I feel like we have been preparing for elections for months already and in a way we have been. Once a month since Aug, the staff of TASOK has been getting together to discuss protocol "if" any security needs were to arise during election time.
Evan and I are not living on Campus so some of the preparations and needs are a little different, security is a little more of an issue for us.
Here is a general run down on how we are preparing for elections in the next couple days.
As of today, we have over 60 students that have left or are leaving the country for elections. In a school of 290 that is a huge drop in attendance, all these students will be returning in January and this number also has a very high chance of growing if this become unstable out here. The students leave for many different reasons, many embassy are evacuation the families and this is mandatory. There are quite a few families who have chosen to leave on their own terms as well and a lot of businesses also send their employee's and families back home until January. I myself will be loosing approximately 15 ( as of right now) between grades 6-8.
You can definitely tell their is tension in and around the city but I think a lot of this contributes to the unknown, 4 years ago during the last elections the city broke out in war. so many innocent people lost their lives, buildings were destroyed and the city regressed even further than before.
As of right now the Canadian government had authorized evacuation, this is not demanding that we leave the city but if we don't feel safe we can go to our employers and let them know that the Canadian government authorized evacuation and this allows us the freedom to go. Next step if this get unsafe would be full evacuation and then you don't have a choice in the matter.... well you always ave a choice but if you stayed it probably wouldn't be safe.
How are Evan and I preparing for Elections ( as well as all the other ex-patriots)?
We have been told to prepare to be on the safe side, As of today I am not allowed walking to school anymore even with a guard, we are trying to find me a vehicle to drive but worse case scenario Dr. Epp at TASOK will lend me her vehicle for the next little while. Evan and I will also be stopping out travel at night before the weekend. Aside from driving to TASOK! We have also been warned that it is possible that some time between November 28th ( voting day) and Dec 6th ( results day) we may not be able to leave out house due to safety. So we are buying extra food ( for about 7-10 extra days) and filling up with extra diesel so we can run our generator. We are hoping for a peaceful and calm election period here, if there is a higher chance that things are getting unsteady we will not take chances and will come home a little earlier for Christmas break. As of now our flights are booked for the 14th of December and everything should have calmed down by then.... on the chance that things get a little heated!
For now we remain positive.
On a completely different note our pool is FINALLY up and running oh and my hair is starting to drive me crazy!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Stay Tuned!
I realize this blog has been very silent these last 3 weeks! We have been very busy around here and I am coming off of a crazy couple weeks at school. Now that the trimester has changed and and report cards are done I will have a little more time to write!
seriously counting down the days until we return to Canada! Well, maybe not the days because I couldn't tell you how many off hand but I know that this Wednesday is 3 WEEKS until we leave!!! Now I have processed the Day count, we leave it 23 days and that seems WAY to far away!!!!!
It can't come soon enough!
seriously counting down the days until we return to Canada! Well, maybe not the days because I couldn't tell you how many off hand but I know that this Wednesday is 3 WEEKS until we leave!!! Now I have processed the Day count, we leave it 23 days and that seems WAY to far away!!!!!
It can't come soon enough!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
A post of pictures
I realize that I haven't posted pictures in such a long time, a couple reasons for that are how wickedly long it takes to get them uploaded. Here are a couple for you, hopefully I will get some more up in the next 2 months! :)
This is a baby bat that flew into our house, the kids were super stoked that they could pet it! Unfortunately it was not able to fly well enough to get back into the attic so Evan took it out side and gave it to the guard! Not sure what happened after that! Sorry that the picture is blurry!
Our house getting worked on!
Ginger when she was just a little puppy, she is now a growing mutt! It is amazing that she was so small and sick and now is healthy and full of energy!
Micah at the Halloween party at TASOK, face painted like a panda! Micah decided to try bobbing for apples hence the messed up face!
This is a baby bat that flew into our house, the kids were super stoked that they could pet it! Unfortunately it was not able to fly well enough to get back into the attic so Evan took it out side and gave it to the guard! Not sure what happened after that! Sorry that the picture is blurry!
Our house getting worked on!
Ginger when she was just a little puppy, she is now a growing mutt! It is amazing that she was so small and sick and now is healthy and full of energy!
Micah at the Halloween party at TASOK, face painted like a panda! Micah decided to try bobbing for apples hence the messed up face!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
growing up
Huge news in our house, Micah lost her first tooth!
Ironically it wasn't her tooth that was loose it was the one beside it! Last weekend Emmanuel and Micah were running around the house with the mop! Emmanuel decided to swing it around and it smacked Micah in the mouth, resulting in a cut lip and a very loose tooth! A couple days later it came out still very attached to half the root! You could see where it was broken off!
Thankfully Micah's lip didn't need stitches and she is as cute as ever with a gap in the front of her mouth! Now if the tooth that is actually loose would fall out!
Hopefully I can post pictures when we find the cord for our camera to upload them!
Ironically it wasn't her tooth that was loose it was the one beside it! Last weekend Emmanuel and Micah were running around the house with the mop! Emmanuel decided to swing it around and it smacked Micah in the mouth, resulting in a cut lip and a very loose tooth! A couple days later it came out still very attached to half the root! You could see where it was broken off!
Thankfully Micah's lip didn't need stitches and she is as cute as ever with a gap in the front of her mouth! Now if the tooth that is actually loose would fall out!
Hopefully I can post pictures when we find the cord for our camera to upload them!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Sickness
Our house over the last 6ish weeks has been filled with sickness! Everyone of us has caught something in that time, I held on to something for most of that time!
It all started with getting what I thought was the stomach flu, I felt great as long as no food was in my stomach but as soon as I tried to eat anything I was running to the bathroom! On week 2 I was able to start stomaching small things like watermelon and rice cakes! I am so much better now but my stomach hasn't fully recovered and it still tends to shout at me when it is unhappy! This last weekend just as things really started to look up I was hit by a sinus infection! I have never had one in my life and let me just tell you they are NOT fun! Still fighting that at the moment.
The kids have also been sick in this time frame, mostly on and off with weird stomach things! I honestly think we all have some weird parasite or something!
This last weekend Evan also started to get sick. He was hit by fever, chills, no energy, sore throat, headache and nausea! At one point we were both lying in bed trying to convince to other one to call in sick and take the day off! We both ended up going into work because that is just how we roll!
Evan found out yesterday that he actually has Malaria, the first one in our family! There should be a medal for that........... hmmmmm!
Hoping that November is a month of health for our family and hopefully some relaxing weekends as well!
It all started with getting what I thought was the stomach flu, I felt great as long as no food was in my stomach but as soon as I tried to eat anything I was running to the bathroom! On week 2 I was able to start stomaching small things like watermelon and rice cakes! I am so much better now but my stomach hasn't fully recovered and it still tends to shout at me when it is unhappy! This last weekend just as things really started to look up I was hit by a sinus infection! I have never had one in my life and let me just tell you they are NOT fun! Still fighting that at the moment.
The kids have also been sick in this time frame, mostly on and off with weird stomach things! I honestly think we all have some weird parasite or something!
This last weekend Evan also started to get sick. He was hit by fever, chills, no energy, sore throat, headache and nausea! At one point we were both lying in bed trying to convince to other one to call in sick and take the day off! We both ended up going into work because that is just how we roll!
Evan found out yesterday that he actually has Malaria, the first one in our family! There should be a medal for that........... hmmmmm!
Hoping that November is a month of health for our family and hopefully some relaxing weekends as well!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Schellenbergs ......... wait who?
Apparently I have become so very slack on the whole blogging thing! Oops!
We are busy people, I had no ideas how little time we have when both Evan and I work full time, the kids are in school and after school programs, our house is a job site, meals to prepare and I don't have an and..... we are just busy!
The hardest fact to swallow is I don't have to clean my house or do our families laundry! Working moms my hat goes off to you!
Here is a very random update on our lives and I am guessing I will forget things but that just means more juicy details for a future post!
er!
- Our regular house keeper had to go in for surgery and was taking 3 weeks off for healing and rest. On the first day the substitute house cleaner was here on her own she bleach about half of our clothes! Out of 4 black tank tops I now have 3 tie die tanks tops and 1 black one! I had almost all my work shirt ruined, 1 of Evan's work shirts, a couple t-shirts of Emmanuel and Micah's and almost all of our underwear ( underwear doesn't really matter though).
- Our house has been a job site for 7 LONG weeks, we just got hot water, okay running water last week and it is still touch and go! I took 1 shower and Evan's parents place in that 7 weeks.... how I missed showers! Bathing when you need to haul the water and boil it so it is hot is so much work I often ended up sponge bathing in cold water!
Tiles are half finished and electrical is coming along! Hopefully this next week our pool will be up and running and our washing machine will be operable again!
- I am not walking to work by myself anymore! A couple weeks ago and man started to show up on the corner of the street where the kids and I turn towards school. He would yell at my and get all worked up, I didn't think much of it until one day he grabbed my arm and spun me around as I walked by! The kids and I now walk with the guard!
Unfortunately it is another way that it feels like I have lost some of my freedom but I am trying to embrace and accept!
- Evan's work is busy and keeps him very preoccupied! I can't complain because mine does as well!
- We return to Calgary for Christmas holidays in approximately 8 weeks! WHOO HOO ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I will think of more to update a little later............. hopefully ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
We are busy people, I had no ideas how little time we have when both Evan and I work full time, the kids are in school and after school programs, our house is a job site, meals to prepare and I don't have an and..... we are just busy!
The hardest fact to swallow is I don't have to clean my house or do our families laundry! Working moms my hat goes off to you!
Here is a very random update on our lives and I am guessing I will forget things but that just means more juicy details for a future post!
er!
- Our regular house keeper had to go in for surgery and was taking 3 weeks off for healing and rest. On the first day the substitute house cleaner was here on her own she bleach about half of our clothes! Out of 4 black tank tops I now have 3 tie die tanks tops and 1 black one! I had almost all my work shirt ruined, 1 of Evan's work shirts, a couple t-shirts of Emmanuel and Micah's and almost all of our underwear ( underwear doesn't really matter though).
- Our house has been a job site for 7 LONG weeks, we just got hot water, okay running water last week and it is still touch and go! I took 1 shower and Evan's parents place in that 7 weeks.... how I missed showers! Bathing when you need to haul the water and boil it so it is hot is so much work I often ended up sponge bathing in cold water!
Tiles are half finished and electrical is coming along! Hopefully this next week our pool will be up and running and our washing machine will be operable again!
- I am not walking to work by myself anymore! A couple weeks ago and man started to show up on the corner of the street where the kids and I turn towards school. He would yell at my and get all worked up, I didn't think much of it until one day he grabbed my arm and spun me around as I walked by! The kids and I now walk with the guard!
Unfortunately it is another way that it feels like I have lost some of my freedom but I am trying to embrace and accept!
- Evan's work is busy and keeps him very preoccupied! I can't complain because mine does as well!
