Just realized I never posted this entry.  Better later than never….

I’m sitting in the airport lounge in Kigali, Rwanda, thinking that maybe it is time for my first blog posting!  We are beginning the sad process of packing up our things to head back to Canada.  Holly has done an admirable job of documenting our adventures.  This sabbatical has been very different from our time in Europe.  We have all made friends and conquered fears and challenges.  We have also come to love this country and the people we have encountered here.  Brash, aggressive, friendly, thoughtful, committed, welcoming…these all describe our many friends and acquaintances. We have been fascinated by the way this country has moved forward since 1994, but we have also been struck by the changes that have yet to be made.  I had the opportunity to travel across the country; Mafeking, Kimberly, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto, Belfast, Durban, East London, Cape Town, and many small towns in between. I have spoken with nurses, midwives, administrators, researchers, individuals working for UNFPA and the National Department of Health (including the minister of health!). My job has been to evaluate the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths in South Africa. While SA is a middle income country, the vast majority of the country is low income and a small minority are high income. Although the “middle class” is growing, there are huge disparities in terms of wealth, education and health. The maternal mortality reflects this. While SA has devoted much time and energy into assessing maternal deaths and understanding root causes, they recognize that improvements can and should be made. This is where I come in!  Interviewing people, reading reports and articles, participating in maternal death reviews at hospitals and in meetings with other African countries, has all been part of the evaluation. Though often challenging and stressful it has given me a rare insight into maternal health in Africa, and has introduced me to the most committed and hard working people I have ever met. I feel lucky!

Now we are starting to say goodbye to school friends and colleagues, packing our luggage and wondering how to get it all home!  Christmas in South Africa will be a novelty.  No white Christmas for us!  We will miss being home, surrounded by our Canadian family and friends, but we also welcome this last unique experience in a country we feel is partly our own now.  Merry Christmas to all of you who have “tuned in” to the blog!

Heather

Greetings all!

I'm afraid we have been pretty irregular with our news, which will come as no great surprise to my family. Plus, we here have all been leaning on Holly for our next installment, since she has become "the writer in the family"! However, while you are waiting for her next (post-exams) entry, I thought I should just give you a quick summary-update of our doings. 

In short,  we have all been busy settling into our school and work routines here, which among other things involves a lot of DRIVING! Joburg is famous for its traffic, and for its mini-bus taxis which follow an entirely different set of rules of the road that no one else entirely understands (except that it is good to leave as much distance as possible between you and the mini-bus taxis). Meanwhile, we are collecting various snippets from the frequent traffic reports which we think will make for a great Monty Python-type item on the weird, wonderful, and bizarre of getting about this place (Radio Announcer: "Oh dear.... Oh dear... Oh dear!! I do hope this is a mistake! There is a motorcyclist on fire at the Malibongwe interchange. I do hope that should read, there is a motorcycle on fire....").

Having said all this, we are really enjoying the energy, edge, and creativity of the economic heart of the new South Africa. The kids are all having quite remarkable school experiences, in very different ways. Holly and Rory are at Sacred Heart College, which has quite a storied anti-apartheid history and, unlike most of the fee-paying schools here, is three-quarters or more non-white. The kids are really enjoying hearing from their classmates about their parents' prison stories! Holly is now deep into her first real set of exams, which she is finding challenging but strangely exhilarating. Elizabeth's international school experience includes peers from over 80 different countries, along with a very high standard (and demanding pace) of teaching and learning. She is loving the friends she has made, and is juggling participation in the upcoming school musical performance of "Legally Blonde". She has even learned to tolerate her 5:15 wakeup and nearly hour-long commute each way!

 Heather is also going through her own intensive learning experience concerning the Maternal Death audit system for the country, and I am enjoying learning from her investigations second hand. The report she is writing has taken her to 7 of the country's 9 provinces, with incredibly varied conditions (though in each case vast inequalities between the proverbial haves and have-nots). Last week she was summoned to an audience with the national Minister of Health, where she presented her preliminary findings! He is considered to be a very good and dedicated minister, and it was good to have the opportunity to meet him. Oh, and she also broke her foot! It is healing well, but in the meantime this apparently allowed her to compare walking boots with the Minister, who also recently broke his foot.

