Birdies - Part 1

I love birds.  I always have.  Back in Canada I had bird feeders and used to love seeing which species I could attract depending on the plants I planted and the seeds I used.

When we were moving, there were certain things that we had to make decisions about. One of them being the bird feeders. It's illegal to move seeds or even remnants of seeds. In order for the movers to move the feeders we would have needed to thoroughly wash them and disinfect them. I decided to donate to friends that also liked birds instead.

Seeing as I had chosen not to bring our feeders I was excited to go out and purchase one here.  I had brought my sheppard's hooks from Canada to hang them on, so I got a tube feeder set up in the back yard, just outside our window and I waited.  And waited.  And waited.  It was fall/winter so the varieties of birds were limited but not one of them wanted my seeds.  

One bird that we saw everywhere was a medium sized black and white bird, A called it a penguin bird.  We would see it perched on fence posts, or our arbour in the backyard.  It especially loved the supports for the enclosure around the trampoline.  It's actual name is the common fiscal, a member of the shrike family. 

Even though they are all over the place it's been hard to get a good photo of one.  I never seem to be able to get my camera out before it flies away.

I couldn't figure out why they didn't want my feed.  It was winter after all.  I supposed maybe it was because winter here isn't like winter in Canada where food is scarce.  Here nothing freezes or gets buried by snow, there are still berries on the trees and grass seeds.  Still, they were the only birds around and they had to eat.  I tried changing the type of seeds, nothing.  I put the seeds in a flat dish and that attracted the doves and pigeons that couldn't sit on the tube feeder, but I saw no other birds. 

Oh well, so much for focusing on the birds, maybe in the spring I reasoned. I decided to inspect the different plant life in and around garden instead.  Our house had been empty for 2 1/2 years and there had been a severe drought before we moved in so the gardens were in pretty sad shape.

Take the acacia tree in our front yard. The main stem was damaged and you can see where the healthy, beautiful green truck changes to dead grey trunk.

Our neighbours have a healthy acacia tree, which looks like this.

The cool part of the acacia tree is what it looks like up close.

Each spike is around 10cm long.  I have been told that giraffe's are the only mammal that can eat the leaves without hurting themselves because their tongues are so long, but I don't know that for sure.

Anyway, one morning I was out gardening and watering around the half dead acacia tree and I notice something strange.  There was a big black beetle impaled on one of the spikes.  After picking the kids up at school I told them about this neat thing I had found on the tree and took them to see.  The beetle was gone.  "Yah, right, there was a bug there." They told me.

So, I kept an eye on the tree just to see what happened.  Every few days a bug of some description would appear.  Once there was even a snail.  It was always the same spike too, but I never saw anything else near the tree.  Eventually, the kids saw it too.

This went on for weeks.  I assumed it must be a bird of some kind, but I had no idea which one. 

I mentioned it to the gardener that I had helping me clean up the gardens and he said  "Oh, that's a butcher bird doing that."  I said, "Pardon me?"  He explained that the common name of the common fiscal was the butcher bird.  It's called that because it catches bugs or small rodents and then uses acacia trees to age the bug.  In a few days when it has aged sufficiently it comes back to eat it.

Well, now it made sense.  My bird feeder wasn't attracting any birds not only because they had all migrated north for the winter, but because the birds that were left were carnivores.

Now that spring is truly in full swing the birds have migrated back.  I've seen the bird feeder used by weavers, though they are often chased away by the fiscal's. The bird calls start at 0400 every morning. It has been interesting to hear all the different calls. Unfortunately, I have been unable to determine which call goes with which bird.  The trees behind our property are a little bit too far away to get good pictures with my current lens, so though I said in an earlier post that a telephoto lens wasn't necessary, it would be nice to have for the birds. 

Our most exciting observations of bird life have been very up close and personal, but that's for another post, so stay tuned.

No laughing matter

When we moved here the kids were 5, 7 and 10.

We were told that, in all probability, they would all pick up an accent to some degree, but the most influenced would be our 5 year old.

One of the things that we noticed was the use of the expression "Jagh"  Only the "J" is like a "Y" sound.  I would compare it to myself using "really" or "seriously" when something needs special emphasis or when someone says something unbelievable.  Where my "really" or "seriously" would be higher pitched and shortish, sounding like a question, the "Yawh" is a very breathy, deep and loud exclamation. 

We were sitting at the kitchen table one day several months ago, eating dinner.  Either B or T, I can't recall, said something outrageous and out of the mouth of our little 5 year old came a loud, deep, breathy "Jagh".  It was so unexpected and so strange to hear from our little girl, dh and I looked up at each other and burst out laughing.  A was not impressed with our laughter.  In fact she clammed up, wouldn't speak and glared at us for a good long while. 

Now, I know that you should never laugh at your children.  In fact, there have been many a time when I have, almost literally, bust my gut from successfully holding in my laughter when one of the kids did something funny.  This was just not one of those times.

Dd censored her comments for weeks after that incident.  Until just recently, actually.  She has started saying "Jagh" again and "Oh my word" is a phrase we here quite often.  I know when she enters grade one in January and they start teaching her the "proper" pronunciation of phonics and words, her speech will change even more.

So as we think about heading home for the holidays I implore those of you who will see us, to please contain your laughter when our children say something unexpected or strange.  We learned the hard way that it's no laughing matter.

Spring has sprung

I love spring. Always have. The way the crocus poke up through the snow. The way the rabbits used to eat all my tulip leaves, a centimeter at a time, as they pushed their way through the still frozen ground. 

Each spring from the time I was a little girl we had a saying in our home.

Spring has sprung
The grass has riz
I wonder where
The birdies is
We left Canada just as spring was starting and arrived to fall in Port Elizabeth. The leaves had fallen off the deciduous trees, the grass was browning and the birds were migrating north.  Yup, it's weird to say, but the birds migrate north from here.  I missed spring and I'm glad it's finally here. Spring, like everything else here is different.  There are no daffodils or tulips or crocus. It doesn't get cold enough over the winter for them to flower. Here they have daisies in the spring and road construction crews. You'd think, with the weather not going below about 14C, that they would work year round. Nope. Spring weather here, means construction just like in Canada.

Spring in our neighbourhood also means the wildlife are "twitterpated" as Thumper would say. The nyala had a fawn about a month ago, but they are very shy and I never got a picture of it when it was really young. Yesterday, as I was driving out of the subdivision I saw a baby impala. I only had my phone on me so the photo's not great, but here it is.

It was all legs, as you can see, and not too steady on them yet.  The neighbour texted me this afternoon to tell me that an impala fawn had been born. I texted back that I had seen one and asked if there were more.   She said no just the one that I had seen, but she told me that we could expect another 7 babies in the next week or so.  Silly me, I stopped counting at three pregnant impala's and figured I was just seeing the same ones over and over again.  Obviously not. 

So things are busy here in the spring.  My camera is getting a workout trying to capture all of the different and exciting things that I've seen.  I'm glad spring has finally sprung, that the grass has riz and if you stay tuned and I'll even tell you where the birdies is.

Getting here

We have had the opportunity to fly internationally a few times with our children.

The first time was in 2003 just after my brother and his family moved to Switzerland.  T was an only child and 20 months at the time. So, it was 2 adults, 1 child,  2 flights. Good odds. Great experience.

We did the trip to Switzerland again several years later.  We tagged along with mom and dad that time, but we had 2 more children by then. A was 2 years old, B just turned 4 and T 6.  Still 4 adults, 3 kids, 2 flights are still pretty good odds. The flights were tiring, but we made it to and from Switzerland without incident .  P had booked separately from the rest of us and was upgraded on the way back so each of the adults took turns in the quiet seat which helped.

The first trip to look and see Port Elizabeth, T got to come with us.  He had just turned 10. Again, good odds, 2 adults, 1 kid, but there are 3 flights to get to Port Elizabeth and total travel time, not including the check in time at the airport in Toronto was 36 hours.  That's a long time.  Still the odds were good.  The trip started out with a blip at security in Toronto when the scanner picked up an unidentified metal object in one of the carry ons.  We were perplexed and after a very thorough search it turned out that a metal pencil sharpener, shaped like a cannon, had wedged itself into the lining of the carry on.  Not sure how that happened, but we had a good laugh with the security personal after they finally found it.  Other than some boredom on the long layovers in London and
Johannesburg, and 5 out of 6 flights having minor delays on the tarmac, it was a good trip.

