Settling in for a wait

So another week down. Two and a bit to go and I'll be a mother of two. Can't pretend I'm not alternating between excitement and blind terror but as ankles swell and discomfort increases, the former is winning out. Bring on three hourly feeds, just let me lose the waddle!

Exciting news of the week is that our freight arrived. In tact. Which is always good. Of course, we have now gone from rattling around in an empty house to having stuff. Clutter, one might say. 

My portly state had the distinct upside of exempting me from unpacking. This was a first. The Good Man has a long and illustrious history of arranging business trips to coincide with the arrival of our goods. This time he took the day off and did the heavy lifting while I conducted from the couch. It was lovely. But a never-to-be-repeated performance, I fear. Anyway, I didn't go into labour which seems to have made it worthwhile.

In fact, the Good Man has been very good of late. He took Bambi to get her Halloween outfit yesterday - a pink, sparkly confection, complete with tiara and satin basket - and then spent the rest of the day in front of the football to reassert his manliness. And right now he's at Disney on Ice with his princess. Heaven only knows how much sport that will take to sort out.

Oh well, we continue to wait for Thumper. Will keep you posted...

Up to date

Frankly, I've had enough of all this retrospective. I think I had in mind that I could update friends and family through my blog. But blogging (at least for me) isn't about travel tales and catching up - it's about pithy observation and social commentary. So my plan now is to provide a very potted version of our introduction to the US of A:

We now live in Virginia, but close enough to downtown DC that the Good Man cycles to work. The neighbourhood is leafy and the the neighbours have been extremely welcoming and helpful. I suspect we may be wallowing in suburban bliss...

Light switches work differently here. Up means on and down means off. Why? No idea.

Bambi has had her first encounter with a toilet flushing sensor (flushes when you move in front of the sensor, ie. stand up). It gave her one hell of a fright and now I can't persuade her to go to the toilet in public places - but she's become very disciplined about going before we leave the house.

Washington is far more beautiful than I ever imagined. Weekend activities so far have included Wolf Trap, boat trips on the Potomac, the Kennedy Centre open day (with Dan Zanes - oh so cool) and the Good Man regularly takes Bambi canoeing at Fletcher's Cove. I had never thought that the nation's capital would be so outdoor orientated.

Breakfast cereal without sugar is ridiculously hard to find in the supermarket. I eventually tracked down Weetabix - only available in the health food aisle.

This is an election year (fast approaching election month) and American politics and electioneering are absolutely unbelievable. But I'm sure I will be writing more about this later. At this stage I'm actually quite glad I do not have any right to vote here.

Our freight has yet to arrive. Bambi, however, has decorated our lounge with empty boxes which she has decorated with dayglo paint... and glitter. It's a look unlikely to catch on in Home & Garden and one of which we will undoubtedly be reminded for the remainder of our time here as we continue to brush sparkles from between the floorboards. But it is cheerful.

I am due to deliver Thumper via c-section on 14th October. This is not because, with 3 and a half weeks to go she is already estimated to weigh nearly 8 pounds (help!), but medically advised after an emergency c-section after a complicated (and long) labour with Bambi.  Wish me luck. If I go into labour before then, we're in trouble - no support network means relying heavily on planning. Labour is not part of the plan...

In all, this has been one of our easier moves. I suspect we'll be happy here. And I'll keep you posted.

In transit

And because we never do things the simple way, the good family made a stop off. For a week. In Vienna.

Vienna is gorgeous and, at most times in my life, the perfect place to spend a week.  Music! Art! I even speak the language. So, the food's a bit heavy but even Bambi was able to navigate the menus and by the end of our stay had perfected her pronunciation of 'wurst mit pommes, bitte'.

Austria is now known as the Land of Sausage.

But... We did not have a car and, even with a really brilliant metro system, the amount of walking to get around was not great for my six month pregnant frame... or Bambi's three year old legs.

As recent postings have largely read like travel rags, we'll skip over the lowdown on the Prater, the House of Music, Stefansdom, horse drawn carriages and Danube cruises and go straight to Bambi's undisputed highlight... Schonbrunn Palace.

The Palace itself is big and imposing and can be toured. But what three year old wants to spend two hours looking at furniture. That said, the grounds are spectacular with loads of room to run. Here's Bambi running around the Gloriette...