 Meanwhile I'm afraid much of my time has been occupied trying to get a book which was supposed to have been put to bed before I left Halifax off my desk once and for all. However I am slowly chipping away at some new writing projects and enjoying connecting with new and old friends and colleagues. I have been down to the western Cape for a short visit where I did a presentation at the University of Cape Town (among the most beautiful campuses in the world) and had some meetings with colleagues at  Stellenbosch University. We also managed a long weekend getaway to the Royal Natal National Park which is the Drakensberg Mountains. Heather and I went there almost two decades ago and it was great to share the experience with our kids. It is a stunningly beautiful place, with demanding but rewarding hikes. Just watch your lunch: a good chunk of ours was stolen by an aggressive local baboon while our backs were turned!

So that's a very quick update from Jozi (the place seems to have lots of nicknames!). Hope you are all well; warm greetings from all of us.

David.

Updates.

The garden grew back. Lettuce has been abundant since we last spoke!

I'm not sure whether I had mentioned the Apartheid Museum, but we visited it roughly a week before school started. Interactive, extensive and an architectural marvel, it was, without a doubt, the best museum I've been to in this country to date.

Our landlady is officially living on the property! She is taking a break from her travels and has made her home the fully functioning shed out back. We're finally getting the true South African communal living experience!

Yesterday, we made a quick trip to Constitution Hill to tour the prison and walk the steps. It's amazing when you visit a museum that has been so carefully preserved. It's like ripping a chunk out of the past and tossing it into the future, or eavesdropping in on a hushed conversation that you really weren't meant to hear. It's enticing, compelling and heartbreaking all at once.

As for work Heather just arrived home from a trip to Durban and she's reaching the climax of her work experience here. Dave is currently in Cape Town for his temporary job at Witt's and is also working on a few side projects (ex. The never-ending book). If you are interested, I'm sure I could coax a few minutes out of them to do a full write up on their positions.

School continues. Life halts for no man. We work, we school, we try to fit in a bit of typically touristy stuff in between the cracks. I've got one month till the beginning of exams, and midterm break is this Friday to next Monday for Rory and I, and Bethy has hers all of this week! Which brings us to our next topic of conversation; looking towards the future.

As I mentioned, we are off on our midterm break very shortly. To celebrate this and Thanksgiving (I know that it was last week. We saved it for the public holiday), we are going hiking in the Drakensberg Mountains for three days. Hopefully, we will also be feasting up there! And, of course, giving thanks.

Mid December, we will make our way (with Christine in tow) to the Western Cape, a.k.a SA's golden province. We start in Cape Town and move our way up to Stellenbosch, for some intensive wine tasting. And then, we fly all the way back to cold, cold Canada. Voila.

That's it! I will make sure to let you know if anything else comes up, which I'm sure it will. Can you BELIEVE that we've already been here for over three months? I can't. Laying all the building blocks out like this, it makes me realize how short six months actually is. We will be seeing our  lovely Ontarian branch of family in 78 days, and are already looking forward to spending New Years with you. Till then!

P.S. Keep the comments coming! I love to hear what you have to say. Plus, on an emotional level, it's very validating. ;)
Shout out to Frank for the Godzilla link!

Life as it is and Godzilla Ice Storm

Before we jump right in, I would like to formally address the three week hiatus to which you, dearest devoted readers, have been subject. The fact is, sitting on couches, eating food, reading books and writing on the internet isn't my job anymore. Now, my job is to sit in a classroom and learn about things other than writing on the internet, like electrostatics and Catholicism.

I want my old job back.

