off work for 2 days, we had a replacement driver, so everything appeared to be normal around here. Although, we really don't like the change, the reason being, Lepauld, our chaffeur ( as he likes to be called), is the best out of all the Maersk drivers, and there are about 10 of them. We were first to be assigned to him ( not vice versa), as we are the priveleged folk. I can't explain, but we clicked, not right away, but gradually. The first day, Paul, said he needed a new driver as he doesn't like the fact that he can't speak a word of English. Only to discover, most of them, can't speak English. Lepauld just has fewer English words in his vocabulary. This has actually become an advantage, as I practise my French with him, and he corrects me most of the time.
Lepauld manages to get out of any traffic situation, using back roads, side roads and using the Prado to the limit. He was also an ex military driver, and has retired thereof. At age 50, he is rather fit, and extremely cautious, acts like our bodyguard! He is almost part of the family, and as a driver, gets to know quite a lot about us, as he spends most of his time with us in the car, doing our day to day things.
I was very sad to hear that his little 3 year old daughter had passed away on Tuesday, and only heard about it this morning upon his return to work. She was in hospital with an illness that we are yet to find out about. This is not an abnormal situation for parents of children under 5 years of age to be in. I just can't understand, and probably never will, how little children just slip away in a poverty stricken country, where basic medical care is not a human right! And boy, it should be!

International Women's Club

2008-05-07T10:44:00.004+01:00

Yesterday was my first meeting of the International Women's club. As these associations operate all over the world, I felt in sync with other women that are in the same situation, as well as with women across the world that are visitors in the country in which they currently preside. I am a foreigner, and it feels strange, as it should. I know that there are many foreigners living in Kinshasa, but it still feels as though you are the small percentage that are fortunate enough to drive in a chaffeur driven car, as though you have loads of money! When your car drives slow enough for little children, and other passengers to peer at you through you car window. When these little boys, ( no girls),ask for money, you often hand over some "flip-flops" ( what we call the local Congo francs)

Back to the Women's Club. We pay a fee to join the club, and have events througout the year to raise money for charity. Next week, the club, is handing over benches, that was made through the money that was raised last year, to an Art School for children. So a good cause and very necessary for a country that has little or no support from the government. There are also social gatherings, French reading classes and outings throughout each month. I found it most interesting to meet up with people, like the Japanese Ambassador's wife, a lecturer in English from Massachusets, a Dutch expat, a Peruvian expat, an old Belgian women looking for a Bridge partner etc. We had an exhibition of tie-dye products from a local women, coffee and croissants at the Memling Hotel. One thing that surprised me, is that the Chairwoman, expected us to dig into our pockets that she thought was very deep filled with lots of dollars several times, like pay S20 for shop bought necklaces that was made in China for charity, $10 or more for the charity box, $100 per person tickets to a dance to support a school, buying the tie-dye products on sale( yes very nice products), but it could end up being a very expensive morning. Sorry, I would love to support everyone, but have to still feed my family in this very expensive city!

Normality!

2008-05-05T11:18:00.002+01:00

Back to normal as most folks would say. What is it actually? Routines, schedule, getting on with your life. After Kim's departure, and being out of routine, I am going to be doing a few new things, one of them is, reading or studying a new book that is on Oprah's book club, A New Earth - by Eckhart Tolle. His previous book, The Power of Now, was excellent, so looking forward to this one. My new motto in life, is not going to be looking into the future, or dabbling on about my past(a few fond memories are nice to keep). I will try, and I know it's going to be difficult, to live in the present moment. So I have set aside a newish schedule, typed up a list of things that I will doing with my free time. Yes I do have lots of time, but still don't get all the things I always plan to do, done in a week.

A few words about my past 2 weeks. Kim, I loved having you here, discovering all the new places we found in Kinshasa, and just enjoying the time with you. Our time together, and especially time spent with Torden, was more valued. It just shows, that being in a different place, at a different time, seems to being out more special moments. May you return to us anytime, wherever we may be....

This afternoon, we are going to another birthday party for a little 2 year old boy from South Africa. He has already had cerebral malaria, was also evacuated to SA in February, but is doing well.
I'm off to collect Torden from school and en route can't wait to listen to my ipod with new downloaded music.