After all of these positive experiences I reasoned that another international trip would be a breeze.  We'd done it before.  We realized that the 36 hours, 2 overnight flights and long layovers might be a little bit tough on the younger 2 children, so we opted to fly through the U.S rather than Europe when we moved here.  It was still 3 planes but the first and last flights were around 2 hours and the middle flight, though longer, meant only one sleep on a plane.  I rationalized that a 15 hour flight meant more time to sleep after the take off, safety and meals at the beginning.  Somehow, that 6 1/2 hours from Toronto to London Heathrow only netted about 4 good hours of sleep time and that just wasn't enough.  Total travel time flying through the U.S. not including check in time in Toronto 22 hours. Yeah!

Now, had we been packing for a visit, I would have managed with 2 or 3 suitcases tops.  This time however we were moving our lives.  I knew that we were arriving late at night and we were going straight to our new rental home, which was completely empty.  We asked P's company to help us source a king sized mattress for P and I and some bar chairs for the breakfast bar prior to our arrival. Still, I needed some place for the kids to sleep and something to eat for our first morning there.  We needed clothes for several days, food prep stuff until our air shipment arrived and things for the kids to do until our sea shipment was scheduled to arrive some 6 weeks later. I also needed bowls and toys for the dog who left 2 days before we did and would arrive the day after.  In the end we were 2 adults, 3 children,  5 carry ons, 10 full sized (max. weight) suitcases, one car seat and one booster seat.  I was optimistic, but the odds were not looking good.

It took a bus to get us to the airport, and no, I am not exaggerating.  It was an actual bus.  Mom and dad followed behind in their car to see us off.  We were arriving in plenty of time to check in and have lunch together before we went through security. 

We arrived at the airport, got all of our bags on carts with help from mom and dad and the bus driver.  We checked in, got our boarding passes for Toronto and Atlanta, and got our baggage claim tickets.  The first time we flew to PE the bags flew straight through with us.  This was a different route and a different airline so I was paranoid that P and I would need to retrieve our mountain of bags, all by ourselves, at some point before PE.  I probably should have asked that question sooner than at the check in counter, but ask I did.  4 times.  Yes, the bags were checked through, baggage claim tickets said so.  Phewwww, we were good to go.

Glitch number 1.  Flying through the states meant that immediately after checking in we would need to go through U.S. customs and we were considered to be on U.S. soil.  Great, because we wouldn't need to waste time at customs in Atlanta, but it meant no lunch with mom and dad and our goodbye's were cut short at the check in counter. I wish I had known that there would be no time for a leisurely goodbye.  Would it have changed the way we flew? No, but it would have changed how we had done things at home before we left for the airport.

The wait at the airport was uneventful.  The kids had each been given a new toy specifically for the trip.  They explored the various activities, books, snacks and fun stuff that I had packed to keep them occupied and the time at the airport went fairly quickly.

We boarded the flight to Atlanta on time.  Carry ons

Glitch number 2.   T is sitting beside me and bends down to retrieve his headphones which he had removed for take off.  As he was returning to an upright position he accidentally dump his entire glass of juice directly into my lap.  So, 30 min. into our 22 hour travel itinerary I am soaked through, pants, underwear and all.  Sigh.  In my planning I have ensured that I packed PJ's and an extra set of clothes for the children.  Unfortunately, I was not insightful enough to pack an additional pair of underwear for me.  Part of me started thinking that having to retrieve our luggage in Atlanta would have been a good thing.  Anyway, off to the washroom I went to try and salvage the situation.  We're 35,000 feet up and my choices are limited.  Choice number one.  Strip off all the wet stuff, put on the dry PJ pants that I did bring with me and go commando for the rest of the journey.  Not a chance.  Choice number 2, try to dry off the pants and underwear using the toilet paper in the bathroom and make do.  I preferred not.  I was left with choice number three.  Take off the wet pants, dry off the underwear as best I could, put on the pants and shove them full of toilet paper so they didn't get wet too. 

By the time we arrived in Atlanta the toilet paper had done it's job and been discarded, but I was determined to find underwear in the airport in Atlanta.   Unfortunately, with a short connection time and a gate a zillion miles away, new underwear was not to be had.

I made do as we checked onto our flight to Johannesburg.   Thankfully, the flight was on time and uneventful.  We had made the right decision.  After the initial take off, safety, and food stuff it was lights out and time to sleep.  The kids all eventually fell fast asleep and I'd guess had 8-10 hours of sleep each.  P slept better than I, but I still managed 5 hours or so which is pretty good for me.  By the time we arrived in Johannesburg everyone was bright eyed and bushy tailed.  We landed a bit late and knew we wouldn't have much time to catch our flight to PE.  We got through customs as quickly as the cue would allow and headed for the check in counter. 

Glitch number 3.  We arrived at the check in counter and the attendant asked where our luggage was.  I confidently told him it was on the way to PE.  Then I showed him the baggage claim tickets that said Port Elizabeth on them.  Apparently the attendant in Toronto had been mistaken, our luggage was only checked to Johannesburg and was enjoying a lengthy ride on the carousel in the arrivals section.  Can you say panic?  T started to say over and over again, "we're going to miss our plane".  The next hour passed by in a blur of P and I trying to keep it together while attempting to catch what was the last flight to PE that night.  A lovely gentleman had been standing near the check in counter and heard our plight.  As we wandered away from the desk completely frazzled he offered to help locate airport staff to assist us.  It took what seemed like hours and we were just about to give up on him and head back to arrivals ourselves, when he showed up with airport staff in tow.  Together the 7 of us rushed back to arrivals.  The airport staff took us through staff security, all the while scolding us that we should only ask airport personnel with ID for help.  The furthest thing from my mind when we were speaking with the gentleman at the check in counter was if he was airport staff or not.  He offered to help and we needed it. We found our bags and he grabbed another airport staff to help.  The bags were easy to find as they were the only ones left on the carousel and we threw them all on 4 carts. Quickly, through security again, our first helper joined us as we left arrivals and he raced with us back to check in where they let us skip the cue so we could make the flight. P gave the non-airport staff helper a tip and we were rushed again through another staff security clearance and the airport staff saw us all the way to the gate. P tipped him and we thanked him profusely for all his help.  I have never in all my life been so full of adrenaline as I was during that hour at the Johannesburg airport. 

We made the plane, but we were very concerned that the luggage might not have, given the rush. The luggage had the inflatable mattresses that the kids were supposed to sleep on, car seats to get us home, and everything else but the kitchen sink.  The flight was uneventful, but I couldn't shake the feeling that  my kids weren't going to have a place to sleep tonight.  At least the Garmin was in my carry on with directions to the house already programmed in, so even if we didn't have bags at least we'd get home.

Upon arrival in PE, as excited as we were, I think we had all had enough.  We just wanted to get into the rental "bus" and get home.  Thankfully, the luggage did make it onto the plane, a potential glitch averted.

Glitch number four.  We arrive at the car rental to find that the mini van was a manual transmission.  An automatic mini bus could not be had in PE apparently.  The first car I ever bought was a manual transmission.  I had never driven one, but I was a recent grad, manual was cheaper and man did I ever think I was cooooooool driving my 1994 metallic purple Chevy Z24 Cavalier with a stick shift. When P and I got married I still had the purple Cavalier and at least one of our cars since then has been manual.  So, it shouldn't have been a problem, right?  Well after 22+ hours of travel, a major glitch in Johannesburg, driving on the wrong side of the road and having to manoeuvre the stick with the left hand it proved to be interesting getting out of the airport parking lot.  Several false starts and stalls later we made it out of the parking lot and home.

A second potential glitch was averted when we ran out of room for the luggage in the rental van.  Thankfully, P's boss had shown up at the airport to welcome us and he was able to take the bags that didn't fit in the van.  He also let us follow him home, so even if we hadn't had the Garmin we still would have made it.