Truthfully, though, being back at school is far beyond anything I was anticipating. I'm putting this down to the drastic change in environment. And by that I mean the company. Rory and I agree that Sacred Heart College, the school we attend, is plainly incredible! My classmates don't seem to realize how hard everyone is thinking, how fast the minds around them create new images and come up with fresh questions to ask.  I've been scooped up into the eager, inviting cupped hands of SHC, and I have the feeling that, bit by small bit, my outlook on this form of educating is being remodelled. Doubtless, I still have my complaints, as every thinking person should, but to put a fine point on my point, the people at this school are less... dumb. And I'm enjoying it.

You read the title. I know you did. You're thinking; "Alright Holly, we've heard about you're boring life. School, blah, people, blah, blah, fine! The only reason I'm reading this blogpost is because you began it with the word Godzilla." I understand your sentiment 126%.

Don't worry. No members of this family were fatally injured, just a few bruises here and there. Possibly a goose egg. But, much more than surface injury, the experience was traumatizing.

We were warned that after a very hot day in the summer (as in mid thirties) there would often be a short, but violent, thunderstorm, averaging at 10-20 minutes in length. It's easy to imagine the earth eagerly taking in gulps of it's stripped moisture, like we would cannonball into the lake, or maybe tip back a tall cool glass of water, dehydration turning it sweet as it rushes down our throats. However, this was not how our first South African storm played itself out. First of all, it was a coolish day (I have a deeply routed fear of morphing into an SA cold-wimp), and I was wearing full length pants for the first time in a very long time. It had been disturbingly overcast all day long. At around 6:30 PM, the first flash of lightning shot through the sky. A few minutes later, we began getting ready to walk to dinner. Ten minutes past, started our trek. In about two minutes it started raining. We all pulled our hoods up over our heads and walked a little bit faster, then-

"Ow! Did you feel that?"

"Is it raining teeth?"

"OW!"

Bethy, Dave and I hid out in a bus shelter with a pleasingly optimistic new friend, while Heather tried to keep on (we were minus Rory) and eventually found us, pounded, pummelled and soaked. We did not go to dinner that night.

Instead, however, we whipped up a massive, fresh salad and sliced a beautiful rye loaf! After dinner, we popped some popcorn over the stove (labour-intensive but worth it) and settled down to a movie.

It kept raining for roughly 3-4 hours after we got home. Just to supply you with a rough estimate, the hail stones were maybe a little bit smaller than ping pong balls. Insane, right? While there was minimal damage done to the three of us, Mum woke up thee next morning covered in big, round, bruises.

The most severe damage was done, not to a person, but to our lovely garden. If someone like, say, Christine is reading this, I suggest you brace yourself for the following pictures. Try not to burst into tears.

Shredded chives

Self-explanatory

Used-to-be swiss chard

Amazing Roddy

Thriving vines no more

Demolished flowers

Pitiful brocoli

Our gardener, Roddy, worked his amazing butt off yesterday to correct some of the damage. Our landlord, apparently has a gift card to buy some new plants, thank god and the herbs and leaves will grow back. Pray for the little guys :(

P.S. If you are interested in knowing something in particular about our journey, feel free to leave a comment down below! We love it when you doooo.

-Holly

July 2014 and Beyond, pt. 3

Next on our list  was on the South-East coast, in Durban.

Durban is a cultural blend of quintessentially african urban, with the bustling downtown area in constant motion, fruit and vegetable stalls lining the streets up and down and worn down storefronts in a constant circulation of smiling joking people, and a laid back, beachfront lifestyle where everyone moves in slow motion and carry's their shoes in their bags. Then, there's the flurescent nightlife, when the young cats come out and enjoy the fun, artistic scene this generation has brought with it.

I was in love with all of it, almost instantly. After yet another long, tiring drive, this time in an even smaller car we rented after getting stuck at a gas station for six hours on our way back from Kruger (while we waited for the tow truck to come, we got dinner at Steers. I had the greek salad) we arrived in Durban at the height of evening rush hour. There were people everywhere. In cars, on the sidewalks, running in the streets, standing at bus stations that littered the wide blocks. Our hostel, when we arrived there, was a zigzagging mishmash of an Italian style villa, with an amazing communal vibe, very helpful staff, but very little internet.