- We return to Calgary for Christmas holidays in approximately 8 weeks! WHOO HOO ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
I will think of more to update a little later............. hopefully ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
The tale of a mango worm
Our family has had its share of staf infections ( even different strains of them), we have gotten so used to treating them we have not gone into the hospital for the last 2. We take care of the disinfecting, cleaning, applying cream, wrapping and squeezing puss at home. Granted we do watch them VERY carefully and at any point we feel they are getting worse instead of better or they are not healing as fast as we like we head into the hospital for antibiotics!
Rewind to last Monday morning, I was brushing Micah's hair and notice a very red bump on the top of her ear. Right away my heart sank ( as good as we have gotten at treating these they are hard to have around and draining to see), I told Micah I would have to clean it and put the cream on. On Tuesday night it wasn't really improving put I did notice that puss had com too the surface. I tried popping it but only clear fluid came out! Wednesday morning when Micah was eating breakfast before school I checked her ear again and notice some "puss" coming out! So I told Micah that I would need to pop it, Micah put down her Nutella sandwich and braced herself ( they are tender). Well 2 squeezes and some tears later a MANGO WORM popped out! Ewwww!
The best part, I showed it to Micah who looked said oh and pick up her sandwich and kept eating!
Nothing fazes my kids!
** Mango worms are very common here, they lay there eggs in your clothes and then transfer onto your skin in moist areas. Yes, I do bath my kids ! :)
Rewind to last Monday morning, I was brushing Micah's hair and notice a very red bump on the top of her ear. Right away my heart sank ( as good as we have gotten at treating these they are hard to have around and draining to see), I told Micah I would have to clean it and put the cream on. On Tuesday night it wasn't really improving put I did notice that puss had com too the surface. I tried popping it but only clear fluid came out! Wednesday morning when Micah was eating breakfast before school I checked her ear again and notice some "puss" coming out! So I told Micah that I would need to pop it, Micah put down her Nutella sandwich and braced herself ( they are tender). Well 2 squeezes and some tears later a MANGO WORM popped out! Ewwww!
The best part, I showed it to Micah who looked said oh and pick up her sandwich and kept eating!
Nothing fazes my kids!
** Mango worms are very common here, they lay there eggs in your clothes and then transfer onto your skin in moist areas. Yes, I do bath my kids ! :)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Oh my!
I am sitting here in my office trying to motivate myself to do more work, I am tried today and just finished grading 50 tests.... my brain wants to quit!
I thought why not read back a couple posts and start to put together a new post before I head out to do some work with the grade 5's and teach my classes this afternoon.
Well, I was reading back a couple of posts and got to one line and burst out laughing...... full out laughing! I start talk OUT LOUD about what was so funny and very quickly realized that no one else was around!
Apparently I have become my own best friend! ** sigh**
I thought why not read back a couple posts and start to put together a new post before I head out to do some work with the grade 5's and teach my classes this afternoon.
Well, I was reading back a couple of posts and got to one line and burst out laughing...... full out laughing! I start talk OUT LOUD about what was so funny and very quickly realized that no one else was around!
Apparently I have become my own best friend! ** sigh**
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
I think I have fallen in love................
..........with African rain storms! They are unbelievably incredible.... almost like nothing I have experienced before! The rain falls fast and hard, not really letting up for the duration of the storm, it gets dark and windy quickly. I don't think I even have the words to describe it, next storm I will hopefully remember to take my camera out and take a couple picture ( it is time to get some pictures of the blog).
Last week I was training the soccer and swim team and during our training session the rain hit.... I sent my teams running laps in the rain and yes I run with them! We had to end up canceling practice due to the raining falling to hard. That same day I went running with Maggie and we thought we would be fine to run amongst the trees...... we were soaked within a minute and then the thunder and lightening hit. Lightening strikes are common in Kinshasa due to the high mineral count in the ground. We were not just running to work out we were running for cover!
Good times!
The sound of the storm is also amazing, it is so loud on the tin roof. It is almost like you can hear the individual rain drops! The last storm we had Emmanuel was counting the between the clap of thunder and bolt of lightening, there were many times that he didn't finish saying 1!
Hopefully more updates will start happening, still no internet at home, trying to work out all the electricity and water issues as well. We have also been dealing with sickness in our home, I have been sick for a week already and Micah was fighting what I think was a migraine this weekend. Fingers crossed we get better soon!
Last week I was training the soccer and swim team and during our training session the rain hit.... I sent my teams running laps in the rain and yes I run with them! We had to end up canceling practice due to the raining falling to hard. That same day I went running with Maggie and we thought we would be fine to run amongst the trees...... we were soaked within a minute and then the thunder and lightening hit. Lightening strikes are common in Kinshasa due to the high mineral count in the ground. We were not just running to work out we were running for cover!
Good times!
The sound of the storm is also amazing, it is so loud on the tin roof. It is almost like you can hear the individual rain drops! The last storm we had Emmanuel was counting the between the clap of thunder and bolt of lightening, there were many times that he didn't finish saying 1!
Hopefully more updates will start happening, still no internet at home, trying to work out all the electricity and water issues as well. We have also been dealing with sickness in our home, I have been sick for a week already and Micah was fighting what I think was a migraine this weekend. Fingers crossed we get better soon!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
My mom heart
I often wish that my kids will not have to experience certain things in life, I know that I can't stop it from happening but it often creeps into my mind.
Both my kids are struggling in school right now and I am not sure what exactly is happening or how to help them.
Emmanuel complains of stomach aches often, I will send him to school and tell him to go see the nurse if he is feeling worse and she will call me or come get me in my classroom. Emmanuel never goes because he is to scared to ask. Today I sent him to school with a stomach ache and he wasn't pretending. I told him again to go and see the nurse if he feels worse, I just ran into him at Art class and he came to me in tears saying that he needed to go home. I told him he would have to see the nurse whether I take him or he asks his teacher..... not sure what he will do because I had to leave for a meeting.
Emmanuel has friends, he plays soccer, karate and doesn't find the school work to hard yet..... I can't figure out what is causing all the stomach aches before school and he says nothing is wrong!
Micah............ my social butterfly has almost stopped flying!
Micah is the kind of girl who will not stick to one group of friends, she moves from group to group all the time. The girls in her class have stopped playing with her and they do not let her join in at all when she asks. This is breaking her heart and she is starting to withdraw a little. Micah has made one best friend, this little boy named James. He is so cute and writes Micah these little notes saying how he missed her at home. Well the girls are calling James Micah's boyfriend so now she doesn't want to hang out with him either. I make sure to reminder her that having a boy that is a friend is AWESOME!
It is so hard to see your kids struggle, I wish I could fix it! I know I can't and all I can so is guide them but it would be nice to rush on a "fix" the problem.
Both my kids are struggling in school right now and I am not sure what exactly is happening or how to help them.
Emmanuel complains of stomach aches often, I will send him to school and tell him to go see the nurse if he is feeling worse and she will call me or come get me in my classroom. Emmanuel never goes because he is to scared to ask. Today I sent him to school with a stomach ache and he wasn't pretending. I told him again to go and see the nurse if he feels worse, I just ran into him at Art class and he came to me in tears saying that he needed to go home. I told him he would have to see the nurse whether I take him or he asks his teacher..... not sure what he will do because I had to leave for a meeting.
Emmanuel has friends, he plays soccer, karate and doesn't find the school work to hard yet..... I can't figure out what is causing all the stomach aches before school and he says nothing is wrong!
Micah............ my social butterfly has almost stopped flying!
Micah is the kind of girl who will not stick to one group of friends, she moves from group to group all the time. The girls in her class have stopped playing with her and they do not let her join in at all when she asks. This is breaking her heart and she is starting to withdraw a little. Micah has made one best friend, this little boy named James. He is so cute and writes Micah these little notes saying how he missed her at home. Well the girls are calling James Micah's boyfriend so now she doesn't want to hang out with him either. I make sure to reminder her that having a boy that is a friend is AWESOME!
It is so hard to see your kids struggle, I wish I could fix it! I know I can't and all I can so is guide them but it would be nice to rush on a "fix" the problem.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
update
We have now been in our new house for just over a week...... what a long week it has been! I love the fact that we are closer to TASOK, it is so nice to be able to walk to and from school in about 15 mins. We are right now just trying to get everything fixed and up to livable standards..... I guess they are livable just not comfortable.
Some of the things we are working on are getting electricity to work more consistently, getting electricity to work PERIOD in half of the house, get water to run at more than a trickle when it is running, getting water to run more than 10% of the time, getting hot water, fixing the tiles in the house and a bunch of other stuff! We have no internet at our house and I am not sure when it is going to come so bear with us if posts are a lot less for the next 2 -3 weeks or so. I will need to write them at work for the time being.
Our pool is in the process of being fixed right now and we are crossing our fingers that it will be done and ready to swim in at the end of this week. The pool is going to be awesome; the weather is definitely changing around here.... it is getting a little hotter. Yesterday morning I went for a run at 8:00 am with another teacher and then sun’s rays were beating pretty strong already. Oh I almost forgot we have had one or two days of almost blue sky! We can see some blue starting to poke through the clouds! Yesterday got up to +32 so the heat is slowly starting to come!
Here are a couple little tid-bits for you
- Evan and I figured out that we have been at the hospital ( for medical treatment) 24 times in the last 3 months and 3 weeks! Not a great average!
- between the 4 of us we have had 5 staf infections. The one I got almost 2 months ago still bothers me on a daily bases.
- Emmanuel and Micah have started to feel a little more comfortable speaking french to strangers. They may only say 1 or 2 words but it is a start!
- I just remembered that I have some AWESOME to blog about but forget what the topic was..... I will have to ask Evan tonight!
Okay, I've got to get back to work !
Some of the things we are working on are getting electricity to work more consistently, getting electricity to work PERIOD in half of the house, get water to run at more than a trickle when it is running, getting water to run more than 10% of the time, getting hot water, fixing the tiles in the house and a bunch of other stuff! We have no internet at our house and I am not sure when it is going to come so bear with us if posts are a lot less for the next 2 -3 weeks or so. I will need to write them at work for the time being.
Our pool is in the process of being fixed right now and we are crossing our fingers that it will be done and ready to swim in at the end of this week. The pool is going to be awesome; the weather is definitely changing around here.... it is getting a little hotter. Yesterday morning I went for a run at 8:00 am with another teacher and then sun’s rays were beating pretty strong already. Oh I almost forgot we have had one or two days of almost blue sky! We can see some blue starting to poke through the clouds! Yesterday got up to +32 so the heat is slowly starting to come!
Here are a couple little tid-bits for you
- Evan and I figured out that we have been at the hospital ( for medical treatment) 24 times in the last 3 months and 3 weeks! Not a great average!
- between the 4 of us we have had 5 staf infections. The one I got almost 2 months ago still bothers me on a daily bases.
- Emmanuel and Micah have started to feel a little more comfortable speaking french to strangers. They may only say 1 or 2 words but it is a start!
- I just remembered that I have some AWESOME to blog about but forget what the topic was..... I will have to ask Evan tonight!
Okay, I've got to get back to work !
Monday, September 19, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Moving Day
Today is moving day for us! Whoo hoo!
