A post with no name

So, I’m not really sure how to tell the story of my African Easter holiday. So let’s just pretend you’re sitting on the foot of my bed in the magenta room and we’ll work it out together.

If I were to sum it all up in one word I’d say gluttony; but there’s no fun in just using one word, especially when food is involved. Since Nick finally had a break from work he decided to make me his subject to try new recipes on. We’re talking full breakfasts with two different types of bacon, sautéed mushrooms, flap jacks with caramelized bananas, and homemade cornbread. We’re talking gourmet turkey sandwiches, poached eggs, ratatouille, and pasta sauce made from heavy whipping cream. We even had a dish that was titled “evil apples” main ingredient: butter. I also happen to fill the role of adored little sister in this house, so Roelien and Nick like to try and outdo one another in spoiling me. Since this competition has started I’ve had to move my socks and underwear to a new drawer in order to make room for all the chocolate. I promise you, they will have to roll me out of this country.

When we weren’t eating we found other things to amuse ourselves. We visited the Hartbeespoort Dam, which made me feel like we’d stepped into Holland. There were windmills everywhere, and everyone was speaking Afrikaans which is basically Dutch spoken with an African tongue. We visited the farmers’ market there and bought enough dairy products to stock our own specialty grocery store. The dam itself was gorgeous; all the water flowed downwards and looked like it was disappearing into the foothills of the nearby mountains. But the best part of the day was when we drove through the tunnel that leads to the dam and Christine (who is an 82 lady by the way) begged us to roll down all the windows so she could stick her head out, scream into the tunnel, and listen to the echo. She made all of us join in her fun. I love this woman.

We also happen to live really close to the Union Buildings, which seem to be the South African equivalent of the White House. So with all the Easter holidays and then another Public holiday later in the week we were able to catch a few fighter plane air shows from our terrace.

Now for a different story completely. Feel free to take a break and get something to eat or a drink if you’re tired of reading about my life, or if all that talk about food made you hungry.

I didn’t have to work until Thursday this week so some people from the ward invited me to go to Gold Reef City with them on Tuesday. It is a little amusement park and it was nice to ride some roller coasters. It was also nice to hang out with people who aren’t double my age. Anyway the weather was on the fritz all day long and we found ourselves in sporadic rain storms all throughout the day. When we were ready to go home is of course when there was a perfect downpour and we had to make a mad dash for the car. Then the second we were all inside and driving off the sun came out more beautifully than it had all day. Apparently karma and I do not get along.

Anyway, after a long day of roller coasters we went back to my friend James’ house and made crepes for dinner. That’s another tradition I’m completely on board with. When it rains here everyone eats crepes. Fantastic idea if I ever heard one.

So we sat around eating way more than we should, laughing at ridiculous jokes, fighting over who should have won the World Cup last year and in 2006, and analyzing American politics. Before we knew where the time had gone it was 11:30 and well past time to go home. (It’s a general rule to be home by 9ish, 10 at the absolute latest.) So we left and when I got home I found myself completely burglar-proofed out of the house. I couldn’t even access the staircase to where the door that I have a key to is.

After pacing the house a couple times it was apparent that I had two options: sleep outside in the rain, or think like a criminal and find a way in. The rain got old really fast so I went for the criminal route. Turns out there is a ladder up the side of the house that runs parallel to a row of windows. The bottom three sets of windows were bolted shut, but the top one was wide open. Even better, it was a bathroom window. I could sneak in without waking anyone. So in true Pollyanna fashion I put my purse in my mouth, climbed the ladder, scaled the window seal, and got one leg through the window.

That’s when I realized that this wasn’t my bathroom. I had climbed too high and was now breaking into the apartment above Christine’s house that she rents to three very sweet college girls (the ones who had locked me out actually). I still was considering letting myself in just to get out of the rain, but then decided that being locked inside their apartment with nowhere to sleep or to hide would lead to too many questions come morning time. So now trying to be very very sneaky I pulled my leg back hoping I hadn’t left a muddy footprint on their toilet and went back down the ladder.

Luckily Roelien stays up late and by this point she had heard enough walking around and seen a silhouette show up on her window enough times to prompt her to see what was going on outside. She let me in, made me go dry off and put on warm clothes, made me some hot chocolate and sent me to bed. Nobody in the house is aware that I half-way broke into the girls flat upstairs, I plan on keeping it that way.