And before you think I denied my princess any access to the palace, we did go to the children's museum. What a find! She got to play with period toys, braid period wigs and see how Imperial children lived. And, the biggie - she got to dress up. How cute is this....

And on the 5th of July (yes, we missed the 4th) we officially moved to the States.

The exit strategy

When preparing to leave a country a sense of urgency kicks in. We always arrive in new places with grandious ideas about the wonderful places we will visit and the places we will explore. We always anticipate years in which to make these acquaintances and feel comforted by the time we can take to acquire 'local' knowledge.

Now, faced with ten weeks before departure, we embraced our inner tourists and simply started making bookings.

The trouble around the December election had largely calmed (if not completely resolved). And there remained parts of the country that we preferred to avoid... just in case. Fortunately we had snuck in a trip to Lake Nakuru in October and had our chance to marvel at, literally, millions of flamingoes. Post election, Nakuru became the centre of much of the political violence as IDPs (Internally Displaced People) moved into the area and became targets from rival tribes. I hasten to add that, by the time we left Kenya, Nakuru had calmed and anyone planning a holiday to Kenya now should definitely consider a trip up there on their itinerary.

But the place we had not explored, the big ticket, the must do before we leave, was the Masai Mara.  Politically, this area had remained largely untouched by the election fallout. As the name would suggest, it is home to the Masai people who had not been involved in the conflict. It had, however, been hugely effected by a sharp drop in tourism. This was undoubtedly being felt by the local operators and their staff. Their strategy to keep some sort of occupancy level going was to discount sharply for local tourists. As residents, this included us. So, much to our surprise, instead of camping, we were able to stay in beautiful luxury tented camps. Twice!

The first time we went, the good Granny was with us for a visit. We stayed at the Karen Blixen camp in one of the concessions just outside the park proper. The highlight of the trip was finding two female lions with six cubs and watching them, on our own for the best part of an hour, yanking tails, chasing each other, climbing all over their mums.  Too cute. Our guide mentioned to us that, had we visited a year earlier we would have probably been jostling for position with about twenty other vehicles. So, lucky in a way... although political conflict seems a rather high price to pay for a good game drive...

The second time we went we really stepped out and treated ourselves to a weekend at Little Governors (again at 'special' rates).  This camp is known for a few very special things. First, it has been maintained as a real bush camp - no electricity, fences or mod cons. Although very comfortable and serving some of the best food in Kenya, it goes to some lengths to ensure that you never forget where you are. The second thing it is known for is its balloon safaris. Which were also running deep discounts. 

Sadly, Bambi was considered too young, and I was considered too pregnant (discrimination I tell you!) to go on a flight but the Good Man took the gap. We followed behind in the chase vehicle and got to take part in the champagne breakfast (if not the champagne) at the end.  I have never felt such envy in my life. Watching that graceful orb floating over the treetops while we bounced over the ever pitted ruts of the Mara was quite torturous. But Bambi and I have promised each other that, when she's old enough, our turn will come...

Our final excursion was on our very last weekend in Kenya. The Good Man had for many years been talking about taking part in the Lewa Downs Half Marathon.  He had rallied a few friends, got himself into a team and our departure date was actually set so that he could take part before leaving. What makes this event pretty unique is that it is run through a fully fledged game park, well stocked with animals that can trample you, chase you and eat you for lunch. Or dinner.  Fortunately it is also extremely well organised, with the route being steadily patrolled by rangers and helicopters to ensure the safety of the runners.

The organisers set up a temporary village for the weekend to accommodate runners and their families, complete with campsites and long drop loos. At five and a half months pregnant I was not feeling even this adventurous so booked us into Ol Pejeta House in the Sweetwaters conservancy where we shared a self contained house with another family  whose dad was also running. The boys went to run their race while we visited a tame rhino and the chimp sanctuary, lit roaring log fires and generally absorbed the atmosphere and the stunning views of Mount Kenya. It was idyllic - good company, fantastic scenery and all too easy to forget what was looming ahead.

On the Sunday we drove back to Nairobi, picked up our luggage and left Africa... again.

So I lied (3)

So, where were we? Oh yes, big news in Nairobi...

The Good Man was shortlisted for not one but two fantastic jobs - both in a project he's been wanting to be involved with, both in organisations he admires and both , um, financially rewarding. The only hitch was that both would involve moving to Washington DC.

