Green, green grass of home

Wow, I have been back home in Beijing for almost 7 weeks now.
A much as I enjoyed being back in South Africa for home-leave, the 7 week period was way too long and I experienced Reversed Culture Shock, much to my disbelief.

It was bizarre. I would accidentally bump into someone without saying 'excuse me'; bargaining with a guy in a shopping mall in Johannesburg; freaking out about living behind a trelli-gate; arming alarms when I left the cottage. I would end up on the wrong side of the escalator; going down steps on the right instead of the left? The folks were driving way too fast on the freeways and I felt like a weirdo in my own country.

Pretty much how I first felt when I came to Beijing in July 2009.

I did enjoy being at the ocean again; breathing in fresh air; not checking up on the latest air quality index and allowing the boys to walk barefoot. I loved the sunsets, the mountains of Plettenberg Bay, the sanctuaries that we visited and flying through the trees of the Tsitsikamma Forest. The boys had surfing lessons in Jeffrey's Bay during the Billabong and ate prawns until they were stuffed. I loved buying washed potatoes, going into a 'vegetative-state' in the produce section of Spar; being able to have 2 trolleys next to each other in the same isle, having endless variety from which to choose from...yes, a Beijing housewife's dream grocery store.




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I did not enjoy the lull in my days. Rain, rain, rain and more rain. The 2012 winter season had the second highest recorded rainfall since recording started. Seriously?! On my Summer/Winter break?!




It did get better - when I finally saw my South African, ex-Beijinger, now Hamburg-er friend. I found an ally . We had shared similar experiences, laughed about the same weird things, discussed politics, the economy, the kids, our aging families and finally I could exhale.



Yes, it was a great feeling walking back into my home in Beijing.
And yes, the grass is all green in Beijing at the moment...and we've had about 10 beautiful days in a row...








Although I am relieved to be back home in Beijing, and being surrounded by folks who are in a similar boat, I know that one day that boat will have to dock and I will have to just get on with life wherever the grass has been mowed, weeded and mowed.




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I'm Blue (da bee dee da ba die)

I think the husband is going to have a fit when he sees the very blue bench out front.


I LOVE IT!


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Over the mountains and the sea...

Your river runs with love for me...
Yesterday we vroomed up the new Avis car and meandered on to a farm situated somewhere between the mountains and the sea, next to the Sundays River, Colchester.

Colchester is best described at http://www.madbookings.com/southafrica/guide/colchester-south-africa.htm

As a kid, all Colchester meant to me was 'where the cops like to put down speed-traps'. 

I vroomed the shiny, new Kia onto the farm of a guy named Rossie and we had ourselves some good fun! 

Diego, Rossie, AMP, Shiny car and my Sister

Diego handled the Quad all by himself. My nerves were toast on some parts of the 'adventure'.

Dante and I

 I had Dante-koala as a passenger and at some parts of the drive some unsavoury words slipped from my mouth. My guess is that he didn't hear it over the revving engine because if he did hear, he would have called my out on it.                                                                                            

I loved every moment of the ride-out. The adrenalin, the revving and even the sore right thumb -that is where the accelerator was. At some spots I even forgot that I had Dante as a passenger as getting up and down those hills and keeping my eyes on the leader were all I could think of. Getting down was also crazy: huge boulders, crevices, thorn trees and sheer drops, but staying focused on the leader got me to the bottom and I could enjoy the ride with cows, sheep and horses, and prickly pears to look at. The farmer sometimes had to stop to open and close some gates because of his animals on the farm. 

I had to 'let go' and allow Diego to ride on his own; and at the difficult hills, he got a ride with his dad. I crashed into the big white thorn trees and kept going.

I realise that this is so much like my 'usual, crazy' everyday life...all I concentrate on is 'just get up and down that hill and try not to crash'. Allow my boys the space they need to figure things out for themselves and still be 'around' when they need help.

And everybody's hill is different. We all have different kinds of bikes, gear, leaders and mates that help us get to the top of that hill. We all face shut gates at some point in our lives, and if we just look for the leader, he is there ready to open another gate leading onto another road. Our Dad is right there next to us to give us a ride when things get tough...we just have to ask.

And most times we enjoy the calm and beauty of the journey. The journey is not all just uphills and crazy downhills.

Just one question remains...who is your leader?

Steven Curtis Chapman: The Great Adventure (re:created) - Official Lyric...

Saddle up your horses

Often, and I mean OFTEN, when I ponder our move to Beijing, this song comes to mind.
Back in early 2009 when Marek and I had to make the decision of whether or not to leave our comfort zone and move to The Middle Kingdom, a friend told me this over a cup of coffee. He said,'Come on, saddle up your horses' and I responded with, 'this is the great adventure'. 
These are the lyrics to my 'theme-song' that keeps me going through the craziest of crazy days.
The Great Adventure by Steven Curtis Chapman
Started out this morningIn the usual wayChasing thoughts inside my headOf all I had to do todayAnother time around the circleTry to make it better than the last
I opened up the BibleAnd I read about meSaid, I'd been a prisonerAnd God's grace had set me free
And somewhere between the pagesIt hit me like a lightning boltI saw a big frontier in front of meAnd I heard somebody say, "Let's go"
Saddle up your horsesWe've got a trail to blazeThrough the wild blue yonderOf God's amazing grace
Let's follow our LeaderInto the glorious unknownThis is a life like no otherThis is the great adventure, yeah
Come on get readyFor the ride of your lifeGonna leave long faced religionIn a cloud of dust behindAnd discover all the new horizonsJust waiting to be exploredThis is what we were created for, yeah
Saddle up your horsesWe've got a trail to blazeThrough the wild blue yonderOf God's amazing grace
Let's follow our LeaderInto the glorious unknownThis is a life like no otherThis is the great adventure
We'll travel over, over mountains so highWe'll go through valleys belowStill through it all, we'll find thatThis is the greatest journeyThat the human heart will ever see
The love of God will take us farBeyond my wildest dreams, yeahOh, saddle up your horsesCome on, get ready to ride
Thanks Mr Chapman for these lyrics

Just a Cafe Latte, PLEASE

We are currently on 'Summer Vacation'. Summer in the Northern hemisphere. The boys and I are in South Africa for the last 4 weeks of the 'summer' break. 3 weeks to go before we return to Beijing. 

After having the boys with me 24/7 for 4 weeks, I thought I deserved a break...what's wrong with that thought. Nothing. I dream of watching a movie that does not have animals that talk and I dream of sitting at my favourite coffee shop, Mugg and Bean, and drinking a latte. 

So last night I begged the boys to give me 3 hours of freedom. Diego, being older, says sure...you can have some time-out. Dante, on the other hand is not so easy to convince with questions that sound like he's my father and I'm a delinquent teenager. I beg, nag, manipulate, bribe - and I cry out, 'JUST for a Caffe Latte!' My darling Mother-in-Law (MIL) comes to my rescue. I think that after having raised 3 boys herself, she knows the signs of a mother about to turn manic and let loose on the kids. So MIL says, just go to the movies and don't explain anything to them. You don't need their permission. You are 37 yrs old and you are the mother, not the child. Basics, hey? How do we become so stupid?

So I leave. I get in my car and venture out in the pouring rain to the movies. 

I end up having 3 hours of freedom, and alas, no Cafe Latte. Mugg and Bean closes early in Port Elizabeth.