One Week

Swimming in the Pool

Granadilla Birthday Cake

Mosquito Net over Mark's Bed

We've been in South Africa for one week as of today. But, time is moving slowly. It seems like it has been a month. I suppose when everything is different and nothing is on autopilot, you have to make soooo many more decisions than normal. Maybe about 4x as many decisions as usual. That might explain why one week feels like one month.

It's my birthday today. We celebrated with lots of fun. Mark and I swam in the pool with his new boogie-board. He's quite eager to try it in the ocean.

And, I had granadilla birthday cake. I suppose that few folks in the U.S. can say that!

Catherine has had a allergic reaction to the mosquito bites here. It's nothing terrible, but causes a bit of swelling, itchiness, and a raised red welt. We found an effective cream at the chemist (pharmacy) that reduces the swelling and itchiness after a couple days. But we're taking preventative action, too. Both kids are now sleeping with mosquito nets over their beds. Before anyone worries, Stellenbosch is not in a malaria area.

One of our landlords' children reacts similarly, so there were nets available in the house!

One more thing. We got two versions of Mark's summer school uniform today. In addition to shirt and shorts, we needed to get the right socks, shoes, and a PT (physical training) suit. As the guy at De Jager's said, "there are a lot of rules" about the uniforms.

--Matt