For the first week at our new place I am not sure what our internet situation will be like. I will try and for sure write a post from work on Monday if I have the time.
Have a great weekend everyone!
For the first week at our new place I am not sure what our internet situation will be like. I will try and for sure write a post from work on Monday if I have the time.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Karate Kid
Yesterday our kids after school programs started...... I will be teaching after school programs as well so I guess they started for all of us!
Emmanuel is taking Karate and he completed his first class yesterday afternoon! He absolutely LOVES it! Walking from the cafateria to the car Emmanual and one of his friends were practicing the moves that they learnt.
It is Micah's turn this afternoon with hands on fun! I am looking forward to hearing all about what she is doing!
Emmanuel is taking Karate and he completed his first class yesterday afternoon! He absolutely LOVES it! Walking from the cafateria to the car Emmanual and one of his friends were practicing the moves that they learnt.
It is Micah's turn this afternoon with hands on fun! I am looking forward to hearing all about what she is doing!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
When is it enough?
Some times I wonder if we are exposing our kids to to much?
I know TV has it all, the radio, magizines and lets not forget the other kids at school!
I have had a pretty sleepless night with this thought running through my head.
Here is where this thought is steming from ( I am not telling this to toot our own horn.... AT ALL!)
Yesterday we were driving home from TASOK and there was a group of about 5 individuals carrying a limp woman. We quickly stopped and picked them up, on the way to the hospital I took a glance to the back seat of the truck and notice a middle aged healthy looking woman who was completely unresponsive. I was looking for any type of movement..... there was nothing, I couldn't even detect if her chest was raising and falling.
Evan and I talked a little bit about it later and we were wondering if she was even alive!
This has me shaken, Micah cried at first but the kids have been abnormally silent aside from asking about heart attacks and if they are going to have one! YIKES!
Do they really need to see this stuff? hmmmmmmmmmmm!
I know TV has it all, the radio, magizines and lets not forget the other kids at school!
I have had a pretty sleepless night with this thought running through my head.
Here is where this thought is steming from ( I am not telling this to toot our own horn.... AT ALL!)
Yesterday we were driving home from TASOK and there was a group of about 5 individuals carrying a limp woman. We quickly stopped and picked them up, on the way to the hospital I took a glance to the back seat of the truck and notice a middle aged healthy looking woman who was completely unresponsive. I was looking for any type of movement..... there was nothing, I couldn't even detect if her chest was raising and falling.
Evan and I talked a little bit about it later and we were wondering if she was even alive!
This has me shaken, Micah cried at first but the kids have been abnormally silent aside from asking about heart attacks and if they are going to have one! YIKES!
Do they really need to see this stuff? hmmmmmmmmmmm!
Livid with a side of frog
This blog post is a weird mix of topics! Keep that in mind as you read ahead.......... ready?
Since before we moved out to Kinshasa I knew there was a lady from Germany teaching Les Mills programs. I wrote about 20 e-mails to Les Mills in New Zealand asking to buy the copy rights to Les Mills so I could keep teaching while living out here. I was told that Kinshasa is not in the expansion plan for Les Mills at least for another 4 years. I begged and pleaded but NOTHING!
This lady from Germany is teaching the programs without the rights because Les Mills has no recollection of her ( I asked).
Well last week this lady advertised her Les Mills programs all across Kinshasa, saying new releases coming this fall and etc.
I am LIVID....... I actually went about teaching the right way and got shut down and she is going on her marry way undetected to Les Mills and reaping the benefits! I don't even know how she got the new release because I can't!
I have been asked to turn her into Les Mills, I have decided not to because I have heard that she has run 3 or 4 other fitness instructors out of business and I want to keep offering free style class at TASOK which happens to be about 10 mins away from her studio.
Evan's dad is willing to send an e-mail to New Zealand for me copying her advertisement....... I guess we will see where this goes!
Another a completely different note, my children cooked a frog last night during our bon fire. Micah was out catching frogs while Emmanuel, Evan and I were sitting around the fire. After Micah caught one they wanted to find out what would happen if the put the frog in the fire. Well, we wouldn't put an alive frog into the fire because that is plain torture SO Evan smacked it with the blunt end of a machete and then they put it in the fire.
Okay, everyone who thinks we are cruel just calm down! :) It was like science class in our back yard!
The kids got to see the frog get bloated, leak fluids and expel it intestines...... all in all it was a good time!
Since before we moved out to Kinshasa I knew there was a lady from Germany teaching Les Mills programs. I wrote about 20 e-mails to Les Mills in New Zealand asking to buy the copy rights to Les Mills so I could keep teaching while living out here. I was told that Kinshasa is not in the expansion plan for Les Mills at least for another 4 years. I begged and pleaded but NOTHING!
This lady from Germany is teaching the programs without the rights because Les Mills has no recollection of her ( I asked).
Well last week this lady advertised her Les Mills programs all across Kinshasa, saying new releases coming this fall and etc.
I am LIVID....... I actually went about teaching the right way and got shut down and she is going on her marry way undetected to Les Mills and reaping the benefits! I don't even know how she got the new release because I can't!
I have been asked to turn her into Les Mills, I have decided not to because I have heard that she has run 3 or 4 other fitness instructors out of business and I want to keep offering free style class at TASOK which happens to be about 10 mins away from her studio.
Evan's dad is willing to send an e-mail to New Zealand for me copying her advertisement....... I guess we will see where this goes!
Another a completely different note, my children cooked a frog last night during our bon fire. Micah was out catching frogs while Emmanuel, Evan and I were sitting around the fire. After Micah caught one they wanted to find out what would happen if the put the frog in the fire. Well, we wouldn't put an alive frog into the fire because that is plain torture SO Evan smacked it with the blunt end of a machete and then they put it in the fire.
Okay, everyone who thinks we are cruel just calm down! :) It was like science class in our back yard!
The kids got to see the frog get bloated, leak fluids and expel it intestines...... all in all it was a good time!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
I have such a hard time knowing what to write posts on, life is life out here! the good, bad and ugly all become normal....... not always easy but normal!
Evan told me to write a little bit about the ugly yet slightly humorous side of our week. I am not necessarily agreeing but here we go................
As a lot of you know Congo has presidential elections coming up in November, with elections comes an increased number of demonstrations in Kinshasa. To anyways be ready for any situation TASOK practices something called a Code Yellow drill. This code yellow drill is when Kinshasa is unsafe due to demonstrations turning violent. On Thursday the head office called a code yellow drill at 2:00 pm, we all went to our homerooms and as teachers took roll call to make sure all students were accounted for. 15 minutes later ( practice drills never take longer then 10 mins) a piece of paper was dropped off to all homerooms explaining that the demonstration down the boulevard had turned violent and they were not letting anyone in or out of the TASOK compound. So we sat at school until 3:30 until the danger died down.
I think the hardest part of the entire lock down was the unknown? We had no idea how long we would be there and knowing the kids were across the campus and I couldn't go to them! Thankfully we are all safe and that is all that matters!
That was mine and the kids adventure, now for Evan's adventure this past week.
On Friday Evan was driving around Kinshasa running errands for work and coming to pick up the kids and I from school so we could look at more houses ( long story). During his travels he was stopped by the traffic police for an alleged infraction, I think they said he didn't use his blinker or something like that! We have always been taught to just keep going so Evan tired but soon his car was surrounded with police and one jumped on the hood of the truck. While this was all unfolding another police was ripping the plates off of Evan's truck and running down the boulevard with them! I am not entirely sure of how the story unfolded from this point and Evan isn't home so I will try my best.
I know that Evan was taken down to the police station, but this was 45 minutes after they had already stopped him and to my knowledge there was a lot of name calling and yelling ( everybody yells out here..... everything revolves around drama).
By the time they had gotten him into the police station they had come up with 4 or 5 different infractions ( anything to get more money). Oh, I need to back track, Evan has the chief of police's phone number so he called him and the chief talked to the police but they didn't believe Evan that is was the chief of police, they said Evan had called someone and told they to act like the chief of police.
When Evan got to the police station he had called the chief twice and wasn't getting anywhere.
So while Evan sat in front of the judge he called the chief again and then the chief said he would call the head of police at that station from his own phone instead of Evan just handing them the phone. About 5 minutes later Evan was handed his license and a very bent up license plate back and sent on his way, without an apology I might add!
Very thankful that Evan has some good connections at times like this!
** I may have told the story wrong so Evan may need to correct me.
Evan told me to write a little bit about the ugly yet slightly humorous side of our week. I am not necessarily agreeing but here we go................
As a lot of you know Congo has presidential elections coming up in November, with elections comes an increased number of demonstrations in Kinshasa. To anyways be ready for any situation TASOK practices something called a Code Yellow drill. This code yellow drill is when Kinshasa is unsafe due to demonstrations turning violent. On Thursday the head office called a code yellow drill at 2:00 pm, we all went to our homerooms and as teachers took roll call to make sure all students were accounted for. 15 minutes later ( practice drills never take longer then 10 mins) a piece of paper was dropped off to all homerooms explaining that the demonstration down the boulevard had turned violent and they were not letting anyone in or out of the TASOK compound. So we sat at school until 3:30 until the danger died down.
I think the hardest part of the entire lock down was the unknown? We had no idea how long we would be there and knowing the kids were across the campus and I couldn't go to them! Thankfully we are all safe and that is all that matters!
That was mine and the kids adventure, now for Evan's adventure this past week.
On Friday Evan was driving around Kinshasa running errands for work and coming to pick up the kids and I from school so we could look at more houses ( long story). During his travels he was stopped by the traffic police for an alleged infraction, I think they said he didn't use his blinker or something like that! We have always been taught to just keep going so Evan tired but soon his car was surrounded with police and one jumped on the hood of the truck. While this was all unfolding another police was ripping the plates off of Evan's truck and running down the boulevard with them! I am not entirely sure of how the story unfolded from this point and Evan isn't home so I will try my best.
I know that Evan was taken down to the police station, but this was 45 minutes after they had already stopped him and to my knowledge there was a lot of name calling and yelling ( everybody yells out here..... everything revolves around drama).
By the time they had gotten him into the police station they had come up with 4 or 5 different infractions ( anything to get more money). Oh, I need to back track, Evan has the chief of police's phone number so he called him and the chief talked to the police but they didn't believe Evan that is was the chief of police, they said Evan had called someone and told they to act like the chief of police.
When Evan got to the police station he had called the chief twice and wasn't getting anywhere.
So while Evan sat in front of the judge he called the chief again and then the chief said he would call the head of police at that station from his own phone instead of Evan just handing them the phone. About 5 minutes later Evan was handed his license and a very bent up license plate back and sent on his way, without an apology I might add!
Very thankful that Evan has some good connections at times like this!
** I may have told the story wrong so Evan may need to correct me.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Just a normal day in Kinshasa!
I often find that we go through our days out here at a busy pace, both kids are in school and both Evan and I are working full time hours. It makes life crazy and we often feel like there is not enough hours to spend with our kids, to cook or even relax!
When you are so busy it is easy to stop looking at what is going on around you, and in Kinshasa there is always something going on!