If you're thinking that the first thing I did when we got home was to go and change, you're wrong.  By that time I had totally forgotten about the spilled juice.  It was late and more important to get the air mattresses unpacked and made up for the kids.  I had to unpack sheets and make P's and my bed.  I think I did manage a shower before I finally fell into bed, but I'm honestly not 100% on that. 

As it turned out P's bosses wife had considered that we were moving into an empty house so she filled the cupboards with 5 of everything we would need to eat with.  There were some staples in the pantry and fridge, so we would have something for breakfast and there was even instant coffee for P and I.

I can honestly say that after that flight experience I was really glad that we were staying for a good long while before I would have to do it again. 

So, what will I do differently on the return trip when we visit in a few weeks? Just 2 things.  Pack less  than 10 bags, 5 carry ons and 2 cars seats and yes, take an extra pair of underwear, just in case.

Cubbing in South Africa

As I prepare for our first cub camp this weekend. I thought it was about time that I posted on the Cub Scout experience here in South Africa.

While the principles (Jungle Book) and organization (sixes) of Cubbing are the same as in Canada, the design of the program is quite different.

In South Africa, Cub Scouts is a co-ed group for children ages 7 - 11.  Only cubs 8 years and older can go to camps.

Since we arrived here, Scouting South Africa has republished their Cub Trail into a series of 8 books or manuals.  I will describe each in detail a bit further down.

Cub Scouts in South Africa uses sixes just like in Canada, however, the youth are also divided by year groups which are called advancement stages.  They are Caracal (7),  Cheetah (8), Leopard (9) and Lion (10).   After a cub turns 10 they begin to prepare for their transition to Scouts at age 11 and can work towards their Leaping Wolf Badge and their Link Badge.  The series of books outline the requirements for advancement and interest badges, along with information about the program and Scouting in general.

The Cub Trail books are as follows:

Welcome and Membership badge
Interest badges
Follow the Caracal Trail
Follow the Cheetah Trail
Follow the Leopard Trail
Follow the Lion Trail
Leaping Wolf Badge
Link Badge

The welcome and membership book outlines the basics of the program and the requirements of becoming a Cub Scout.  In Canada we would call these Cub Scouts Tenderpads, but I have not heard a specific term used here.  The book introduces new youth to "pack calls".  Such as, "PACK" means silence.  "PACK-PACK-PACK" means gather in a parade circle.  In the parade circle the pack stands either at "ALERT"(feet together hands at sides) or "AT EASE" (feet apart hands behind the back).

Cubs are not permitted to be in full uniform or participate in the Grand Howl until they have completed their membership badge.  The must know the cub law, promise and motto.  Demonstrate the left handshake and Cub Scout salute.  They must understand the Grand Howl and know when it is used.  Lastly, they must know the stories of BP and Mowgli's brothers.  Once a cub has completed the 7 requirements he is ready for his investiture.  Scouting occurs year round in our group.  Youth join, usually one at a time, throughout the year. This is  unlike what I experienced in Canada where the Scouting year started in September and large groups of new participants would join.  So, investiture here happens when a new Cub is ready rather than at a larger beginning of the year ceremony as we generally did in Canada. 

The Interest Badges book covers a range of badges and their requirements that are outside of the Cub Trail advancement badges.  The badges are: Aircraft, Aquanaut, Artist, Athlete, Birds, Boating, Chess, Citizen, Civil Emergency, Collector, Computer, Conservation, Cooking, Craftsman, Cycling, Drawing, Engineer, Entertaining, Family Camping, First Aid and Health, Fishing, Food for Life, Flying Models, Gardening, Geologist, Handcraft, Home craft, Landscaping, Linguist, Machines, Masks, Model Boats, Naturalist, Nature Craft, Outdoors man, Pets, Photography, Projects, Recycling, Religion and Life, Repairs, Scholar, Secret Codes, Showman, Signalling, Singing, Skies, Sportsman, Swimmer, Traveller, Working Toys, World Friendship, and the World Conservation badge. 

Each badge has a set of requirements, just like in Canada.  Some are complete all, some are complete a set number of a suggested list.  Badges can be completed at home or at meetings, just like in Canada.

Here is where the program becomes different. 

Follow the Caracal, Cheetah, Leopard, Lion Trail books.  Each Cub takes roughly the same trail each year, but each year the trail changes, just a little bit, and becomes more challenging.  At all times the activities are age appropriate and encourage a Cub to Do Their Best.  At the Caracal stage there is lots of explanation, references to the Jungle Book and easier tasks.  For example, one trail requirement is called Living with Nature.  Each book describes the natural world and has different requirements. 

A Caracal must know the Outdoor Code. They must go for a nature ramble and listen to and identify sounds and natural objects.  Then they make an item using natural materials.

A Cheetah needs to choose a living creature and research it or, describe the uses of trees and take care of a tree for one month.  They also need to make a poster telling others about the Outdoor Code.

A Leopard must build a bird-feeder and observe the birds that visit for 2 weeks or, care for an animal or living creature for one month.  They also must find out about a plant or creature which lives in either fresh or salt water.

A Lion, who by this time knows a great deal about Living with Nature, is required to find out about 2 endangered species in South Africa and tell the pack about them.

Stops along the trail include fires, knots, first aid, safety, creativity, recycling and sensations, among others.  Each follows the same principals, but increases the challenge based on the Cub Scouts age.

The Leaping Wolf Badge book is an extra challenge for the cubs.  It can only be awarded in the final year and can be done in conjunction with the Lion badge.  The book incorporates some of the trail activities with some of the interest badges.  I would equate it to that of the six star award in Canada.

The Link Badge book is sort of like a welcome and membership to Scouts.  It talks about the Scout Promise, Law and Motto.  It reviews the Scout sign as well as some outdoor skills (axeman ship and knotting) and requires a visit to the troop.  A cub is awarded the link badge at the going up ceremony.

So, that's how the program goes.  I'm still trying to work my way around this different way of doing things and every once and a while I inject some good old Canadian fun, like last week, when I had the kids doing a relay race.  They had to race down a course to a recycled water bottle,  unscrew the lid and dump the 6 marbles inside into a metal cake pan. Then they were instructed to pick them up one at a time, put them back in the bottle and screw the lid back on.  Not such a hard relay until you add the  Canadian twist and make them wear winter gloves.  They loved it so much they made me promise we'd do it again some time. 

And then it hits you

When you hear that you're going to be moving half way around the world there are certain things that you know. You know it's going to be an adventure.  You know there are going to be challenges. You know that there are going to be things that you miss, especially family.
I've heard that every relationship has a honeymoon period.  A period of excitement and discovery.  A period of settling and adjustment.  The same can be said for this adventure.

When we first arrived it was pure excitement.  Lots of new things to see and experience.  Never knowing what was behind the next corner. 

It went on like this for months, the adrenaline rush.  With technologies like Skype and the telephone in a lot of ways I never felt that far away.  The kids are still able to show babcia and dziadziu (grandma and grandpa in Polish) their artwork from school or their newest treasures from our adventures.  They could show off the shell they picked up at the beach or the new curtains in their rooms.  We talk to grandma on the phone every Sunday.

We've kept family present by eating Eggs McUncle L several times a week and the guest room is babcia and dziadziu's room.  There are photos of family and friends around the house and we remember everyone in our prayers each night.  The boys each have their own email accounts to keep in touch with friends.

Somehow, I was coasting along, managing until the middle of September.  And then it hit me. 

Back in the fall of 2010 my cousin got engaged.  We were all thrilled for her. Her fiance (now husband) is a gem.  Fits right into our family.  The first time we met, he got a brief handshake of introduction, but by the end of the visit it was bear hugs from everyone.  When the engagement was announced dh and I had just returned from Germany.  Dh had been at a company meeting of his global team and I had tagged along.  The next global team meeting was tentatively scheduled to be held in South Africa.  So we joked with them that dh may not be able to attend as he might be in South Africa.  My cousin and her fiance said, if the opportunity presented itself that I might as well skip the wedding to go with him.  I told them I would never miss their wedding for a trip.  Turns out I was wrong.