Some pics from Kim's itinerary!

2008-05-01T18:44:00.005+01:00

Freedom Day Celebrations!

2008-04-27T22:46:00.002+01:00

We were quite impressed when our invite arrived from the South African Embassey last week. The fact that we were invited to a function to celebrate Freedom Day. I have met the First Lady, but not yet the Ambassador. So was looking forward to our meeting with all our compatriots. Paul is still convinced, the reason we were invited, is that we have a humungous SA flag attached to our spare tyre wheel cover on the Prado. I'm still not happy driving in the car and just knowing that everyone now knows where we are from. I like to be a bit more discreet, or keep them guessing? Also, in a city like Kin, everyone can spot where you've been, and no secrets are spared as to what time you left a certain establishment. I thought it would be a slightly smaller cocktail party with a few guests. Well, us South Africans don't do anything on a small scale. It had to be held in a huge Marquee tent, with loads of outdoor space for the band, and overlooking the pool. It was held at the South African compound, down the road from us. A beautiful spot, that overlooks the river onto Brazzaville. Probably, the neatest, cleanest place inside 4walls in Kinshasa. We met all our Vodacom Expats there, and a few other embassey staff. We were offered a buffet meal of BBQ meats,spinach, butternut, beans, samp and sauce. Most of the foods were flown in especially for the function, as I haven't tasted such good SA taste in 2 months. The only thing that didn't go down so well was the rainy, cooler weather ( 23 deg C) with a few bolts of lightning overhead. Well Done SA, you still keep me proud! Now I really know that I have to learn the Xhosa part of the National Anthem.

That thing Malaria!

2008-04-24T19:51:00.004+01:00

Well it's time to get it all out in the open. I have been meaning to write about this topic for a while now. Maybe it's time to do so, especially since most people think that AIDS is what most humans die of in Africa. I'm not saying that it's worse than Malaria, but one can't compare. It seems to kill more people, and there is no prevention. You will get bitten by a mozzie no matter what, if that female is out to bite you and bring you the dreaded Malaria, she will get to you nets, tabard and all. I know this from experience. Take for example, myself, I smear myself with tabard every night, I sleep under a mosquito net, we have the house sprayed once a month, and we have the garden sprayed once a week. We keep the doors closed most of the time, we don't go outside without long pants, long sleeve shirts and enough Tabard to keep me from buying my favourite perfume (part of the Kenzo range, because I never get to use the current one, as it is overpowered by the African range. Now, Paul hardly gets bitten, and yet he was the one that got hit with Cerebral Malaria. Aimee, our housekeeper, has a little boy, only 10 years old, living in Kisangani which is a 6 day trip on a barge up the river. He has been admitted to a clinic with Malaria, and statistics say that most children under 5 years don't survive. Well most people don't survive the cerebral malaria, or are misdiagnosed, and don't receive the proper treatment.
We will pray for him, and this is not the last that I will be writing about this topic.....

Kim in the Congo!

2008-04-21T22:55:00.003+01:00

Lac de Ma Valee (translated " Lake of my valley") We did a 6km walk around the lake. Felt like we were in the middle of the Jungle. We sang excerpts from Jungle Book, especially for Torden, "well I'm the King of the jungle....roobee doo wanna be like you, wanna walk like you...."

Day 3

2008-04-18T13:52:00.002+01:00

Well it's the 3rd day in The Congo, and Kim has survived. Besides the humidity, and the car sickness she experiences, she is happy to be here. We've been to the river for a long walk this morning with "Spotty 1 and 2"( Fin and Torden), and endured the sun which came out of the clouds just at the time we started walking. I showed her Brazaville, which one can see from across the river. We pointed out all the ambassadorial residences by representation of the flags. We are not able to go outdoors too long with Torden, as he still has a slight fever, and apparently the light may be too bright for his eyes. So this afternoon, we are summoned to watch High School Musical, Torden's favourite. Tonight, we are going out to a house party at a German friend, so looking forward to seeing all my friends and introducing Kim to them. We told her about our extremely funny Pakistani friend, whose accent just about puts us in fits of laughter everytime she opens her mouth. So should be a fun-filled evening!