Today, Evan and I took our kids swimming at TASOK...... sounds straight forward right? Oh, wait until you hear the tale of our day!
We left our house around 11:00 am; while driving toward TASOK we were behind a dump truck. I noticed something fall out of the back of the dump truck and thought it was dirt so I kept driving. I ended up driving over a massive bump, still didn't know what it was! We kept driving and all of a sudden about 10 cement blocks fell out of the dump truck and I had to swerve into on coming traffic to avoid them...... thankfully there was no close on coming traffic.
After swimming for about 1.5 hours we decided to walk to our new house from TASOK to time how long it is going to take me and the kids to get to school once we move. The traffic is CRAZY, cars were passing by us so close and so fast it was scary! The cars had to be going anywhere between 80-100 km per hour!
On the way home after swimming we were driving past a corner that often has lost of people begging! I pass it everyday, so seeing it becomes the norm. Today I was nudged to take a second look and there right beside our car was a man holding his arm, severely bleeding. We rolled down the window to find out that he had just come from the hospital but was turned away because he didn't have any money. We put him in the back of our truck and started to head towards the hospital. We didn't travel more then 10 feet and we were stopped by the roulage ( traffic cops), he was furious that we stopped to pick up the man and was yelling at Evan. Finally, Evan reasoned with him and we were on our way again. After traveling a couple of blocks we passed over some concrete slabs that bridge the gap for a drainage ditch; the kids and I pass over these slabs twice a day, 5 days a week. Today as we passed over, the concrete slab broke, sending the front of our truck into the drainage ditch ( with the injured man still in the box of the truck). The kids were freaking out and Evan and I just shook our heads. It took about 7 men to get us out and about $8 to pay them for the help and we were on our way.
At the end we got the man to the hospital and paid for his treatment for a week, he will be fine but has a road of healing ahead of him.
As we finished at the hospital and drove towards home all we could do is shake our heads and laugh!
It's just a normal day in Kinshasa!
On an unrelated note, Micah now has the dreaded infection! We are all trying to hold our heads high but it is feeling draining for all of us. Micah has 2 infections sites really close together. She is uncomfortable but is a trooper.
Emmanuel healed from his in just under 2 weeks and was also a rock star in dealing with medication and dressing changes.
When you are so busy it is easy to stop looking at what is going on around you, and in Kinshasa there is always something going on!
Today, Evan and I took our kids swimming at TASOK...... sounds straight forward right? Oh, wait until you hear the tale of our day!
We left our house around 11:00 am; while driving toward TASOK we were behind a dump truck. I noticed something fall out of the back of the dump truck and thought it was dirt so I kept driving. I ended up driving over a massive bump, still didn't know what it was! We kept driving and all of a sudden about 10 cement blocks fell out of the dump truck and I had to swerve into on coming traffic to avoid them...... thankfully there was no close on coming traffic.
After swimming for about 1.5 hours we decided to walk to our new house from TASOK to time how long it is going to take me and the kids to get to school once we move. The traffic is CRAZY, cars were passing by us so close and so fast it was scary! The cars had to be going anywhere between 80-100 km per hour!
On the way home after swimming we were driving past a corner that often has lost of people begging! I pass it everyday, so seeing it becomes the norm. Today I was nudged to take a second look and there right beside our car was a man holding his arm, severely bleeding. We rolled down the window to find out that he had just come from the hospital but was turned away because he didn't have any money. We put him in the back of our truck and started to head towards the hospital. We didn't travel more then 10 feet and we were stopped by the roulage ( traffic cops), he was furious that we stopped to pick up the man and was yelling at Evan. Finally, Evan reasoned with him and we were on our way again. After traveling a couple of blocks we passed over some concrete slabs that bridge the gap for a drainage ditch; the kids and I pass over these slabs twice a day, 5 days a week. Today as we passed over, the concrete slab broke, sending the front of our truck into the drainage ditch ( with the injured man still in the box of the truck). The kids were freaking out and Evan and I just shook our heads. It took about 7 men to get us out and about $8 to pay them for the help and we were on our way.
At the end we got the man to the hospital and paid for his treatment for a week, he will be fine but has a road of healing ahead of him.
As we finished at the hospital and drove towards home all we could do is shake our heads and laugh!
It's just a normal day in Kinshasa!
On an unrelated note, Micah now has the dreaded infection! We are all trying to hold our heads high but it is feeling draining for all of us. Micah has 2 infections sites really close together. She is uncomfortable but is a trooper.
Emmanuel healed from his in just under 2 weeks and was also a rock star in dealing with medication and dressing changes.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Random
I just wrote a huge post while sitting at my desk during my "free" period. I went back to proof read and it was so random and so all over the place it made my head spin!
So, I took it down!
I will collect my thoughts and try and write it again this evening..... hopefully!
Well, I have a textbook open in front of me and a massive stack of marking....... time to get back to work!
So, I took it down!
I will collect my thoughts and try and write it again this evening..... hopefully!
Well, I have a textbook open in front of me and a massive stack of marking....... time to get back to work!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Lost
It has been so long since I blogged properly that I actually feel lost with what to say......................... hmmmmmmmmmm!
It has been an odd couple of weeks for us, the kids and I are settling into school and work routines and Evan's job is plugging along as normal. We may be settling into life on the outside but I have noticed that I am very unsettled! Does that make any sense?
As we are out in the DRC longer the tears for the most part have dried and we are trying to find our place in society. But the deep seeded unsettled feeling grows...... I actually can't explain it!
I know it will get better!
On to more pleasant topics!
Ginger is thriving and doing fantastic! She has probably doubled in size since we got her 2 weeks ago. She has incredible amounts of energy and the cutest face ( who ever thought they would hear me say that?). For the most part she has made a full recovery, physically she is doing well. For the most part all she deals with now is the scabs that are falling off from all the bugs that were living on her.
I was giving Ginger a bath a couple days after we got her and noticed that every time I ran water over her leg a bump moved...... ewwwww!
Ginger had 3 maggots living in her, one in her hind leg and two in her tail! I still shudder when I think about Evan popping them out.
Both Evan and I are healing from of leg infections, Evan is still dealing with an open wound but is improving and my leg has finally healed up after 5 LONG weeks!
Unfortunately Emmanuel got the same infection on his arm, thankful we didn't mess around and as soon as we thought that is what the bump was and not a mosquito bite we took him to the hospital. Emmanuel is on antibiotics and we have to do dressing changes at home but he does not need to be seen at the hospital and no lancing the infection! See, 3rd time we finally catch on that this isn't something you mess with..... we can be a little slow sometimes!
Sometime between the beginning and middle of Sept we are moving......... WOOT! Our new house is walking distance from TASOK and we will have our own pool! Instead of me getting up at 4:45 am and then getting the kids up at 5:30 we will be able to sleep in until 6:00-6:30am. That is going to feel heavenly!
What else can I say?
It has been an odd couple of weeks for us, the kids and I are settling into school and work routines and Evan's job is plugging along as normal. We may be settling into life on the outside but I have noticed that I am very unsettled! Does that make any sense?
As we are out in the DRC longer the tears for the most part have dried and we are trying to find our place in society. But the deep seeded unsettled feeling grows...... I actually can't explain it!
I know it will get better!
On to more pleasant topics!
Ginger is thriving and doing fantastic! She has probably doubled in size since we got her 2 weeks ago. She has incredible amounts of energy and the cutest face ( who ever thought they would hear me say that?). For the most part she has made a full recovery, physically she is doing well. For the most part all she deals with now is the scabs that are falling off from all the bugs that were living on her.
I was giving Ginger a bath a couple days after we got her and noticed that every time I ran water over her leg a bump moved...... ewwwww!
Ginger had 3 maggots living in her, one in her hind leg and two in her tail! I still shudder when I think about Evan popping them out.
Both Evan and I are healing from of leg infections, Evan is still dealing with an open wound but is improving and my leg has finally healed up after 5 LONG weeks!
Unfortunately Emmanuel got the same infection on his arm, thankful we didn't mess around and as soon as we thought that is what the bump was and not a mosquito bite we took him to the hospital. Emmanuel is on antibiotics and we have to do dressing changes at home but he does not need to be seen at the hospital and no lancing the infection! See, 3rd time we finally catch on that this isn't something you mess with..... we can be a little slow sometimes!
Sometime between the beginning and middle of Sept we are moving......... WOOT! Our new house is walking distance from TASOK and we will have our own pool! Instead of me getting up at 4:45 am and then getting the kids up at 5:30 we will be able to sleep in until 6:00-6:30am. That is going to feel heavenly!
What else can I say?
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Old friends
I thought I should quickly update everyone on "Fred". I am just now at the tail end of this infection, 3 week ago tomorrow is when it got really bad! It has been a really long haul!
The first time the hospital dug out the infection they didn't use freezing and I blogged about that so I don't need to revisit it! I have been back another time for it to be dug out and Evan's mom came with me and demanded freezing....... so much better!
For about 2 weeks I was at the hospital everyday getting the hole in my leg cleaned out which was horrible enough. I still need to keep it bandaged but it is almost healed and we are just changing the dressing at home.
Unfortunately Evan now has a tropical infection in his leg, it is a different strain then mine but also really bad. The hospital drained it this afternoon but they froze it at least! I guess they learnt from the torture they put me through! :) Evan and I are both now on antibiotics...... hopefully our house is clear of infection really soon!
The first time the hospital dug out the infection they didn't use freezing and I blogged about that so I don't need to revisit it! I have been back another time for it to be dug out and Evan's mom came with me and demanded freezing....... so much better!
For about 2 weeks I was at the hospital everyday getting the hole in my leg cleaned out which was horrible enough. I still need to keep it bandaged but it is almost healed and we are just changing the dressing at home.
Unfortunately Evan now has a tropical infection in his leg, it is a different strain then mine but also really bad. The hospital drained it this afternoon but they froze it at least! I guess they learnt from the torture they put me through! :) Evan and I are both now on antibiotics...... hopefully our house is clear of infection really soon!
Finally an update
I guess it is time for a little update on our family. We have been keeping busy, trying to enjoy the last couple weeks of summer vacay with the kids, trying to heal our bodies as well as I am starting the school year out with TASOK and Evan is always busy with his work.
I started working for TASOK almost a week ago, getting ready for a new school year is incredibly busy. I will be teaching in the middle school a program that eases the transition from elementary to middle school and then from middle school to high school. It also talks a lot about self esteem, social acceptance and puberty! I will also be doing some subbing for all grades, teaching some gym classes and offering fitness classes after school ( if they can find me room). This week has also been full of staff BBQ's, suppers and socializing!
Evan's job still keeps him busy all the time and he is enjoying the steep learning curve.
2 weeks ago after a fairly busy weekend the kids and I were sitting in the car with Evan's mom waiting for Evan and his dad to come back from checking out a job site. Emmanuel was sitting by the window playing my cell phone ( the window was open). All of a sudden a young guy came up from behind the car and harshly grabbed the cell phone out of Emmanuel's hands ( it is LONG GONE). IT was very traumatic for Emmanuel, but he is slowly getting over it. The bad dreams have been getting a lot better in the last couple days.