An informal breakfast was served each morning, a "get to know your fellow backpackers" type of affair. I think we were the only people there not backpacking.

After breakfast, we drove down to the local water park/ marine park/ aquarium/ buffet restaurant, Ushaka, after being told it was a must see; and let me tell you, it was! The aquarium was unlike anything I've ever experienced - seen from the inside of a sunken ship, the building had incorporated every detail, down to the last life jacket. My dad can testify, when I first saw a fish swim past the porthole I had my face pressed up against, I practically backflipped out of my swimsuit! But it didn't end there. The aquarium had an impressive collection of extremely angry looking sharks, an adorable tank dedicated to the star fishy's of Finding Nemo, a hypnotic, glow in the dark jellyfish display and an immersing semicircle glass panel that made us all feel like we were breathing underwater. The buffet food was spectacular. It had options to please both the veggies and the not-so-muchies in our family and an overflowing bin full of mealie meal (aka mealie pap and samp (you may or may not know it as hominy)), a southern african speciality which has stolen my meatless heart. The dolphin show was charming and had the crowd going wild! Honestly, my least favourite part of the day was the tallest water slide in africa! We have now made up our minds to push for an aquarium in Halifax. Isn't that ingenious? We think it is. If someone from the government of Nova Scotia is reading this, please take note! (I'm really not ruling that out as a possibility; I recently discovered that we have an audience in Venezuela and Germany.)

After Ushaka, we cooled off in the beautiful waters of the indian ocean along Durban's "Golden Mile", a picturesque sprawling beachfront. The water was some of the most perfect that I've ever felt, and the surf was fantastic!

On day two, we saw a completely different side of Durban, starting with the Victoria market. If we had driven down, found a parking spot and left, I would have walked away happy. Since we didn't, I walked away happier! There's something enchanting about pushing your way past hordes of noisy people; an enchantment that was apparent as we squeezed our way through the streets of down town Durban. A certain charm felt only when you have negative personal space. It's like everyone is part of a functioning routine. No one person is left out. Sure, we were subject to a few raised eyebrows, due to the fact that we were the only white people in the entire area and looked distinctly touristy; partly because of the oversized backpacks and loose fitting capri pants made out of breathable synthetic material (you know who I'm talking about), and partly because a reasonable percentage of white people in this country have made it their mission to avoid walking at all possible costs. 

Trust me when I say, they don't know what their missing! That whole morning, I couldn't keep a smile off of my face.

After the market, we drove back down to the waterfront and enjoyed a quirky, delicious meal at a debuting restaurant before renting bicycles and pedalling our way down the Golden Mile! If I remember correctly, we turned out to have cycled a grand total of 14 km, stopping midway for another heavenly swim and coffee and snacks at a Mugg & Bean. 

The day rounded itself off with a family card game. Needless to say things got a bit craaazy. That night gave birth to enough inside jokes to last me a couple decades and then some!

The next morning, we packed up shop and sardined ourselves into the car once more for the long drive back to Joburg. Two days wasn't long enough by a half in this amazing city and I hope one day to be back.

Watch out Durban ;)

July 2014 and Beyond, pt. 2

Kruger National Park.

The beauty of this place is that it is as it was. It's one of the few places left on earth that hasn't been torn down and remodelled by the foot of mankind. Nature has been allowed to work it's own magic. To feed it's own body, take it's own course. It has been allowed to swell, to falter, to grow and move at it's own pace without the interruptions of big city noises, a beauty which feels so fragile it could shatter at a too loud word, yet with the resilience and elasticity of the animal kingdom. Planet earth cleared a path for all this life. For once, we haven't put up a roadblock and tried to do construction. For once, undisturbed existence has been allowed to thrive, and it's exquisite. 