Yipee she's arrived!

2008-04-16T20:07:00.002+01:00

We were greeted this morning to a very spotty child, and realised that the real reason why Torden was so out of it yesterday was that he in fact had chicken-pox. It is all over his body, and worse in the neck, back and his face. We try to make him feel better by comparing him to our spotty dog, Fin. Now he thinks that is the biggest joke! Now he has to stay out of school until Monday, which spoils the fact that I was going to show Kim around town, but nonetheless, we shall take Spotty along.

After our long wait at the airport, Kim, finally came out of the airport building with Eric, who takes " care" of all the finalities. ( Bribes etc.) Kim looked flustered and tired, she gets motion sickness, so the ride home was awful for her. There was so much traffic, it took us much longer than it normally would. But Kinshasa has a lovely "welcoming" effect on one! Hope she will stay her full 2 weeks.......

After a long Skype session to my folks back home, she has retired to bed, and will hopefully be refreshed in the morning.

I was living in the future for so long, it is about time that I am finally shoved back to living in the "Now"!

A Special Visitor

2008-04-15T09:04:00.003+01:00

My anticipation is eating me up, only 1 more sleep before my sister arrives. Although I saw her in March on my last trip to Cape Town, it will definitely be different. Especially how she will find out how we live, and how different life is up here. A few people have asked what we are going to do with her, as they themselves find it boring, and long to go elsewhere for a holiday! I do agree to some extent, but for someone who wants to get away from it all, relax, laze around the pool, take nature walks, and to just simply be in a different environment, away from the rat race, this is the answer! I do have an itinerary for her, and I will be the tourist guide, seeing that it was my previous profession. This time, however, it won't be as easy as Cape Town is so naturally scenic. The nightlife is pretty good we will visit Ibiza Bar, Standing, and some good restaurants. I will keep you updated intended for anyone who may be interested on an insert called " PLACES TO GO AND THINGS TO DO IN KINSHASA"

Live Life to the Fullest!

2008-04-14T11:03:00.002+01:00

The moment you cross the boundary of the known, fear arises, because now you will be ignorant, now you will not know what to do and what not to do. Now you will not be so sure of yourself, now mistakes can be made, you can go astray. That is the fear that keeps people tethered to the known, and once a person is tethered to the known, she is lost to this great adventure of life.

In this world there is always danger for those who are afraid of it - George Bernard Shaw

Dedicate to you Mr B.

2008-04-10T14:16:00.002+01:00

Yes you know who you are? I decided to write on my blog today, and only because you asked me to. I kinda like the fact that my blog has become popular. Not that it's great reading material, but I suppose it's because I tell it like it is. I would love more comments? I've now even added a revenue counter, which encourages me even more to write. At first, I thought only friends and family would read it. Now I realise that more than just a few people view it everyday. I also enjoy reading other blogs, like the one I found yesterday, where a young girl sells all her second hand clothing on her website. And the one where 3 ladies come together almost everyday, and bake and share their recipes. I also have a friend who is now living in Dubai since January. It's great to see how her expat life differs from mine.

My inspiration for the day must be to share that I tune in to Oprah.com everynight, where I listen to an interview she has with Eckhart Tolle about his new book "A New Earth". There is great joy to be found in nature, and we can be inspired in our own back garden by a leaf, or a flower etc. Just by looking at it as if for the first time, to not have to know the name of the flower, just to see it for what it is. I feel that when I watch my son, who is sitting right next to me at this moment, being creative. He is punching holes into paper for the first time, and I'm happy because it is keeping him busy, but he is experiencing sheer concentration by every punched hole.

So Mr B. you are leaving Kin soon, and yes that is a good thing for you. We are going to miss you, our South African counterpart and neighbour. We hope that life takes you on a good journey! May you be inspired to read from the other side!

Desperately Seeking Roberg's!

