Antici..........pation

As anxious as I am about wrapping up the study successfully in the next 6 work days, I'm even more anxious to get home to Seattle. Of course the biggest factor is that I've now been separated from my wife for 3.5 months. Other factors that make me miss home are friends, food, my dog, and being tired of the extra work it takes to navigate the culture in a foreign country. But I'm also realizing how much I really like the city where we live.

This September makes three years since we hauled our junk across the country to start anew on the west coast. I don't think Jess or I immediately fell in love with the city. The weather turned bad quickly--that November there was rain something like 28 of 31 days--and it takes time to make friends and find things to do. We've slowly grown more fond of the Emerald City as we've integrated ourselves.

Now, reading Seattle blogs, looking at pictures, perusing concert schedules, and just hearing what my friends are up to makes me realize what a great place it is to live. The restaurants, bars, museums, parks and different communities offer a lot to Seattle residents. From a different continent, many Pacific Northwest quirks that have at times grated my nerves seem more like adorable cliches performed mostly by genuine people. The mustachioed hipster cyclists who peg their skinny jeans; eco-obsessive young parents; queer scenesters; the connoisseur class. From my perspective now these people blend together in a cute, happy bubble of good will, enlightenment and acceptance. That's a place where I want to live.

I think I love you, Seattle. Be home soon.

Not lion food yet

My two plus-or-minus one readers may have noticed a three-week absence during my long-awaited visit to the U.S. My focus was not on this blog, which really doesn't take much effort but seemed onerous during vacation and the weeks before and after.


The beach vacation was bittersweet. It was cloudy, grey, and raining four of the six days, but beautiful Friday and Saturday. I loved being with Jess and her family, but I hated to leave again. Two more months sans wife seemed daunting as I went back to the airport for another 30 hours of travel.

I procrastinated on booking a shuttle to return from Joberg and paid the price. After arriving Sunday night and sleeping at a hotel that seemed far nicer than the $75 it cost me, I awoke to an email that my attempted booking was impossible. I spent the next few hours arranging a different shuttle that ended up costing 5 times as much as the one I wanted.

We drove back through Lydenburg and the Blyde Canyon, a more scenic route than the direction through Nelspruit I took to get to the airport. The pictures are obviously through the window of a speeding van but you can get a sense of the landscape.


After the scenic drive and upon arriving at the beautiful farm where I'm staying I felt much more upbeat about the next two months.

A Plum Island bacchanalia fast approaches

Africa is nice and all, but I am greatly anticipating my vacation in a small Massachusetts beach town. Here are a few reasons.

• I think I've had around 12 alcoholic drinks in the past month, and most of them were some mediocre South African lager. At this point the idea of Sam Adams and Guinness make my mouth water.
  
• Today for the first time in a month I drank a cup of coffee that wasn't instant. It was heaven. And this wasn't particularly good coffee. When I get some Dunkin' Donuts I might just jump off a roof believing I can fly.
  
• People I work with are from different parts of Africa and Europe. I haven't heard an American accent in weeks. Even the Boston accent will be music to my ears.
• Burgers and shellfish are non-existent here. GIMME THAT LOBSTER ROLL!
• Driving on the naturally right side of the road legally, rather than finding myself approaching an oncoming cop car flashing his headlights at me to move the hell out of his lane, will be quite a trip.
  

I definitely miss a few things about my life in the USA.

Around the house

Izzy's African cousin

There seem to be a lot of rat terriers here. This one is named Shusta and lives in the Wits Rural Facility near my house.

EDIT: Just for comparison's sake...

My place and my car