Week 4 - 22.4.12

Tom is now back at school. His class has changed again, as some kids have returned from holidays and others are out. Apparently, due to the working schedules of parents, kids can miss up to a quarter of their schooling year due to leave. His teacher Miss Jo was sick on Friday and so Tom was in tears as he was not use to the new teacher, Miss Mildred. He had a great day though given his teary beginning.

I made pizza for dinner on Monday night. It turned out really tasty despite the meagre dressings of ham and cheese for the kids and extra salami and pineapple for Phil and myself. I had also made a microwave pudding for dessert, which was so easy and tasty. Thanks again Virginia for the recipe.

On Tuesday afternoon we went to the pool for the first time. There is a small pool that comes midway up my thigh (which is great for the kids) and a large adult pool. As there is no heating, it depends on how hot it has been as to how warmish the water is. The kids had an absolute ball and I am sure we will become regulars. I then made chapatti from scratch for dinner with a chicken curry. They didn’t turn out too bad. I think the chapatti will cook better on the brie (BBQ).

Speaking of which, it is now finished. It looks nothing like the one next door which I suggested they copy. But, it does have character. All we need now is some charcoal and a cooking plate. The planter box or herb garden is now finished as well. Clement has filled it with soil for me, we just need some chicken manure and then we should be right to plant. I am so looking forward to salad. The lettuce that we can get here looks like it has seen better days and so I don’t buy it. We eat only vegetables. The tomatoes are beautiful as are the avocado, so a nice mixed bowl of lettuce will be worth the wait for it to grow.

On Thursday, the bank had no money again when I went twice to get some out. At least the walk is doing me some good. However, the kids groan when I tell them we need to go to the bank again. The shop here is looking at putting ‘swipe’ (EFPTOS) facilities in. That will make things a lot easier, if it works!

Friday afternoon’s drinks were great. It really is a good way to catch up on everything and get out the house for a chat. As we all have kids of different ages or none, we do not always see each other during the week. So I really enjoy this time with the other women. On the way home the kids decided that they wanted to play on the nearest termite mound, so off they went. As I was coming back for them, our neighbours came out and informed me that a 2.5 – 3m Black Mamba was seen there earlier on. The kids have thus been told not to play on any more termite mounds as they are a great hiding spot for snakes. We have also gone through what to do if they see a snake.  Black Mamba’s are the deadliest, fastest and most aggressive snakes around!! I thought Australian wildlife was scary……..

On Saturday I mentioned to our gardener Clement, that we would like to move the cubby house from the house at the end of the street to our house.  Off he went and found some helpers. I could not believe it. Only a short time later, here comes our cubby house being walked down the road on the shoulders of 7 men!!!!! It sure was a sight to see. The cubby house is now at our place on the ground at present, but it will eventually get put back up on stilts.

Phil and I spent Sunday morning outside. He dug up the area for our Larpa, and I continued on with more gardening. We then moved about 500 bricks and stacked them against the house. In the afternoon we all went back to the pool for a swim. We had arranged for another family to meet us there. Michelle and Jan (pronounced Yan) are from South Africa and have two children also. Janelle (Yanelle) is nearly four and Janni (Yanni) has just turned one. The kids had a great time playing together and we had a lovely time chatting and watching them.

I’ve realised that I have not said much about the ‘town’ here as such. So here goes. There are many different living areas. There is Con’s (Construction) Camp – which consists of 6 houses, that were the original housing facilities, and many units for the FIFO (Fly-in-Fly-out) crew. Next to this is ‘Tent City’ – this consists of many long army type tents which have air-conditioners attached and share washing facilities. This is the single men’s living area. Then there is the ‘Rental Estate’ – this is where we live. There are about 35 houses and 60 duplexes in this area. Lumwana Town, I would say has a hundred or more houses in it. This is right next to us, and is where the locals that work on the mine site can live and also where some contractors and their families live.

Con’s Camp and the Rental Estate homes are like transportable homes. Whereas, the town houses are made of brick and rendered. Near Con’s Camp are the Mess units, cooking and washing facilities, storage areas, a small shop where you can buy sim cards and phone time. Next to this is the International school which backs onto the town school. This then backs onto us.

There are 2 large soccer fields, as soccer is very popular here. A golf club as previously mentioned and a dam that we have yet to see. We also have 2 banks, only one is accessible to us, a hardware store that sells TV’s, fridges and supplies the internet service and a petrol station that sells diesel on site. I nearly forgot, we also have a bar! Of course the pool, tennis courts, a sand volley ball court, a gym and squash courts. Most of these need a membership in order to use them. At the moment we have only membership to the pool.

The roads here are all dirt, except when you get close to the mine’s main entrance, which is then bitumen. Thus, it is very dusty. Now that the rainy season has finished, everything is drying out and doing so quickly! The sides of the road, where green plants use to live, are now turning red-brown from a coating of dust. When we go out walking, the dust manages to penetrate our runners and socks and turns our feet red-brown.  You constantly feel covered in dust. The kids wear their sunglasses religiously to protect their eyes from the dust that the cars and busses throw up. I’m teaching them to turn their heads also, so they don’t inhale too much.  There’s a lot of sand and quite a few rocks around as well on some of the walking areas, so you have to be careful walking. Pushing a stroller (I have borrowed one) can be hard work. You really need a 4WD pram! I can't wait for mine to arrive.

The weather is changing too. The mornings are getting cooler. Even though we are heading into the dry season, it is still heading into winter. The days are warm and not as humid. Most days sees no clouds about at all and other’s we might be lucky to get a nice cool breeze. Everything is slowly changing colour, going from a bright lush green to a dirty red, dry brown.