My first blog...bear with me!

Well…here goes nothing!

Welcome to my blog!  To be honest, I have been “mind blogging” (is that a thing?…it should be) since we stepped foot on African soil.  But through a series of unforeseen events, I am just now getting around to typing out some of these thoughts.  What an adventure!  I figured that blogging would be the best avenue to record our experiences because it comes with a fair bit of accountability.  I have a dismal amount of diaries laying around that have one or two excited entires with promises to “really keep it up this time”!  I’ve been through amazing things in my life thus far and I have little to no written record.  With this latest move, I am determined to write some of this down!!  

Let me first start by saying that I grossly underestimated how big this transition would be for me.  I have moved around my whole life and have always considered myself to be easily acclimated.  Also, we had been planning on an overseas move for over 5 years and I really thought I had counted all the relevant costs.  Holy Sweet Home Alabama was I underprepared!!

As I hope to document, this move has been life changing on EVERY level.  If you ever think you know yourself, please sell everything you own and move to another continent, culture and life!  THEN you will find out all sorts of terrible, humbling , interesting things about who you really are!  For instance, I grew up in the Midwest.  We never had an abundance of money or things.  We lived in trailer houses, drove cars that broke down frequently and didn’t even know “name brands” let alone wear them!  But I rarely felt in want.  As a child (probably over aware child), I was acutely aware that we had to be careful about money and at times were in rather trying financial circumstances.  But I never thought that happiness came in the form of a dollar sign.  I had more fun playing outside and exploring the land than any child will ever have with a PlayStation or iPad.  So I have always thought of myself as someone who didn’t put much stock in material possessions.  Well….lets just say….I was wrong.  VERY WRONG!!  If I could possibly put into words how much I miss my KitchenAid Stand Mixer…(insert large sigh!).

I have moved away from family, friends, and the country of my birth….and I miss my mixer!!  It’s really funny what brings someone peace and comfort in life.

And can we just talk about the internet for a minute!  The biggest reason that I have yet to begin this blog is because we just last week (31/2 months after arriving) were able to get internet set up!!  Yet, it’s currently too slow to support Skype or other relevant ways to communicate other than email.  It took us 9 weeks to get a bank account!!  You can accomplish little to nothing in South Africa without a bank account.  I had NO idea how much I relied on the internet!!  Over the previous few years, I could often be heard complaining about technology issues, download speeds and interruptions in service.  All while we were streaming Netflix, sending emails and downloading countless applications on MacBooks, iPhones and iPads!!  

There is SO much to catch you up on here in the strange and wonderful world of South Africa!  Join me as I attempt to put this whole crazy thing into words.  Thanks for stopping by!