Lots to catch up on!

The spider in the laundry room!

Lula, the puppy we have been watching

I think Dustin likes the furniture in the new house

Lula, and the "killer beetle"!

"Pumpkins" in the Congo!

Hello everyone,

I know it's time to start writing again, when I keep getting emails from people asking if we're all right. Yes, we are fine! I had actually started a post several weeks ago, but somehow the computer deleted it before I could post it. After that, I felt a bit discouraged, so did not feel like writing. But, a lot has happened since I last wrote ( a month ago), so get comfy because this will be a long entry!

First, Halloween: We had a Halloween party for all the American kids a week after Halloween (one family was out of town, so we waited for them). The kids all dressed up (Jensen was a 50's girl, and Dustin was a Ninja), played games, and ate candy. It was funny because they were all trading candy ("I'll give you a Snickers for 2 Twix bars"), just like they did at home. Of course, this was candy that can't be found here, so we had to have it brought over from the States (thanks Rob and Donna!). The funniest part about the night was when it was time to carve pumpkins. There were no pumpkins to be found here in Lubumbashi, so the kids carved eggplants! They turned out so cute. I'll post a picture.

Next, Thanksgiving: We celebrated Thanksgiving on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Bill, and all the rest of the husbands were going to be at the mine site on Thanksgiving Day, so we decided to celebrate early. Since this is an American holiday, Thanksgiving Day here was just an ordinary day. The kids went to school, Bill went to work, and I went and had tea with some of my friends! But, our early celebration was just like the real thing, with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, and pumpkin and pecan pies. The one thing missing (my favorite) was the sweet potatoes. I went to 4 different stores, and not one of them even had a clue what sweet potatoes were! Of course, me trying to explain it in French must not have been a pretty sight. Since I couldn't make sweet potatoes, I made a noodle kugel instead. Nobody here had a clue what it was, but it turned out okay. But it was a challenge finding the ingredients for that as well. I found egg noodles, but they were the super skinny ones. Sour cream does not seem to exist here, so I substituted yogurt. In any case, the food was good, and we all had a good time. It was 4 American families, and 2 Belgian families, so we taught the Belgians all about Thanksgiving, by playing Thanksgiving trivia games (off the internet). It was great the way the hostess had set up the tables: one in the kitchen for all the kids (6 kids); another in the dining room for all the ladies; and a 3rd for all the men. It was very enjoyable that way!

Field trips: The kids have been going on field trips with their new teacher. The first was to the Lubumbashi museum. Bill and I also went, and it was a very cool, interesting museum--lots of neat African masks, etc. The next trip was to a brewery (only here in the Congo)! In the States, this would never happen. We got to see all the equipment and the process of making beer. Here in the Congo, Simba beer is the most popular brand. It comes in these huge bottles that you share with several people. You never just drink it out of the bottle, like you would a Heinekin or something. At the end of the field trip, the guide said, "If you want to sample our product, come upstairs". All the parents' jaws about dropped. Here we were, thinking he was going to offer our kids beer! As it turned out, the parents were all offered beer, but the kids were offered sodas. It's still funny to think about the teacher and parents drinking beer on a field trip! Again, only in the Congo!

Our new house: Yes, it is true--we finally got into a new house! This house is huge, and it is a huge improvement from the last one. It's like moving from a Motel 6 to a 5 star hotel. We now have one of the nicest houses of all the expat families. It is a 2 story home (the only one), with 4 bedrooms, an office, kitchen, formal and casual dining rooms, and 2 living rooms (one upstairs and one downstairs), as well as a utility room. There are 4 bathrooms (and all the toilets work!), and a separate laundry building, with a full sized washer and dyer!!! Now I can wash more than 10 items of clothing at a time!

For the most part, we have had very little problems with electricty (though we still need the generator on a lot of the time) or water, and the microwave even works at this house! I hadn't realized how much I had missed using the microwave, just for something simple like boiling a cup of water for tea. The kitchen has granite counters, but it is so funny because the counters are so low that even I, as small as I am, feel like a giant in the kitchen!

The backyard is nice and big, and does not have so much dirt everywhere. However, Kami still manages to find whatever dirt there is, and get into it, so I am forever cleaning her feet (many times a day). We have a nice vegetable garden with green peppers (yuck!), onions, carrots, tomatoes, and peas. Unfortunately, Kami thought this was her own special playground, so she has torn a lot of it up. Our gardener has put up a bamboo fence around it, and now she can't get in anymore. The bamboo fence is all hand made. The people here cut pieces off of bamboo trees, cut them into strips, and then weave them into a flat, mat-type thing. Our fence required 16 of these mat-type things, which they connect together with twine or cable, and then the gardener attached them to stakes he had put in the ground. Can you imagine the labor that went into that? And for all that, I paid about $35!

