Sunday 10 February 2013
What a day - Photos
What a day! - 10.2.13
We had quite an experience today and one that none of us
want to go through again.
We decided to head to Ndola for the weekend to check out
some large wood carvings and to pick up some groceries for Phil, for when the
kids and I are back in Australia. The road between Solwezi and Chingola is very
bad this time of year, the rain and the hundreds of trucks that use the road,
means that it is falling apart. The potholes are huge and many, some a foot
deep and about 7 feet wide. So you can imagine what it is like to dodge the
potholes, watch out for trucks galore and cars going all over the road, plus
bikes and people walking the side. It is a dangerous road. Thankfully, we had
no problems ON the road.
Driving to Ndola took about 5 hours. It is not that far, but
taking into account the conditions it takes that long. We stopped at Whimpy’s (a burger joint) for lunch and then checked
out some wooden items before heading to our Guest House for the night. We then
went and stocked up on the non-perishable items at Pick ‘n’ Pay before crashing
for the night. Both Phil and myself slept badly as we shared beds with the
kids. I did not realise how much Tom moves in his sleep. He kept going
perpendicular to me and kept kicking me, so I would have to turn him back
nearly every hour.
This morning Tom was awake at 530 am! So you can imagine how
much we looked forward to another 5 hour drive home! We left and headed to
Kitwe, there is a brand new Pick ‘n’ Pay there and so we thought we would grab
the cold items at that shop. We have a fridge for the car, an essential here. When
we arrived at the turn into the shops, we noticed a huge crowd of people and an
overturned truck on the road. People were going crazy grabbing the cooking oil
tubs that the truck had spilled. We saw one guy loading tubs into the back of
his car, no doubt for sale elsewhere.
We went in and did our shopping. When we came back outside,
we went to the car and noticed a smoke bomb go flying. Phil and I quickly
decided to get the kids and groceries in the car ASAP and get out of there
before a riot erupted. Too late…..
The smoke bomb was in fact tear gas. We had just gotten the
kids in the car and Phil said “It’s tear gas” and then all of a sudden my eyes
and throat started to burn. The wind was driving the gas away from the crowd
and into the shop car park. Thus we all got gassed, whilst the crowd did not. I
tucked my head into my top and tried to cope as best as I could, we were both
spitting up vile tasting saliva, but we did not want to open the car and have
the kids get it in their eyes. We noticed people running to the fire hose to
wash eyes and so locking the car and forgetting the groceries, we ran to wash
our faces. The gas in my throat tasted like pepper, it burnt both the eyes and
throat. Phil finally was able to get back to the car and the gas had drifted away.
The kids came running to me screaming and fearing they had it in their eyes
after all, a cleaner and a security guard helped me wash their faces and eyes.
I finally realised they were crying as they were just scared.
We ran back to the car, I got them back in whilst Phil
finished loading the groceries and we headed to the entrance. Thankfully, the
security guards had closed the gate to stop people coming in. They opened it
for us and we flew off away from the crowd. The kids were still upset. They
watched us outside the car and did not know what was going on. Tom never wants
to go to there again! I don’t blame the poor thing. I am so glad we got them in
the car before they got the gas in their eyes, as that just would have been horrendous
as it was bad enough dealing with my own eyes and throat.
I think we were lucky to get away when we did. It only would
have taken the smallest act of violence and the crowd would have gone wild. We
did not want to get stuck in a riot.
The eyes and throat did not take that long to settle down
thank goodness and we were able to laugh about it with the kids. After all, it
is not every day that you get tear gassed! We however, never want to experience
it again.
I took some photos of the truck and crowd as we arrived
(prior to gas). I am not sure if the driver made it out. I would like to think
so.
Sunday 3 February 2013
Week 45 - Photos
More beautiful and full of love than any of mine.
Week 45 - 3.2.13 (7 weeks to go)
We have finally got our new Temporary Permit, however no passports
as they are still in Solwezi awaiting to
get stamped. Thus, the kids and I may be able to come home in 2 weeks. However,
Phil still has not seen a contract and so we are considering our options.
It is hard to believe now that we may be leaving here soon.
Am I excited? Yes and no. I would love to get away from the mine site and some
of the people, but I will miss my friends. Plus, we have no idea where we will
go from here, so it is quite stressful to think that in 7 weeks we may be
homeless and jobless.
I would love to see my things again. I can’t believe we have
lived out of our original suitcases for this long. Phil I don’t think has added
to his. I have added a few clothes as wearing the same ones day in and out
wears them out quickly and they get eaten by bugs and end up with little holes
all over them. The kids have been the luckiest and have had so many clothes
given to them. I doubt any of the clothes sitting in Perth would fit them now!