First, I missed the wedding shower, but I worked out a gift with my mom.  I wrote a letter to my cousin and her fiance with product placements for the gift portion.  I did a voice recording and I sent it back home so it could be my voice reading the letter with mom presenting each of the gifts.  It was as close as I could get to being there.  With Skype calls both before and after the shower I didn't feel too far away.

The wedding was a different story. I promised mom I'd send a note via email to be read at the wedding in our absence.  Then I started to write the note or tried at least.  There was so much that I wanted to say, but I just couldn't get the words onto the screen.  The time when mom and dad left to travel to the wedding came and went and no email.  I checked into sending a telegram, but that wouldn't have made it in time either.  So when the words finally came it was the morning of the wedding.  In a last ditch effort to "get it to the church on time" as they say, I sent my message to the reception hall, desperately hoping that they would check their email on a Saturday.  I sent it urgent with a request for a delivery receipt and read receipt, but I never got confirmation of either.  For the 2 days it took, until mom sent an email that the message had arrived in time for the wedding, I was feeling homesick and sorry for myself.

Somehow, until the wedding I had never really felt that far away from home.   As the wedding came and went, I found myself thinking about my grandparents.  3 of my 4 grandparents emigrated to Canada from Poland back in the 1920's and 1930's.  They left their homes and families to forge a better life.  They arrived with nothing.  They did not speak the language.  They had no friends, no support, no jobs.  They only had a dream, determination and a strong work ethic.  Communication with family was by letter mail, sent by ship, taking months to arrive.  If I recall correctly each of them only visited Poland once in all of the decades that they lived in Canada.  Why did they feel the need to leave their home?  Why did they leave everything they knew behind?  It think they wanted a better life, not only for themselves, but for future generations.  They wanted the opportunity to do better and to enrich their lives. 

Our situation is different.  We came to South Africa for a job, spoke the language, arrived with all of the things that were important for us to bring, all of the things that we would need.  We have the benefit of telephones and Skype.  Our communication with our family can be instantaneous.  We know that we will be going home, both during our assignment and at the end. 

Would I have had the courage to do what they did?  Nope.  But, thanks to them I have been given a different kind of opportunity.   So, in the future, when I miss out on some family event or start to get homesick, instead of feeling sad or sorry for myself, I will remember them and be thankful. 

I am my fathers daughter

There are many ways in which I know I am my father's daughter.  My sense of humour and blue eyes are two of the more obvious ones.  The one that is not so obvious was my choice of profession.

When I was young my father had a business.  He was a pharmacist and owned a pharmacy.  I have fond memories of  "working" for my dad when I was younger.  I started by fronting shelves, making them all pretty looking by bringing stock to the fronts of shelves so it could easily be seen and reached by customers.  I graduated to stocking and pricing.  I learned to work the cash machines.  As I got older I helped out in the pharmacy too.  I learned to alphabetize by filing prescriptions in file drawers, long before the age of computers. I even helped count pills, in the days before pharmacy technicians did that.  I saw a lot of sides of being a business owner and being a pharmacist. 

When it came time to choose a career path my dad suggested pharmacy.  I knew standing behind a pharmacy counter was not my thing.  I wanted more action in my youth, ha ha.  Still, I liked the idea of a medical career and helping people so I went into nursing.  Even though I didn't choose pharmacy it still never really left my blood. 

I think I have photos of pharmacies in every foreign place I've ever visited.  When I accompanied dh to Germany on a business trip last year, we stopped into Heidelberg Castle and visited the German Museum of Pharmacology.  It was fascinating seeing what pharmacists have done through the ages.

Moving to another country with 3 young children meant that eventually, I would be needing to visit a pharmacy.  I couldn't wait to compare and contrast.

Just after we arrived dd had a loose tooth.  It was sore and eventually I ran out of the Tylenol and Advil that we had brought from Canada.  So, off I went to the pharmacy.  

I looked everywhere on the main shelves, but couldn't find Tylenol or Advil, so I figured I should ask at the counter.  I knew I was in trouble when the staff had no idea what Tylenol or Advil were.  So I tried the generic names acetaminophen and ibuprofen.  Still no idea, so she suggested I speak with the pharmacist.  It turns out they really don't have acetaminophen here, they have paracetamol.  Trade name Panado.  They do have ibuprofen, but the trade name is Nurofen not Advil.  The pharmacist was kind enough to show me the different products that I could use. 

I found out in that visit, that here, pharmacies here are divided into 2 sections. The first is the pharmacy itself where pharmacists dispense prescription medication and what we would know of in Canada as the non prescription over the counter medications. The second is a staffed section that has pain killers of non prescription strength and some other things.

A few weeks later ds #2 had a terrible head cold.  So off I went to the pharmacy again to look for something to help ease his congestion.  This time the product, also not anything familiar, was behind the pharmacy counter, but when I went to pay they didn't have a cash in the pharmacy.  Instead, they put the purchase in a small cage and secured it with a cable tie.  I was told to take it to the front cash and pay for it.  The front cash cut the cable tie and took out the product to scan and bag it.  I can only assume that this is related to what was in the product, that it was a controlled substance of some kind. 

As a nurse I have always had the advantage of knowing what it is my kids are taking.  What the various ingredients are and how they interact.  My problem here, is that because things have different generic names I find I am having to look up all of the ingredients before my nursey self is willing to give it to my kids.

I have always said that I learn something new every day and that has never been more true, now that we are living in a different country.  Just in the medically related mother arena, drug names are different, band-aids are called plasters, and ultrasounds are called sonar scans (a friends daughter needed one, not my kids).  It's a whole different medical world over here.  I can only be glad that I am not trying to navigate it from within as a practitioner, but instead as an outside observer.

Me and my big mouth

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post.  Sorry about that folks.  It's not that I've been doing anything overly exciting really, just very, very, very, busy. 

But let's start at the beginning shall we.  Not long after we arrived, and I started this blog, I think I mentioned that I had attended a SAALED (South African Association for Learning and Educational Differences)  congress.  I had the great fortune to meet the music teacher at the kids school that day and we spent a long time talking about kids and the arts.  I should have stopped at that point, but when she said that the kids school was doing a musical this year I just had to open up my big mouth. I told her about how I had done musical theatre all through high school, university (varsity in SA) and a couple of years beyond.

Fast forward to the beginning of August.  Said teacher calls and says, "Do you remember how you told me all about your love of musical theatre?  Well I need some help." 

If you know me, you know that I have one weakness.  No, not chocolate or alcohol.  My one big weakness is my inability to say no to someone in need.  When she told me "There are 2 other mothers who are really on board with this, but they don't have your background in the theatre and we need sets" I caved and said yes.

What I didn't recall at the time of accepting the job was that dh was going to be out of town on business for 2 weeks.  What I couldn't have known, was that I was also to be the set designer, as nothing had been planned beyond some "visions" in the directors head.  Add to it that we had 2 1/2 weeks to get it done and almost zero budget and we 3 gals had our work cut out for us.

As part of dh's job he has always had to travel.  Not such a big deal when you live less than a kilometer away from the one school that all your kids attend and both sets of grandparents are close enough to lend a hand.  That was Canada.  Ah, the good old days.

Dh did go away in July for 1 or 2 nights to Joburg, but neither dd nor ds#1 were in school at that point, or maybe it was during school holidays I can't remember, but it wasn't a big deal.  This time he was off to Detroit, Michigan for 3 days and then Brussels, Belgium for 7.  Add 4 days worth of flying time and he was going to be gone for 2 weeks.

I couldn't back out of the musical.  So, I soldiered on and here is how day one went.