This is always the worst part of a transition - the possibility of change but not knowing for sure if a move is imminent or not. Also, never having been anywhere in the US, much less DC I was trying to overcome a few (mainly unfounded) fears. And did I mention the morning, noon and night sickness?

But then Easter rolled around, which happened to coincide with our tenth wedding anniversary. So we took a weekend off from the speculation and worrying (if not the constant nausea) and went to Amboseli. This game park has the advantage of being a pretty easy drive from Nairobi and stunningly located at the base of Kilimanjaro. And on this particular weekend it was overrun with Americans. Most from Washington DC. Ever had the feeling someone's trying to tell you something? Fantastic, warm, friendly people who sucked us into their celebrations and got Bambi completely wrapped up in what was undoubtedly the most over the top Easter egg hunt I have ever seen. Needless to say she loved it. 

Fortunately, they were mainly with the US State Department and based in Nairobi so we were able to maintain contact after the bunny left town!

Soon after we got back, it was confirmed. An offer was in and we were scheduled to leave at the end of June...

A Broad Abroad

Time for a name change.

This blog is no longer Scottish and the vistas I have more recently been admiring are not of snow capped peaks across wind swept lochs. Although the visual banner may have to wait until I get more organised - wouldn't want to shock you with too much change all at once!

I asked for suggestions for a new name and the definite winner was Stay at Home Dad who came up with two gems:
Ken ya Kenya - which is so clever that I fear those without Scottish (or, interestingly, South African) connections may not get it; and
A Broad Abroad, which it is to be as, being a title which packs well, means I will never have to worry about renaming again.

Asante sana, SAHD!

Life here is going well. Our temporary landlady has taken it upon herself to show me around Nairobi. Yesterday was spent visiting an Indian vegetable market (so brilliant I cannot begin to explain), a roadside furniture market where you can get a full six seater mahogany dining room table and chairs for under $300 (negotiable - everything is negotiable) and a Pakistani butcher (UK Health and Safety would have had a field day there!).

We also may have found a house. But until the lease is signed I will not say more for fear of jinxing it. Suffice to say, if all goes well, I will be a very happy, good woman. With a guest room. And no furniture...

Thank so much for all the comments on my last post. I really look forward to a broadband connection so that I can catch up on your news too soon.

Safe as houses

We're here! And its been quite a ride. In the past month I have walked the ancient ruins of Scara Brae in Orkney, shopped in the souks of Abu Dhabi and Dubai and hand fed a Rothschilds Giraffe. As has Bambi. If she ever tells me her life is dull, I'll just remind her of August 2007.

Now begins the next stage - finding a home and getting settled. Fortunately, we've landed on our feet and found a lovely two bedroomed cottage on a lake as an interim let. It means that we're not in a big hurry to find something right away and can wait to find something right for us. So far, most houses I've looked at have been monumental - full of glass, marble and fake gold or really quite frightening with bathrooms that would leave me uncertain as to my ability to actually get clean in them.

In general, my first impressions of Nairobi are really good - it is beautiful, lush and the locals seem very friendly and helpful. Driving is, um, creative - especially on the routes through the city so we are scouring maps to find backroad routes. But Nairobi seems to have an oversupply of rivers and an undersupply of bridges - nowhere is to be reached as the crow flies.

Shopping here is a doddle compared to Lusaka - everything is available and very reasonable too. I'm hoping to slip in a trip to the Indian market later this week - I hear the fruit and veg are amazing.

We've found a lovely Montessori school for Bambi, which we're trying for a week to see how she goes. Judging by this morning, she'll have no trouble - anything to get out of traipsing around more houses with me!

And I've found an internet cafe - which should allow for the odd, irregular posting until our freight arrives...

We have a problem. Please be patient.

Dear Reader

I haven't mentioned this before, largely I think, because I'm in denial.

Tomorrow the packers come. They will wrap up our worldly possessions - including my trusty desktop - load them into a container, ship the container to Nairobi via Mombasa. Once in Nairobi our container will be opened and our goods will pass through a customs process which seems to be a bit, um, fluid. We will be leaving Scotland in early September. And then we'll all be happily reconciled at the other end. At least that's the plan.

It is possible that we will emerge from this process a little lighter in wallet and, indeed, in load. But that we will survive. The far greater question is how I will survive the next +- 6 weeks without Skype, email or (sob!) Blogger?

So dear online friends, I apologise for not being able to visit your blogs or publish posts of our final adventures in Scotland over the next several weeks. I will miss this part of my day more than you know.