On to some good news, we got a puppy just a couple days ago. The way you by animals out here is on the side of the road, unfortunately a lot of them are in really bad shape. The kids and I picked out a cute little puppy that we all fell in love with. I originally thought that the puppy was a boy ( for obvious reasons) so "he" was named Bounder, turns out Bounder is a "she" so she has been renamed Ginger.
Ginger is not in very good shape, we took her to the vet on Tuesday morning. She was treated for fleas, mites, ticks and stomach worms. The bug were so very bad that the vet said she was incredibly ill. Ginger is still very sick, she shakes all the time, has the worst breath ( we are talking worse smelling then a skunk) and doesn't spend more the 20 minutes awake during the day. We are not even sure if she will make it at this point but we will not be telling the kid this just yet. The vet is coming back tomorrow morning, so we will see what he says.
We are also in the process of looking for a house closer to TASOK right now, right now it is a long commute for me and the kids. It would be good to be closer especially when the kids start making friends and want to have play dates.
I started working for TASOK almost a week ago, getting ready for a new school year is incredibly busy. I will be teaching in the middle school a program that eases the transition from elementary to middle school and then from middle school to high school. It also talks a lot about self esteem, social acceptance and puberty! I will also be doing some subbing for all grades, teaching some gym classes and offering fitness classes after school ( if they can find me room). This week has also been full of staff BBQ's, suppers and socializing!
Evan's job still keeps him busy all the time and he is enjoying the steep learning curve.
2 weeks ago after a fairly busy weekend the kids and I were sitting in the car with Evan's mom waiting for Evan and his dad to come back from checking out a job site. Emmanuel was sitting by the window playing my cell phone ( the window was open). All of a sudden a young guy came up from behind the car and harshly grabbed the cell phone out of Emmanuel's hands ( it is LONG GONE). IT was very traumatic for Emmanuel, but he is slowly getting over it. The bad dreams have been getting a lot better in the last couple days.
On to some good news, we got a puppy just a couple days ago. The way you by animals out here is on the side of the road, unfortunately a lot of them are in really bad shape. The kids and I picked out a cute little puppy that we all fell in love with. I originally thought that the puppy was a boy ( for obvious reasons) so "he" was named Bounder, turns out Bounder is a "she" so she has been renamed Ginger.
Ginger is not in very good shape, we took her to the vet on Tuesday morning. She was treated for fleas, mites, ticks and stomach worms. The bug were so very bad that the vet said she was incredibly ill. Ginger is still very sick, she shakes all the time, has the worst breath ( we are talking worse smelling then a skunk) and doesn't spend more the 20 minutes awake during the day. We are not even sure if she will make it at this point but we will not be telling the kid this just yet. The vet is coming back tomorrow morning, so we will see what he says.
We are also in the process of looking for a house closer to TASOK right now, right now it is a long commute for me and the kids. It would be good to be closer especially when the kids start making friends and want to have play dates.
Friday, August 5, 2011
There are many post that I could have written in the last week or so but things have not been very happy around this neck of the woods!
I will very sharing one story in the next couple day though! I started work this last Friday and the kids start school on Aug 15th so we will have more stories then we know what to do with.
For today we are thinking of our good friends who lost their 1 year old girl yesterday afternoon. She was an absolute sweetheart! Our thoughts are with you guys!
I will very sharing one story in the next couple day though! I started work this last Friday and the kids start school on Aug 15th so we will have more stories then we know what to do with.
For today we are thinking of our good friends who lost their 1 year old girl yesterday afternoon. She was an absolute sweetheart! Our thoughts are with you guys!
Monday, August 1, 2011
We are alive and have been busy this weekend. Full update will happen hopefully very soon!
"Fred" is still with me but has been put into his place over the last couple days. I haven't been back to the hospital since the scraping "adventure" the doctor took me on minus the aesthetic. Evan's dad has been amazing with cleaning and dressing the wound.
Heading out for a walk ( hoping the leg will hold up with no problems)
"Fred" is still with me but has been put into his place over the last couple days. I haven't been back to the hospital since the scraping "adventure" the doctor took me on minus the aesthetic. Evan's dad has been amazing with cleaning and dressing the wound.
Heading out for a walk ( hoping the leg will hold up with no problems)
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Chronicles continue
I am having a really hard time putting words down on properly with what unfolded at the hospital this morning.
This morning the puss was going to be squeezed out of the infection site, it was discovered that is can't be squeezed ( anonymous commenter on the last post...... sorry no squeezing was possibly). This morning the doctor cleaned out my infection by scraping the puss out with tweezers and a thin piece of gauze as well as cleaned the inside of you hole.. The hole goes about 1.5 inches down and is really wide. This was done without any pain medication at all, it was unbelievably painful I cried, screamed and bite Evan's hand ( sorry Evan).
I will maybe post more and maybe add pictures in a couple days, I am pretty traumatized..... the pain was unbelievable! I still feel sick to my stomach when I think about it!
Hopefully I am on the road to recovery, not sure I will be able to return to the hospital tomorrow but I might just start cleaning and wrapping it myself at home from this point.
This morning the puss was going to be squeezed out of the infection site, it was discovered that is can't be squeezed ( anonymous commenter on the last post...... sorry no squeezing was possibly). This morning the doctor cleaned out my infection by scraping the puss out with tweezers and a thin piece of gauze as well as cleaned the inside of you hole.. The hole goes about 1.5 inches down and is really wide. This was done without any pain medication at all, it was unbelievably painful I cried, screamed and bite Evan's hand ( sorry Evan).
I will maybe post more and maybe add pictures in a couple days, I am pretty traumatized..... the pain was unbelievable! I still feel sick to my stomach when I think about it!
Hopefully I am on the road to recovery, not sure I will be able to return to the hospital tomorrow but I might just start cleaning and wrapping it myself at home from this point.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
update on "Fred"
Well there is no BOT fly in my leg, I have to admit I am a little disappointed about that one. My other wish would be that a huge gob of puss would fly out and hit the doctor in the eye and that didn't happen either.
This "thing" is doing some serious leaking but the doctor was still unable to pop it this morning, he is hoping that tomorrow morning it will be pop-able.
This is what it looked like right after the doctor took away the gauze this morning. The picture isn't a great one ( it is a picture taken of the picture on Evan's cell phone). I actually have a hole in my leg that is fill with puss but like I said will not pop. the hole is probably a little smaller then a quarter.So this is what I get to look forward to tomorrow morning. I will have not only one doctor at a time looking at it but they are getting together tomorrow morning and will be treating me at the same time. I could barely handle one of them at a time let alone 2! Could prove to be interesting! I just keep telling myself what I told my kids this morning when they asked why I let the doctors hurt me......... yeah doesn't make sense!
Sometimes you need to go through a "little" pain to get better.......... little in quotations!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Chronicles of "Fred" the raging infection
"Fred" is apparently loving his new home on my leg and not getting the drift that it is time for him to LEAVE! Day 6 of this infection, 2nd day on antibiotics and 2nd day of having it squeezed and poked. JOY !
Here is the run down on what has been happening with pics.
Monday afternoon, Evan took me to a little clinic that we have right near our house for all the GBE workers. She looked at my leg and immediately said I needed to go to the hospital for prescription medication.
I then went to CMM ( our hospital) and was seen by the doctor. Full recap on Monday is in the previous blog post, I will let you read that one on your own.
Monday morning, doesn't look bad in the picture but it really is!
Today I had to go back in, I will be going in every morning to be seen and treated until the infection clears up. I also needed to get blood drawn for tests. I had the typical blood drawn in the arm, and then I also had blood taken from my ear ( 2 pricks)! I have never had that before, very strange. It was to test how quickly my blood clots!
After blood work it was off to the see the doctor, well he proceeded to squeeze as hard as he could while I again writhed on the table screaming profanities in my head!
Then I was sent to another doctor in another area of the hospital where he cleaned it and squeezed it also. He cleaned it again and then dressed it. It was so tender and swollen at this point that it was incredibly painful just to have gauze touching it!
Tuesday after returning from the hospital
Here is the run down on what has been happening with pics.
Monday afternoon, Evan took me to a little clinic that we have right near our house for all the GBE workers. She looked at my leg and immediately said I needed to go to the hospital for prescription medication.
I then went to CMM ( our hospital) and was seen by the doctor. Full recap on Monday is in the previous blog post, I will let you read that one on your own.
Monday morning, doesn't look bad in the picture but it really is!Today I had to go back in, I will be going in every morning to be seen and treated until the infection clears up. I also needed to get blood drawn for tests. I had the typical blood drawn in the arm, and then I also had blood taken from my ear ( 2 pricks)! I have never had that before, very strange. It was to test how quickly my blood clots!
After blood work it was off to the see the doctor, well he proceeded to squeeze as hard as he could while I again writhed on the table screaming profanities in my head!
Then I was sent to another doctor in another area of the hospital where he cleaned it and squeezed it also. He cleaned it again and then dressed it. It was so tender and swollen at this point that it was incredibly painful just to have gauze touching it!
Tuesday after returning from the hospitalTried to take it easy today but ended up building a fort, baking cookies and pushing the kids on the swings on 2 different occasions! Hmmmm, taking it easy didn't compute apparently.
I am not allowed to remove the gauze, the doctor will be doing it tomorrow morning. I am hoping for when he squeezes it again ( because we all know it is going to happen) a huge amount of puss will hit him in the eye....... awesome! Evan is hoping that I have something cool in my leg like a BOT fly, and I have to agree that would be frickin' awesome!
I am not allowed to remove the gauze, the doctor will be doing it tomorrow morning. I am hoping for when he squeezes it again ( because we all know it is going to happen) a huge amount of puss will hit him in the eye....... awesome! Evan is hoping that I have something cool in my leg like a BOT fly, and I have to agree that would be frickin' awesome!
Monday, July 25, 2011
So I went to the doctor this afternoon, the pain got to the point that I couldn't sit properly and the swelling is making my thigh really tight.
No one speaks English at our hospital so Evan came along with me to interpret for both parties.
Well I was NOT prepared for what I was going to encounter at the hospital, that doctor was impersonal and very MEAN !
So laying on my stomach on the examing table and Evan says "He is going to squeeze it"! No warning, no asking, just squeezing!
SO there I am with tears streaming down my face, writhing on the table and does it pop...... NOPE! He used 4 fingers to try and squeeze it..... not 2 ..... 4!
I knew it wouldn't, the skin is super tight like it wants to pop in a horrible way but it doesn't.It only causes excruciating pain. Now my leg is even more irritated and swollen, walking is almost unbearable. It is a nasty infection that has already started to damage the tissue around it.
Plan of action, I have been given 2 different kinds of antibiotics, anti- inflammatory and cream. Tomorrow morning I need to go in and give blood and urine ( because that is what they do out here), also to check for any venom ( if it was caused by a bite) in my system. Tomorrow the doctor is also going to probably try and squeeze it again ( I hope not) and he will be dressing it. I will be seeing him EVERY morning until it is healed.