0530              Wake up, grumble, shower, grumble, dry hair, grumble, get dressed, grumble some more
0600              Make large pot of strong coffee
0605              Wake up children
0610              Finish children's lunches, empty dishwasher, put away dinner dishes
0620              Wake up children
0625              Make breakfast for children
0630              Loudly, but politely suggest to children that it is time to wake up
0635              Quietly thank children for coming down to eat and suggest that they should eat faster
0645              Tell children breakfast is over, time to get dressed
0650              Give children 5 minutes to shoes warning
0651              Give children 4 minutes to shoes warning
0652              Finish packing backpacks and putting them in the car
0654              Give children 1 minute to shoes warning
0655              Realize that 2 of 3 children don't even have their underwear on yet
0656              Dress children
0700              Help children put on shoes
0705              Pile in the van for school
0710              Realize that my thermal travel mug of coffee is keeping the kitchen counter warm
0735              Drop ds #1 at school. 
0750              Drive halfway back home to drop ds #2 at school
0755              Peel dd off my leg and leave her in the capable hands of the teachers at school
0800              Arrive at the hall of ds #2 school to make sets for the musical
0900              Receive call from the front gate of the housing complex that someone has shown up
0905              Race back home to let in said trades person who never told me they were coming
0910              Drink cold morning coffee
1000              Drive back to the school to build, paint, hang sets
1230              Pick up dd at school, drive to ds #2 school and sit in car until...
1250              Pick up ds #2 at school, drive to ds #1 school and sit in car until....
1400              Pick up ds #1 at school
1430              Arrive at home
1500              Homework
1530              Make dinner
1600              Eat dinner
1630              Drive back to school for evening rehearsal, wait listening to sibling sighs of boredom
1815              Return home
1830              Clean up kitchen and finish homework
1900              Bathe 3 children and set out next days uniforms
1905              Realize that uniforms are dirty and start a load of laundry
1930              Bed time snack
2000              Put 3 children to bed
2030              Make lunches, set out clothes, put laundry in dryer, clean up snack
2100              Realize that I forgot to feed the poor dog and myself all day
2105              Feed ravenous dog, eat the kids leftover supper
2115              Fall exhausted into bed thinking how my poor blog was being sorely negleczzzzzzzzzz.

Repeat x 13.  Thankfully, day one was the worst.  The kids got used to waking a little earlier and getting ready a little faster.  I remembered to take my coffee mug after day 4 or so, which helped immensly.  The trades people didn't come everyday, but most days. 

It was a crazy 2 weeks.  Needless to say I was very happy when dh got home.  Within 24 hours, my two weeks caught up with me and I had a chest and head cold.  So much for the welcome home party.

After dh got home there was still a week of performances.  Daytime performances for local schools and evening ones for the families.  The musical was amazing.  Hopefully, I didn't  ruined it for anyone else with all my coughing.   Our little team of 3, with some help from 5 or 6 other parents got it "done and dusted" as they would say here in SA.  We were pretty proud of what we managed.

1 of the 6 sets that we built was this Italian villiage scene. 

Ds #1 had his last performance today at school.  Because all of the children in the school participate onstage, in one role or another, they do one last performance for themselves.   They sit in the audience until it is their time to be on stage, they do their part and return to the audience to watch the rest.  It gives them a chance to see the show as a whole instead of just the act that they weren't in. 

Busy as I was, and sick as I am, I am glad I made the time to do this.  It gave me a chance to get to know some more of the moms and to truly become a part of the school community.   I have my photo on the school webpage to prove it.   I wouldn't change a thing, but I am glad they only do this every other year :)

Schooling in SA - The basics

Here is what the South African Government website says about education.

"Schooling is compulsory between the ages of seven and 15. All learners are guaranteed access to quality learning. There are two types of schools: independent (private) and public. At public schools, parents vote on the level of school fees. Poor parents are given exemption or reductions."

Here in South Africa the children start their formal education in grade 1.  The year that they turn 7.  Grade R (equivalent to our Senior Kindergarten) is offered at many schools but is not compulsory. Primary school is grades 1 - 7 and is divided into 2 1/3 phases.  Foundation phase is grade 1 (or R in some schools) to grade 3.  Intermediate phase is grade 4 - 6.  Senior phase is grades 7 - 9, though grade 7 is in a primary school setting and grades 8 & 9 in a high school setting.  High school is grades 8 - 12.  The final year of high school (grade 12) is called the matriculation year, often shortened to matric.  Grades 10, 11, and matric are not compulsory in the South African education system.  Those who continue on to grade 10-12 are in the FET (further education and training) phase.

The visible difference in the South African system is that almost all school students, private or government (public) wear uniforms to school.  In fact the government has a uniform policy that provides rationale and guidelines for uniforms.  The uniforms vary in colour and style depending on the schools colours.  Primary uniforms are often more relaxed versions of the high school uniforms.  Boys in high school seem to wear dress shirts and ties, girls skirts and dress shirts and often ties as well.  They all wear a blazer.  The pre-primary that dd attends does not have a uniform, but some pre-primaries do.  Ds #2 has a white golf shirt with the collar and sleeves trimmed in the schools navy blue.  The pants for winter are navy blue polyester track type pants with a cotton lining.  In the summer they wear navy shorts.  The jacket is the same cotton lined polyester as the pants.  Ds #1 has ended up at the plan B school and his uniform is a white short sleeved dress shirt, grey sweater vest and either grey dress shorts or pants, depending on the season.  His phys ed. uniform is the same as ds#2 regular uniform except in his school colour of green.

When we first visited the schools in February we were shocked to see the children stand at their desks and in chorus say "good day Mrs.  (or Mr.) principal and visitors (us)" when we entered the classrooms.  It happened at all of the schools that we visited.  Our kids were going to have a pretty serious learning curve when it came to behavioural expectations in school.

All of the schools that we have been to use a merit system of some kind.  If ds#2 gets enough merit stickers in one week he can wear "civvies" (street clothes).  Civvies cannot be worn on Monday as it is assembly (and inspection) day.  If a child earns their final merit stickers on Friday, they must wait until Tuesday to wear their civvies.   Stickers are given for "being good" according to ds#2.  Being good is like helping the teacher, not tattle taling, getting perfect on your tests.  Red stickers are for "doing bad things" like hurting someone, being silly in class or not doing your work on time.  Red stickers mean a 5 min. detention at the beginning of break time.  Some children never get to wear civvies, and some get them every week.  Ds#2 is about in the middle of the pack.

When it comes to Monday inspection here's what they are looking for.  This is straight from the parent/student handbook for the school ds#1 attends.  Bolds, underlines and all.

4.7  Uniform and dress code

All parents have received a uniform list indicating exactly what the learner needs to wear.  The uniform is to be respected and worn with pride at all times.  It is essential that all items of clothing are clearly marked with the current owner's name.  Spot inspection will take place from time to time and those not wearing the correct uniform will be reprimanded accordingly.

Uniforms must be ordered through our designated supplier.  While we are happy to pass items onto the children, the school is not responsible for collecting money or accepting deliveries. 

All students are expected to:

• maintain a high level of personal cleanliness - clean hair, body, nails.
• keep all uniform items clean and in good condition.  Only black school shoes may be worn. Only a black belt may be worn with long grey trousers.
• Ensure that all uniform items are embroidered with the school badge as per the uniform lists.  All embroidery done by our uniform supplier.
• Correct uniform to be worn at all times.  This also applies when off the school property.  Shirts to be tucked in and long socks pulled up.  Shoes to be kept neat and polished.
• Full Physical Education uniform to be worn to and from school on PE days.  Predominantly white takkies only.

GIRLS

• No make up, coloured nail polish or jewellery may be worn except for wrist watches.  Only simple gold/silver studs or sleepers may be worn in pierced ear lobes (1 in each ear - matching).  No other visible body piercings or tattoos will be tolerated - this includes tongue studs.
• Hair to be kept neat and off the face at all times.  Hair touching the collar must be tied up.  Only black or white hair accessories may be worn.  No dyed hair is acceptable.  No hair gel.
• Skirt length to be just above the knee ie. no more than 4 horizontal fingers from the floor when kneeling.
• Finger nails must be kept short.  False/gel nails are unacceptable.

BOYS

• Hair must be kept short ie. off the collar and ears
• No visible body piercings or tattoos will be tolerated - this included tongue studs
• No jewellery may be worn except for wrist watches
• No hair gel.
• No highlights or dyed hair is acceptable
• No bald hairstyles/cleanly shaven heads
• No shaving of eyebrows.

Ds #2's school also adds that hair on the face must be above the eyebrows.   My boys were not happy about these hair rules.  Ds#1 loved to have his hair long, it was "cooler" that way. 

