August 28 - 30 (Lesotho)

     We left Johannesburg around 9a.m. Sunday morning, heading south to Lesotho, where we arrived around 2:30p.m. The lodge we stayed at gave us a ‘chalet’ (they pronounce the ‘T’ as well: sha-let).  After settling in, claiming beds and all that, we wandered outside with books and such, enjoying the sun.  Guess who met us; an ostrich!  Most of us got to touch the ostrich, and when Becca stuck her hand out, the ostrich clamped down on it with her beak.  Becca decided she wasn’t going to hold her hand out any more. 

     About an hour after we arrived, we left again to find a grocery store in town.  We got to the mall at 5:15, only to learn that the Pick ‘n’ Pay had closed at 5, and that no other stores were open!  Early morning trip into town for Mom the next morning.  For dinner, we chose Spurs, saw they served ‘Mexicano’ food, and promptly ordered that.  I didn’t taste exactly like Mexican food, and nowhere as good as Mom’s, but it was something.

     That evening, we star gazed.  Without city lights, the stars were amazing!  We could see the Milky Way, and tons of constellations I didn’t recognize.  That was at 7:30, and none of us were ready to go to bed yet, but, of course, we had forgotten such things as cards or puzzles or DVD’s. Our solution: make a deck of cards with the few pieces of scratch paper we had (the bar menu for the lodge).  

     The next day, Mom left to drop Dad off at work at 7 o’clock, also intending to visit the store, which opened at 8.  She got back to the chalet at 10, because she had also needed to visit the Vodacom shop (dealing in cell phones) to pick up a Lesotho SIM card.  After she got back, we had a snack and headed out into the countryside, to see what there was to do.  While we didn’t find all that much, the country is beautiful, and I took quite a few pictures.  We headed back to the lodge when Jonathon got sick, and relaxed there for the rest of the day.

     On Tuesday, one of the World Vision workers, Maphathe, picked us up at 8:45 and took us out to one of the dams in the country.  We learned that there were four or five dams in this project, with the intent of sending water to South Africa, as well as generating power to sell to South Africa.  In the car, I tried to describe the countryside I saw around me

     Looking around me, I see a relatively dry land, brown and dusty.  Cactuses and scrub bush add green, and all over the place are bright pink fruit trees.  Those who live in Lesotho call them peach trees, but the fruit they describe sounds more like a plum or nectarine; Mom thinks it’s a plum.  Donkeys, cows, sheep, horses, and pigs wander around, sometimes with a shepherd to guide them.  The huts are either brick, red mud, or stone mosaic, often with thatch or tin roof.  There aren’t many cars on the roads; instead, people walk everywhere.  It’s impossible to capture the beauty of the land in either words or pictures, not with my little experience.  

     They call Lesotho the Mountain Kingdom, and rightly so, for Africa.  While the mountains don’t compare withe the snow capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains, they are still mountains in this predominantly flat land.  In the distance, whatever way you look, you can see the caps of the mountains outlined against the bright blue sky.  The rural huts, large fields and gardens, and multitudes of pink and white fruit trees, along with the light green willow trees creates a look of serenity and a feeling of being close to nature.  

        We left Lesotho at 2p.m. that day, Tuesday, and arrived back here in Johannesburg at around 8p.m. that night.  While there wasn’t much to do in the country, the temporary boredom was quite worth it to leave wifi and city noise behind and visit this beautiful land.

We're leaving for Lesotho (pronounced: Le-soo-too) in a couple of hours.  I don't know if there's wifi where we'll be staying, so I might not be posting for a couple of days.  We'll be gone until Wednesday, and there'll be a nice loooooong post to make up for it then. 

Saturday, August 27 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

This morning we got to taste crumpets.  To me, they're exactly like pancakes. :) We visited the Salvation Army Fundraiser for Fairland's Children's Home today, and we bought two puzzles, watched sky divers, and bounced on a trampoline.  Dad went out to visit the area around the farmhouse again, and came back with some good information concerning internet and such - yes, we can get it out there.  