See you in October.

The Good Woman

PS Any suggestions as to a new name for this blog are welcome!

Award from A Broad - 5 August 2007

In the past week I have:

• Cleaned a house. Properly. Furniture has been moved. Dado rails sparkle. The oven even looks rather impressive - on the inside.
• Delivered a full, large car load of clothes, toys and books to Salvation Army.
• Delivered another full, large car load of junk to the recycling centre.
• Cut back my garden and thanked the good Lord that some neighbours had hired a skip that day which they were struggling to fill. Good neighbour that I am, I was able to help.
• Collected boxes from our removal company which is in a Clydebank industrial estate - a drive which took around 45 minutes each way.
• Got Bambi's glasses fixed (again).
• Gone to the Richard Long exhibition in Edinburgh. (Stunning in its simplicity and beauty. Why couldn't I have thought of creating giant mud murals first!?)
• Gone back to Edinburgh for the first day of the festival. Bambi particularly enjoyed the street performers and the Warhol exhibition.
• Written a piece about the Warhol exhibition for Topblogmag (out on Monday).

And slept. And eaten. And swum 5 kms. And stuff.

But the blogging is definitely suffering in the build up to the move. I have been visiting many of my favourites but can't seem to actually structure anything to post here. I'm sorry.

In direct contrast to my 'frequent to irregular' posting habits, is this weeks awardee, Sparx, writer of Notes from Inside my Head who has recently gone from being a 'once a week' blogger to one of the 'almost every day' variety. I thought she should know how grateful I am for her Spud-inspired missives as I plough through two years' worth of cleaning and sorting.

Sparx writes predominantly about her son, Charlie, also affectionately known as 'the Spud'. In fact, motherhood is all she writes about. I have not seen her digress into politics, social development or environmental issues - except insofar as they effect the Spud. This is a focused woman. She does work, but as this has never been given more attention than an executive diary entry, I can only assume that her job allows her to spend time in an office somewhere thinking of her boy.

I am a mom and, having got through two and a half years of nappies, occasional sleep deprivation, illnesses, crawling, toddler travel, weaning and so on, I am astounded at how much I enjoy reliving it. But then it is retold in quite the most consistently entertaining manner by Sparx. Thank you so much for keeping me in laughter.

I just can't wait for toilet training...

Wedding bells

Expat postings can be compared to marriages.

At first there's the frisson of being in something new - finding your way around, forming early opinions, the desire to be open minded and to make it work.

Then there's the wedding - the day you find your new home, the furniture arrives and you celebrate having done it.

The honeymoon follows closely thereafter. The routine is new and, therefore, not boring. You relish the new things that are better than the old things that irked in your last posting. You begin to explore your new home. But it still feels like a long holiday.

The marriage begins when the new environment leaves the toilet seat up. The climate may start to challenge, or perhaps local customs leave you questioning your integrity. You offend without meaning to, or take offence where none is meant. For some, these are easily overcome - identified as unique and special, sometimes even embraced.

In other postings, the foibles become too much. It's time for a separation. And then, with the panic of an impending move, you fall back in love with your new home, as you squash all the outings an experiences you were hoping to get to but thought you would have time to do 'later', into a few short weeks. This is where I am now. Marveling at the beauty of Scotland's greenery, splashing in its puddles, in awe of its history. And packing...

We've been lucky so far, our separations have all been quite amicable. Along the lines of 'I think we should just be friends'... but heartfelt.

So Scotland, may I come back to visit one day? And please (please!) do you think you could let it be for a sunny fortnight?

Day off

Actually, I'm elbow deep in house cleaning (preparing for new tenants to see the house), sorting clothes, arranging travel vaccinations, etc., etc. So it's not really a day off.

But, if you're interested, here's a piece I wrote for Topblogmag. Still not a featured piece. Maybe one day....

The Journey

I went down to Durham yesterday to fetch our new car - peace having once more been made with the British banking system.

I caught an early morning train down, via Newcastle, to Durham and then drove straight back. My ideal would have been to spend a bit of time exploring Hadrian's Wall, or maybe some of the nearby coastline but parenting commitments back in Glasgow did not permit.

That said I really enjoyed the journey. It reminded me of why I don't like flying - firstly because I am afraid the machine might plummet to the ground, but also because flying is too fast and too distant from the action to give a real sense of the journey. Driving a large vehicle along long stretches of highway reminded me of the trip I did with my mom and my dog from Cape Town to Zambia.