They really cover all the basis out here!
So that is my update, hopefully something a little more interesting to come soon!
No one speaks English at our hospital so Evan came along with me to interpret for both parties.
Well I was NOT prepared for what I was going to encounter at the hospital, that doctor was impersonal and very MEAN !
So laying on my stomach on the examing table and Evan says "He is going to squeeze it"! No warning, no asking, just squeezing!
SO there I am with tears streaming down my face, writhing on the table and does it pop...... NOPE! He used 4 fingers to try and squeeze it..... not 2 ..... 4!
I knew it wouldn't, the skin is super tight like it wants to pop in a horrible way but it doesn't.It only causes excruciating pain. Now my leg is even more irritated and swollen, walking is almost unbearable. It is a nasty infection that has already started to damage the tissue around it.
Plan of action, I have been given 2 different kinds of antibiotics, anti- inflammatory and cream. Tomorrow morning I need to go in and give blood and urine ( because that is what they do out here), also to check for any venom ( if it was caused by a bite) in my system. Tomorrow the doctor is also going to probably try and squeeze it again ( I hope not) and he will be dressing it. I will be seeing him EVERY morning until it is healed.
They really cover all the basis out here!
So that is my update, hopefully something a little more interesting to come soon!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Bodily Beauty
Check out this baby,
Nice, right?
That is the back on my right thigh, not sure what it is but I do know that it hurts like a bugger. On Thursday night I was lying my my stomach on our bed and Evan notice a bump that he said looked like a pimple or scratched mosquito bite. Evan poked it and it HURT! Did think much of it and called it a night. By Saturday afternoon I was in so much pain that I had to change out of from the loose jeans carpri's that was wearing into baggy lulu pants and that was still painful. We had company at the time so I sucked it up and then when everyone was gone I changes into shorts so no material was touching it.
The picture below was taken on Sunday morning, the pen is to watch the swelling and as you can see it has grown since Saturday night when Evan traced it.
Guessing it is some kind of infection, fingers crossed that it clears up before heading to the ocean at the end of the week.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Oops!
Lets look at this on the bright side, all before 9:00 am on a Saturday morning I managed to flood half of our house and make the house keeper upset!
Now that is what you call talent!
We have large blue bins in our bathrooms for when the water isn't working. We pour water from that bucket into the toilet to flush it. This water can also be used for heating up for baths and washing.
Anyway our water has been off more days then it has been on in the last 3ish weeks and this morning I noticed that the barrel was running low so I stuck the shower head inside turned on the water and proceeded on with my morning. About 1 hour later I needed to head into my room to change out of pj's and walked water half way up my toes covering all 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and our hallway!
Hee hee Oops!
Well our house keep had been sitting with the guards at this point for about 20 minutes so I was crossing my fingers that she would stay out and I could get it clean up. One hour and 7 towels that I had to wring out and re-use a bunch it was semi passable. I was just thankful that our house keeper at that point had taken an hour ish long break.
Well she walked in and headed straight for the hallway with a broom to stop dead in her tracks.
At this point I had hung my head in shame and tried to be invisible.
As soon as she walk into the hallway she stopped dead in her tracks let out a sigh and headed out to talk to the guards.
One word...... BUSTED !
Friday, July 22, 2011
What do you do on a Sunday night.......................
..... bring your kids to the bar!
Last weekend we were in town while Evan was checking out a job site. We ran into one of the guys who works for Evan and his wife, after the guys were finished checking out the bank that was being built Curt invited us out for drinks.
We were thinking a quick Coke and head home so we accepted and followed them to the "restaurant". A couple minutes later we pulled up to a bar.
So yes, we are the parents who take their kids into a bar on a Sunday night. The weirdest part is it is totally allowed out here and no one bats an eye. It is kind of like the fact that people can smoke everywhere out here, including in the restaurant at the table right next to yours.
So I was incredibly thirsty when we went to the bar on Sunday and ordered a bottle of water...... did they have water................NO !
You wouldn't believe how common that is out here, everyone sells coke, fanta, beer but not nearly everyone sells water. Drives me completely batty!
Last weekend we were in town while Evan was checking out a job site. We ran into one of the guys who works for Evan and his wife, after the guys were finished checking out the bank that was being built Curt invited us out for drinks.
We were thinking a quick Coke and head home so we accepted and followed them to the "restaurant". A couple minutes later we pulled up to a bar.
So yes, we are the parents who take their kids into a bar on a Sunday night. The weirdest part is it is totally allowed out here and no one bats an eye. It is kind of like the fact that people can smoke everywhere out here, including in the restaurant at the table right next to yours.
So I was incredibly thirsty when we went to the bar on Sunday and ordered a bottle of water...... did they have water................NO !
You wouldn't believe how common that is out here, everyone sells coke, fanta, beer but not nearly everyone sells water. Drives me completely batty!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Week 8 Edition
Yesterday marked 8 weeks that we have been living in Kinshasa, initial reaction should be, no way really! It actually feels like we have been in Kinshasa way longer then 8 weeks.
My mind is completely blank............... hmmmmmm
thinking............ thinking............thinking.............thinking..................... you get the point! I just tried to recruit Evan's help but he is still working at 11:00 pm ( workaholic)!
Lets try another point form post, it maybe all over the place but it could be interesting! Yeah for little tid-bits of info that are not necessarily connected in anyway.
- Evan and I just recently started driving ( I think 2 weeks ago), mainly on weekends and some evenings. Traffic during the day ( Mon-Fri) is still a little crazy for my liking so I rely on a chauffeur for the week. I LOVE driving, I LOVE the freedom.
- We have yet to acquire a pet of any kind, chicken coop still isn't finished. Sorry Ari, no lion or giraffe yet!
- We have had 4 days of sun in 8 weeks, and I say sun very loosely. We will be heading into rainy AKA Hot season in the next 4 ish weeks. We are all really looking forward to some heat and some sun.
- Emmanuel and Micah are really looking forward to starting school, they are desperate to make friends and have someone other then each other to play with.
- Both kids are still very reluctant to speak any french in public. There have been a couple times when we have forced the kids to just say "Thank you" and that ended with tears, embarrassment, more tears and an even bigger wall up with speaking french. It will come, I have realized more and more that it needs to be on their time and NO ONE else!
- Often when I speak french in public I get laughed at, doesn't matter who is around people laugh at me. I am not being laughed at because I am speaking wrong ( most of the time), everyone is happy to hear me speaking french and it comes out through laughter. This is one of the main road blocks the kids have with speaking in public............. they HATE that people laugh "at them". I know I have tried to explain it!
Micah has cried when people have laughed "at" my speaking.
But my french is slowly coming along........ slowly!
- Evan is loving his job, it keeps him very busy ( 12:05 am and still in the phone, he did stop for supper though). He generally is in the office from 6:30 am - 5:00 pm Monday through Friday but gets phone calls on Saturday and Sunday.
- We found Smirnoff Ice out here! WHOO HOO
Crazy... I know! It has a slight different taste but it is still good and the alcohol percentage in not as high as what we get in Canada. The first one I had I was so proud of myself that I finished one and was starting on my second with little effect. That was until Evan pointed out that the alcohol percentage was lower.
- I ( Mel) have been shopping in town by myself ( aside from weekends) for about 4 - 5 weeks now. I can even order (in french) cheese and sandwich meat from the deli with little to no troubles.
- We all have good days and bad days, culture shock is still very relevant in our lives. We deal with it the best we know how and hope that the next day is better.
We miss friends and fam often and send you all our love.
My mind is completely blank............... hmmmmmm
thinking............ thinking............thinking.............thinking..................... you get the point! I just tried to recruit Evan's help but he is still working at 11:00 pm ( workaholic)!
Lets try another point form post, it maybe all over the place but it could be interesting! Yeah for little tid-bits of info that are not necessarily connected in anyway.
- Evan and I just recently started driving ( I think 2 weeks ago), mainly on weekends and some evenings. Traffic during the day ( Mon-Fri) is still a little crazy for my liking so I rely on a chauffeur for the week. I LOVE driving, I LOVE the freedom.
- We have yet to acquire a pet of any kind, chicken coop still isn't finished. Sorry Ari, no lion or giraffe yet!
- We have had 4 days of sun in 8 weeks, and I say sun very loosely. We will be heading into rainy AKA Hot season in the next 4 ish weeks. We are all really looking forward to some heat and some sun.
- Emmanuel and Micah are really looking forward to starting school, they are desperate to make friends and have someone other then each other to play with.
- Both kids are still very reluctant to speak any french in public. There have been a couple times when we have forced the kids to just say "Thank you" and that ended with tears, embarrassment, more tears and an even bigger wall up with speaking french. It will come, I have realized more and more that it needs to be on their time and NO ONE else!
- Often when I speak french in public I get laughed at, doesn't matter who is around people laugh at me. I am not being laughed at because I am speaking wrong ( most of the time), everyone is happy to hear me speaking french and it comes out through laughter. This is one of the main road blocks the kids have with speaking in public............. they HATE that people laugh "at them". I know I have tried to explain it!
Micah has cried when people have laughed "at" my speaking.
But my french is slowly coming along........ slowly!
- Evan is loving his job, it keeps him very busy ( 12:05 am and still in the phone, he did stop for supper though). He generally is in the office from 6:30 am - 5:00 pm Monday through Friday but gets phone calls on Saturday and Sunday.
- We found Smirnoff Ice out here! WHOO HOO
Crazy... I know! It has a slight different taste but it is still good and the alcohol percentage in not as high as what we get in Canada. The first one I had I was so proud of myself that I finished one and was starting on my second with little effect. That was until Evan pointed out that the alcohol percentage was lower.
- I ( Mel) have been shopping in town by myself ( aside from weekends) for about 4 - 5 weeks now. I can even order (in french) cheese and sandwich meat from the deli with little to no troubles.
- We all have good days and bad days, culture shock is still very relevant in our lives. We deal with it the best we know how and hope that the next day is better.
We miss friends and fam often and send you all our love.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Orphanage
This past Sunday morning while the kids and I were kicking back watching TV and Evan was answering work phone calls, Evan received a personal phone call from one of our chauffeurs. One of the chauffeurs that works for the same company as Evan was out visiting the orphanage. This particular orphanage has 26 kids under the watchful eye of 2 parents.
Because the orphanage receives no government help at all they rely on donations in order to eat, clothe the kids and send them to school.
Anyhoo, this particular phone call was to inform us that the orphans hadn't eaten in the last couple days and were in need of clothes. This shaped the rest of our day!
We managed to get some food together combining anything we had at our house, Evan's parents house and we bought a 50 pound bag of rice. Collected a bunch of clothing that Evan's parents already had set aside and headed out for the orphanage. We arrived with 5 shopping bags full of food and the bag of rice, that will be enough food to feed the orphans for 2 or 3 days and they will once again be out of food. At that point they hope for another donation of food or money to come along. All they can do is hope and pray!