Although this house is 100% better than the last, and I like it here, I feel like I am missing out on the "Congo" experience by living in this nice, beautiful house. I feel like I could be living back in AZ. However, the really nice thing about this house is the view from the 2nd floor. Jensen has the best view. From her room, you can look out onto a nearby village and road, and every morning you see the Congolese people walking or riding their bikes along this road. It's a really cool thing to watch, and it does give you a good feel for the life and culture here. So whenever I feel like I've forgotten I'm in the Congo because I'm living in this big, beautiful house, I just go upstairs and look out of Jensen's window, and that brings me back to the Congo.

Kids' school: The week after we moved to our new house, the kids moved to a new school. They hated their last school, and Jensen was bored and did not want to pay attention because all the material they were learning was what she had learned last year. I was afraid that if I kept them there, they would end up being at least a year behind in school when we returned home. So, I signed them up for a distance learning program, through the Mesa Public Schools in AZ. The program is designed for home schoolers, but it follows the AZ curriculum, and I knew it would keep them up with the state standards. They are doing this program at the other English-speaking school here in Lubumbashi, a school run by missionaries from the US (they have been here since the 70's). Bill's company rents a room from the school, and my kids, along with 2 others, do all of their academic courses there, with an international teacher that Bill's company has hired, to facilitate it all. Each child has their own program to follow, according to their grade level. The kids take 4 courses: Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. In addition to that, they take French and a Reading/Religion class (mandatory because it is a missionary school) with the rest of the kids in the school. They also do sports, and other activities with the kids from this school. Although it is English speaking, it is still quite culturally diverse, and there are kids from many different countries at this school. I come into the classroom everyday for 1.5 hours to help out. Sometimes the teacher needs to spend more time with one student, so then while I'm there, I can help the other students continue to move forward with their lesson plans. Overall, my kids seem happier, they don't have to wear those ugly uniforms, and I feel better that they are keeping up with the AZ state standards, and moving at a pace that is right for them.

A new puppy: Another thing that has kept me busy for the last 2 weeks has been a 10 week old dachshund puppy that we have been watching for friends. Her name is Lula (named after Amerula, a fruity alcoholic drink that is popular in South Africa). She is very cute, and very sweet, but very much a non-potty trained, chew everything in sight, puppy! So, for the last 2 weeks I've spent a lot of time cleaning up potty accidents, rescuing shoes, and doing lots of laundry! Thank goodness for that full sized washer and dryer! She goes home tomorrow, and I'm glad. I'm tired! The first few nights she was waking me up at 3:30 in the morning! Now she is better and waits until 5:00. I think Kami will be glad to see her go too. Kami was very good and gentle with her, and enjoyed playing with her, but I think Kami is tired too.

And speaking of Kami, she is getting a little better with the rain storms (which hit several times a day now). I spoke with our vet from AZ via email, and she gave me some good suggestions, and also offered to write her a prescription for an anti-anxiety medication. I'm going to hold off on the meds for right now. The biggest thing that changed was that we stopped coddling her and giving her all this extra attention when the storms hit. All that was doing was reaffirming for her that there was actually something to be afraid of. Now when the storms hit, we just act like nothing is happening, and we go about our business as usual, and this approach seems to be working.

Bugs: I'm thinking the rains bring out the bugs. We have been seeing some super huge bugs here lately, which does not thrill me. I'm going to post a picture of a spider that was in our laundry room, and this big, huge beetle thing that the puppy was trying to play with/eat. Jensen tries to be brave, but she is as scared as ever with all these bugs, and even Dustin, was a little freaked out about the big beetle bug. We are all happy to have mosquito nets to sleep under, as at least we know these bugs won't be crawling on us while we sleep!

Vacation: We leave on vacation for winter (actually summer here) break in 2 weeks. We are going to England, where we will meet up with our best friends from AZ, and then will go to France, where we will be spending Christmas. I wonder if Santa will be able to find us??!! It's so funny because you would have no clue that it is almost Christmas here. The only indication that I have seen is that the grocery store is now carrying Christmas napkins. Oh yeah, and the police stop people more frequently now because they want money. And that's about it. It definitely does not feel like Christmas here. Well, once we get to England and France, it will be freezing, and I'm sure there will be plenty there that will get us into the Christmas spirit!

Well, I think that's about it for now. I think I have caught you up on our lives here. Hope everyone is well. We miss everyone back home, but are enjoying our time here in the Congo!

Laurie