It doesn’t seem to matter where I am, here I am!

What I mean is that despite being the other side of the world, in a completely different environment, my life takes on a familiar routine, with just a few minor adjustments. It would be different if I was on vacation or visiting as a tourist. But that’s not the case and so my life continues with barely a hiccup.

Of course there are differences - instead of overhead planes and freeway noise at night, I go to sleep with the deafening rumble of frogs croaking at the top of their voices! It’s actually a very soothing white noise to fall asleep to! Early mornings, I’m greeted by the two resident ducks who rule the back yard. And instead of looking out at streets and cars as I work, I sit on the veranda with the cats for company and take in the weaver birds flitting high in the trees as they go busily about their nest-building work, all with happy chirping and singing.

But there are things I have to adjust to, like the security issues in this country, which don’t bug me as much as they did the last time I was here. Always remembering to lock doors and keep the security gates closed etc. And now there is also the nightmare of load shedding, when the electricity gets shut off. It hasn’t affected my online work yet; they do give you a warning - most of the time. (And there’s an app for that!)

A Very Small World

I think in this country, it’s a lot less than 6 degrees of separation!

This last weekend, went with Debbie to a woodturners’ gathering out in the country. While the group had its meeting out on the veranda, I sat with some of the other women who had come along. I knew none of them, but as conversation went on, we realized that I had gone to school with one of the women’s husband and that his mother had been my “housekeeping” or home economics teacher! And she was a real “dragon” to describe her in her daughter-in-law’s estimation! How random is that!

And the granny flat situation is another instance of this closeness. Sam, who is my best friend Rosemary’s daughter is married to a young man who is the son of one of Mick’s dear friends!

When I thought about it, it’s because we grew up in a relatively small demographic - we were (and still are) in the minority here and back when I grew up, we were totally segregated by apartheid, which is not the case any more. I suspect that there are going to be a lot more instances like this!

Old School Lives

After that get together, I got to thinking about the other women and wondered what my life would have been like if I had stayed in South Africa instead of going gadding around the world. These ladies were, I think, the same-ish age as me, but with lives SO different and settled! They have their houses, their kids and grandkids, husbands who drive them nuts, and spend their days volunteering, going to book clubs and doing arts and crafts. And they seem to be very contented!

But I just can’t see myself in that space - but maybe if I hadn’t left, I would be the same?

I’ll never know!