They have grown so tall. As for shoes, I own 3 pairs of sandals, a pair of
thongs and rubber garden shoes. Just as well I don’t have a shoe fettish! Lol…
Tom has settled in at school. His new best friend is Andrew
and they are like Siamese twins always wanting to be together. It is lovely
that he has such a good friend and so close by as well. Laura is doing really
well also. She can write her name now and is so proud of herself. Tom is
reading his books to us at night and he too is so proud of himself. He grins
from ear to ear when he has finished. I am proud of both of them.
I made 2 cakes this week. One was for a Collingwood lover
and the other was a quick whip up as I was given less than 24 hour’s notice. Photos to follow.
I went to the gym on Monday and Wednesday and oh did my
muscles let me know they have not worked out like that for a while or years I
should say. It was really good though. If we stay I will be heading there more
often. Prices have just come down and it is now affordable along with the pool.
Laura had a friend over to play on Wednesday and that was
lovely. She misses her friends now that they all go to school, she since has
come down with a cold and is not very happy. Tom has come down with a cold
today and so he too now is not good. I have a feeling he will not be going to
school tomorrow as he now has a fever also.
On Friday I went for a walk and saw the mongoose family
again. This time they had a baby with them, and it was so cute, not that I got
a good look as they run very fast. I had to go to the doctors to pick up a
prescription, and I walked away 1 hour later. I have learnt not to do things in a hurry here.
This weekend has been quiet as Laura and Tom have not been
well.They did make me a mud cake (from actual mud) and said it is just like the ones I make. Hhmmm. I will let you decide when you see the photos. I baked rolls again yesterday and biscuits today. We had a big thunder
storm Friday night, but still not a lot of rain. It is lovely sitting under the
larpa listening to the storms roll in.
Carol starts school tomorrow and so is doing less hours here
at the house. That way she can get some study time in. I really do hope that
she does well and goes to nursing school. I feel like she is a daughter to me now and I want the very best for her.
One of my friends, Vannida, has just announced that they are
leaving. They have just signed a new contract, but things in his area are not
good, so he is getting out now. Vannida and kids will go home to Laos and hubby
will be doing FIFO (Fly In Fly Out) from Mongolia! Wow huh? It will be sad to
see her go and Dori is in Tom’s class, so she will be missed.
As Dorothy once said, “People do come and go here rather
quickly don’t they?” Just a part of living the expat life.
Week 44 - Photos
My beautiful boy on his first day of 'Big' school.
Week 44 - 27.1.13 (8 weeks to go)
Phil has still not seen a contract and we are awaiting our
new Temporary Permit. The kids and I cannot go home for a holiday until we get
one as we would not be allowed back into the country. It is getting very
stressful as I do not know what is going to happen. Will we stay? Will we come
back to Australia? Will Phil get a job somewhere else? Where will we live? What
are we going to do????????
Tom started school on Monday. He was not so keen and was
even less so when we got there. He was holding on to my leg for dear life.
Tom’s new teacher is Miss Paula (from Australia) and seems really lovely. He
has the same kids as last year and a new boy Andrew who lives 2 houses down. So
he should be ok with it, but since he is now up at the big school and is not
with Laura, it is an adjustment for him. I am sure he will be fine soon.
I went for my usual morning walk and then started decorating
a cake for tomorrow. I made a boat cake with a man fishing and catching a
shark. I finished the cake on Tuesday and did not enjoy working in the humid
conditions. The man I mad on Monday fell apart and so I had to redesign the
cake at the last minute, but I think it turned out anyway. Photo to follow.
Laura started playgroup on Tuesday morning, she was so
excited to be going to “school”. She wanted to wear her school uniform, so I
had to come up with an excuse as to why she could not. We are treating it like
school for her and I figure she might as well have a play with the other kids.
She of course is the oldest. We have started home schooling and so far so good.
We spend some time on the computer doing ABC Reading Eggs and also do some
practice numbers and letters. I managed to get the cake delivered before it
poured down with rain and it was received with enthusiasm. Helen has been my
best customer so far.
On Wednesday, I went back to Solwezi as I am running out of
butter and icing sugar. It was a quick trip in and out. Laura and I then did
some school work before picking Tom up.
Thursday we had playgroup again. That afternoon was spent
making more cakes. Seems all I do at the moment is make cakes, but I do enjoy
it. As long as I don’t eat them all and end up huge!!!
I tried an experimental dish for dinner on Friday night. I
made up some bread and before I cooked it, I stuffed it with a chicken and veg
stew I made. In the end they looked like Cornish pasties and tasted great. It
is hard trying to come up with new things to eat with the same old ingredients.
I figured this way the kids can eat with their hands and that would make them
want to eat them. Tom did, but Laura was not convinced. Phil and I loved them.
Friday afternoon was great fun. I had some of the girls here
for drinks and all the kids had a ball. I love times here like this and if we
leave these are the things and times I will really miss.