Over a distance of over 3000kms we left the pace of the city and moved in convoy with our truck to the sedate and dusty streets of Lusaka. We encountered heat, dust, goats, elephants, giraffes, unbelievable African bureaucracy and phenomenal scenery. Our route took us through Mafikeng, into Botswana, through Nata with its endless salt pan, over the border to Zambia on the Kazungula ferry and onto the Great North Road to Lusaka.

The ferry was undoubtedly the moment of greatest symbolic change- a 400m comma between what I knew in southern Africa and what I would come to know in Central Africa. It slowly carries a truck and a few cars at a time over the crocodile and hippo laden waters of the Zambezi. As you wait your turn there's little to do but ponder the islands and banks belonging to Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and the animals who travel obliviously passport-free between them.

I hear that the new bridge at Shesheke is easing the pressure on the pontoon as many trucks now detour through Namibia. But it took us time to cross the Zambezi – queuing, waiting, chatting with others doing the same. And finally being carried over on the belching platform as it fought against the rivers flow. It was the best introduction possible to Central Africa – chaotic, beautiful, slow. It could not be forced and it all got done in its own way and in its own time. I'm sure it was frustrating at the time but now I long for journeys that speak so accurately and honestly of the destinations they reach.

Traveling light

When the Good Man and I first moved in together he packed his worldly possessions into a BMW, fetched me from my parent's house with a suitcase and that was it. We stopped at a liquidation centre on the way through to the house we'd just bought and got them to deliver a bed, table and chairs and borrowed linen from family.

We now also own a few sofas and sundry other items which live in our house in Cape Town. But the tone of our life together was set with this first move. We travel light.

Our approach to moving is a little different from most. We set ourselves a target volume and then shed things until we can pack to that limit. For this move, our upper limit is eight cubic metres. We'd like to come in at around six if we can. Given that I usually get blank looks when I 'speak metric', we're targeting less than a quarter of a container. This is not a lot.

The only item of furniture we'll be taking is my mother's oak cheval mirror so that she can keep an eye on us through our travels. A large chunk of the balance will be taken up by art (paintings and sculpture), clothes, kitchen equipment and toys. Pre-Bambi we we would have targeted four cubic metres. She compensates by taking up less space in the car.

Anyway, I have now begun the process of ditching the things we will leave behind. I tend to be quite unsentimental through this process. If I haven't actually looked at something, worn it or used it in six months, it's out.

According to some, this makes me quite a hard person. But it's not that I feel no emotion, rather that I don't link my emotions to items. I like to remember things - they often look better in my memories than they do in reality.

Anyway, I thought I would throw a question out to Blog world:

If you had to pack you and your family's life into eight cubic metres, what would you take? And, perhaps more interestingly, what would you leave behind?

It's Nairobi!

That's right! In September we'll be moving to Nairobi, Kenya.

I've told a few friends offline and the responses have been varied. There are those whose eyes gleam in anticipation of safari trips. And there are those whose voices rise a notch and who ask tentatively how I feel about the move. The number in the latter camp has increased dramatically since the bomb blast in downtown Nairobi on Tuesday.

So how do I feel about the impending move back to Africa (but not the part I know)? On the whole, I am really happy about it. I have always wanted to explore East Africa and now I'll have my chance. Nairobi is home to good schools, game parks and an outdoor lifestyle in which, I am sure, Bambi will thrive. The weather will undoubtedly be better. And I can hang up my toilet brush - we'll have staff.

On the other hand, I am realising just how cushioned from risk I have been over the past two years. The UK is a far more controlled society than any I have encountered in Africa. This can be frustrating but does make it a relatively safe place to live.

I grew up In Cape Town in the 70s and 80s. During that time we had numerous bomb scares, incidents of politically motivated violence and high crime rates. Being cautious and sensible was simply a way of life and we got on with it. I anticipate this is how we'll be in Kenya.

And, once again, we will be faced with the stark contrast between the comfortable expat lifestyle we will lead and the desperate poverty in Africa. It has become too easy to push these issues to the back of my mind while living in such a wealthy society. I hope to be able to actually do something while we are there.

So there you have it.

PS. I will write about our amazing trip to Skye soon. With pictures. Sorry for the delay - I've been a bit distracted!