Friday, August 26 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

     This morning, I was ready to leave the house by half past 8.  In fact, I wasn't leaving until half past 12.  I went to the mall today with three girls from my class: Jessica, Claudia, and Megan.  I enjoyed talking with them, learning about school, Johannesburg, and South African life in general.  While I was there, Mom, Dad, and the rest of my siblings visited the farm house again, showing it to Dad, who had yet to see it.
     After dinner, I visited the NCCB (New Covenant Church, Bryanston) Youth group, the one connected with the school.  Although the youth leader had just had an operation and was out recovering, I met two other girls my age, one in my class, and one in the second ninth grade class.  They gave me a tour of the school, pointing out my classes and such, and explained how some parts of the school worked.  I had a good time. :)

Thursday, August 25 (South Africa)

     Today...I sat around and played with pictures.  We didn't have anything specific planned, so we just kind of hung out.  So I will take this opportunity to post about the roads.  Here, it is a white line that divides oncoming traffic from you instead of a yellow line.  Motorcycles are the fastest way to get around - their lanes are in between the cars.  Taxis are exempt from all street rules, or so they think; they drive on the wrong side of the road to bypass traffic, they drive across fields for the same reason.  Stoplights - or robots, as they call them here - are nonexistent to the taxis.  And the shoulder?  That's just an extra lane.
     The traffic is normal big city traffic, taking 15 minutes to get through two stoplights.  Just things that we're not used to. :)

Wednesday, August 24 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

     This morning we left at half past nine.  We just got back, at half past six.  I went that whole time without shoes because I forgot to put them on this morning :).  We stopped at the school to drop off financial paperwork, and then spent two hours at a ladies Bible study.  I sat in while they were talking, and all my siblings went to play in the backyard.  After that, we visited the Yellow house to talk to the realtor, and ate lunch in the driveway.  Finally, we went to meet another family that attends King's College, with a girl Teresa's age and a girl Ivan's age.  There were also two friends over, another girl Teresa's age, and a boy Ivan's age.  Even though I was the oldest, I had a lot of fun, walking tightrope on their fence, learning cricket, and comparing different vocabulary between South Africa and America.

     We got word back today that the owners of the Farm house are willing to update the house, and pay for it, the rent would just be raised to R15 500 from the R13 000 that it was.  This means that we can choose either the Yellow house or the Farm house, the deciding factor will be the cost to World Vision and the quickness that we would be able to move into the house (aka the quickness that the security measures would be installed).  I'm still praying for the farm house, but God will place us where he wants us!!

Tuesday, August 23 (Hillfox, Johannesburg)

A week and a half or so ago, Mrs. Hubbard made a special request to see the grocery store we shop at.  We shop at Woolworths most frequently; we've tried other stores and haven't liked them nearly as much.  Everything is packed in plastic, down to singleton peppers, but all the fruits and vegetables taste really good.  The main candy I find in the stores is chocolate, chocolate with caramel, chocolate with nuts, chocolate with truffle, but I haven't seen chocolate with peanut butter yet, which is a bummer since my favorite candy is Reeses.  Ostrich meat is interesting, we've found, and we eat it almost as often as beef.  

Monday, August 22 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

After schoolwork in the morning, Mom and my siblings went out to visit the dogs at the kennels.  I don't like kennels, I've found, so I stayed behind and enjoyed the quiet.  Our new dogs are doing well, slimming down.  This evening, we invited our hosts, Pat and Ken, over for dinner, after them feeding us every morning.  We chit-chatted, played with their dogs, and taught them Apples to Apples.

Sunday, August 21 (Bryanston, Johannesburg)

     These past weeks we have been visiting different churches; friend's churches, our hosts' church, etc.  Today, we visited the church that is connected to our school, New Covenant Church.  Although I didn't sit in service, and instead tagged along with my siblings to Sunday school, I rather liked the church.  I met a girl my age (!!!), Ashley, and I plan on going to Youth on Friday night to meet some other girls.  Mom and Dad said the service was good, and my siblings all liked M4J (the Sunday school), and Becca and Esther also met a girl their age, Hannah.
     After church, we were invited over to Hannah's family's house for lunch (Hannah is 11, and her brother, Seth, is 9).  Lunch turned into afternoon, and afternoon turned into evening, and we didn't end up leaving until quarter to 5.  Quite a lunch!  We had a pleasant time, and even though I didn't have someone my age to play with, all the others had lots of fun.