The uniforms haven't been a big adjustment for the kids, actually it is much easier for the boys in the mornings as they don't have to fuss about what they feel like wearing.  Dd still gets to choose her own clothes in the morning and I can't wait until she is in a uniform.  She has a very unique sense of style and mornings will be much more efficient when she doesn't choose her clothes based on her mood :) For me though, uniforms mean twice the laundry.  They wear the uniforms to school and then come home and change into regular clothes.  Add Cubbing uniforms to that and the fact that the washing machine is 1/2 the size and it feels like I spend my life doing laundry.  Also, I'm sure that the people who decided that white shirts would make the children be more careful about getting dirty, never met any children I know.  Dirt is one thing, but paint and marker on a white shirt is horrible.

When you factor in that all of the laundry products here are different than in Canada, I am having the time of my life, NOT, experimenting with the best combinations of stain removers, pre-treatments, and washing powders.  I have yet to come up with the perfect combination, but I am determined to find it before dd gets into her white uniform in January.

This post has scratched the surface of the difference between school in PE and school in Ontario.  I'll delve into some more of the differences in daily structure, educational practices, curriculum and expectations in a later posts.

The Braai

I've done a couple of posts about things I miss from home.  Here's one bit of South African culture I'll be bringing back to Canada with me. 

Back in Canada we had a gas BBQ out on our patio.  It was illegal to have an open fire where we lived so I had to do all my "camp" cooking when we were camping.  I loved my dutch ovens and roasting marshmallows and all that fun at camp.  I often wanted to do those things at home, and couldn't.

When we found our Port Elizabeth home I was thrilled that it had an indoor braai.  Not all homes have an indoor braai.  We've seen them as an outbuilding near the pool.  We've seen them built into the wall of an outside patio too.  Regardless of where they are located every home seems to have a braai.  For entertaining, the braai is the centre of attention in Port Elizabeth.

This is our braai room.

I am standing on the patio by the pool to take this photo.  If you look at the flooring, the tiles are the same both inside the room and outside on the patio/pool deck.  The rest of the house is different. The right of the room has a door and pass through window to the kitchen and the glass "door" on the left is actually a 3 panel folding "window wall" so the room can be completely enclosed when it's cold. In the far wall at the left is the Braai.  The contractor is still working to clear up the water issues that are hiding behind the curtain, so it's a work in progress.  One day when the house is fixed and painted and I've had a chance to hang the family photos, I'll post photos of the whole place.

In the meantime here's what the braai looks like close up.

The left side is a propane grill just like at home.  The right side is our wood braai, this is the part I'm bringing home.  There is a chimney, just like a fireplace chimney, to vent the smoke. Inside the braai is the South African version of the dutch oven. They call it a Potjeikos. It's pronounced Poy (like toy)-Key. It's used just like my dutch oven, the only difference is the rounded bottom.  Here in SA they have Potjeikos competitions like we have ribfests.  I've made stew and a sweet and sour pork so far, but I know I'll be using it a lot more. I've also used my dutch oven for some fruit crisps and chicken dishes that we like. 

Here's what it looks like when it's lit with the grills instead of the potjeikos.  The coals drop out of the bottom of the fire cage and there is a special long handled braai tool with a flat paddle on the end to reach under the cage and push the coals under the grill.

Here's what it looks like with burgers on the grill.  The fire is done and the coal are mostly under the grill.  Yummmmmmy!

I like to build the fires from scratch, just me and a match (okay a butane lighter), but they do have fancier fire lighters. The neighbours use a copper pipe with holes in it attached to the propane tank. It's basically a blow torch that sits in the bottom of the fire cage and lights large logs (or wet logs) without needing kindling. We did buy one, but haven't used it yet as the threads don't fit our propane tank and we haven't managed to get an adaptor yet. For now I use my little hatchet to make my own kindling and the lint from the dryer is my fire starter. They sell bags of wood at the side of the road at every other corner it seems,  kind of like Tim Horton's locations in Canada.  With all the rain we've been having though the wood is often quite wet, so unless you're willing to cut everything smaller and keep some dry wood on hand (like I am at the moment) the blow torch is the easiest way to go.

After I'm finished cooking I usually bank the coals so there is enough heat left after supper for marshmallows, or I put the little dutch oven on them with dessert inside so it's ready for after dinner. 

The little drawer on the bottom left is an ash drawer. There is a removable panel just over the drawer and when the ashes are cool you just brush them into the drawer to clean out your braai for the next meal. Easy peasy.

I absolutely love that I can cook over a fire in any weather. My menu plans never have to change if it decides to rain (which is seems to be doing a lot of lately) or if the windy city lives up to its name. The best part though, if I choose, I can smell the glorious smell of a woodburning fire every night.

Braai's are a big part of the South African culture.  We have been to the neighbours several times and the party always centers around the braai.  If it is at all possible I will be shipping a braai back to Canada when we return and find some way to make it work, inside or out.  I can't wait to invite our family and friends for a beer and a braai.  Good times.

School - Part One - Where we began

As part of the expatriation agreement dh's company pays for dependent school aged children to attend the local International School.

Our problem was that Port Elizabeth didn't have an International School campus.  So the company agreed to pay for the equivalent of an International School, which meant an independent school.  What I would call a private school, but we needed to find an appropriate school ourselves.

Before dh would even agree to the transfer we needed to make sure that there was a school in PE that could support ds #1 who has severe dyslexia combined with a "very superior intellect" according to the psyco-educational assessment.  It's a killer combination two fold.  Firstly, ds #1 has a lot to say, but his dyslexia prevents him from being able to write what he's thinking.  Secondly, he wants to know everything, but the dyslexia prevents him from being able to read the things that are interesting to him.  He is essentially frustrated all the time.

When we visited in February the company generously agreed to let us bring ds#1, given his special learning needs, so that he could be interviewed by the school's that we were interested in.  We researched on the Internet looking specifically for schools that listed special needs/remedial teaching as being available at the school. 

We had to take into consideration that children in South Africa start school the year they turn 6. They begin in grade 1.  Because children do not need to attend school prior to age 6, the curriculum in grade 1 focuses on phonics and basic number knowledge. This meant that dd would go from 2 years in a kindergarten educational based program, back to a pre-school play based program. So, we had to decide if we wanted to put dd back to pre-school or push her forward to Grade 1. Ds #2 is a December baby. Back when it was time to start school, dh and I, with the agreement of the local school, decided to hold him back a year as he just wasn't ready to start school. In Canada he was in Grade 1, but he should have been in Grade 2. If the curriculum was behind in South Africa, would he be able to manage with his age peers in Grade 2?   We reasoned that ds #1 with his severe dyslexia might have more confidence if the material in Grade 4 was a repeat of what he had already learned in Canada. His self esteem had suffered greatly related to his learning disability. One of the other points that factored into our decision where to place the kids was that the school year in South Africa begins in January. So the children would be leaving Canada 2/3 of the way through the school year, but arriving in South Africa 1/4 of the way through the South African school year.

With all those things in mind we visited the schools.

School #1 - A country private school.  Gorgeous forested setting, near a river, very private, lots of room to explore.  The children would be bussed from PE.  The bus picks the kids up at 06:00 (Which would mean leaving home at 05:45). The children attend academic classes and then have study hall to complete their homework.  Afterward they participate in sporting activities.  They have swimming, field hockey, rugby, mountain biking, rock climbing, paddling and all pupils attend a weekend camp each term.  The bus returns them to the bus stop at 17:45.  There was room in grade 4 for ds #1, but wait lists for the other 2.  Ds #1 was assessed by the special needs teacher while dh and I met with the headmaster.  Ds thought he did well.  The headmaster called a couple of hours later and said no they could not accept Ds#1, no explanation given.  Certain aspects, like the outdoors program would have been ideal for our children, but to have the kids, especially dd at age 5 away from me for 12 hours a day was not really what we were looking for.  We also weren't impressed that we were brushed off without explanation.