The best time is at sunset, when the world turns into a silhouette, a shadow and a whole thing all at once. The shades of yellow, orange, pink and white, blended together in a show stopping array too perfect to be teased by the distractions of the rest of the landscape. As we drove past in our guided vehicle, I traced out the blotted figures with my hands, and trees came to life, their every detail blended into a two dimensional figure. If you looked away for one second, the picture would have changed, so you had to keep your eyes on the sun as it dropped like a stone.

It's sights like these that are meant to be enjoyed for more than a split second, but I'll take what I can get.

Elephants have always been one of my favourite animals. I find myself drawn to them, wherever I am. At home, my napkin holder is shaped like one. A couple weeks ago, I bought a traditional elephant painting. I was finding it very hard to resist the little ivory elephant at the Victoria Market in Durban. No matter what beautiful things are created in the shape of theses creatures, nothing will ever compare to the real thing. Relaxed, regal, lined skin telling a story of existence. They instilled a sense of peace in my subconscious. I wasn't afraid of them and they certainly weren't afraid of me.

The Big Five of the animal kingdom. The absolute most vicious and difficult to pursue of all the hunted. In three days, they found us, one by one. We felt vey special.

And now, a montage for your viewing pleasure!

Morning walk in the bush

Mopani Rest Camp

Mopani (or butterfly) tree's that surround the camp

Their name comes from the resemblance the leaves bear to our favourite fluttery little insects

Beautiful animals

Enjoy!

Holly

July 2014 and Beyond, pt. 1

Tomorrow, we have been in South Africa for one month. If I wasn't already so adept to the time zone, it would feel like we arrived yesterday. I've never known a time in my life to move at such a ferocious pace, Europe included, and I have absorbed every second of it. From the highs and the lows, the hostels and the hotels, the familiar and the completely terrifying, I've seen it all through my expanding eyes. The feeling of it is all consuming.

What I'm trying to say is, we have been very, very bad bloggers. Very. Nearly one month here and we haven't breathed one single, solitary virtual syllable, nil. Yes, we know how absurd that is and yes, we apologize from our deepest hearts of hearts, and hope that we can gracefully move on from this unfortunate hump in our track record. I could spend the entire intro to this post coming up with a long list of semi-credible excuses to make myself feel better, but since this is your post, I think a more wise use of my time would be to address your concerns. I understand that some of you lovely readers have reached out, asking what in gods name was going on and if we could please post something just to confirm we hadn't died.

Well, that's basically the purpose of this blog post, so hopefully, by the end of today, all your questions will have been answered, just, make sure to ready yourself with a big bucket of ice water to dunk your pretty heads in incase you start to fall asleep, because this is going to be a long one!

On the 11th of July, 2014, we arrived tired and hungry, in South Africa. I can't remember what time it was. In fact, I can't actually remember what time anything was in that first 7 days. Jet lag is a freaky thing. Coincidentally, we got no pictures at all in the first week which, when you think about it, wasn't at all coincidental, seeing as we all looked like angry, sleep deprived baboons.




Despite that, we still managed to get most of what needed to be done, done. We bought food, visited schools, aquatinted ourselves with the house, sorted out some urgent work issues, etc, etc. And, most important of all, we slept. It took me a full six days to adjust to the time zone. Thats six days of falling fast asleep in the car, not being able to close my eyes until 3:00 in the morning, and waking up at noon. Our poor domestic, Mary, waited outside for two hours on the first day, not wanting to interrupt our sleep! Once we finally hauled our lazy butts out of bed, we enjoyed a delicious brunch, provided by the one and only Tim and Rose, a.k.a some of the greatest people I've met in SA thus far. Brunch was followed by a day of intensive shopping and touring, which, while fun, left me utterly pooped (no surprises there), and once Rose loaded us up with a full supply of South African cookbooks and DVDs  we headed home. We spent the rest of the week doing more of the same, which was fine with me! I loved the look of my school and, as my crippling jet lag faded, started developing a routine. 