Yesterday, (yes, I know I'm a day late posting) was a semi-relaxed day.  As a family, we viewed some more houses, and then Dad and my siblings went to visit some botanical gardens.  Mom and I stayed home, took a nap, and then went to visit a clothing outlet she had discovered in February.  In the shopping centers and malls here, the prices for clothes are exorbitant, and I, being a Goodwill shopper, couldn't imagine spending so much for a shirt or pair of jeans.  Thankfully, PQ Clothing Outlet's prices were reasonable, and their styles were similar to the ones I wear.  

Friday, August 19 (Germiston, Gauteng)

After a couple weeks of waiting, we now have our new car, a Kia Sedona that is very similar to the Toyota Sienna we had in the states.  It has a sun roof, automatic doors, lots of cup holders, seat back eating trays, and (my favorite part) a really great input audio system.  I can plug my ipod in, control it from a remote, and the same system can connect via bluetooth to a phone.  It's a diesel car, and very updated.

Thursday, August 18 (Chartwell North, Sandton)

    We visited a house today just for the coolness factor.  The house was essentially inside a wildlife park, and driving through to the house we saw springbok and guinea fowl.  The house was a big, four-bedroom house with an inside oasis in the master bedroom.  Outside, you could climb up to the roof on a rickety set of stairs and see out over the city.  Within walking distance is the community braii, swimming pool, play ground, and restaurant.  We knew we wouldn't be able to rent the house, because the World Vision security man won't approve anything where we're living next to other people without a wall and electrical fencing between us, but it was an interesting house to view all the same.

     We got back the security reports today on the Slide house, the Yellow house, and the Farm house.  The Slide house was immediately approved, since it had lots of up-to-date security measures (alarms, cameras, laser beams, barbed wire, electrical fencing, bars on all windows and doors), but it was too small a house, so we won't be getting that one.  The Yellow house we were told was a possibility, if bars were added to the doors and windows.  However, the owner of the house didn't want to spend that money, so that house was out the window.
     For the Farm house, we were told "It is recommended that World Vision not...consider this house for renting," because there would be so much work to be done to bring the house up to World Vision Core Security Standard.  We love this house, though, so we are presenting the owners with the list of requirements needed to bring the house up to standard - bars on the windows, a net over the pool, electric fencing all the way around the property, etc.  If the owners agree to do this, we'll bring the matter before the head of security again, and take it from there.


NOTE: All houses are still just possibilites until the lease is signed, and I will post on that when it is.

Wednesday, August 17 (Johannesbug, Gauteng)

Today I stayed home and babysat, but Mom went out with Teresa, Jonathon, and Esther, looked at two more houses, and also visited the three possibilities from yesterday with the security man from World Vision.  We got a definite yes on one house, the Slide house, and he's writing up his reports on the Farm house and the Yellow house.
In South Africa, and lots of other places around the world, electricity is expensive.  So, to save money, most people don't use the dryer for much more than underwear and socks - don't want those being stiff.  As we are now residents of a country such as this, we, too, hang our clothes on the line.  I like the colors and lines and all.

Tuesday, August 16 (Johannesburg, Gauteng, and surrounding area)

     Today was a day for house hunting; starting this morning at quarter to 10:00, we viewed 6 houses, not ending until after 16:00.  The first house we visited was an extremely unique house, with a heated indoor pool in the middle of the living room.  It had all sorts of twists and turns, ups and downs, and the roof was an accessible lounge area.  There was also one hallway that was twice the width it should be with two couches taking up the extra space.  Quite odd.
     The second house was on one acre of land, and had a big backyard with a pool and lots of grass to run and play on.  Unfortunately, the bedrooms were rather small, and it would be difficult to cram all six kids into the three bedrooms allotted us.  After having lunch, we headed back out to view four more houses.  The third house of the day was my second favorite house with decently sized bedrooms, a nice kitchen, and (the best part to my siblings) a pool with a slide.   Then we visited a house in a Canterwood like setting, but although it was a nice house, it didn't have staff quarters, which we need.
    After driving out to North Riding, A.H., we stopped to look at our third house, a large property (by Josie standards) with room for chickens, a big pool, large bedrooms, a lovely kitchen, and under-floor heating for the really cool days.  This was my favorite property, although the security would have to be brought up to World Vision standard.  Finally, we drove back into town, to visit the Yellow House (we gave them all nicknames; Slide, Farm, and Yellow Houses).  The Yellow house is a nice house, with big bedrooms, a big kitchen, and a big backyard.  I didn't like this house as much as the other nicknamed ones, but it was nice, and close to the school.
     Tomorrow, the security man from World Vision will inspect some of the houses, and we'll move forward from there.  No picture today, since I don't have access to pictures of the houses, and I'd rather not post them until things have become more definite, but I hope my long post will make up for lack of picture!