We were welcomed like royalty, they actually made up a song for our arrival and sang it to us. They also sang to us when we left after a visit. As amazing as it was, some of us didn't receive it so well. Emmanuel was so unimpressed that we were sung to, he literally wanted to hide. He doesn't like to have any attention on him.
I was a great experience, one that I am glad our kids could see.
** for anyone interested the young lady on the far right side of the picture in the pick shirt is our nanny. I couldn't believe she wanted to come with us, even on her day off she wants to be around us!
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Jobs and outlook
I have been struggling with my current job for a couple weeks now, for one I am not super experienced in teaching Pilates and I don't really enjoy it very much...cough....cough..... or at all!
As soon as I started teaching at the clinic I sensed a lot of hostility for the current members, a couple classes in I was actually told that my teaching was horrible, I don't belong here and some other things not worth mentioning.
Slowly my numbers started dropping ( some of this is due to a lot of people going on holidays) and eventually dropped down to no one. Let me tell you, huge kick to the self-esteem!
Long and short: this job was getting me down. This last week I also took a couple more unexpected blows with work and I was having a hard time seeing any light at the end of the tunnel.
On Wednesday I received an e-mail from the superintendent of TASOK, ( the school the kids will be attending in the fall) offering me a job. The e-mail didn't state what kind of job, just that it was a half time position.
I went for an interview on Friday morning and I took the job!
I am going to be teaching in the middle school ( gr 6-8); a program called Metamorphosis. It is a health class that touches on health, fitness, good study habits and a unit on your body going through "certain" changes and what they are!
I am also going to be offering some sort of fitness class 3x pr week in the afternoons to faculty, high school students and women in the community.
WHOO HOO !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!
I went to work that evening to teach at 6 pm and guess what; no one came! I quit right on the spot and I couldn't have made a better choice for myself.
I am trying desperately to chance my outlook on life, going 7 weeks unhappy is far too long and it needed to change.
My goal now is what is going to make me happy, I need to find my rhythm out here and find my place in a new culture.
I am looking forward to the next couple weeks off before I jump in head first on Aug 8th at the school with faculty meetings, class prep and BBQ's! Plan on spending a lot of time at the pool if the weather is nice!
As soon as I started teaching at the clinic I sensed a lot of hostility for the current members, a couple classes in I was actually told that my teaching was horrible, I don't belong here and some other things not worth mentioning.
Slowly my numbers started dropping ( some of this is due to a lot of people going on holidays) and eventually dropped down to no one. Let me tell you, huge kick to the self-esteem!
Long and short: this job was getting me down. This last week I also took a couple more unexpected blows with work and I was having a hard time seeing any light at the end of the tunnel.
On Wednesday I received an e-mail from the superintendent of TASOK, ( the school the kids will be attending in the fall) offering me a job. The e-mail didn't state what kind of job, just that it was a half time position.
I went for an interview on Friday morning and I took the job!
I am going to be teaching in the middle school ( gr 6-8); a program called Metamorphosis. It is a health class that touches on health, fitness, good study habits and a unit on your body going through "certain" changes and what they are!
I am also going to be offering some sort of fitness class 3x pr week in the afternoons to faculty, high school students and women in the community.
WHOO HOO !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!
I went to work that evening to teach at 6 pm and guess what; no one came! I quit right on the spot and I couldn't have made a better choice for myself.
I am trying desperately to chance my outlook on life, going 7 weeks unhappy is far too long and it needed to change.
My goal now is what is going to make me happy, I need to find my rhythm out here and find my place in a new culture.
I am looking forward to the next couple weeks off before I jump in head first on Aug 8th at the school with faculty meetings, class prep and BBQ's! Plan on spending a lot of time at the pool if the weather is nice!
proofreading
Okay, time to make a promise to all of our blog readers................ I am need to start proofreading my posts before hitting "post". That is my dirty little secret, time to go back to the days where Evan reads over my shoulder!
I am sorry if I offended anyone in my last post when I wrote that my french sounds like gibberish and "shit" talk. It was supposed to read, "gibberish and SPIT talk!"
Oops sorry!
I am sorry if I offended anyone in my last post when I wrote that my french sounds like gibberish and "shit" talk. It was supposed to read, "gibberish and SPIT talk!"
Oops sorry!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
hmmmm
I actually have very little to say right now....... surprised??????
Lots of changes maybe on the horizon for especially me but I don't want to get ahead of myself and starting talking about them. I can say that these will go fantastic changes and I hope that they will all work out. I have a job interview tomorrow at 9:30 am so I will blog after that and fill everyone in.
Thank goodness my job interview is in English otherwise if it was in French I would need to add to my resume that I excel in gibberish and shit talk!
I had a great day with the kids, I wasn't teaching today so I took the kids swimming for a good chunk of the day. Cancelled my French lessons and sent our nanny fruit shopping, just spent time with my rug rats.
I will leave you with a couple pics, I know Evan has a couple ideas for blog posts so we will see if we can good up with some good stuff before the night is through.
** okay forget the pics right now, blogger is not letting me upload any. I will try again later!
Lots of changes maybe on the horizon for especially me but I don't want to get ahead of myself and starting talking about them. I can say that these will go fantastic changes and I hope that they will all work out. I have a job interview tomorrow at 9:30 am so I will blog after that and fill everyone in.
Thank goodness my job interview is in English otherwise if it was in French I would need to add to my resume that I excel in gibberish and shit talk!
I had a great day with the kids, I wasn't teaching today so I took the kids swimming for a good chunk of the day. Cancelled my French lessons and sent our nanny fruit shopping, just spent time with my rug rats.
I will leave you with a couple pics, I know Evan has a couple ideas for blog posts so we will see if we can good up with some good stuff before the night is through.
** okay forget the pics right now, blogger is not letting me upload any. I will try again later!
Monday, July 11, 2011
I would love to write a blog post but I have at least 2 and a half hours of French homework ahead of me tonight and it is already 10:19 pm.
Unless I stay on the computer and not do my homeowrk................. hmmmmmm!
NOPE, French then blog. Hopefully I will be back tonight with a solid update for you all!
Unless I stay on the computer and not do my homeowrk................. hmmmmmm!
NOPE, French then blog. Hopefully I will be back tonight with a solid update for you all!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Never a dull day!
I think I would get bored if our lives were ever normal........ yup pretty sure I would!
Today is a day to record in the history books.
First things first.............. I drove today WOOT WOOT WOOT, happy dance inserted right here!
I have not driven since leaving Calgary just about 7 weeks ago. Evan and I received our drivers licenses today and I drove home from work! Now doesn't sound like a big deal but it really is, driving is CRAZY out this way. No rules, no lines, no lights, no stop signs, no shoulders, just traffic in every direction and people walking out into the middle of the road. As much fun as it was to drive and drive standard at that it is totally sensory overload! It will get better when we get used to it!
Also we got to experience a little unrest in Kinshasa today. I was supposed to teach this afternoon from 1-2. Freddie dropped me off at the club and I walked into a completely empty clinic and studio....no one in sight!
Called Evan who was with Freddie to come back and get me, so Freddie left Evan at the Western Union and came and got me.
On our way to get Evan my phone rings and Evan is calling saying that he couldn't get out of the Western Union until now because they locked everyone who was inside in and everyone who was outside out. There was a huge protest march happening down the main boulevard in Kinshasa, hundreds of people marching and singing. After we picked up Evan we had to head to yet another Western Union and from behind us you could see tear gas going off to break up the protest.
I got home that afternoon and opened my e-mail to find a mass e-mail being sent out to everyone who works at UN, us-aid and a couple of the other larger companies that a lot of ex-patriots work for stating that they are not recommending any unnecessary travel into the city due to tear gas and shots fired.
I still went to work but no one else showed up........ oh well!
We are all safe and sound, as crazy as it sounds I thought is was a pretty cool experience and never once worried about our safety.
All in a days work.
Today is a day to record in the history books.
First things first.............. I drove today WOOT WOOT WOOT, happy dance inserted right here!
I have not driven since leaving Calgary just about 7 weeks ago. Evan and I received our drivers licenses today and I drove home from work! Now doesn't sound like a big deal but it really is, driving is CRAZY out this way. No rules, no lines, no lights, no stop signs, no shoulders, just traffic in every direction and people walking out into the middle of the road. As much fun as it was to drive and drive standard at that it is totally sensory overload! It will get better when we get used to it!
Also we got to experience a little unrest in Kinshasa today. I was supposed to teach this afternoon from 1-2. Freddie dropped me off at the club and I walked into a completely empty clinic and studio....no one in sight!
Called Evan who was with Freddie to come back and get me, so Freddie left Evan at the Western Union and came and got me.
On our way to get Evan my phone rings and Evan is calling saying that he couldn't get out of the Western Union until now because they locked everyone who was inside in and everyone who was outside out. There was a huge protest march happening down the main boulevard in Kinshasa, hundreds of people marching and singing. After we picked up Evan we had to head to yet another Western Union and from behind us you could see tear gas going off to break up the protest.
I got home that afternoon and opened my e-mail to find a mass e-mail being sent out to everyone who works at UN, us-aid and a couple of the other larger companies that a lot of ex-patriots work for stating that they are not recommending any unnecessary travel into the city due to tear gas and shots fired.
I still went to work but no one else showed up........ oh well!
We are all safe and sound, as crazy as it sounds I thought is was a pretty cool experience and never once worried about our safety.
All in a days work.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
scrambled
What a huge stretch it has been for the kids to have a french nanny for me, but aside from that she is AMAZING ! ! ! ! ! !
Right now the kids and Nene are playing at a huge play center in Kinshasa will blow up castles and stuff like that. Why is it a stretch? Nene doesn't speak any English......... at all! I need to be able to tell her information which has drastically forced me to dig deep inside and pull any french out that I can remember! I was explaining to her where we leave money for her in case she wants to take the kids out and she stood there and LAUGHED at me........ she got the point but busted a gut at the same time!
It has shocked me because I seem to know a little more then I thought but it ALWAYS sound better in my head the out of my mouth! In order to get this communication down I just upped my french lessons by 2 more hours a week, let hope it pays off!
When speaking a new language I find myself making LOTS of mistakes, yesterday I told Nene the kids could play pretty...... who knew!
Today, I told Julee my french tutor that I go to work on paper and that I am a difficult friend. Apparently I am learning a whole new side to myself! :)
I just finished 3 1/2 hours of solid french lessons, my brain is shot but I have Pink cranked so all balances out.
Right now the kids and Nene are playing at a huge play center in Kinshasa will blow up castles and stuff like that. Why is it a stretch? Nene doesn't speak any English......... at all! I need to be able to tell her information which has drastically forced me to dig deep inside and pull any french out that I can remember! I was explaining to her where we leave money for her in case she wants to take the kids out and she stood there and LAUGHED at me........ she got the point but busted a gut at the same time!
It has shocked me because I seem to know a little more then I thought but it ALWAYS sound better in my head the out of my mouth! In order to get this communication down I just upped my french lessons by 2 more hours a week, let hope it pays off!
When speaking a new language I find myself making LOTS of mistakes, yesterday I told Nene the kids could play pretty...... who knew!