The next week, I spent nine hours in a cramped car with a dysfunctional engine.

That was not part of the routine.

Our first excursion was to the Kruger National Park. If you haven't heard of it, it's an enormous wildlife reserve on the border of Mozambique and the provinces Limpopo and Mpumalanga in North-East South Africa. The park itself is a stunningly rich Savannah landscape, and so it was no surprise that we were all eager to arrive. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as it had sounded.

As I mentioned, our car was experiencing some issues. The first time we failed to start it was when my parents were picking us up from mine and Rory's school. It had been a shockingly fantastic day and we hopped into the car with spirits high; spirits which were promptly flattened as soon as my Dad turned the key. It simply refused to start. So, we sat. We sighed. We waited. We tried again. Still nothing. Fortunately, the staff at Sacred Heart College was very helpful and did everything they could to make our suffering as comfortable as possible. After roughly a half-hour of sitting around, we called the South African Automobile Association (SAAA or AA for short) who took an eon to come. They couldn't find a problem so they called for a tow, which took another eon to come. Just before they arrived my dad tried again and by some miracle, it started. As you and I both know, though, this stroke of good luck couldn't last.

We divided the trip in two and made a stop in Sabi where we stayed a night. Our B&B was eclectic, toeing the line of kitschy, but pleasingly so. We had an amazing dinner at a local traditional restaurant and a good sleep. Apart from being squeezed into the backseat of a car with my two other siblings, we were quite comfortable!

Swimming pool in winter

Our luck changed for the worse the next morning. We woke up later than had been expected, had a lengthy breakfast followed by a morning swim and a short stroll. By the time we left Sabi, it was
9:00 am. Assume panic stations, everyone. We drove for a while, our minds alert with worry for the car stopping. The longer we drove, the uglier it sounded, the more we prayed. Please, please, may we not stall in the middle of the road. In the first leg of the drive, we didn't pause, even for one second, we just kept driving and driving. And then, the unthinkable happened. We saw a stop sign. I'm assuming that most of you reading this are adults, and so I won't need to repeat Mr. Police Man's definition of a rolling stop.
Fortunately, he took pity on us and our dying car and let us putt free with an address for a local mechanic. In town, we stopped for a bite at Wimpy's, a local fast food chain. I had the greek salad (otherwise known as the big pile of lettuce with a few olives on top). May I just say that as a vegetarian, by the end of July, I could barely think of a greek salad without convulsing.

This whole stop got both of the 'rents very anxious. As far as they were concerned, any time spent not driving was time waisted, and the hours were counting down to 6:00, when the doors to Krueger closed for the night. Did I forget to mention that? On top of this, a slight miscalculation had been made. My parents thought we had to be through the gates to the park by 6:00 but in fact, we had to be at our rest camp by that time. Our rest camp was three hours away from the gate. Needless to say, they couldn't let us in.

A big thank you to the folks at the South African Wildlife College for allowing a family of five, tired, grumpy hooligans to spend the night with you. We owe you our sanity.

I think I can safely say, with the agreement of the rest of my family, that this was our most trying experience to that moment.

Other notables include, getting locked out of our house, the power going out for 24 hours with a simple fix and setting off the alarm. So. Many. Times.

Talk soon!

Holly 

   

Up and running again!

We are off for another adventure. This time to South Africa for six months.  Just testing to make sure that I remember how to post a blog! More information on its way.
Heather

Heading off again!

Well, we are heading off again!  This time we are going to South Africa for 6 months.  Dave will be a visiting professor at University of the Witwatersrand and I am going to be an external assessor of the South African Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths. All the kids are coming of course and will be attending school there. Elizabeth will be at the American International School and Holly and Rory are attending Sacred Heart College.  We are hoping for some travel around the region both before and after school starts and with luck, my sister Christine, will be joining us for Christmas.  Let the adventure begin!