School #2 - An oooooooooold city school.  Lots of history.  Lots of famous people have been there.  Excellent reputation.  No buses, we would need to drive the kids.  Dh and I met with the headmaster while ds#1 was assessed by the gifted resources teacher.  The teacher was incredible.  He was so honest with us.  He said that while DS#1 was an incredibly intelligent child verbally, his written output and reading were not sufficient for him to keep up with the grade 4 class.  He advised us that the schools teachers were not trained to work with outside the box children and that the behaviours related to his boredom and/or frustration would be seen as disruptive and he would spend more time in the headmasters office than the classroom.  No room in grade 1 or 2 for ds#2, but they had space for dd.  We really appreciated the honesty of the staff and if they had had room for ds#2 we would have seriously considered it for the younger 2, but I didn't want 3 kids in 3 different schools so that was another one off the list.

School #3 - A 5 years new school for special needs children, including those with ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Autism Spectrum.  The school has grown from 16 students to almost 150 students in those 5 years and they have changed location 3 times to accommodate.  The current location is an old monastery that had closed decades ago.  As the school grows and fund raises they are refurbishing the buildings.  We met with the special needs teacher who advised that, as an independent school they could provide extra time for tests, scribes, exempt or replace second language lessons, etc.  They have a psychologist, speech pathologist, occupational therapist and remedial teacher on site.  The school required a one week observation period to determine if the child would be accepted.  We spoke with the headmaster who said they could certainly accommodate the dyslexia, but there was some hesitation as to manging the giftedness and being able to challenge him.  I wasn't thrilled with the location of the school, or that the headmaster had reservations about being able to challenge him, but it was our first maybe.  Neither DS #2 or DD would be appropriate for this school which meant 2 different schools for the kids, not an ideal situation from my point of view, but it was looking like the only solution for DS #1.

School #4 - This was the school that I liked from the beginning for ds #2 and dd.  It seemed the most like home, only smaller.  Back when it was started, it was a Jewish school.  When they were no longer able to maintain the school with just Jewish pupils, they opened it to all faiths.  They still follow the Hebrew calendar and have all of the Jewish religious holidays off.  The school is divided into a Pre-Primary (dd), a Primary (ds #1 and #2) and a High School, each with their own principal and a campus head oversees them all.  We went to the Pre-Primary first to speak about dd.  We loved the school and the principal and put dd on the wait list.  The principal asked why we had brought only one of our children.  We explained the situation with DS#1 and she lit up like a halogen lamp.  Along with being the Pre-school principal and grade R (last year of pre-school) teacher, she was also contracted to the Primary school as a special needs consultant.  She is all about inclusion and she thought the Primary would be perfect for DS#1 and asked why we weren't considering it.  We told her it was because we had been looking at schools with remedial or special needs teachers on staff and that there was no mention of special needs at the Primary.  She encouraged us to speak with the Primary principal.  So our next stop was the Primary.  They didn't have room in grade 1 for ds#2 but they did have room in grade 2 and grade 4 for ds #1.  They invited ds #1 to come back to the school the next day to try it out.  Cool, 3 kids, 1 school.  I was really liking the possibility.  Ds #1 had a fantastic morning at the school, he was shy for about 2 min. and then made a few friends and participated in the class. 

We had found our school on the last day of our look and see visit. We were thrilled with the school and felt that it would be better for dd to be with her age peers in the pre-school, that ds#2 could manage grade 2 and decided that even if it didn't work for DS #1 we had a plan B with the special needs school.  There was a government (public) special needs school that is very highly respected that could be plan C.  If all else failed we could fall back to home schooling.  This adventure would be full of life lessons that could never be experienced back in Canada, so the decision was made.  We were moving.

Stay tuned for Schools - Part Two - The differences

Electricity - Part 2 - What the???

We arrived in PE on the last flight out of Joburg.  By the time we landed, disembarked, and collected  our luggage it was dark.  DH's boss, who lives in our development, met us at the airport so we could follow him back to our new neighbourhood.  When we arrived at the house and he handed us 2 sets of keys and 2 credit type cards.  After travelling for 24+ hours with 3 children, I was in no shape to question why we needed credit cards with our house keys, I assumed someone would fill me in later.

As we start trying to plug in various electronics that we had purchased or brought with us, we ran into some problems. Now, in Ontario, building code says something like, there must be one electrical outlet every 8 feet and minimum 1 outlet on every wall. Here the building code seems to be different. We do not have outlets on every wall, in fact in DD's room there is only one outlet total. Unfortunately, that outlet is being used for the security system, so we have nowhere to plug in a lamp or anything else in her room. 

We have also discovered that the "M" type plugs that are used in PE are used in very few countries.  Many of the 220V appliances that we have purchased need adaptors as they are the 2 prong "C" plug that most of Europe uses.  Fortunately, everyone in PE has this problem so it's not just those of us who are expats.  Just about every store has a whole section of electrical adaptors, plugs, extension cords and power bars.  I'm quite certain that every outlet in our home has an adaptor and or power bar to accommodate the various plugs for the various appliances that we own.  Most of them have an extension cord too.

About a week after we had arrived and gotten all of our appliances sorted out we started having a problem with the lights on our driveway.  They kept tripping a breaker.  When I went in search of the electrical panel this is what I found. 

Now, I got the breaker panel part of the picture, but what the heck was the phone without a receiver doing there?  Being the curious person that I am I looked at the "phone" a little more closely.  Keypad, little window, manufacturer name.  The little number in the window says 12 kWh.  My brain does a quick rewind to high school physics and comes up with kilowatt hour = electricity.  So, as I'm trying to figure out how the electric company comes to read the meter inside the garage, I notice that the number is counting down.  My heart rate accelerates as I realize that the number is indicating how many kWh we have left. I have no idea how many kWh we would use in a day, so I have no idea if 12kWh will get us through the next 24 hours or not.  As I am contemplating how long our electricity is going to last I notice that the numbers are actively counting down.  Now, I start to panic realizing that there is not a snowball's chance that we're going to make it another day at the rate it's moving.  I rushed to turn off the pool pump, washing machine and anything electrical in the house, then I got on the internet to try and figure out how to get electricity.  I knew that it had something to do with those credit card things that we got as we arrived. 

I called dh.  He said he'd ask a colleague and get back to me.  I tried the bosses wife, she wasn't home.  So I Googled the electric company.  I got a list of the places to buy electricity.  Turns out it's the same kind of pre-pay as my cell phone, only I didn't know that about my cell phone yet, as I had only had it for a week.  I figured that I needed to take the credit card and pay for electricity, they would swipe it to load it up and off we go.  By the time I've figured all of this out the clock tells me it's 4:30.  At that point I was under the impression that all stores closed at 5:00.  So I load all of the kids into the rental car and dash off to the mall in a panic.

We arrive at the mall and on the way to the Pick n Pay I run into one of our neighbours.  I  ask her how the electricity works.  She tells me that she's not sure if Pick n Pay still does it or not, but I should try and if not I should go to Sasol, that's were they get their electricity.  I have no idea what or where Sasol is.  In fact I'm not even sure I've understood her accent.  It didn't sound like any place that I was familiar with, so I asked her where it was.  She gave me directions, but I didn't understand anything except for the fact that it was somewhere between the mall and home. I had no idea what any street names were or even compass directions,  I'd only been driving for a few days, so asking for directions was kind of silly in hindsight.

I thanked her, cursed myself for not understanding South African accents better and said a little prayer that Pick n Pay still sold electricity.  It is now 4:45 and I breathe a sigh of relief when we reach Pick n Pay.  Guess what!!! it's open until 8:00.  I go to the customer service desk and they tell me no they don't sell electricity anymore I need to go to the Sasol.  They give me equally useless directions and I rush the children back to the parking garage.   As I drive out I am convinced that Sasol, whatever it is, probably closes at 5:00 and it's now 4:55.  As I'm driving towards home, I am looking at every sign I can see and low and behold I see the Sasol.  I did understand the accent and found that Sasol is a petrol station.  Realizing that it's a petrol station and probably open past 5:00 I relax a bit.  I park, and get the kids out of the car and go inside.