Monday, August 15 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

Summer is the rainy season in South Africa, and it's very rare to have any rainfall in the winter.  Today, however, was an unusual day; we got lots of rain, hail, and lightning.  It was also very chilly, but I enjoyed the rain. On another note, the house that we had applied for fell through because the area wasn't secure enough.  We're still looking for another possible house.

Sunday, August 14, 2011 (Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens)

Today (well, yesterday really, since I'm posting this a day late), we went to the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens to meet Dad's boss, Christine, and enjoy an opera concert with a symphonic accompaniment.  While there, we took a short walk out to the Witpoortjie Falls (I won't even attempt a pronunciation).  The Opera singers were very talented, singing songs from The Lion King, West Side Story, and other classics, as well as some songs we didn't recognize.

Saturday, August 13 (Wilro Park)

We visited one of Dad's co-worker's houses today, and I wandered down to the edge of the garden where I could see there was a view looking out over the city.  Through the barbed wire, I could see the red rooftops and the brown plants, and the dark, dark green treetops.  What I could see of the city was so BIG, and there was a lot of cloud cover, so I couldn't see nearly as much as I could have on a clear day.  Where we're living now is so different from little, pretty Gig Harbor.  Lots more people, lots more trash, lots more traffic, just lots more.  It makes me rather homesick for Washington.

Friday, August 12 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

Today's post isn't actually a photo, it's a video, and it's the only thing taken with my camera today.  Two weeks ago, while at the lake, Aunt Amy gave us a puzzle of Yosemite (both Teresa and Mom love puzzles).  This is the completed puzzle.  However, I can't post videos on this blog, so I'm going to link it to my facebook post of the video.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=205768926143867&saved

Thursday, August 11 (Randburg, Johannesburg)

 We applied for a rental house today, a four-bedroom, three bathroom house with a pool (very important to the youngers), a decent sized backyard, and a big kitchen for Mom.  The owner is very nice, as is the realtor we're working with.  The property contains lots of fruit trees: avo pears (avocados), peaches, grapes, pecanuts (pecans, pronounced picanuts), and some others that I have forgotten.  Another bonus: the dining room (although, just the dining room) has under-floor heating.  Aka in-floor heating.

Wednesday, August 10 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

For the past two weeks, we have had big brown birds in our garden (yard), and we couldn't for the life of us figure out what they were.  Mom guessed at some sort of ibis and then referred to them as crows on steroids; the noise they make is extremely annoying.  Today, while looking at a house, we heard them in the trees and asked the realtor showing us around the property what they were, and she called them a Hadeda Ibis.
"The Hadeda Ibis is a heavy bodied brown bird with iridescent pink shoulder patches and a long de-curved bill.  The Hadeda Ibis has a distinctively loud, penetrating and recognisable haa-haa-haa-de-dah call that is often heard when the birds are flying or when startled, hence the name, Hadeda.  Hadeda Ibis move around in flocks numbering up to 20 birds or 100 out of breeding season." http://www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/birds_hadeda_ibis.htm

                             

Tuesday, August 9 (Honeydew Mazes, Johannesburg)

Today, again had no plans to start with.  It's a national holiday (Women's Day), so lots of places are closed.  Dad didn't go into work, banks were closed, realtors took the day off.  At first, we thought maybe we would find a nice park and take a walk, smell the flowers, listen to the birds.  However, after looking online, Mom decided this other place, Honeydew Mazes, would be much more exciting.  I can't help but agree with her.  Every year they create two giant mazes, an Amazing Maize Maze and a maze created out of bamboo fencing.  This time of year, they have the fencing maze, and it took up a good hour and fifteen minutes to find our way through.  It's not just a maze though, you also have to find the different gardens, find animals in those gardens, identify smells, sounds, and people, and solve puzzles along the way.  After finishing the maze, you get a popsicle, and there are numerous other brain teasers and games in the surrounding field.  All in all, a great way to spend the day.