2008-04-08T16:54:00.002+01:00

I have decided to do a geneology search for my ancestral heritage. Where, why and what for? I've always wanted to know my roots, and figure out if I have any living relatives in Norway.
It took me one week on the internet to figure out that I've come to a stumbling block. I can't read or write Norwegian, and trying to read a census from 1888 ( The year my Grandfather was born in Norway) is ludicrous! Although there are many links from those Roberg's that migrated to the USA from the 1900's, that is just not where my roots are from.
I have visited Norway, stayed with Paul's Norwegian family, loved the beautiful countryside and the snow! I have a sense of knowing that when I looked down over Oslo from the airplane, that this was really home! My Grandfather was an engineer on a whaling ship, that docked in Cape Town, en route to Antartica. He fell in love with the city, and my Grandmother, who was from Italian stock.

My next big step is try and read through the Digital Archives, and search for Church records of the place where my Grandfather was born. It will be a major milestone to find one bit of info, to put the puzzle together! Wish me luck!

The Housekeeper Diaries Part 2

2008-04-07T21:26:00.003+01:00

Well I am glad to say that I my fourth Housekeeper, Aimee, is here to stay! Ok so she ironed a hole in Paul's favourite Columbia shorts. And she crumples up all the clothes that have just been through the wash, she even puts them in a cooler box that she found somewhere in our house, ready and waiting to be ironed a few days later. All this is forgotten, by the simple fact that she has the friendliest smile, and says "Merci" every single day before she goes home,and that's just because she is happy to be working for us. She brings Torden gifts, like fruit, as that is all she has to offer him. She wishes that she was his Nanny, she teases him, and plays games with him. The fact that she is making curtains for my spare room, and made Torden and I a local outfit in a modest black and white material, so unlike the bright hand-made local gear.

I love the way she corrects my French, and calls me "Madame Intelligent". Ha ha, if she only knew that I copy word for word sentences from my French Tutor. Oh and today was the first time I asked for something in French, and the person, who happened to be a stranger, had no idea I couldn't really speak the language!

Welcome home!

2008-03-26T17:10:00.001+01:00

It's hard to think that Torden and I have been away from home for 4 weeks. Time just flew by, and I still never got to do everything I wanted, see everybody I wanted to see and can you believe, I never had enough time to do all my shopping, especially for food! As I sit here now, only just 2 days in Kinshasa, I crave some things that I left behind. Like fresh tomatoes, and lettuce and all the other toss salad ingredients. I went shopping today, and most of the vegetables are double the price than before I left, or not looking too good. I really felt like potatoes with my weber chicken tonight, but no, they're all wrinkled and soft. I really felt like crunching a cucumber, but they are probably out of season. I actually think, there are a lot of expats out of town for Easter, so the shops are not as stocked as usual.
I really wanted to bring home some lamb chops and boerewors for Paul but never got to even buy that on the last minute. Call me disorganised, but I felt it was more important to spend time with my family.

I started my first French lesson yesterday, and was really " vrot"! So I told my tutor to come back next week, so it will give me some time to refresh. I also lent him "The Idiots's Guide to French" as his Alliance Francaise books are really old. So he has some new learning material for Paul and I to work with. We had a long conversation ( in English) about how many young people aspire to study in SA, but most of them cannot afford it. It makes me think about how much a lot of our young people take for granted.

Well that's enough for my first blog on my return.
Hope you are all " chocolate smashed" from Easter!

Out and About Kinshasa!

2008-02-21T22:03:00.000+01:00

Sunset on the Congo River. There is a lovely walk we usually take along the river next to all the Ambassadorial residences. (US, British, Belgian, Swedish & Chinese etc) You get to meet up with all the usual expats, new and old. The evenings are the busiest, but usually the time when the humidity is at it's highest.
Fin, the Dalmalli panting in the heat. He gets to spend most of his days indoors with the AC on full blast. Lucky dog, I suppose the locals must think he is " King of all Dogs" in Kinshasa. His new name should be "Fin Fin of the Congo" not Tin Tin.

Torden in the pool. Most days this is the best place to be. We have lots of play days, where there are about 8 kids that get together on a regular basis. This is great for our social network, as there are not many places for children to play.
An outlook of our long verandah ( stoep), which is where most of our social gatherings are held. Very colonial, sipping our G&T's. Although Paul is forbidden to touch any alcohol for the next year, due to his liver being severely abused, from the Malaria ( cerebral), no not alcohol poisoning!
A view of Kinshasa harbour from the boat.

