After being cooped up due to heavy rains and thunder, the Miller family was yearning for activity on an otherwise slow Sunday. Yes it rains here -and when it does it is dramatic in volume but at least it doesn’t rain all day (and night) like in North Vancouver!

Since our arrival to Africa, skateboarding has been in short supply for Jimmy. With the clouds separating and his itch setting-in we set off to a new part of town in search for “The Green Ramp” for him to ride and also for other adventures. Well, what we found was skate-able but it took some wrong turns (thanks Garmin GPS) – a farmers market in an adjacent field. A dad playing rugby with his son pointed in the right direction…. mistakes often lead to neat adventures.

On our way to the ramp we drove through a neat neighbourhood called ‘Parkhurst’ that very much reminded us of Victoria with its numerous busy bistros and patios stretching onto the sidewalks. We made a mental note to return here another day to check the area out better. Although this area was quite posh, the park itself was ghetto feeling and muddy. Nevertheless, Jimmy finally got rolling. After enduring stepping in too much muck and doggy-doo we opted to try to find the Joberg Zoo which we discovered was fairly close by…..

 

One of the first things we set out to do after we arrived in South Africa was find a good preschool for Claire & Rhys to attend. It really dictated where we established our home base. We wanted them to have other children to play with and as there is a serious lack of accessible playgrounds in Johannesburg we needed to ensure the preschool had plenty of activities & fun for Claire & Rhys.

I did a lot of research while we were still in Canada and I mostly focused upon Montessori schooling which Claire & Rhys have never participated in before. In actuality, Claire & Rhys have had a very ‘free & fun’ childhood so far. Lots of flexibility with their Dad, pacing their days based on weather, how everyone was feeling etc. We had only started preschool with them in Canada in September 2012 and it was minimal at only 2 days per week for 2 hours in the morning.

When we went on the tour around Johannesburg with my boss Rob and his wife Sharon we got a great idea of where we were compared to potential schools. We toured a Montessori in one area we liked but we knew it would not work very well for Rhys. It was just too much structure for him at this point in time. We also decided to stay in the suburb near my work office and the airport as I will be doing lots of flying to Botswana. This aided us in narrowing down preschools but I have to say it is difficult here. There are so many preschools in Johannesburg. It seems like there is a facility on every corner. The majority of the ones we viewed had kids from babies up to 6 years old so there were so many kids enrolled. Some facilities were older and had lots of rooms with narrow hallways which gave it a spooky feel. Everyone we spoke with at the preschools were very friendly and very helpful though. The cost of preschools here is so cheap compared to Canada. Full-time care can reach upwards of $1330 CDN per month. Most preschools or child centres (crèches) here cost R2000 to R3000 which is loosely equivalent to $200/$300 CDN per month. A huge difference!

The last facility we visited was newer and was located within a beautiful home estate; a nice relief. The gardens are lush and well maintained. The play equipment is in good order with no rust – all the play equipment is metal here and some schools had seriously dangerous play equipment or perhaps our North American safety standards are too high. Breakfast, snack, and lunch is included and of a healthy variety. The biggest thing for us is the student/ teacher ratios which are small.

We have only been taking the kids for ½ days for a week now and everyday gets a little bit better. It is a huge change for all of us especially being in a new country. Any first-time first drop-off parent anxiety was certainly heightened and multiplied! Claire & Rhys are being exposed to many things like different accents, increased ethnic diversity, different food (i.e. marmite!) etc. It is overwhelming for them at times and they (we) miss Canada but we all know it is a wonderful thing having an opportunity like this and we are all making the most of it.

 

I’m not going to lie, surviving and thriving with Deanna away on her first work rotation to Botswana was a challenge. Especially having only been in South Africa for 5 days. While I am accustomed to her daily absence when in Canada, the five day stint combined with our generally green feeling of being settled certainly filled the kids and me with some anxiety. Anxiousness aside, any urge to hide within our hotel room was short lived and I quickly kicked into gear with things to do, places to explore (within reason) and a schedule to keep.

– Jimmy

Meeting dee at the airport after her first work rotation in Botswana:

While traveling abroad it’s easy to get caught up in noting differences and similarities between foreign and familiar cultures. Urban South Africa has proven to be quite the study in such behaviour. Aside from minor examples like everyone being a smoker, the populace’s generally poor pedestrian/driver ability and near non-existent internet connectivity; the difference in security measures stand as the strongest example of contrast.

It’s not uncommon to have assistants help you park your car at a shopping mall, wearing a Kevlar vest amongst other supplies and smile politely all the way. Wire-barbed electrified-fortified walls line almost every city block and they are simply unavoidable from view. Oddly, we’ve become accustomed to our ever present fortification. We patiently wait to enter facilities by passing a drop-arm bar and/or guard tower like docile farm animals being herded about. At the end of the day, if the safety of our family is increased by such measures we are proponents of this notable difference, albeit reluctant Canadian ones.

– Jimmy

 

The day after our arrival my boss came to visit us along with his wife. We were fairly well-rested and eager to have them drive us around. Hopefully we’d wear off some jet lag further, discover some preschool option locations and view possible housing spots too.