Monday, August 8 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

Earlier today Dad got an unexpected phone call from The King's College informing us that our whole family had been accepted at their school.  Last week, they hadn't had room for Ivan; today, a board meeting took place, and they decided there were enough kids Ivan's age to open up another 4th grade class next year.  And this year, they were willing to take Ivan on as an 'extra' student, number 26 in a class with a limit of 25.  This came as an answer to prayer for Mom and Dad, and although none of the kids are stoked about having to go three more weeks without school, we believe this is where God has called us.

P.s. Mom would like me to mention that she had to buy twelve pairs of shoes for our school attire.

P.p.s. Yes, I know I already used this picture, but I don't have another one of the King's College

Sunday, August 7 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

For the last four years, Mom has had to do Esther's hair, and it has been a painful process for them both.  One thing Mom was really excited about when moving here was not having to do cornrows in Esther's hair every six weeks.  Today we had two women come in, and we expected good results, but not as good as we got; it only took the two of them just under three hours to take out Esther's hair, wash it, and re-braid it.  Just under THREE hours!  It normally took Mom three days (it helps that they are African themselves, and are also hairdressers).  Needless to say, Esther's hair turned out beautifully.

Saturday, August 6 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

Today, we didn't really have any plans... run some errands, pick up some school supplies, visit our new dogs...  However, Dad asked around and found a Rhino park, an African animal reserve.  We saw rhinos, lions, cheetahs, ostriches, zebras, pigmy hippos, antelope, ground squirrels, hyenas, and all sorts of other african animals that I can't name yet. 

Friday, August 5 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

Having been accepted to The King's School in Robin Hills, today we went and got our uniforms.  LOTS of clothing.  For me, track suit (pants and jacket), PE shirt, house shirt (we're in the house of Israel, which is blue), blue slacks, two blue skirts, three white blouses, one jersey (sweater), and one blazer.  That's just for me, so multiply that times six and you have about the right amount.  When we got home, it was MY job to sort out the clothing into the six piles for me and my siblings, and that was crazy, too.  A lot of my siblings are close in sizes, so it probably took me an hour to sort, label, and inventory everything.  However, I really like my uniform a lot.  It's comfortable and cute, and I don't have to worry about what I wear to school.  

Thursday, August 4 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

Today, we didn't have any school tests scheduled, no houses to visit, or errands to run.  At least, the kids didn't; Mom and Dad had an interview with the headmaster of the King's School (which, by the way, we have been accepted at).  So while Mom and Dad were gone, and we didn't have anything to do, we got insanely bored.  The girls did each others hair, put on my jewelry, and the boys took pictures of us, and then we all cleaned the apartment.  What does that say for boredom?

Wednesday, August 3 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

     We went and looked at our first house today, a six bedroom house with a two car garage and a decent sized backyard (or garden, if you're using South African terms).  It also has a pool, which my siblings are excited about.  Although we can't decide on a house until we are accepted in a school, we all thought the house was nice enough to be considered a possibility.
     As for getting into schools, we got our results back from the first school's tests, King's College.  We're still waiting for Ivan's scores, those will come tomorrow, but the rest of us passed our exams, and we were referred to as 'very bright'.  That made Mom feel good, seeing as grades from a student reflect on a teacher's teaching :)

Tuesday, August 2 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

We tested at our second choice school today, The King's School.  Teresa and I flew through our tests and were the second ones done, after Ivan.  I like the feel of the King's College better, though; it wasn't as formal, and the uniforms were cuter there... :) I know, I'm a total girl.  The King's School was all brick and 'Afternoon, ma'am, afternoon, sir'.  It just didn't feel like an extremely welcoming school.  Their courses were interesting though, and I would be able to work around my previously odd science schedule.  God will place us where He wills us to be, so I'm not worried.

Monday, August 1 (Johannesburg, Gauteng)

Today was our first day of school testing, and we started at our first choice school, King's College.  We all felt we did fairly well on our tests, working through the new South African terms, and the lady grading our tests said that 'so far, they all look to be very bright'.  Let's hope for the best!  More tests tomorrow.