Today, I told Julee my french tutor that I go to work on paper and that I am a difficult friend. Apparently I am learning a whole new side to myself! :)
I just finished 3 1/2 hours of solid french lessons, my brain is shot but I have Pink cranked so all balances out.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Bonobo adventure
We went to visit the Bonobo Chimps on Sunday this past weekend! It was a great experience especially for the kids. Really the only down side to the day was me stepping in a fire-ant hill! Lets just say that their name serves them well!Both Evan and I had the opportunity to feed the chimps which was incredible, the kids also had the chance by they both turned it down.
We had to stay arms distance away from the fence because it was electric and the vet standing by way paranoid! Also the Bonobo's are known for grabbing anything they can get their hands on.
The first thing you notice is how much they bonobo's are like humans. They walk upright for the most part and they actually part their hair in the middle and smooth it down. These chimps are super playful , fairly gentle natured and settle all differences with sex! There is very little fighting with in the Bonobo family just a whole lot of lovin'.
Gonna let the photo's speak for themselves!
Mom and Baby.
Another one of mom and baby.
A cutie, this little one was abandoned and is now thriving in the nursery.
We have so many more pictures so hopefully over the next couple days I can do another post or to of pics.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Answers
Sometimes it takes snapping to realize how certain situations in our lives and not working. I snapped today.......... WOW!
We pay a nanny to take care of our kids, to show them love and have fun in our absence. I had french lessons this afternoon outside on our patio. When it was just about over I could hear Micah crying in the kitchen, I waited it out until my lessons were over and then walked inside to find our nanny sitting on the couch watch TV! I went into the kitchen and found Micah so upset because she was having trouble making a Nutella sandwich. Where was the nanny??????? Oh ya watching TV!
I made Micah's sandwich and dried her tears but it was the last straw. I walked into the living room and LOST IT........ yelling at the top of my lungs for the TV to be turned off. The remote was right beside her and she didn't move.
In the last month she has not made my kids a snack once, Emmanuel had made Micah her snacks and that is not right! There are so many more issues but I am not going to get into them so I like to think my "snapping" was warranted.
Evan and I just got off the phone with his parents and we have decided that the nanny will be fired tomorrow morning. We have another nanny lined up, she is our housekeeper and she LOVES the kids. The only down fall is she doesn't know English but our head guard does so if there is a huge problem he can translate. I am super pumped by how fast the kids will learn french with her around and it will push me to learn faster.............. not like I am not trying! :)
This is a huge but great step!
On a completely different note Saturday night we had the privilege of playing soccer with one of the guards. You could tell at first that they were unsure of what to think about playing and the one guard that agreed to play was very careful around us. Not to kick to hard or throw his body into it. 1/2 hour in and all walls were down, he ran us hard............. seriously danced circles around us! SO MUCH FUN !
We pay a nanny to take care of our kids, to show them love and have fun in our absence. I had french lessons this afternoon outside on our patio. When it was just about over I could hear Micah crying in the kitchen, I waited it out until my lessons were over and then walked inside to find our nanny sitting on the couch watch TV! I went into the kitchen and found Micah so upset because she was having trouble making a Nutella sandwich. Where was the nanny??????? Oh ya watching TV!
I made Micah's sandwich and dried her tears but it was the last straw. I walked into the living room and LOST IT........ yelling at the top of my lungs for the TV to be turned off. The remote was right beside her and she didn't move.
In the last month she has not made my kids a snack once, Emmanuel had made Micah her snacks and that is not right! There are so many more issues but I am not going to get into them so I like to think my "snapping" was warranted.
Evan and I just got off the phone with his parents and we have decided that the nanny will be fired tomorrow morning. We have another nanny lined up, she is our housekeeper and she LOVES the kids. The only down fall is she doesn't know English but our head guard does so if there is a huge problem he can translate. I am super pumped by how fast the kids will learn french with her around and it will push me to learn faster.............. not like I am not trying! :)
This is a huge but great step!
On a completely different note Saturday night we had the privilege of playing soccer with one of the guards. You could tell at first that they were unsure of what to think about playing and the one guard that agreed to play was very careful around us. Not to kick to hard or throw his body into it. 1/2 hour in and all walls were down, he ran us hard............. seriously danced circles around us! SO MUCH FUN !
Problems with the nanny STILL, crazy children, frustrating french lessons, intermittent power failures and now no water has left a foul taste in my mouth. Top that off with already feeling off and grump for the last couple days....................... NOT good!
Lots of tears have been flowing today.
Hopefully I will snap out of it in order to put up a good post yet tonight!
Lots of tears have been flowing today.
Hopefully I will snap out of it in order to put up a good post yet tonight!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Grand intentions
Well I had grand intentions to do a post about our trip to the Bonobo's today but I do not have the energy to upload all the pictures go through them and get a post together. I will make sure to do that tomorrow. I do have to say that the day was fantastic, we live in Africa yes but we spend Monday - Friday working, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in french lessons ( for 2 hours for each of us) and also grocery shopping on Saturday and grocery shopping take hours. Sometimes on Sunday it is great to feel like a "tourist", even just for an afternoon!
More on the Bonobo's tomorrow!
We have been living in Kinshasa for 6 weeks now and I can believe everyone of those days. It has actually felt more like 6 months instead.
Lets talk health and bug bites that we have acquired in that time.
We are all covered in mosquito bites, that's a given.... enough said!
A couple weeks ago Evan was bite by a nasty wasp, it was not a regular wasp. He said it hurt so bad and his arm got hot, red and swollen. IT took about 3-4 days to heal but about 4 weeks later you can very distinctly see the puncture mark and it is big. I wouldn't be surprised if it scarred. Evan actually tracked the wasp down after it bit him because it didn't die and killed it himself!
I decided to take one for the team on the bite front and stepped directly into a fire ant hill this morning, in sandals! I was taking pictures of Evan feeding the Bonobo a banana so I held it together as long as I could but very soon my sandals were flying off and I was hitting off as many as I could while choking back the tears. I was a sight to see.......I bet! My feet and up to the middle of my calves are covered in little red dots ( a lot that were bleeding) and they still burn a little but for the most part the swelling and major discomfort is gone.
What about on the health front? We have been fairly healthy since arriving. We do need to be very careful when we take our malaria pills because if our stomach is a little too empty then we get very nauseous. I actually thought that because I was running 24/7 for 2 months before leaving and then moving to a new country that I would get sick but I have be fortunate enough to hold all sickness off. Both Emmanuel and Micah complain of a lot of stomach aches but we are thinking it is one of 3 things;
1. Malaria pills taken on an empty stomach
2. anxiety as we try and develop a sense of belonging in a 3rd world country
3. Stomach issues ( we all have them). starts with cramping and is followed by a very fast run to the bathroom. Which goes together with getting used to new food.
Evan has had to go to the hospital though ( which is also our doctors office). Evan developed an "eye" infection about a week and a half ago. It started with itchy and irritated skin around his eye and turned into swelling, pus filled redness! it had nothing to do with his eye ball though. Evan went to the doctor and was given a prescription but just to be sure they called in a eye specialist (who know we had those..... it didn't). I couldn't believe they would call in a specialist! Evan's eye is all healed now and looking good.
More on the Bonobo's tomorrow!
We have been living in Kinshasa for 6 weeks now and I can believe everyone of those days. It has actually felt more like 6 months instead.
Lets talk health and bug bites that we have acquired in that time.
We are all covered in mosquito bites, that's a given.... enough said!
A couple weeks ago Evan was bite by a nasty wasp, it was not a regular wasp. He said it hurt so bad and his arm got hot, red and swollen. IT took about 3-4 days to heal but about 4 weeks later you can very distinctly see the puncture mark and it is big. I wouldn't be surprised if it scarred. Evan actually tracked the wasp down after it bit him because it didn't die and killed it himself!
I decided to take one for the team on the bite front and stepped directly into a fire ant hill this morning, in sandals! I was taking pictures of Evan feeding the Bonobo a banana so I held it together as long as I could but very soon my sandals were flying off and I was hitting off as many as I could while choking back the tears. I was a sight to see.......I bet! My feet and up to the middle of my calves are covered in little red dots ( a lot that were bleeding) and they still burn a little but for the most part the swelling and major discomfort is gone.
What about on the health front? We have been fairly healthy since arriving. We do need to be very careful when we take our malaria pills because if our stomach is a little too empty then we get very nauseous. I actually thought that because I was running 24/7 for 2 months before leaving and then moving to a new country that I would get sick but I have be fortunate enough to hold all sickness off. Both Emmanuel and Micah complain of a lot of stomach aches but we are thinking it is one of 3 things;
1. Malaria pills taken on an empty stomach
2. anxiety as we try and develop a sense of belonging in a 3rd world country
3. Stomach issues ( we all have them). starts with cramping and is followed by a very fast run to the bathroom. Which goes together with getting used to new food.
Evan has had to go to the hospital though ( which is also our doctors office). Evan developed an "eye" infection about a week and a half ago. It started with itchy and irritated skin around his eye and turned into swelling, pus filled redness! it had nothing to do with his eye ball though. Evan went to the doctor and was given a prescription but just to be sure they called in a eye specialist (who know we had those..... it didn't). I couldn't believe they would call in a specialist! Evan's eye is all healed now and looking good.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Welcome to Kinshasa #2
I was able to get a couple more pictures today in our travels of the city and how it is made up, I hope this continues to give you a broader picture of our surroundings.
This is taken on the Poids Lourds, we live just off this road in a compound. The Poids Lourds take you directly into the city center.
Looking through the Truck window, the man in front of us is pushing a Pousse-pousse. A huge number of men push these carts for a living, a large number of things could be on them and they are often stacked incredibly high. You should see the muscles on these guys...... enough said!
Another pic of a pousse-pousse coming into the city center. This road you are looking at I take into work every time I go. It is packed with people selling EVERYTHING !
Fountains! There is often music playing here as well.
Looking down the Boulevard!
Apartment buildings!
On our way home along the Poids Lourds again!
Not sure how many more times we will take our camera to town because it is not really allowed but hopefully you got a small taste of where we live.
Tomorrow we are taking our kids to the Bonobo Chimp sanctuary to play with orphaned Bonobo chimps! Check back for a report and probably another post very heavy with the pictures.
This is taken on the Poids Lourds, we live just off this road in a compound. The Poids Lourds take you directly into the city center.
Looking through the Truck window, the man in front of us is pushing a Pousse-pousse. A huge number of men push these carts for a living, a large number of things could be on them and they are often stacked incredibly high. You should see the muscles on these guys...... enough said!
Another pic of a pousse-pousse coming into the city center. This road you are looking at I take into work every time I go. It is packed with people selling EVERYTHING !
Fountains! There is often music playing here as well.
Looking down the Boulevard!
Apartment buildings!
On our way home along the Poids Lourds again!Not sure how many more times we will take our camera to town because it is not really allowed but hopefully you got a small taste of where we live.
Tomorrow we are taking our kids to the Bonobo Chimp sanctuary to play with orphaned Bonobo chimps! Check back for a report and probably another post very heavy with the pictures.
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