Fictitious Literature on DRC

2008-02-17T18:04:00.000+01:00

1. Blood River - A Journey To Africa's Broken Heart, 2007. ISBN 0-701-17981-3
Wrong, Michela,
2. In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo
Hochschild, Adam,
3. King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa, 1998.
Renton, David; Seddon, David; Zeilig, Leo.
4. The Congo: Plunder and Resistance, 2007. ISBN 978-1-84277-485-4
Larémont, Ricardo René, ed. 2005.
5.Borders, nationalism and the African state. Boulder, Colorado and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Devlin, Larry (2007).
6. Chief of Station, Congo: A Memoir of 1960-67. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 9781586484057.
7. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

The Housekeeper Diaries!

2008-02-16T15:16:00.000+01:00

If you read this and have never been to the Congo, then you would probably say that I am fussy when it comes to "cleaning help" ( Politically correct)! The problem is that you really do need help. We barely have enough time in the mornings to do shopping, as you have to search 3 or 4 shops sometimes just to collect the ingredients required for certain meals. We really need help to have someone peel, wash and cut them. No "Woolies" for miles. With all the rains, it makes the soil quite damp, and the dog is constantly in and out the doors.
I am now on my 4th housekeeper in 4months. That makes it about 1 per month. Well it's just not like that. I never had a full-time maid in SA, I only had a char once every 2 weeks. Well, Nancy,did all the work in one day, that these cleaners do in one week, and she does a better job! The only problem was that she was not as reliable. At least these people come to work everyday.
The first one, was an old Pappa (an elderly man), who was probably very good in his younger days. But as the years passed on, he got slower and slower, until eventually he virtually stopped working. And he had no idea on anything I said in English, I also tried hand signals, but got very tired after the first week. He had to go. The 2nd was a lady, who I will not like to disclose any more info on the web, except the fact that she wanted to wash her feet in my bath. The 3rd was a young male, with lots of energy, and my house looked spotless after his hands had put a touch to it, as well as touching many other things that went into his bag everyday before leaving for home. After he had left, we found lots of consumables missing. Now the lovely young lady that is with us, Aimee, is such a sweetie pie. She enjoys playing with Torden, and has no clue on how to do a structured cleaning cycle, and that is with the help of my "schedule" which I have constructed in French. In one week, she has turned my beige colour cotton throw into a puke peach, and she's turned my crockery cupboard into one for Tupperware, so I have given up hope of every finding my perfect housekeeper. In the meantime I will just get by with a not so clean house, a happy son, washing that has been dyed automatically and cutlery with no real home. I am so tired of teaching "cleaning methods" that I think I shall open my own cleaning agency. " Congo Cleaners!

Boat on the Congo River

2008-02-12T20:08:00.000+01:00

On Sunday, we took the boat out to a little island about 20minutes down the River. It was arranged by 4 families, and we had a BBQ (braai) on the sand bank. We pitched tents and put up tables and chairs, and played games on the beach. It's quite weird, as it feels just like a beach with lovely soft sand, and the water was so shallow, the kids & a few adults splashed around. The water was so refreshing in the heat of the day, about 33degrees C which is quite normal. Luckily there was no rain. We decided that this was going to be a monthly visit, that is if we're lucky enough to find the same spot everytime. I can't believe how much we enjoyed ourselves out what felt like the middle of nowhere.

I was fascinated to find one or two reed homes that the fisherman lay claim to. How can anyone survive on this riverbank island, with no facilities whatsoever? Probably beats any life back on land in the Congo. ( if you're poor that is, which is half of the population) Our excitement of the day, was when we rescued a family, whose boat had siezed in the middle of the river, and took them back to Club Nautica.

How to live the life of an expat?

