Christmas
I have never had a white Christmas before, but now Akbar and I have had our first Christmas in the summer. It was also notable for a few other ‘firsts’: our first Christmas spent together, our first Christmas where we did not attend church, and our first Christmas spent with Hindus. In SA, the Christmas season kicks off summer vacation – kids are out of school for 5-6 weeks - and everyone goes to the beaches or shopping malls.
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| Ballito Beach the weekend before Christmas |
Despite the carols sung in church and long lines in the malls, we never did get the Christmas season vibe here. I am not quite sure if it was because the weather was warm and humid, we were not around family, we had not been working, very few homes had Christmas decorations, or Santa Claus was just too thin and young in South African malls. Nevertheless, we did have a lovely Christmas with a few friends. (We actually got 3 separate invitations for the day.) We had a rich spread of food for our Christmas lunch, or rather all day eating event. We started off with seasoned prawns and langostines and a Greek-style salad. Then we had lamb roast stuffed with green chile peppers and garlic, cinnamon and sugar carrots, and spicy potato salad with green chile peppers. (Basically all foods in Durban America
How’s church?
We have been going to the same church for the last 1.5 month. It is a “full gospel” church, which seems to mean “pentecostal.” It is like no other church that we have attended in the States—around 90% of the church members are ethnically Indian. The other 10% of the church members are coloured, white, or black. Of course there is no one like the two of us in church. At home it is rare to meet a Christian Indian, but here many of the Indian families have been Christian for many generations. Like churches in the States, church is very much cultural as it is Christian. A Chinese American or Mexican American church service has a different atmosphere and style of worship than a White American one. At this church people may wear saris or shalwar kameez to attend service. For Christmas supper at church, everyone ate with their hands and we had mutton curry, chicken curry, rice and semolina pudding (a South Indian dessert). While far away from home, it has been comforting to know that all around the world, Christians of every race and ethnicity worship and pray to the same God, study the same Bible, and may even sing the same songs.
Home Invasion 
Luckily, we did not have a home invasion by people; it was by another species—monkeys. I was in the living room taking a nap and I thought Akbar was rummaging for food in the kitchen because I heard cardboard boxes opening and plastic wrap crinkling. I thought, “I don’t know why he’s so hungry, we just ate…he really snacks too much.” Little did I know, Akbar was in his room and he thought I was in the kitchen, so he came out to see what I was doing. Much to his surprise, he did not find me there, but 3 little monkeys! He swore and gave the monkeys a cold stare and they quickly ran out of our kitchen window with food in hand. Since it had rained earlier that day, we had little, muddy monkey hand and foot prints smeared all over our window sill, new white cabinets, counter and tile floor. All of the fruits from our counter were gone; they took about 3 oranges, 2 tomatoes, and 6 bananas.They only left one white onion with a small bite in it; I guess raw onions are not a favorite amongst monkeys. They also spilled cinnamon powder, tea, and juice from the fruits all over the floor. When we looked outside, there were pieces of banana peels on our grass and planter. The evil-doers sat looking innocent on our front lawn, while a group of their friends sat on the roof of the building next door, waiting for our reaction. Some of them were eating pieces of oranges and others bananas. Akbar started yelling and flailing his arms and initially they just stared at him, but then they realized that he was really mad so they ran across the street. I have come to think that monkeys are like young children. They know the difference between right and wrong, but oftentimes they will do the wrong thing to test boundaries and see what reaction it evokes. These monkeys had a feast in our kitchen, which was off limits, and they ran away because they understood that they were in big trouble.