When they first arrived they asked us how we were doing. I answered the typical way someone would ‘pretty good – thanks’. They looked at me and said ‘no, really, how are you doing?’. The concern they had for us was very nice and very welcomed. I couldn’t pull a fast one on them and pretend everything was okay. Rob, my boss, is the project director for our company and he plays a very big role in things. It was really comforting to have him look about our temporary accommodation and say he was not impressed (like us, in truth) and that we must sort out our permanent housing asap. Jimmy also had a chance to voice his concerns and the difficulties we faced getting to know Joburg.

We all decided to get into their van (the installation of the kids car seats into their van was a breeze by comparison!) and have them drive us around several suburbs and past many preschools I had researched on the internet back in Canada.

We talked along the way and started to get a really good feel for the city. Claire & Rhys dozed comfortably in the van as we drove. Later in the day we decided it was time to stop for some lunch. Rob and his wife, Sharon, chose a very large casino called The Montecasino (http://www.montecasino.co.za) which had a large bird sanctuary and gardens. It was a great choice where the kids could run around and look at some pretty neat birds. They bought Claire & Rhys some duck pellets to feed the ducks. Needless to say they were two very excited little kids. It was so nice to be outside wearing shorts and t-shirts. My luggage was held up in London so I had the glory of wearing well-worn travel clothes for the third day in a row :/ in the warm sun.

We walked around the grounds of the bird casino and saw ducks, flamingos, bats, lemurs, snakes, storks and so many other birds. It was a really neat place to visit. The outdoor eatery had a children’s play area (we are finding that most family restaurants have playgrounds as there are very few public places to take your kids to run around and burn off steam -in stark contrast to North Vancouver/Canada). We ate a nice lunch, the kids played and we talked a lot about life in this special city. It was a good and hopeful second day which certainly helped our morale and confidence in getting around the city by ourselves, and doing so more safely than we initially perceived.

 

Claire asking the bird if it would like to walk down the stairs with her:

Big news……we very recently moved our family to Johannesburg, South Africa. In early February I was approached with an enticing job opportunity by the company that bought out my pre-existing employer. They wanted me to relocate to SA and work on a rotation schedule into Botswana to work at our project site so I could assist with geological modeling, drill managing and training of local geologists for a 6 month term.

Although I had heard hints and whispers of this offer since Christmas, Jimmy & I did not have very long to make our final decision. Once we decided to go for it we only had two weeks to get organized, get immunized, pack up our life, etc. Did I mention that we decided to sell our condo too? It truly was a whirlwind of activity and stress in our household! The big factor in us making this journey was the adventure opportunity of living in Africa. Claire & Rhys love animals so they were sold on the safari side of things. We somehow managed to get it all done even with me having food poisoning the day before we were to depart. Thank goodness my Mom was visiting so while I recovered she was able to pack and help with the kids -not to mention Jimmy being at our storage locker till 2am on many days.

We left on March 29, 2013 at 9:30pm. We had a long journey ahead of us as the flights totaled 22 hours with an additional 6 hour lay-over in London. We were well prepared for the kids comfort with portable dvd’s, snacks, stuffies, new toys, new headphones and their comfy blankies. I have to say that Claire & Rhys are some pretty adaptable kids and they did amazing on the journey. We flew mostly during the night so they slept most of the way (a credit to our travel agent). No tears, no tantrums and just a lot of fun and great memories.

Heathrow Airport:

Flying over Africa:

When we arrived in Johannesburg on (March 31, 2013) we were so tired and just wanted to get to our hotel accommodations to rest. A lady from my company met us at the airport and assisted us in getting a rental vehicle. It took forever and we have learned very quickly that customer service is not a priority in this country and the work pace is extremely slower than in North America. This is just something we will get used to.

Landing at OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg, SA:

By far the most difficult thing of our entire journey here was installation of our two car seats that we brought with us. We drive a mini-van in Canada and the company rented us a small (micro) white Hyundai accent. It was so difficult to put them into the car. Jimmy placated Claire & Rhys in the front seats with a video while we set to the task at hand. I have to say that I have never cursed as much as I did that moment. It took us almost 45 minutes to get them in. Jimmy gouged his scalp on the inside of the trunk too. Then, while finally victorious, just as we were to strap the kids in, Rhys decided to have a nature moment. I had to lay him down on a blanket next to the car to change him. Just then, a car was backed into the stall behind us so I freaked out then Rhys freaked out and jumped up. There was poo everywhere and a very scared kid. Ugh…we were just ready to go!

I opted to drive and it was my first time doing so on the other side of the road – pretty weird feeling. Our temporary hotel housing is not what we expected to have to live in, but it’ll do until we sorted out preschool for the kids and permanent housing.

Phew! We made it and while the kids played and investigated the house Jimmy & I shared some ‘Oh no! What did we do? Did we make a mistake?’ mini panic attacks. The enormity of the situation and the reality of the scary statistics we read about can really affect ones sense of optimism. This said, we are now pleased to say that we are getting our confidence back and learning the rhythm of this country. It is a huge learning curve and so incredibly different than life in Canada. If it was just Jimmy & I it would be a lot easier and more flexible. As many of you know, having two active children really changes things and it enhances the necessary need of caution, extra care and planning -especially with one parent away so often.

Definitely more to come……