2008-02-06T20:14:00.000+01:00

We had a guest over for dinner last night. She flew up from Cape Town for an audit at Paul's company for the week. I found myself talking mostly about our life as expats in Kinshasa, and never once felt homesick. A few months ago, I would've wanted to fly back home with her and neatly tucked myself into her suitcase! The way of life grows on you, and you soon realise that it's a good life! For instance, today I did my morning yoga, while looking onto the lush, green garden of our home. Our gardener had just mowed the lawn, and was busy sweeping it with a broom, yes he brushes the lawn, so it falls in one direction. Yesterday, I gave him some seeds to start a vegetable garden, and he says that it should start producing carrots, broccoli and lettuce (the broccoli and carrots are scarce) in no time. This afternoon, I took Torden for a tennis lesson, and even his coach was surprised at his keen interest and ability to connect with the ball. Thereafter we met up with a few South Africans at the river, where we walked and biked with 10 kids. There was no talk of crime,no stressing about what to cook for dinner, just a casual walk with idle chit chat. I am really enjoying that the South African wives really take the effort to meet up regularly with the children. We were supposed to meet up for pizza tonight, but was told to keep off the streets due to tension in the air. So that is the life. One minute you're up and the next you are just shoved into reality.

Thieves, Vets & George Clooney!

2008-02-02T10:41:00.000+01:00

What an eventful week! Firstly our spotted dog, Fin, the dalmation, had an infection in his neck, and we had to call the Vet, who does housecalls by the way. He put him on antibiotics and scraped the pus, if it didn't clear, he would have to cut it out on Friday. Due to the humidity, Fin, also has a skin allergy, and needed a antihistamine and a cortisone cream. Then on Wednesday evening, I got invited to dinner at Chez Gaby, a local Portuguese restuarant. The ladies dinner group meet once a month at a different venue, and was attended by about 20 women. We were told that George Clooney, was there for lunch that same afternoon. A few of us were determined to catch a glimpse of him, and were informed that he had also been spotted by the river. The next morning, a few of us decided to decend on the river front, but not a soul was to be seen. Maybe Next time! Then yesterday, our Driver, Lepauld, explained to me with the help of a French/ English dictionary that his entire month's wages was taken from him on the bus home the night before. I was devasted, and his pride was lost, as he sheepishly told me. I instantly called Paul, who informed the company, and they have helped him out. I also got him to write up a list of the groceries he may need for the month. All he really said he needed was transport money for work. And he asked how much a motorbike would cost him in SA. Lepauld is very much part of the family, and takes a lot of care of not only our driving needs, but also serves as a protection for us. He served in the army and knows a lot on the subject of security. Speaking of which, this week, we were informed of a march in town, and was advised to take care if a situation arises. All was peaceful and nothing happened!

Playgroups & PlayMoms!

2008-01-29T21:53:00.000+01:00

Now don't get me wrong I love to play, and so does 3 year old Torden. But how far does one go to find an activities in an African Third World Capital City?
Last Friday, someone's Mommy, arranged that we meet at the local Supermarket as they have an indoor play area, and serve take-away City Market Chicken (CFC), just like a Mackie Dee meal. The Surpise Meal aka Happy Meal, has the most delicous crumbed chicken strips, but much to the children's disapointment has no "suprise" inside. Now how do you explain to 6 x 3/4 year old boys that they forgot to put one in. Or did they? Well in this place, nothing surprises me. It' s run by Lebanese, not that I have anything against them, they just don't have a good reputation in Kinshasa. On saying that, I do have a Lebanese friend, who is delightful, and whom I get on very well with.
This Friday, I arranged that all the kids and Mommies come to our house for a swim. We will probably end up having popcorn, as crisps are just too darn expensive, even on an expat salary. Some Mom will end up bringing along some Fizzers she managed to stuff into her suitcase on her last trip to SA. The kids will end up drinking Fanta in glass bottles, as buying cans and 2L plastic bottles are unheard of.

This way, the children get to have fun, we get to see each other regularly and everyone goes home exhausted after another Play Date!

Me and my hobby!

