Boy am I glad to be home. What a mad couple of weeks!
Week 21
The flights down went well. We flew from Solwezi to Ndola
and then to Lusaka on Sunday. The flight from Solwezi was on a 12 seater and we
could literally lean forward and tap the pilot on the shoulder. Thankfully the
planes got bigger from here on. We spent the night in Lusaka. On our way into Lusaka that night from the airport, we
were nearly in an accident, as a Taxi pulled out in front of the car ahead of
us and sped off. We then noticed it being pursued by a Police car. Welcome to
Lusaka! It is a big city though and I was surprised to see how developed it is, I was not expecting shopping malls.
On Monday morning we went straight to the airport and
headed to Jo’burg. We were picked up from the airport and taken to our hotel.
There was a change of plans, as the hotel I had booked was not one that had
been used before by the medical company, and so they could not guarantee our
safety there. As a result, we were moved to another hotel. It would have been
nice to have known this before we arrived. We had about an hour to relax before
we were off to meet the Doctor.
The appointment went well, and we checked into the Hospital
to get all the paperwork sorted out before arriving on Wednesday. We then went
out for a quick look around and dinner.
We had a very busy day on Tuesday shopping. We went to
Sandton City shops and spent all day there trying to find what we needed. It
was a bit overwhelming having so many shops. I had not seen that many in one
place for a few years. Laura did really well being dragged from one shop to the
next trying to find socks etc. The stuffed Unicorn I bought her helped
tremendously.
On Wednesday we headed to the hospital fairly early and
waited quite a few hours before going into surgery. Laura and I were both
starving and thirsty by the time they took her in. I couldn’t eat or drink in
front of her, as that just would not have been fair. She came out crying, but then
settled down and spent the afternoon dozing. She did so well and I was so proud
of her. They brought around ice-cream and food and she managed to eat fairly
well. Mind you the dinner was left and the ice-cream and lollies were eaten. I
spent the night in the hospital with her and in the morning after being dished
up mealie meal for breakfast we were finally allowed to leave. They told us she
had to eat her breakfast before she could go home, so I asked them for
something she would eat. When they couldn't find anything, they then let us go home without the breakfast. So it
was straight to the café for food. You would think that they would have given
her toast instead of mealie meal as it has a very specific taste, that you either like or don't. She
spent the rest of the day watching Barbie, we purchased the DVD, as the hotel did not have a kids
channel.
Friday we went out shopping again. Laura was so eager to get
out of the hotel, even though she was not talking. She grunted for about 2 days
post operation. I thought they had removed her voice box as well. It was so
quiet, I actually missed her screaming.
On Saturday, we went to the Monte Casino Bird Gardens. It
was fabulous. They had a bird show and Laura absolutely loved it. They even had
a Kookabura in the show. She was also thrilled when one of the birds came up
and tried to eat her shoes in one of the aviaries. They also had quite a few Lemurs’
as well and if you are ever in Jo’burg, I would recommend going.
We went to the Zoo on Sunday and I spent 4 hours pushing
Laura along in this hire car. See photos. Saw a lot of wonderful animals, but
it was a long tiring day.
Week 22
As a result of spending a whole day at the Zoo, we spent all day Monday at the hotel resting.
Not too sure why Laura was so tired, she did not walk all day!
On Tuesday we caught the Gautrain to Rosebank (a nearby
shopping precinct) and saw a movie. This was Laura’s first time on a train and
first time seeing a movie on the big screen. We saw Madagascar 3 and she loved
it. I did not think she would sit and watch the whole thing, but she did.
We also visited the local African market and it was
wonderful. I could have spent a fortune, but did not buy one thing. I only had
room for essentials and treats for the kids, not me. They had the most amazing
masks and carvings out of wood and stone, clothing and lots of animals made out
of wire and beads. See photos.
Wednesday saw us finalise the shopping and pack up the
cases. We had an appointment with the Doctor in the afternoon who gave us the
all clear to go home. We then spent the last few hours playing at the park
before dinner and bed.
Our flights home on Thursday, were more eventful. The
Jo’burg to Lusaka flight went well, but the Solwezi flight was another matter.
It was the 12 seater plane again, and the air turbulence was horrendous. Ten
minutes into the 1 ½ hour flight, Laura vomited all over herself and me to a
degree. Thankfully, I had taken my bag into my seat with me and so was able to
clean up most of it with wipes. I then had her in her undies, cuddled up on my
lap trying to sleep, whilst I held a bag trying not to vomit myself. It was the
worst flight I have ever been on. Thankfully, the bus was waiting for us and so
I quickly got her into some clothes and we headed home. It was so nice to
finally be back.
On Friday, I would love to have been able to sit and relax.
But, for the last few weeks I had been organising a Craft Market which was to
be held on Sunday and had last minute bits and pieces that needed to be done. The
LTG decided to hold a cake stall and so it was into cake making mode, again. As
we did not know who was going to donate cakes, it was up to the LTG to make
most of them. So I also spent Saturday morning making 140 biscuits.
Saturday night we had Luke and Ross (Drillers) over for
dinner. Phil cooked a braai and I just kept cooking and arranging the cakes for
the market (I was also the cake collector for the stall). I was glad to finally get
to bed!
It was up early today to get the market ready. Phil, Luke
and Ross went to Masulwilla to collect the people for their craft stall. They
would not have been able to get here otherwise. I went to set up the tables.
Thankfully, Bex took the kids with her to put up the signs showing directions
to the site. This was at 7:30am and I finally left at 3pm to help drop the
Masulwila people back. It was a really good day. We had people selling bags,
jewellery, wooden craft, cane furniture, woven baskets, dolls and paintings. Most
of the stall holders sold lots of items and the weather was great as well. I
was also rostered on the PTA stall to cook bacon and eggs and the LTG stall to
sell the cakes, so I kept busy the whole day. But it seems to have been a
success. I am glad it is over and I look forward to the next one. At least I
will know what I am doing next time.Lol.
August here is also the ‘burn off’ month. So there has been
a lot of smoke around lately as the surrounding bush gets burnt. The fires are
really controlled here. For some reason the fire does not spread like it does
at home and so it does not get out of control. It also ‘rains’ ash, not the most wonderful of events and the smell can be
really bad at times. But it is done to encourage a good wet season, I am told. I like to
think it gets rid of snakes too.
My impression of Jo’burg;
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