There is a line up and we wait our turn with credit card and electricity card in hand.   I get to the teller and hand them both cards.  I say,  I just moved here and I need some electricity.  They say "I'm sorry we don't take credit cards, cash only".  Sigh!  So I frantically search my purse and pockets for any South African money.  I ask how much electricity I get per Rand.  The very nice and patient young lady behind me in line tells me that it's roughly 1 kWh per Rand and she uses about R250 per month for her flat.  I manage to locate R30 in cash and figure that will get me through a few days.  So the teller takes my money and the card enters some information on his special electricity machine and hands me back the card and receipt.  The kind, and very understanding lady tells me that there is a code on the receipt that I need to enter into the meter at home.  I thank her profusely, pack the kids back in the car and head home.

By the time I get home we're down to 10.5 kWh and I've only been gone for an hour.  Looks like the 34.8 kWh I got isn't going to take me too far.  I stand looking at the metre for a few minutes and try to figure out if there is a special way to enter the code.  Do I enter the card code first? Do I press the # key or the * key?  I don't want to do it wrong so I head off to the bosses house to see if his wife is home.  Turns out the boss is home.  He assures me that all I need to do is enter the 20 digit code into the key pad and that's it.  He tells me that with the pool, alarm system and general use, his family of 3 goes through between 35 and 45 kWh per day.  He also tells me that everyone, even South Africans, forget to pay attention every once and a while.  He told me how one night he was watching a rugby match and the TV died.  They had forgotten to buy electricity.

The boss invites me to stay for a cup of tea and we have a lovely visit.  Dh calls me back while I'm at the bosses house and I tell him it's all sorted out.   Dh joins us at the bosses house when he gets home from work and listens to me retell my adventure.  After I'm done he thoughtfully mentions that I could have used my Canadian debit card in the ATM at the petrol station to get more cash.  He was right.  I had been so caught up in the stress of making sure the lights didn't go out on us in the middle of the evening I didn't even think about using my debit card or even looking to see if there was an ATM.

After this fiasco, DS #2 volunteered to be our "electricity monitorer" (his words not mine).  He had been really good at remembering until last week.  We had just arrived home from school and I went to get one of the kids bikes down, which happened to be near the metre.  We were down to 13kWh.  So I pack the kids back into the van to go get more electricity.  We have since found a spot that will take payment by credit card up to R1500, so I don't have to carry too much cash around.  When we got home with our code in hand I went to punch in the numbers, but the metre was reading 14kWh.  Weird, I thought the metre is counting up ?!?  It took me a minute to notice that to the left of the screen was a negative sign.  Before we left we had been at minus 13kWh.  So, I learned that the electricity is not shut off as soon as the metre reaches zero.  Hopefully, we can remember to maintain our electricity and I never have to find out at what point it does get shut off.

Electricity - Part 1

The first thing that you realize when you are planning a move out of North America is that both the electrical and tv broadcast systems in North America are different than SA (and much of the rest of the world for that matter)  SA works on 220V 50 Hz and PAL TV.   Knowing this we started with a sorting process.

This sorting process took several passes.  The first pass was done with a very general question in mind.  Will we need this in SA?  Things like power tools we pretty much decided we wouldn't need.  We were going to be renting, so housing modifications were going to be minimal and we figured that we'd rather be spending time exploring anyway.  Things like the table saw, router and circular saw were definitely store or give away items. 

When it came to things like lamps, clock radios and kitchen appliances we divided into need or not.

The next pass we checked through all of those electronics we thought we would need and looked to see if they were compatible with a 220 current.  Things like the laptop, printer and ipod chargers were fine.   But the Nintendo DS chargers were not (though a South African charger works without a transformer as the wattage output is the same).  So that narrowed things even further. 

In order to keep things straight in my head I went to the dollar store and got some green, blue, red and yellow stickers.  Green (Go to SA by sea container), blue (Go to SA by air), yellow (Caution hold in storage in Canada), Red (Stop freecycle , garbage or someone in the family was going to take it).  I ended up using the stickers for all of the furniture and boxes as well, it really helped me and the movers when it came time to actually move stuff.

My brother had moved to Switzerland from the US several years ago and we had the opportunity to visit him twice over the years. I knew one thing that I needed to bring from home for sure, was my clothes dryer.  The clothes dryers in Switzerland didn't dry anything like they did in Canada.  Everything had to be hung to finish drying.  Part of the issue is that they are condensing dryers not direct vent dryers so the humid air is recycled leaving the clothes damp.  After our look see visit in February it was confirmed that clothes dryers in SA were the same.  The good thing about  Canadian clothes driers is that they are 220V, the bad thing was we didn't clue into this until we had already agreed to sell our current dryer with the house, so we needed to get another one.  Now that I'm here I wish we had managed a 220V Canadian sized washing machine too.  The washer here is tiny and for a family of 5 a big Canadian one would have made my laundry go a lot quicker.

The other thing that we needed to get was a PAL TV.   Dh did some research online and found a store in North Toronto that specialized in 220V appliances.

M, one of the staff, was amazing, but what he told us conflicted with what we had heard from my brother about his relocation.  

One said told us that lamps would work just fine with a plug adaptor and a 220V bulb.  The other said nope.

One said that kitchen appliances would be fine, though mix masters and coffee grinders would be a little slower due to the lower Hz. We just needed a transformer.  The other said not to take anything with a heating element.

They both said that with an appropriately sized transformer we could run our North American stereo, TV, Wii system and DVD player.  We wouldn't be able to watch DVD's that we purchased in SA or play Wii games, but we could watch and play all the ones that we currently owned. 

Given that the company was moving us we decided to push our luck and take some things that we had conflicting opinions about.  We reasoned that if they worked, great we saved ourselves a bunch of money,  if they didn't they weren't so huge that they couldn't be stored in the garage until we moved back home.  We also figured that it would be better to use what we have rather than buying new there and having to sell them or get rid of them when we moved back home.

Turns out moving our things was the right decision. Using the transformer, my sewing machine works just fine, I don't even notice the speed is different.  The toaster toasts, the coffee grinder grinds, just a little slower than it used to.  All the lamps, but one work, though the tri-lights are only single lights now.  The only thing that I really notice the difference in is my stand mixer.  It's a basic Sunbeam and I've noticed that it doesn't really have the same speed variation as it did in Canada, but it's still workable.  The TV, Wii, DVD combo, through the transformer, also works like a charm.  How we could have forgotten a North American power bar however, is beyond me.  So, we need to plug and unplug things every once and a while, but no biggie.

One thing I was thrilled about was my iPhone.  We knew that dh was going to get a cell phone through work, but we also knew that my Canadian cell phone wouldn't work in SA.  Knowing that it would take longer to get a home phone than a cell phone I bought an unlocked iPhone and am so thankful for that.  It was up and running within a day of our arrival and it is still very much needed as phones in SA are not a flat rate like in Canada.  You pay for the phone line and you pay for every local and long distance call that is made.  Calls in are free, calls out cost money.  It's actually cheaper for me to make calls on the cell phone, so it's been very important.  Because it's unlocked I can pick up a local card anywhere we travel outside of SA and use it when we return to Canada with any provider without roaming charges.

Seeing as I now had an iPhone before we left Canada I loaded up on TV shows and movies for the kids on iTunes.  We got a set of component cables so we could watch on the Canadian TV.  One day I was having a mommy moment and I plugged the iPhone into our PAL TV.  A few days later it occurred to me that it was still hooked up to the PAL TV, but it had been working just fine.  How cool is that.  It must have something to do with the fact that it is a digital not an analog signature.  It has occurred to me that maybe the digital satellite feed would have worked on our TV from Canada too.  No sense trying it now really, as we bought a PAL TV, but maybe we could have saved some money and just used the TV from home.  Maybe NTSC and PAL don't matter in a digital world. That's something that would have been nice to know before we left.

So, what I learned is that if you have the right transformer, which weighs an absolute ton by the way, you can run just about anything you have in Canada.  By having 2 transformers we have really saved ourselves not only a ton of money purchasing replacements for all the things we already owned, but saved ourselves the hassle of trying to resell them all before we leave for home again.  If we have purchased something here that we want to take back to Canada the transformers work in reverse too.  So the transformers are a win win as far as I'm concerned.

Next post - Electricity  - Part 2 - What the?