Browsing Category: South Africa

Will I be a foreigner in my home country?

foreign

Dean and I have been heating up our talks about emigrating. I think now that Harley finally has a birth certificate, the main hurdle to our moving has been passed. Now it’s just a matter of getting her passport sorted, finding work in the States and moving. Obviously there’s a lot of admin that will go along with it, but it’s mainly a thing of making lists and crossing things off. I’m excited for it, and I think it will be the best thing for our family, but I am worried about just how much it will feel like home.

I’m glad we aren’t looking to move back to New York City. It has changed so much from when I grew up there, I think it would be even more of a culture shock. Instead, we are leaning towards places in California – the lifestyle seems well suited to what Dean and I like, the school districts are fantastic and the weather won’t make either of us miserable. But the culture will still be very different, and I’m wondering if I will feel even more foreign. Continue Reading

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?

If you like these words, please check out more of what I say on twitter and Facebook, and pics I take on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Pinterest.
Also, please be sure to sign up to my carefully curated, crafted and infrequent newsletter.

7 Comments Rambling, South Africa

Where in the world is safe and normal?

the world

I have lived in a few wonderful places. I grew up in New York and loved it. Then we moved to The Hague and it was fantastic for me while in high school. Then I moved back to the States and tried living in LA, which wasn’t really a fit for me at that point in my life (being under 21 and without a car, I felt so restricted after the freedom of Holland). Then it was back to the Netherlands to study in Maastricht, which was a wonderful student town. Then Joburg, which has its flaws but has been a fun  and wonderful place for me and Dean to start our lives together. But now South Africa is changing, and I’m not sure about the rest of the world, too.

I don’t like to talk politics here on the blog. It’s supposed to be about my thoughts about my family, my life, and all things geeky parenting. But I can’t help but think about how politics are impacting on those very things. Thanks to poor political management, the Rand has gotten so weak that buying games and books and whatever else has gone from a monthly norm to an expensive extra. And as we start to talk about emigrating and making a better life elsewhere, I have to consider the potential risks associated with any move. Continue Reading

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?

If you like these words, please check out more of what I say on twitter and Facebook, and pics I take on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Pinterest.
Also, please be sure to sign up to my carefully curated, crafted and infrequent newsletter.

7 Comments Rambling, South Africa

Finally, Harley has a country

Finally a South African birth certificate

Since Harley was born, I have had a continual stress – she didn’t have a birth certificate. It was a real nightmare, and a bunch of you were awesome and helpful, tweeting at Home Affairs in the hopes of helping us out. It just kept dragging on, and I was getting worried that it might never get resolved. After the ladies in the hospital refused to help us, we escalated and moaned and tried all sorts of solutions. Home Affairs had a rule that the ladies in the hospital had to be the ones to help us, and with their refusal it was becoming an impossible situation.

After getting some help from the twitter manager for Home Affairs, and getting referred to a variety of managers, I got some advice that was similar to other advice I’ve gotten in different situations. Just go to Home Affairs and try to register. If they refuse, go back a different day and try with a different person. Just like when dealing with other service providers, it seems that some things are always possible depending on your interpretation of the rules, so you just need someone with an interpretation that works for you to help. Plus, my crazy American ability to speak to people in charge certainly helps. Continue Reading

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?

If you like these words, please check out more of what I say on twitter and Facebook, and pics I take on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Pinterest.
Also, please be sure to sign up to my carefully curated, crafted and infrequent newsletter.

6 Comments South Africa

All about our trip to Knysna

If you don’t follow me on social media (and really, you should), you might not realize just how much fun I had last week. Dean, Harley and I went with Dean’s friend Kris from Iceland down to Knysna. I had been promised that Knysna was beautiful, that it was a land of whales, oysters and wine. I’ve been wanting to go there for years, but the timing never seemed to work. Until last week, when we all piled into our little car and made the trip down. Yes, that’s right, we did it as a road trip, making plenty of stops along the way.

I tried to do a bit of an update while I was away. In fact, I had planned on blogging while I was gone. But it just wasn’t really doable from my iPad, so I instead decided to enjoy my time away and worry about putting it all into words when I returned. So, here are all the words. Continue Reading

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?

If you like these words, please check out more of what I say on twitter and Facebook, and pics I take on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Pinterest.
Also, please be sure to sign up to my carefully curated, crafted and infrequent newsletter.

8 Comments Rambling, South Africa

A family holiday

I am currently on holiday. That’s right, as I type this on my iPad, we are driving down the N1, heading to Knysna. By the time you read this, we will there and I will hopefully be on my way towards an oyster overload.

Early on after moving to South Africa, I was told that I’d have to visit Knysna. I was promised whales and oysters ( one to see and one to eat), and I was pretty much sold. But Dean and I often get so caught up in life that we don’t book these things. Thankfully, his friend Kris arrived from Iceland and gave us the best excuse. Continue Reading

DID YOU LIKE THIS POST?

If you like these words, please check out more of what I say on twitter and Facebook, and pics I take on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on Pinterest.
Also, please be sure to sign up to my carefully curated, crafted and infrequent newsletter.

2 Comments South Africa