Luckily, we did not have a home invasion by people; it was by another species—monkeys. I was in the living room taking a nap and I thought Akbar was rummaging for food in the kitchen because I heard cardboard boxes opening and plastic wrap crinkling. I thought, “I don’t know why he’s so hungry, we just ate…he really snacks too much.” Little did I know, Akbar was in his room and he thought I was in the kitchen, so he came out to see what I was doing. Much to his surprise, he did not find me there, but 3 little monkeys! He swore and gave the monkeys a cold stare and they quickly ran out of our kitchen window with food in hand. Since it had rained earlier that day, we had little, muddy monkey hand and foot prints smeared all over our window sill, new white cabinets, counter and tile floor. All of the fruits from our counter were gone; they took about 3 oranges, 2 tomatoes, and 6 bananas.They only left one white onion with a small bite in it; I guess raw onions are not a favorite amongst monkeys. They also spilled cinnamon powder, tea, and juice from the fruits all over the floor. When we looked outside, there were pieces of banana peels on our grass and planter. The evil-doers sat looking innocent on our front lawn, while a group of their friends sat on the roof of the building next door, waiting for our reaction. Some of them were eating pieces of oranges and others bananas. Akbar started yelling and flailing his arms and initially they just stared at him, but then they realized that he was really mad so they ran across the street. I have come to think that monkeys are like young children. They know the difference between right and wrong, but oftentimes they will do the wrong thing to test boundaries and see what reaction it evokes. These monkeys had a feast in our kitchen, which was off limits, and they ran away because they understood that they were in big trouble. |
| Alien at 1st trimester of pregnancy |
Adopted Children
We were only in S. Africa for about 2 weeks before we adopted our first child. Her name is Alien because she has wide set green eyes, a small head, and round body. She is a young calico cat (less than 1 year old) that initially just came to our house once a night to ask for food. Quickly her visits became more consistent and frequent, increasing to morning, lunch, and dinner, and sometimes snacks. Then we made a bed for on our veranda which she would sleep in every night. We were planning to neuter and save her from the cruel, African outdoor life, but we were too late and she was already pregnant. We felt like horrible parents. We only had her for 1 week and she was already pregnant! We should have kept a closer watch on her! Then I realized she must have gotten pregnant prior to meeting us. Alien realized she needed a dependable food source and made us her patrons. I started feeling fetal movements last week and I think she will deliver in the beginning of January. We have moved her bed into our attached storage room so she can deliver and care for her new babies in a private room without feeling endangered by the outdoor environment.
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| Samson at 4 weeks old |
About 2 weeks after we adopted our first child, we adopted a second one…accidentally. One morning, around 5 AM, we heard a cat mewing outside. I ignored him and continued sleeping. The mew was very small, but persistent and I found that it was coming from a small, ginger and white kitten from below Akbar’s room window. The day was very windy so I figured the little kitty was just distraught by the weather and was waiting impatiently for his mother. Hours passed but he never stopped crying and his mother never came. Meanwhile, I saw a circling hawk flying overhead, so I worried about the baby and went out to take a look. Initially, the baby approached Alien, thinking she was his mother, but Alien hissed at him. Then the baby approached a post-partum orange tabby cat that we feed; she tried to smack him and hissed at him too. For some reason he did not remember who his mother was and no one would take him as her own. After checking on him several times, he eventually started following me around and I was happy to have such a cute kitten follow me. He even followed me into the house! I guess he thought I was his mother. He was about 4 weeks old at the time, so he was still unable to survive in the wild alone. He still needed milk and there could be dangerous animals outside that may attack and eat him. Since he had been crying for 5 or 6 hours straight that morning, I knew he must have been tired and hungry. I took the medicine cabinet from our old bathroom, lined it with a bed sheet, and he immediately started purring, curled up, and fell asleep for hours. And this is how Samson came to our home.
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| Samson at 8 weeks old |
Unfortunately, Samson was only calm, sweet and cuddly that first day. After bathing him and removing his fleas, we kept him in my bedroom where it was cleaner and safer. Like most babies, he required feedings (of special kitten formula) and attention in the middle of the night. He became so rambunctious that I was not getting much rest at night because he would sleep only 2-3 hours at a time, eat, and then play, which consisted of jumping, biting and clawing at me. Akbar thought he could fare better than me so we traded rooms, but he quickly realized that sleeping with a young kitten is not an easy task. As a result, Samson now has taken over my bedroom completely and we have moved my bed to the dining area. Over the last few weeks I have actually slept better in my “new room” because it is darker and quieter. Samson did very well at his first veterinarian visit and car ride last week and he will be back next month for his well-kitten vaccines.
South African Fact:
One US dollar equals a little more than 8 South African Rands (R).
60% of all workers in the formal economy earn <2000 R/month (<$250 US)
15% of all workers earn <500 R/month (<$62.50 US)
In 2010, the UN said that 44% of workers in S. Africa lived on <10 R/day. (<$1.25 US)
($1.25 is the most recent international poverty line. Keep in mind that there is a high unemployment rate, so many people are not even working.)
One gallon of car gas is ~$5.50 US
One avocado, peach, or small pineapple is ~$0.75 US and a liter of milk is $1.25 US.
A Women’s Bible from the bookstore at the Pavilion Mall is ~$40 US.
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