The weekend was spent baking more bread rolls for Tom to
take to school and sorting out the vegie garden. We have 1 water melon growing
and I hope it continues and does not get eaten by bugs or such. Our carrots
were an interesting mix of shapes, I think we had 1 that actually looked like a
proper carrot. The cauliflower is going ok, although 1 was purple in colour so
I am not too sure what that means. Tomatoes are going great. We also have a lot
of potato and sweet potato in both white and orange. Can’t wait to see how they come
out. Our pumpkin has come up again and we hope to have better luck with this
crop. The strawberries are also looking wonderful. I can only hope that Laura
decides she likes them again. Who knows in 7 weeks it could all have been
transplanted to someone else’s garden as it will be no use to us if we are not here!
The weather is still stormy, although not as much rain and
it is getting warmer. The roads are full of pot holes around here and driving
is horrendously bumpy. Of course the kids think it is great fun. The mud is
certainly a problem on my walks and I come back most days with mud splatted
down the back of my legs and my shoes covered, one of the many joys of living
here! Lol.
Week 43 - Photos
Can anyone guess what flag Tom is?????????
Answer: South Africa
Week 43 -20.1.13 (9 weeks to go)
Can you believe we have been here 43 weeks now? It has gone
so fast, yet has been so incredibly hard at times and really taken a toll. We
have 9 weeks to go before the end of Phil’s contract, so the countdown is on. What will we be doing then? I have no idea………………..
It hasn’t taken long to get back into the swing of things. I
made sundried tomatoes, or oven dried I should say. They taste ok. I have put
them in oil with basil and will use them in salads or whatever.
On Monday I got straight back into my walking. I feel as
though I have put on 5 or more kilos this holiday. Fabian came over to play
with Tom in the morning and then Brenda and Sonja came over in the afternoon.
It’s great to catch up with my friends again and of course the kids love having
other kids to play with.
I had a lovely walk on Tuesday morning. I saw a tortoise crossing
the road and the ground hornbill family. It really is lovely out walking by
yourself as it is so quiet and peaceful, you can get a lot of thinking done.
How I wish I could just take a chair and picnic and sit out under the trees all
day. It would be so relaxing not having to listen to the kids squabble.
Michelle and I went to Solwezi on Wednesday and my gosh it
is so muddy. All this rain lately has just made a mess of everything. The pot
holes are twice as big and the mud even worse than usual. It also seems as
though the population of goats has tripled. The roads are covered with them and
their babies and they do not move for cars, you have to go around them! That
afternoon I made a loaf of bread as the shops here are not selling nice bread,
it is too airy and dry. I also did a roast pork for dinner. The shop on site actually
had some decent meat for a change. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for
the fruit and vegetables.
Thursday morning I was out walking again and saw a family of
about 10 mongoose. It was the first time I have seen them here and it was
wonderful. It was certainly the week for seeing wild life on site.
Carol and I then went to Maheba as she needed to enrol in
school. Carol wants to be an Anaesthetist. As medical school is so expensive,
we are trying to get her into Nursing first and then hopefully, she can get into
medicine that way. Firstly though, she needs to have a better grade in maths,
and so she has enrolled this year to do maths, science, biology and English.
Then she can go to nursing school next year if she gets the grades. Hopefully
she will.
That afternoon Sally, Brenda and the kids came over and we
had a lovely time chatting the time away, while the kids played.
On Friday we had to head back to Maheba and so dropped in to
see Clement’s new baby. Hope was born on the 28th Dec at home at
2am. She is a gorgeous little thing. I took along a bag of clothes the kids can
no longer fit into for the others and some knitted items my mother had made for
Hope. Clements house is tiny. If you can imagine a single car garage divided
into 4 rooms in each corner and a centre section and you have Clements house.
This is for 3 adults (as Joyce’s mum is currently staying with them) and now 8
children, plus one room is the kitchen. I feel so guilty having such a big
house for the 4 of us. But at least they own it now and do not have to rent, so
that will save them some money. Maybe in time it can be expanded, but this is
an average size house. I am glad we were able to pay for Clement to put the roof on before the rains. The house would not have stood up to all that water on the bricks.
I have started back with cakes again. I hope to be in
Australia for the next cake sale and I have promised to make the LTG some cakes
to sell. Plus I need to stock up Phil with cakes as he eats it every night for
pudding. I have also some orders as well for next week, so need to get the
cakes made and then ready for decorating.
School starts tomorrow and it is really sad that Laura will
not be able to go. I am still so mad at the 2 girls on site who got Laura’s enrolment
revoked. I am really disappointed in one, as she I thought was a friend.
I guess not. I will be home schooling Laura, which I imagine will be difficult
as she is such an independent thing. Wish me luck.
Saturday 2 February 2013
Xmas Holiday Photos -2
" NO PHOTO'S"
Below: The third one down on the right says "Sydney"
The kids on Signal Hill.
Laura and her friend.
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