2008-01-23T17:18:00.000+01:00

I developed a love for photo's and keepsakes since I can remember. I also loved having my photo taken as a little girl, and always posed when I saw a camera. This obviously led to my desire to have them printed and see the outcome. Today with digital printing, there is no need to wait. The only problem is you have a "gizzilion" pictures on your PC memory. I have a Memory Vault, and store them in a file them for printing. This makes it easier to search for them when required. I downloaded a digital Storybook last night online, and stayed up till way past midnight attaching photo's and music. It was wonderful getting so involved in something that is enjoyable, and with Paul in Matadi for the week, it never made me feel so guilty to spend so much time on it.

Today I followed on with my hobby of Scrapbooking. I had 4 South African ladies over this morning; 3 Scrappers and an Au Pair. This made for an enjoyable chattering amongst us, this made me feel instantly at home. And it was nice for a change to feel this way. I am starting to realise that the lifestyle is great for pursuing hobbies or whatever takes up too much time in a "real world". Not that this life is not real, there is so much time, probably what it was like in the old days, when there was no television, no shopping and no crime. Which reminds me that our house in Cape Town was burgaled yesterday. I do hope our tenants stay on.

Parle vouz French?

2008-01-21T19:28:00.000+01:00

Although a lot of people I know want to learn French, I have never been that interested. I do enjoy languages, and speak only English and Afrikaans. (can understand Dutch, and Flemish) I now have realised that I have this need to speak French, it sounds like a beautiful language and if you listen close enough, you will find many of the words look similar to English, but are pronounced entirely different. My only tutor at the moment is our driver, who also has this need to speak English, so we converse every morning with a greeting of Bonjour, cava? Cava bien. And that's about it, the odd words do come in handy, like the names of food products at the supermarket. There is a French/English dictionary in the car, and a language CD, but it doesn't help when you have to converse on a daily basis with Congolese French speaking people. So I have now found out about a French school, and will do my utmost to hold a conversation in French once I leave this place. That will be one of my consolations for living here!!

Sulky Sunday

2008-01-20T09:45:00.000+01:00

Not that any other Sunday would be different here in Kinshasa. It's just that today, the weather is gloomy, not cold at all, it's humid and warm, the sky is dull and grey which makes you feel like spending the day indoors.

Yesterday we had two couples for a South African barbaque ( braai). We met up at the walk on the river last week with our dog. It was great to meet up with fellow South Africans and have a general comparison to home, besides it's a way of socialising here as entertainment is somewhat lacking. It also makes you realise that some fellow compatriots have not actually left SA.
We had the view that we have come to experience life for what it is in the DRC. Take for example shopping, we buy our all our fresh produce including meat here. Some S.Africans are buying their meat in SA on their trips back home every 3 months, freezing it overnight, then storing it in cooler boxes and then wrapping it at the airport. Yet these people still eat out at restaurants in Kinshasa, where the same meat is purchased. It doesn't make sense at all.
I really appreciate the availability of food and the choice we have when we go back home, but it also makes your shopping experience very interesting, as well as the fact that all the goods in the shop are labeled with a code from A1-200 or B1-300, and then there is a list which you have to evidently search for to see the price in Congolese Francs. Once all your goods are tallied up at the till point, your cashier tells you in French what the amount in Francs is. You then have to scramble out all these tattered, dirty notes, which you never have enough of to make the total. You then end up paying in US dollars for the bill, and receive another wad of tatty notes in Congolese Francs. This makes your shopping experience quite an affair!

Today I am going to remain indoors and read, skype my folks and will eventually end up watching DSTV that is if the connection is not spoilt by the bad weather.

In the beginning!

2008-01-18T14:53:00.000+01:00

For those of you that have not read any of my group emails, this is just a recap! I decided to become a real blogger, at my husband's suggestion, as he quoted "You are already a blogger!" Blogger sounds like a swear word gone wrong ..... so I never thought that this is what it is, writing my thoughts and news on a website for all the world to see. A bit scary at first, what person would read this, surely only my friends and family. What if someone gets hooked on my site, and starts to pry in my personal life. Well they can't, I live in the middle of the jungle, in the middle of Africa. I have now been an expat since September 2007, as my husband is on contract for 2 years in this Le Paradis! Paul ( my husband), Torden ( my 3 year old son) and I now live in Kinshasa the capital city of Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly the Belgian Congo.

We hail from the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa.